Les Huguenots: Erkel Theatre, Budapest
Oct 28th 2017
An amazing performance of an amazing work; I think I am now a Meyerbeer fan! To see these two rarely-performed works in relatively rapid succession was a fascinating and eye-opening experience.
It was particularly interesting to experience this work shortly after I had experienced Les Troyens as I think there are many intriguing similarities between them other than the nationality of the composers. Both of these works are on a massive scale –not just in length but in the grandeur and seriousness of the themes – religious conflict, love vs duty, war vs peace – all good operatic themes but in both of these given a magnificent and thoughtful grandeur.
For me, one of the most interesting similarities was the nature of the voices that both require and the very unique demands, technical and musical, that each makes on the singers. For Meyerbeer the technical demands are I think, one of the reasons why the piece is so rarely performed. When it is, it is often at the behest of a major star whose presence will guarantee a financially successful run. Joan Sutherland made a particularly successful foray into the role (just as she did with Massenet’s Esclarmonde) where her unique abilities helped to revive some interest in Meyerbeer in the 70’s and later. In addition, the technical demands are not confined to the female roles. I think one reason for its success is that the music is, it seems to me, very well and gratefully (if demandingly) written for the voice. Meyerbeer created many if not most of his major roles for specific singers whose style, timbre and technique he knew well and he would also re-write roles to suit other voices and tessituras being as he was a complete man of the theatre. I would be interested to know from a professional singer if my assessment of this is in fact correct.
Berlioz, on the other hand, I felt, did not always write gratefully for the voice. Yes, there are magnificent and amazing moments but overall I have never felt that he was a natural voice composer and quite often, I had the sense that the vocal lien was more instrumental in nature. Again, a professional opinion on this would be fascinating. It’s a reverse of Verdi, I think where, in his rare instrumental writing, the melodic line has always seemed to me to be essentially vocal in nature.
The other unique vocal characteristic is the nature and style of singing in French and the particular ‘style francaise’ and, in Berlioz and to a degree in Meyerbeer, the sub-category ‘style heroique’. I do not think that this style can be wholly successfully met by a Wagnerian-style heldentenor as in the French style I feel there needs to be a greater lightness of touch and tone. In addition, the nature of singing in French, which is much more vowel-heavy, is very different from the Germanic consonant—heavy language.
But now onto the performance and production after this slight diversion.
Both composers of course are famous for the creative and imaginative orchestration and this was noticeable in the Meyerbeer – and not just the use of the viola d’amore near the start.
The production was highly effective – a convincing mix of traditional and more modern elements that never distracted from the music and which enhanced and supported the work. The largely clear stage had a series of black-and-white drawn ‘flats, of building designs drawn on them to suggest the range of locations and these were ‘flown’ down to set each scene. These were then flooded with a variety of single colours or drawn with a coloured wash which, along with the costumes (qv) made a very visually pleasing aesthetic effect on the stage. This was the more traditional element. The more radical part was the use of key thematic words appropriate for each major scene that appeared as large cut-out on the stage and remained there for the duration of that scene – Bacchus/Amor/Jesus/Hope/Cross and Mercy. This last was used somewhat ironically as this element is NOT a feature of this story, ending as it does with a massacre! This device allowed for a spectacular end as the last word was created in free-standing three dimensions (rather than two) and it was pushed over to spread, broken, on the stage at the very end which also provided a neatly ironical dramatic comment on the quality itself as (not) seen in this work. It did cause a few logistical problem however during the curtain calls – but this was the first night.
The orchestra under Oliver von Dohannyi played ,as ever, superbly and the conductor held the massive piece together very well and with sustained dramatic focus. The (vital) chorus were equally effective although it did strike me that too often they were rather rigidly and statically blocked and one did not have a sense of them as a group of involved individuals (as for example in the Nuremberg Attila) In this work, I believe they are and should be so shown. In Les Troyens, on the other hand, the chorus is much more dramatically monolithic – ‘the people of ‘Troy’, the armies’. Another interesting difference between the two works I think.
The costumes were, again, relatively simple in concept but highly effective. They were contemporary to the action with the more decadent Catholics in white with a good sprinkling of silver and gold, while the dour Huguenots were all in black – but again with streaks and flashes of silver. This very well differentiated the two groups but the shared silver element in both sets of costumes smartly reminded us that they did, ostensibly, believe in the same God.
And so finally, but not least significantly, to the singers:
Klara Kolonits was stunningly good as Marguerite de Valois, the well-meaning if perhaps somewhat naïve attempted puppet master. Her opening aria, the fiendish showpiece ‘Oh beau pays’ was superbly done and she maintained this technical command, matched by dramatic intensity and effectiveness on stage for the duration of the performance.
Gabriella Belga was an excellent, convincing Urbain (a travesti role and surely an early precursor of Oscar in ‘Ballo’). She avoided the stiff-legged strutting, which is often used in such roles to suggest masculinity. Dramatically one always saw her as male and yet a feminine element always remained.
Antal Cseh as Saint-Bris met the crucial demands of the role – a sonorous tone and imposing stage presence, most importantly in the Blessing of the Swords.
Likewise, Gabriella Kiss Lelay as Valentine was very sweetly-toned effective and, as did all, met the many technical demands of the role
Gergely Bancsor was a marvellous Raoul. He rose superbly to all the challenges of the role with the necessary combination of sweetness and power and an excellent grasp of ‘le style francais’ – he was I think, first among equals in this performance and he has a most attractive and effective stage presence.
Gabor Bretz as Marcel was powerful both dramatically and vocally. He always made his mark well in all scenes in which he appeared creating a vividly effective character.
So, a fantastic evening and I am now much looking forward to the next Meyerbeer on my calendar – le prophete in Berlin in December.