La Fille du Regiment. Staatsoper, Vienna
Jan 13th 2018
I saw a relay pf this production a few years ago with Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Florez. Were they the original cast I wonder…? But I am not going to make any other reference to that other than the previous comment as it would be unfair to all (and my recall is not that precise anyway)
The Pelly production is a gorgeous and witty one. It has its tongue far enough in its cheek to be witty and entertaining but not all the time, not at the expense of the work. The director takes it seriously when it needs to and manages to combine this tongue-in-cheek element with real and serious feeling when necessary. The director clearly understands that comedy is not just meant to be funny, at all costs and at all times.
The use of a map of Switzerland as the stage covering remains a super idea – original, giving a good sense of place (not to mention perhaps a slightly darker undertone in that the troops are all the time ’walking over’ (dominating) the country. We need to be reminded, I think, that the setting is in a time of war. It would have been easy for a production to take and focus almost entirely on this aspect but Pelly was smart enough not to do that and saw the nature of the work as reflected in the music. The production never worked against the sense of the music for the sake of making ‘a serious point’. This is not always the case today. I also much enjoyed the portrait frames in the final act that were periodically occupied by chorus members as it thereby involved all peole in the story rather than giving the impression that only the few main dramatic characters were the sole and only focus. The army were shown as being a significant character in themselves.
The chorus play an important part on this work and Pelly’s way of using them was very group/collective in approach which, when not done thoughtfully becomes dull to view but here it was a considerable and often amusing, approach. It did strike me that at times the movements were not as ‘tight’ as they should have been but this is a minor point – and the use made of the whole stage by them, and all other characters was excellent. From where I was sitting (almost in the gods on the left – a very long time since I have been up there!) there were few times when the nearest corner of the stage had centrally important action that I could not see.
Sabine Devielehe was an appealingly vivid and often, moving Marie with a clear bell-like tone that could also richen and swell effectively when needed. She acted as well as she sang and had something of a stage presence that I much enjoyed. As Sulpice, Carlos Alvarez almost stole the show. A magnetically vivid performance that showed complete mastery of the music and the staging ( his relationship with Marie was, rightly, a strong and centrally important one – more so I think than hers with Tonio have the feeling he was in the original production… As Tonio, John Tessier was really pretty good in a beast of a part. ‘Ah, mes amis’ was very well delivered with a ringing and (almost) unforced top with no recourse to a weaker head tone for the repeated top C’s.
Overall then a lovely performance that did full justice to the work and gave it the respect it deserved.