Musical program of the Salzburg Pfingstfestspiele 2014

I am not writing these entries in order at all, it is more as I recollect them in memory, so far I have spoken more about Dresden than Salzburg. So here I will return to the Festival which was the main reason of our trip to Europe this Spring.

As per years past we had a full program of music and this year the program prepared by musical director Cecilia Bartoli was dedicated to Rossini. Of my experience this year I most enjoyed the concert given by Joyce DiDonato who has a beautiful voice and clear diction. She was accompanied on the piano by David Zobel.

Her Liedmatinee program was dedicated to music about Venice. We heard her sing from Venice most famous son Vivaldi an aria from his opera Ercole su'l Termodonte (1723).  Then from Fauré, Cinq mélodies op 58 De Venise. Followed by Rossini, La Regata Veneziana. Schubert Gondelfahrer, Schumann Two Venetian Airs, Michael Head Three Songs of Venice, Reynaldo Hahn, Venezia, Songs in Venetian dialect.

The other concert I enjoyed was the Stabat Mater by Rossini and the Libera me of Verdi directed by Antonio Pappano with the orchestra and choir of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia the Choirmaster is Ciro Visco. We often heard them in Rome and both the orchestra and choir are very good and always give a solid performance.  The soloists were Maria Agresta, Sonia Ganassi, Lawrence Brownlee and Erwin Schrott, who is quite the peacock on stage.

We then heard La Petite Messe Solennelle of Rossini with again Pappano and the choir and orchestra of Santa Cecilia. This time the soloists were Eva Mei, Vesselina Kasarova, Lawrence Brownlee and Michele Pertusi. I did not like Mei nor Kasarova, their voices simply did not suit this piece at all, I am not even sure in what language they were singing. It could have been Russian for all I knew.
This piece is sung in Latin and I enjoyed both Brownlee and Pertusi, strong and clear voices.

We also attended both operas La Cenerentola ossia la bonta in trionfo by Rossini and Othello by Rossini. In both cases I was confused and annoyed by what I saw.

The staging for La Cenerentola was modern, a dingy dinner run by the violent father of Cinderella also known as Angelina in this opera and the Palace of the Prince was a Disco. There was a lot of special effects like a car chase and a traffic accident, chairs which were all over the place, dancing furniture etc... All very distracting and annoying. I am told that Madame Bartoli loves Damiano Michieletto and Paolo Fantin as designers, both are very young 30 something. I just find their style distracting and somewhat childish.

The Choir of the Vienna State Opera under the direction of Jean-Christophe Spinosi which I dislike and his orchestre Ensemble Matheus. Spinosi is good at directing musician but when it comes to opera he cannot resist the temptation of burying the singers with loud music. You the listener loose in such a combination. He is young and brash, like those personalities you see on French Television Talk Shows where everyone is a smarter than the other guests and tries to prove it.

Cenerentola or Angelina was played by Cecilia Bartoli, the father Don Magnifico, Enzo Capuano,
Don Ramiro the Prince, Javier Camarena, Dandini the valet, Nicola Alaimo, Alidoro, Ugo Guagliardo, the ugly step-sisters Clorinda Lynette Tapia and Tisbe, Hilary Summers.

Again the female voices of Clorinda and Tisbe left a great deal to be desired, weak and incomprehensible.

As for Othello by Rossini the plot is different from the opera by Verdi. The plot is somewhat complicated by all that is not said and should be said by the actors. Hysteria, confusion reigns though out this opera and as one psychiatrist who also attends this Festival every year like us and who we have come to know through the years, Dr. M told us that he would have put the lot on tranquillizers because that is what they needed. Of course Rossini wrote this opera prior to the age of psychiatry.

There was no love between Desdemona and Othello, we learn because we are told so that they married secretly, really? Could have fooled me. Desdemona appears to be having an affair with her lady in waiting Emilia, this appears to be an idea of the designers.

The staging was very bad and frankly amateurish, Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier were the designers and we were treated to a Desdemona given to spraying graffiti in her bedroom walls, seaport bar run by Maghreb Arabs and an Othello in black face, yes it is still done in this day and age.
Why does Othello have to be black? He is a Moor and they are Arabs so there is no need for him to be black or in this case in black face a la Al Jolson. Iago is not very present in this opera version by Rossini, he is a bit character. Rodrigo is the other main character with Elmiro, cruel, racist and stupid. The characters appear more motivated by racism than jealousy, I had the impression that we were playing to modern stereotypes.

The orchestra Ensemble Matheus was directed by Jean-Christophe Spinosi, again not impressed.
Desdemona was played by Cecilia Bartoli, Othello by John Osborn, Rodrigo by Edgardo Rocha, Iago by Barry Banks, Elmiro by Peter Kalman.

As for the Gala organized by Madame Bartoli it was a complete washout, I am so glad we did not buy tickets to it. Many of the great names of opera did not appear, the program had to be improvised at the last minute and dinner was finally served at midnight instead of 21:30. What a mess.

So in conclusion this years Festival had its good points but there were also quite a few false notes and I was disappointed and question the capacity of Cecilia Bartoli to direct such a Festival. She seems to want to try to many things at once and the results are very uneven.

The great voices of this festival Joyce DiDonato, Javier Camarena, John Osborn, Lawrence Brownlee, Erwin Schrott, Michele Pertusi. Great conductor Antonio Pappano, great orchestra Accademia Santa Cecilia of Rome and Choir under Ciro Visco.

I did not put Cecilia Bartoli in the list above because I feel that though she has a wonderful voice it has become cold and mannered, there is a tendency to try to impress the listener with vocal tricks which though pleasant to hear sometime lacks the emotion required in a piece and adds nothing to what is being sung. Bartoli was wonderful last year in Norma but this year in Cenerentola and Othelo, I felt boh as we say in Italian.

Overall we had a good time, Salzburg is always beautiful and gemütlich the weather was hot and sunny.




  

Adeste Fideles

One of Italy great tenor Beniamino Gigli (1890-1957) whose statue stands in the Foyer of the Teatro del'Opera di Roma and whose name graces the piazza in front of the Opera House, sings here this Christmas favourite Adeste Fideles.
It is an old way of singing but I find it very satisfying, probably recorded around 1934. He was considered the generation of new opera singers after the great Caruso. Gigli retired from the stage in 1954. He came from humble origins in a small village of Italy. His voice was noticed by the Choir Master of his parish church and his parents sent him for tutoring with the great masters of his time. He did odd jobs to pay for his tutoring. He rose in fame and made his debut at the San Carlo Opera House of Naples.

Pietro Perugino, 1446-1523, Nativity

Monday, Europe

I am looking forward to going to the Salzburg Whitsun Festival. In all the years we have gone to so many music festival, the Whitsun Festival and the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy are the two I enjoy the most. These two videos show this wonderful little city of Salzburg on the Salzbach river, where you can walk to all concert venues. There are many festivals during the year in Salzburg, one is dedicated to Mozart usually in February, then the Easter Festival. The Whitsun Festival is around Pentecost weekend and finally the summer Festival of music, theatre and opera. Founded in 1920 by producer Max Reinhardt, writer Hugo Von Hofmannstal and conductor Richard Strauss, this is in response to the end of the First World War and economic difficulties in Austria with the fall of the Empire. Salzburg is chosen because it is a picturesque prestigious baroque city associated with Mozart who was born there in 1756.  Many great artists participate in this Festival, names of people I have heard on records or CDs but never in person. This is the opportunity to see and hear them and sometimes meet them at the restaurant afterwards, this is how small Salzburg really is, a real pleasure for us.

Max Reinhardt

Hugo Von Hofmannstal

 The surrounding area of Salzburg is lovely with its mountains, historical residences, castles and churches. Austria being a very Roman Catholic country, there are many religious congregations like the Benedictines and Franciscains who have ancient monasteries and churches. Salzburg also had a riding school the Felsenreitschule which is cut into the rocky mountain face. It has been converted to a concert hall and is part of the Festival Hall and was inaugurated in July 1960 with Der Rosenkavalier of Johann Strauss Jr with a sumptuous decor, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf sang the role of the Marshalin, it was later filmed.

Will at the Mozarteum for a morning concert, reading the program, yes it is a thick book.

Some of the great musical artists associated with Salzburg Festival, Herbert Von Karajan and Wilhelm Furtwängler (both natives of Salzburg), Bruno Walter, Arturo Toscanini, Richard Tauber, Kirsten Flagstad, more recently Riccardo Muti, Thomas Quasthoff and Philippe Jaroussky and so many others.  This will be my fourth visit.    










http://www.salzburgerfestspiele.at

Will at dinner at Hotel Bristol, Salzburg in the Sketch Bar.

Dansez sous les ormeaux

I came across this piece composed by Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778).
He was a philosopher, writer and a composer of music. He was one of the great lights of the Age of Enlightenment in France, like Voltaire and Diderot, though they had different points of view on equality amongst people. Also in reading Saint-Simon memoirs the notion at that time of equality was not what we think of today, the people, the great ignorant masses ruled by superstition were not present in the minds of the philosopher. They had a different notion, it was more a reform of the privileges of the Aristocracy, doing away with excess and a political ascension of the bourgeoisie, the King would be the King of the French instead of the King of France.

Le Devin du Village, an opera in one act, words and music by Rousseau, was presented for the first time at Court in the presence of the King at the Chateau de Fontainebleau in October 1752, one can imagine the magnificent background of the French Court for this opera which was only a divertissement, it quickly became a big success in Paris amongst the bourgeois. The aristocracy failed to see that it was a pointed critique. A line in particular asks: are their concerts better than our light street dances (musettes), Beauty without artifice or Pleasure without art, references to the excess of the Court.

I love these old French songs, the style is fresh and simple, the words easy to sing. The story is of a shepherd Colin and his peasant girl friend Colette, they are in love but he is seduced by a wealthy lady who lives in a Chateau and she is said to have run away with a gentleman to the City. Le devin du Village, (soothsayer) plays the referee for this couple, bringing them back together in this love story.

This is the closing song of this one act opera, the words sung, Let's go and dance among the Elm trees under the light of torches held high by our suitors (galant). 

However one has to remember that Rousseau was a critic of French Society and of the Ancien Régime.
At the end of the opera, Colin the shepherd rejects the life of luxury at the Chateau and Colette the pleasures of City life among the elite. They prefer the simple idyllic pleasures of country life and their love, imagine on an antique theme. It is a rejection of the pleasures pursued by the aristocracy. One can imagine that the King who was an absolute ruler, laughed at all this silliness after all the Revolution was still 39 years away. Neither Rousseau nor King Louis XV would live to see it. It was for Rousseau a social comment of what he hoped would bring change to French Society. In a way today we have social media to do that, at the time of the Enlightenment it was a more intelligent and more articulate critique of society.





Allons dansez sous les ormeaux
Animez vous jeunes fillettes
Allons dansez sous les ormeaux
Galants prenez vos chalumeaux
Allons dansez sous les ormeaux
Répétons mille chansonnettes
Et pour avoir le coeur joyeux
Allons dansez avec nos amoureux
Mais n'y restons jamais seulettes
Allons dansez sous les ormeaux
A la ville on fait bien plus de fracas
Mais sont-ils aussi gais dans leur ébats?
Toujours content
Toujours chantant
Beauté sans fard
Plaisir sans art
Tous leurs concerts valent-ils nos musettes?
Allons dansez sous les ormeaux.

Monday musical

This morning at 7 am just before the Sun rise in the East which is behind those buildings. Winter wonderland on the Rideau Canal.


This morning 26 November Winter officially arrived in Ottawa, we woke up to see about 15 cm of snow on the ground. The canal is not frozen yet but it makes for a nice wintery scene. Brilliant sunshine, maybe a little too bright, reflected off the new snow makes it a hazard if driving.

Top Winter as January and bottom Winter with the Wolves.

I usually spend my Monday's at the National Gallery of Canada, the museum is closed on Monday's but being a volunteer, we go for classes and briefings on Art. We go through the galleries and often have our talks surrounded by magnificent artwork.

The National Gallery of Canada before the snow.

I was listening to Radio Swiss Classic from Zurich on the radio and they were playing ''Dove Sono'' of the Marriage of Figaro by Mozart, sung by Barbara Fritolli in 2010 at the Opéra Bastille in Paris and I thought how lovely on this sunny snowy morning.

Arrivederci Roma!

My last weekend in Rome, on Wednesday I fly to Canada for a new chapter in our life. I never thought that leaving la Citta Eterna would be so difficult. Had a wonderful lunch yesterday with colleagues to say goodbye and tonight had a wonderful dinner with colleagues and tomorrow Sunday lunch with Simonetta and Renato.
We always say we will return, but life is funny and one never knows if we will be able to come back one day and even if we do,  will it never be quite the same. As I write this, I am listening to the Opera Madama Butterfly by Puccini. To me this is by far my strongest memory of Italy, of Rome. The music brings me back to that evening at the beginning of our stay in Rome, Will had mentioned many times the summer opera season at the ancient baths of Caracalla and we went quite a few times. But on that warm summer evening as we sat in the open air amongst the majestic ruins and the great Roman Pines listening to the music, I remember suddenly seeing this gigantic full moon raising slowly in the evening sky on the right of the stage, it was magical, the light of the giant full moon casting a glow on the old stones. I suddenly thought this is what is wonderful about Rome, this mixture of music, of the ancient, of history, the setting, thinking of all the great operatic artists who sang at Caracalla. It simply speaks to you. For a moment we were alone, Will and I, with the moon, the singers, the music of Puccini, and Rome.  You will never see in the world anything like Rome!


Here is the production we saw that evening.

                                    a recent picture at Caracalla

a beautiful evening in Rome

One of the many things we love to do in Rome is to go to a musical event, either at the Opera of Rome (Teatro del'Opera di Roma) or to the Symphony at the Accademia Santa Cecilia in the Parco della Musica off Via Flaminia. In the summer time sitting inside a theatre is not ideal and since air conditioning is not popular with Italians because of fear of colds and chills, the art scene moves outside.

Our very first musical event in Rome when we arrived at the end of July 2007 was at the Baths of Caracalla, we saw Turandot under a full moon and the giant umbrella Pines of Rome.

Emperor Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus nicknamed Caracalla  (208-217 AD) was the oldest son of Lucius Septimus Severus, who built this gigantic complex during his reign to serve the population of Rome, some 2500 bathers could use the facilities daily, with several hot and tepid water shallow pools, librairies, meeting rooms and gardens. The baths are located just steps away from the Circus Maximus and the Palatine hill at the Porta di Capena, today it is next door to the UN, FAO building. The ruins of this complex whose central room was larger than St-Peter's Basilica are impressive and in the summer time the opera of Rome moves to Caracalla.

From our house it is easy to get too by metro a direct line. The staff including the police officers are all the same, the opera moves simply to an outdoor location. We heard a program of music by composer Ottorino Respighi (1879-1936) his famous trilogy, Roman Carnival (1928), the Fountains of Rome (1916) and the Pines of Rome (1924), with the orchestra of the opera of Rome under Charles Dutoit.
This concert was also a son et lumière using the ruins of the baths as a backdrop for dramatic light show and film. The first piece Roman Carnival was of Roman streets deserted but coming alive with people as shadows of past inhabitants of these ancient streets, what was nice for us is how many of these alleyways and streets we recognized. The sequence on the fountains of Rome used a projection of naked dancers as the statues of the  fountains come alive with water cascading, dancing around them and over them. Another sequence was of the famous classical story of Daphné and Apollo, Daphné is pursued by Apollo in the woods and has he is about to catch her by the lake she is transformed into a laurel bush.  In the piece the Pines of Rome, the dancers in shadow are transformed into hundreds of majestic umbrella pines of Rome, so symbolic of this city, marching down the Appia and since the Baths of Caracalla are are the beginning of the old Appian way it was a perfect setting. The piece ended with all the giant pines being illuminated around us, it was magical. What a perfect way to end our sojourn in Rome. Such moments will stay with me. Our little musical sorties were as always organized by Will and he certainly knows how to pick them and make them memorable.


This is a short exerpt of what we saw last night, this youtube film is under maestro George Pretre.
See www.operaroma.it

Palermo, Massimo Opera House, French Tourists and R.C.Church

We got up late this Sunday morning, I am more tired than I imagined, I was telling Will that I feel jet lagged as if I just returned from a 20 hour flight from the Far East.

Been sleeping a lot, taking naps in the afternoon, just trying to decompress. Palermo is lovely as always, the wealth of history and tradition, the fine wines and food and the people gives the impression that you are in South America or Spain but not Italy. Sicily or Sicilians like to say that they are Sicilians and not Italians, the island joined Italy in 1860 it was ruled previously by the Spanish Bourbon Royal Family, same family who rules Spain, the colours of Palermo and Sicily are yellow and red, Spain’s colours. Today we went walking and in front of the Politeama Garibaldi theatre there were lots of people and some police officers, this being Mother’s Day lots of flower vendors. I looked around and the mix of architecture, people and uniforms and I thought I could be in Santiago Chile, Buenos Aires or Madrid but not Italy. By the museum of Archeology and the Church of Santa Maria All’Olivella, the S.S. Crocifisso ( a confraternity of the the Holy Cross has erected giant light displays spanning the piazza and streets around the neighborhood, very Mexican, it was put up for Easter and it lends a very festive air. 

Palermo also seems to have a lot of French tourists, the Normands ruled here with the Counts of Anjou for centuries and St-Louis is buried or parts of him are, believe his entrails, are entombed in the great Cathedral Mausoleum of Monreale. They as tourists are very funny especially if you understand the conversations. Yesterday these 3 people, a husband and wife and another female friend had a 20 minute discussion on what drinks to order. First lady wanted an espresso, husband wanted a beer, a blond beer not a dark beer and he wanted it on tap not in a bottle, his wife first wanted a freshly squeezed lemon juice, which is easy enough but then decided against it for no apparent reasons and then went on to ask for a mineral water but flat not with bubbles and went on to explain in French with that annoying and condescending tone to the waiter who only spoke Italian why she was ordering flat mineral water. She then picked a fight with the other lady because she wanted to sit in the sun next to her and not in the shade. We were then entertained at lunch by a French family, dad, mom and 3 kids, the eldest was probably around 13 or 14, the ungrateful age, the other child a boy was about 7 years old and the other girl around 5. Mom decided to look at the menu and order for the family, all the while going through her guide book for explanations on what the dishes were, she wanted to order only typical Sicilian dishes and needed her guide book to confirm what was typical, the waiter of course could not do that because he did not have the gravitas of a guide book. She then went on to order and also convince her oldest daughter that she would love the food, just trust me she said, it would not be like the food at a friend’s house they had recently which was apparently not very good. Dad only wanted to order a large bottle of red wine. Mom only wanted a glass, he insisted on a large bottle, I wonder why. Was she driving him to drink? I can just imagine her husband thinking, why did I ever decide I needed a wife and 3 kids on a vacation.

The Massimo Opera house is of course featured in the movie the Godfather 3, it’s a huge opera house built at a time when the King of Italy was still trying to convince the Sicilians what a good deal they had in joining Italy.

So no expenses were spared in building this great theatre and it is beautiful with good acoustics. We saw the Greek Passion by Czech composer Martinu, a powerful piece of music, it really does not leave you indifferent. The message of the opera and its connection to modern Greek history and the current refugee crisis in Southern Europe due to the upheaval in Arab countries is fascinating. The passion of course is the story of Christ but set in a Greek village around 1900, involving the powerful Village priest and the village people, the wealthy and a group of Greeks fleeing Turkish oppression. The set is spectacular and apparently several opera houses are looking at buying this production. Martinu died in 1959 and he composed this opera at a time when he would have been influenced by events in Europe. A great work in a beautiful opera house.

Afterwards we went to dinner and then took a stroll down the street passing in front of the Massimo and came face to face with a religious procession at 10 pm.

The traffic was snarled but no one honked their horns, this was a church procession with priests and banners and a marching band. Sicilians can be very respectful of such things and everyone knows how to behave, it was like a scene out of the 1930’s.

Sicily is a fascinating place.   

  

Teatro alla Scala, Milan

We went last night to La Scala to see Il barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini. The cast included Juan Diego Florez as Count Almaviva, Alessandro Corbelli as Dr. Bartolo, Joyce Didonato as Rosina and Franco Vassallo as Figaro.

Beautiful, clear voices for a light opera. The conductor was a young fellow Michele Mariotti, the production is 40 years old and was a creation of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle.
Will remembered it from seeing this production many moons ago.

One great scene is when Basilio, a priest, a role sung by Alexander Tsymbalyuk, explains to Bartolo how they will get rid of Lindoro aka Count Almaviva, is shadow on the back drop grows and grows and becomes comical and terrifying all at once. Finally Bartolo takes away the oil lamps so the shadow will go away, so afraid he is of it.
At one point the show stopped after an aria by Juan Diego Flores who received 5 minutes of thunderous applause by the audience who were demanding an encore. La Scala theatre has been completely rebuilt, it is very beautiful to look at.

Ballroom, bar area

La Scala auditorium

We went to a little café called Il Salotto in the Galleria Vittotio Emanuelle II after the show, the food was quite good, very nice waiters, we had a Risoto Milanese, saffron and chicken stock and a Milanese veal cotelette (chop) not the usual scaloppini, lightly breaded and fried, very good.

We slept very well, tired as we were, it had been a long day but what fun. I have to say that all these years traveling with Mr. Will is always fun, he knows how to make a trip interesting.

Weekend Trip to Milano

This is our third wedding anniversary and we are going to Milan for the weekend on the Tren Alto Velocita , (high speed train) from Rome a 4 hour trip, the train as a top speed of 300 km per hour.

The Termini Train Station today was filled with tourists and luggage. It is well organized when you think of the thousands of people who come through this station every day.

This is the Red Arrow train offering service from Napoli to Roma, Firenze, Bologna ending in Milano.
The gentlemen helping the helpless tourists with their luggage (usually North American families) are part of the pick pocket gangs of the Station, did you not notice that they speak a foreign language and they do not look Italian. Yes it is the old trick, prey on the unsuspecting tourist who does not realize that in Italy anyone working somewhere or in any capacity wears a uniform and has an ID badge, these guys are in street clothes, they do not work for Tren Italia. They are very brazen, after helping you badly with your luggage, they ask for payment all the while his colleague picks your pocket. Then they tell you be careful on the train there are many pick pockets. They are gone as quickly as they appear out of nowhere.
LOL!!!!!
Sure enough some people discovered minutes later that their wallet was gone. Coincidence, I don’t think so. To avoid such people, when you spot them, look them sharp in the eye, they will not bother you, they know you spotted them.

At the stop in Firenze, Santa Maria Nova Station, almost every one gets off. A great relief this means we can go and have lunch in the restaurant car, reservations required, in peace.

The menu today, it changes regularly is a first course of pasta then a second course of veal with herbs, dessert, fresh fruits (not canned) and pastries. Wine list available.
The food is usually good, it is an Italian train after all and the service is pleasant.

We arrive in Milan, Province of Lombardy at the border with Switzerland, a Northen City, the Central Station has been redone, built in 1932 during the Fascist Era, it says so on the wall, it is a mixture of Art Deco and Fascist motifs, all done to dwarf the traveller and impress. We are staying in the centre of Milan by the Scala Opera house and the Duomo. Today the centre is crawling with police, the Prime Minister of Italy Sylvio Berlusconi is entertaining his Russian friend V.Putin. The two are good friends and this in turn is good for Italy, trade wise.

Piazza della Scala with the statue to Leonardo da Vinci

Love Milan, the stores, the fashion, the restaurants, everything oozes elegance and style, do not look at the prices, just buy it. This is not Rome, where Rome has history and faded grandeur, Milan has money, banking, trade and style. Look at the bankers in their expensive suits, beautiful ties and highly polished shoes. Every store wants to offer something exclusive. Even in home décor, you can decorate your house to match a designer name. Style reflects who you are or who you want to be. Armani is opening an Hotel in Milan near the Duomo. I can just imagine the room rate.

We went to look for a summer hat for W. so we went to Borsalino, makers of the famous Panama hat. One would say the original, because Borsalino is a name by itself. Wear one and everyone will think you got style. For a simple straw hat, the price is steep. Many people come into the store to look and try on a hat, mostly men.
They are beautiful, classic in style, they are also on sale right now, mid-summer sales in Italy, next month the winter fashion comes out. You can purchase a Borsalino for as little as 174 Euros and spend as much as 350 Euros.
Wear one, it is like driving a Ferrari down the street, all heads will turn.

Borsalino in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II, Milan

Tonite we go to La Scala Milan, the venerable and renovated opera house, famous around the world. I was at La Scala 10 years ago to see a work by Francis Poulenc, Le Dialogue des Carmelites, a stunning work. Tonite we are seeing the Barber of Seville with Juan Diego Flores.
Which means that his fans will be there to give him rapturous applause, he is a great tenor and has a superb voice. At La Scala, men must wear a jacket to enter the theatre, it is required. It is very hot and humid today so I brought a linen suit and shirt.
We will have dinner afterwards, a late dinner around midnight.

Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle II, Milan

Opening night

Last night, Saturday 23 January, we went to the Opening of the New Season at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma. The first night was the opera Falstaff. The sets were designed in 1964 by Franco Zeffirelli for the Metropolitain Opera house in New York.
This is grand opera with wonderful music and if well staged is a great piece of comedy, it is a masterpiece by Giuseppe Verdi.

We arrived at the Opera house and like all great first nights in Rome, it was a throw back to the 19th century, lots of officers in splendid uniforms with silver and gold braids with great cavalry boots and gleaming swords, a traffic jam of shiny expensive limousines, ladies covered in furs and diamonds, gentlemen in tuxedos and white silk scarves and great capes. Lots of paparazzi snapping flash photo at the crowd walking down the piazza in front of the teatro dell'Opera. Because it is the opening night of the new season, the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano came, so in the grand style the Carabinieri Guard of honor in their wonderful parade uniform were present, a red carpet, ornamental trees and exotic flowers, the Corps de ballet, composed of young girls about 8 yrs old in pink tutus was lining the great staircase, it is customary to say to them as you ascend, bello, carini, and they in turn smile demurely. Even the firemen who are present by law at all major representations wore for that night their parade uniform which is a throw back to the 19th century, with great helmet and cape lined in red silk.
The crowd was also something to behold, it had a distinctive flair of a Fellini movies, remember Edmea Tetua. The crowd was not young, Lots of politicians with medals, bankers with medals, aged famous actors of years ago with medals, designers, and of course Italian aristocracy and Knights of Malta. All dressed up in formal wear, more furs, more jewellery, lots of big diamonds and everyone with a blackberry, that you do not turn off. No one was there to listen and see the opera, no this is a social evening, were la bella figura is important, you are there to be seen.

The crowd took forever to sit down and suddenly in this organized chaos, the first bars of the Italian National Anthem, the crowd stands up as one and turns towards the Royal Box, looking up, way up to the President of the Republic and next to him the mayor of Rome who is also the Superintendent of the Opera House. There is something very strange in this old theater, inscriptions to the King of Italy and to the Fascist Dictator Benito Mussolini and this Royal Box with the Coat of Arms of the Royal House of Savoy who were voted out of office in 1946 and in it standing there the President of the Italian Republic. Is it a Republic or a Kingdom?
While the anthem was playing, I noticed that most people did not know the words beyond the first two, so most hum along.
Behind us in a box Franco Zeffirelli with his young attendant and Carla Fracci who heads the corps de ballet of the Opera and in deep mauve an elderly actress, once famous, Valentina Cortese, she played in movies by Vittorio de Sica. There was an endless parade of people paying their respects to him. In front of us paparazzi shooting with powerful flash hundreds of photos, we were sitting in between. Beside us an Italian Princess with a fortune in diamonds on her arms. Frankly looking around us the theatre and this evening had a surreal quality. If someone had told me that Nora Desmond and Cecil B. De Mille were present I would have believed them.

It was not a great production, in fact it had all the quality of reheated leftovers slightly mouldy. At the intermission, there was free champagne and chocolates offered by Hotel de Russie, the most expensive premier hotel in Rome, a famous jeweller was also displaying in the foyer different pieces, there was an exhibit of a few Calder modules. All this to give the impression of exclusivity. We could have been in 1950 it was Rome, it was la Dolce Vita.

At the end of the show, we left quickly, while the crowd applauded and cheered Zeffirelli, I do not think it was deserved at all, this was after all a production he had created some 45 years ago, nothing new and it looked cruder. A very disappointing evening all together, but also great human theater, as Falstaff says the world is a stage and we are all actors and clowns. Hopefully the rest of the season will be better.