Reino Unido
Pappano puts the orchestra centre stage
Andrew Maisel
Antonio Pappano, the Royal Opera’s music director, has long wanted to take his excellent orchestra out of the pit and onto the stage, his “dream”, as he announced to the audience. In this concert (the first of what will now be an annual event), he got the opportunity to show what a flexible and accomplished group of musicians he has at his disposal. The orchestra was tightly packed onto the stage surrounded by a tasteful wooden set which helped dampen the sound but made climaxes a trifle constricted times.
This opening concert contained nothing too profound, lush late romantic/impressionistic works (with the exception of the Bernstein) designed to showcase the put centre stage the talents of the Royal Opera House Orchestra. And for the most part it worked.
The two short Ravel works kicked off proceedings and reaffirmed Pappano’s excellence in the French repertoire.Ravel’s lavish orchestration of what were originally piano pieces (Miroirs) found the orchestra delivering sumptuous tone and a canvass of rich tonal hues. Une barque sur l’océan ebbed and flowed on a sea of rich string playing while Alborada del gracioso snapped and fizzed with insistent Spanish rhythms, while the quieter, more reflective central passage teemed with intricate detail.
More gorgeous playing was served up in Chausson’s Poème de L’amour et de la mer. Three movements, two for voice and orchestra framed by a short orchestral interlude, and containing some of the composer’s finest music. Maurice Bouchor’s verses are not so highly regarded but this is till an intoxicating work of love lost and love celebrated set against a backdrop of the sea. Anna Caterina Antonacci’s tone could have been more opulent but this was still an open, passionate reading of the texts. As with the Ravel, the ROH orchestra was in it’s element, fully bringing out Chausson’s rich palettte of textures and contrasting moods.
Leonard Bernstein’s 1944 ballet Fancy Free was spirited and lively with a nicely jazzy piano turn from John Alley but here Pappano played it all a little safe. Sure this is ballet music, but it’s story of three sailors out on the pull in New York and what you want from this is a bit more balls and foot tapping elan, even a sense of the burlesque in the fruity brass passages. Case in point was the Cuban inspired “Danzon” where the hip swinging rhythms could have shimmered just a little bit more.
Scriabin’s Le Poème de L’extase found Pappano and his orchestra in more comfortable territory - and delivering the best performance of the night. All sections excelled but the standout was the thrillingly projected trumpet lines by Alistair Mackie. The pacing was masterly, the tension palpable and the multiple climaxes perfectly judged with Pappano controlling his forces to obtain a superbly balanced wall of sound. A fitting end to a welcome development in the Royal Opera House’s calender.
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