Europe sends three admirable orchestras

These recent weeks have been a blessing for the amateur of symphony orchestras. No less than three have visited us from Europe and all gave deep satisfaction. It's no surprise that two of them could be heard at the Mozarteum Argentino , for they have a stunning record of distinguished foreign orchestras through the decades. Another valuable institution , Nuova Harmonia, shared one of the orchestras and presented another.

There was a wonderful debut concert by the Symphonica Toscanini under its founder, now 77-year-old Lorin Maazel, still fit and as usual a wizard of orchestral sonorities, as he demonstrated in his many visits with orchestras from the USA , France , Italy and Austria. The sense of the tour was to pay homage to Toscanini in the 50^th anniversary of his death, and also because the 11-year-old Maazel, a prodigy, astonished the old master with his precocious conducting talent back in 1941. The Orchestra is very young; it was born on the 1^st of May 2006; and enormous: 200 players alternate ; 109 came to BA. They have as antecedent the Toscanini Philharmonic, and their city of residence is Rome. The concert was non-subscription.

The programme was marvelous, a synthesis of Maazel's most apposite repertoire. Roussel's Second Suite from "Bacchus et Ariane", the Dance of the Seven Veils and the final scene from Richard Strauss' "Salome" and two Respighi masterpieces: "Fountains of Rome" and "Fountains of Rome". Fantastically colorful material done ideally by an extremely professional orchestra and a maestro who is always at his very best in this sort of music, with his uncanny ear for transparence and picturesqueness. And with the added pleasure of hearing Nancy Gustafson in her long-delayed debut ; thrice she was announced by the Colón, the first time singing the same Salome scene, and thrice she cancelled due to disagreements. A singer of immense versatility, she doesn't have the clarion voice of a Nilsson but the timbre is good and the volume acceptable, and these rather neutral assets are compensated by an acute musical and dramatic intelligence that gave us a believable Salome even without the stage action.I disagreed with the idea of having an offstage voice (Salo Pasik) telling the plot with melodramatic exaggeration to the audience. Supertitles broke off minutes before the end.

The other concert by the Toscanini was for Nuova Harmonia and I couldn't hear it; it seemed less interesting, with Beethoven's Fifth, repetition of "Pines of Rome" and two Italian overtures. It replaced the cancelled visit of the Verdi Symphony Orchestra.

For both subscription series the Mozarteum presented the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester under Philippe Jordan in two different programmes with baritone Thomas Hampson ; all made their local debuts; it was one of the greatest occasions of the year.The Orchestra was founded by Claudio Abbado in 1986 in Vienna, who remains its Musical Director, and it is considered the best European youth organism. The players range from 18 to 26-years-old and there's a goodly proportion of girls. I couldn't hear the first concert, all-Mahler : a selection of his early songs and the Sixth Symphony. But the second was roundly splendid. Two of the greatest symphonic scores (among my personal favorites) were chosen by the conductor and had performances of superlative quality: Richard Strauss' "Death and Transfiguration" and Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring". Immensely difficult music in deep contrast to each other (the strongest Postromanticism and the twentieth-century purest monument to rhythm), the orchestra showed extraordinary accuracy and enthusiasm under the guidance of the brilliant young conductor, certainly one of the best of his generation. The results were electrifying all the way.

But there was a further attraction, the belated debut of Hampson, one of the best lyric baritones of his generation (he is close to 50) along with Skovhus and Hvorostovsky, who were heard in BA years ago. Hampson's voice is very beautiful, even poetical, and he uses it with high intelligence and refinement. He sang four of the five Rueckert Lieder (why not all five?), enchanting in "Ich atmet' eine linden Duft", deeply dramatic in "Um Mitternacht" and almost metaphysical in "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen". He also did two early songs in the fine orchestrations by Luciano Berio (probably premieres): "Ich ging mit Lust" from "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" and "Erinnerung" , text by Richard Leander; his "pianissimi" in the former were perfect.

I was pleasantly surprised by the return visit of the "Sinfónica de Euskadi" (Nuova Harmonia) who had been here in 2000 under its conductor Gilbert Varga, a Londoner of Hungarian extraction. Their return showed the orchestra in fine shape and very cosmopolitan in its composition (plenty of Slavs along, naturally, Basque players and from other places) and Varga a most proficient conductor. Their traversal of Shostakovich's desolate and turbulent Tenth Symphony had impact, accuracy and tensile strength, with very good playing from all sectors and intelligent, controlled conducting.

There was a further motive for joy: Bruno Gelber gave his best performance in years solving the difficulties of Rachmaninov's redoubtable Third Concerto with thorough professionalism. The Orchestra lacked some fine points, though. The programme was completed by Francisco Madina's short suite "Orreaga", which means "Roncesvalles"; I felt little sense of history in the pleasant enough music. Encores: a delicate Guridi piece, "Amorosa" (from "Ten Basque Melodies") and Dvorák's Slavonic Dance op. 46 No. 1.

Para el Buenos Aires Herald

The reign of the song recital

Since the beginning of historical times the human voice has been the most sensitive of instruments. Any concert season provides a rich panorama of composers and interpreters that have honored the expressive possibilities of the voice, and so it is in 2007. Herewith a selection with ups and downs of what I heard in recent weeks.

I will start with a true rarity, the recital at AMIJAI of the very talented Argentine countertenor Franco Fagioli accompanied by the guitarist Pablo González Jazey. I have never before heard that particular combination of sound, and the chosen repertoire was a premiere: original works and arrangements by Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829), well-known to guitarists through his three Concerti but also, as transpired on this occasion, a sensitive writer for the voice in the tradition of Italian bel canto. We heard the "Six ariette" op.95 on poems of the famous eighteenth-century librettist Pietro Metastasio, nice music mostly, with one of them in the minor mode showing an attractive refinement; and the "Six cavatine" op.39, going through many moods similar to those of the bel canto operas. And also arrangements by Giuliani of pieces by composers such as Cimarosa and Mayr (and of Rossini as an encore, the famous "Di tanti palpiti" from "Tancredi"). All very melodic and ornamented, quite difficult to sing and with skillful accompaniments.

Fagioli is having a brilliant European career, with main roles in Baroque operas led by illustrious specialists. Logical enough, for he is the possessor of a most beautiful voice with a wide register that encompasses contralto and soprano tones, and he uses it with consumate command of the most arduous florid lines and an appealing dramatic sense. Everything was finely sung and I especially enjoyed the minor mode song referred to above and the virtuoso display of "Di tanti palpiti". The guitarist, born in Tucumán, was absolutely impeccable, his very clear technique abetted by a natural sense of phrasing and perfect ensemble with the singer.

Also at AMIJAI, there was a fine recital by one of our best sopranos, Carla Filipcic-Holm, admirably accompanied by pianist Silvia Kersenbaum, a great solo player that seems to find the world of song quite congenial. There were in the programme two rarities, songs by Clara Wieck (Schumann's wife) written in her husband's style and an intense one, "In the garden of my father", by Alma Mahler , along with Schumann's cycle "Frauenliebe und Leben" ("Love and life of women"), three Grieg songs in German translations and Ravel's "Scheherazade", that exquisite cycle of Oriental evocation. Encores: "Alfonsina y el mar", the famous song by Ariel Ramírez and Félix Luna (the latter was in the audience) and more Grieg ("A Swan"). The soprano was in full form and I would make no distinction between interpretations, for everything was carefully considered and communicated, with her lovely timbre very well handled. I would only add that she surprised me in Ravel, for she is German-oriented but found the proper style .

A very special recital was offered at the Museo Fernández Blanco by soprano Sylvie Robert accompanied with admirable accuracy by Andrea García : an all-Webern programme! It may seem difficult for the listener, but in fact I found it refreshing and interesting. The ten songs of youth (probably a premiere) are still Late Romantic, whilst the four opuses chosen are atonal (op.3 and 4,on Stefan George, 1909 , and op.12 on varied texts from writers such as Strindberg and Goethe) and with a gradual concentration of the musical elements, or twelve-tone ("Three Lieder on poems by Hildegard Jone", op.25). The surprise for those who may feel that Webern is of forbidding complication was how well he writes for the voice. And the communicative musicality of Sylvie Robert made it quite convincing. Ans she is versatile too, witness her unexpected encore, a picaresque song from Messager's operetta "L'amour masqué" done with great charm.

Another special recital was offered by baritone Víctor Torres accompanied by lutenist Igor Herzog at the Jockey Club for Ars Nobilis. The First Part was dedicated to great Elizabethan composers: songs by John Dowland and lute pieces by William Byrd. The Second Part featured some beautiful Purcell pieces for voice and lute and as contrast, leaving England, lute scores by Ennemond Gaultier, a French composer. Although the baritone wasn't in his best voice, he displayed his honest , expressive art in what is a new field for him; his English was good. Herzog is a true virtuoso and played Renaissance lute in the First Part and Baroque lute in the Second.

La Bella Música in an intimate hall of the Sofitel presented baritone Burkhard Von Puttkamer, who payed a return visit to BA and tackled the arduous Schubert cycle "Die Winterreise" ("The Winter Voyage") accompanied by Philip Mayers, an Australian (debut). In 2006 I felt that the baritone had little voice but showed good taste and musical professionalism; in 2007 I thought that the enormous interpretative and vocal challenge was too much for his means, although again he knew the music well and had fine intonation; but this music is for a bigger, darker voice and for an artist capable of delving the ultimate depths. I was happier with the pianist's clean traversal of the 24 Lieder, though with too little insight on the dramatic significance of some Schubertian figurations.

For Buenos Aires Herald

The Argentino's solid season

La Plata's Teatro Argentino is having a good, solid season. This is something to celebrate for three reasons: a) its status as second opera theatre of the country weighs heavily in a year in which the Colón is impaired by its dependence on other theatres; b) it had a labor conflict last year that laid waste the first half of the year; c) a further conflict, this time with the Chorus, menaced the performances of "Carmen", but it was solved in the eleventh hour.

Those who still don't know the Argentino's new theatre may well be impressed when they visit it: it may be modern-ugly as a building, but the main hall, named Alberto Ginastera, is quite big (about 2.200 capacity) : seven levels, harmonious colors, an immense stage. It does have some ergonomic and acoustical problems, but still it is an important venue, one that seems to demand first-rate programming. The Argentino is fully integrated, with valuable production facilities, and it offers three different seasons at the Ginastera: opera, ballet and symphonic concerts. And there are also valuable concerts and stage performances at the smaller Piazzolla hall. So, now that with the roadway you go from Palermo to the Argentino in exactly one hour, there are plenty of "portenos" that find it worth their time to follow the activities of this theatre. And the Platenses are going to their theatre in droves.

Earlier in the season I wrote about their satisfactory revival of Bellini's "Norma". Two other standards followed and were quite successful, as I know from colleagues, but I decided not to go because casts were identical to those of performances that I reviewed for the Herald in recent seasons: Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" featured as the protagonists those of last year's Luna Park run : Eiko Senda and Gustavo López Manzitti; and Verdi's "La Traviata" repeated the three principals of the Argentino's 2005 revival: Paula Almerares, Carlos Vittori and Luis Gaeta.

Bizet's "Carmen" has been done often in recent years so there was no need for it, but it always draws huge audiences and the theatre was packed on the Sunday I went. Reinaldo Censabella, the Argentino's Artistic Director, was quite candid when I objected the hackneyed programming in a press conference: "I want full houses"; well, he got them. One of the good things about Censabella's tenure is that he has called back conductors and producers that were Artistic Directors in other periods, which is only fair, a rather scarce quality in our official theatres.

There was one bit of bad luck: Kate Aldrich, who had been an interesting Dulcinée in Massenet's "Don Quichotte" at the Colón, was to make her Argentino debut as Carmen, but she cancelled and went on to replace Veselina Kassarova at the Salzburg Festival. So the first cast Carmen was Virginia Correa Dupuy . I have great respect for this singer but I don't count this interpretation as one of her best. In purely vocal terms, she lacked decibels and richness of timbre; as an interpretation, too many discontinuities in the phrasing and an artificial stance in her gestures diminished the final result, although of course there were many moments of good singing.

Luis Lima came out of retirement to offer a deeply involved and dramatic Don José, though with "verista" excesses, especially in the final scene. His voice sounded big, raw and harsh and I had the feeling that he might be amplified. María José Siri had too much vibrato as Micaela, but she gave intensity to a very weak role. Emilio Estévez , a tall burly Escamillo, was uncomfortable in the high register though otherwise did well. Curiously enough, the best results were in the minor parts: the two smugglers were sung and expressed convincingly by Gabriel Renaud and Sebastián Sorarrain; Carmen's friends were voiced accurately by Ana Laura Menéndez (notwithstanding a touch of stridency) and Mónica Sardi; and both Zuniga and Morales were sung with firmness by Mario de Salvo and Norberto Marcos. Rather poor French from all the cast. I didn't hear the second cast (Alicia Cecotti and Gustavo López Manzitti were the protagonists). The Chorus under Sergio Giai proved again its outstanding vocal quality and acted with true involvement, although due to the conflict they had little rehearsal. The Children's Choir under Mónica Dagorret was fresh and appealing. And Perusso conducted an orthodox and clean interpretation well abetted by the Orchestra. A bit more passion would have been welcome.

Daniel Suárez Marzal, the producer, has lived and worked in Seville for a long period; this gives him an authenticity of feeling that is a definite plus. He asked his stage designer Jorge Ferrari to give him a unit set adaptable to different places; basically a big tilted platform for dancers and choristers and a wide curved staircase that permitted the placement of other members of the chorus and gave perspective to the music; it worked well in the First Act city square and in the outer view of the bullfight arena in the Fourth Act, less so in the Second Act tavern and not at all in the Third Act mountain pass. A lot of the stage action was convincing although there were some mistakes. The choreography by Omar Saravia was "ethnic" and somewhat repetitive. Ferrari's costumes emphasized black as an omen of tragedy. In all, this was a very acceptable "Carmen".

Para el Buenos Aires Herald

Zukerman and Goerner: highlights of the season

Music lovers hear every year a number of good concerts along with mediocre ones. A few are outside the norm: or downright bad or exceptional. In the latter category, never abundant, I place the Zukerman Chamber Players and Argentine pianist Nelson Goerner, both at AMIJAI, a venue that this year is offering highlights of the season, along with less exalted occasions.

Pinchas Zukerman has visited us often during his long career, as violin virtuoso, chamber player or conductor of the St Paul Chamber Orchestra. Apart from his purely technical accomplishment, Zukerman has always been deeply musical, an artist and artisan, a master of easy but compelling dialogue with his fellow players, always very well chosen. At 59 he's as good as ever and still has the knack of finding quality collaborators, witness the wonderful results of the first concert of the Zukerman Chamber Players (I couldn't attend their other concert). The same characteristics prevailed in the three attractive scores they played: a consistently admirable technique blended with a natural sense of style and an evident pleasure in playing together, true conversations in music.

Zukerman and a talented lady cellist, Amanda Forsyth, started the session with Kodály's fascinating Duo , a prickly piece of considerable modernism, perhaps the composer's point of greatest affinity with his friend Bartók; both players were full of character. Then, one of the two best String Quintets by Mozart (two violins, two violas, cello), K. 593, a past master of this medium, where one could appreciate the excellent work of the other players: Jessica Linnebach (violin), Jethro Marks and Ashan Pillai (violas). The same group gave us Dvorák's Quintet op.97, a sterling work rarely heard. The encore was the charming second movement of Mendelssohn's Quintet op.87.

I have long held the opinion that Nelson Goerner is the best Argentine pianist of his generation; both the recital I'm about to comment and his appearance with orchestra playing Beethoven's Concerto No.3 (on which I will soon write) were stunning affirmations of artistry in a superior level. Even the programme testified to the player's astonishing versatility, avoiding the hackneyed but giving us worthwhile music by great composers. He started with Janácek's only Sonata, a two-movement score of dramatic intensity, the composer's reaction to an act of political repression: the two pieces are called "Presentment" and "Death" . The second work was Schumann's "Humoreske", less known than other series of micropieces by this composer but an original and fresh score of many moods, magisterially exposed by the player.

The piano music of Franz Liszt is both innovative and rhetorical; the player must have the big guns to play it accurately (always a feat in this composer) but also the style to go beyond the technical hurdles and find the poetry in the scores; this was ideally encompassed by Goerner's performances of the stirring Ballad No. 2 and of four "Transcendental Etudes" of terrifying difficulty. I have very seldom heard blind octaves at speed played flawlessly as in this instance, but the deeper sense of the music was always there at well. The pleasure was prolonged in the encores, two impeccably done Chopin pieces: Nocturne No. 8 and the "Revolutionary" Etude. What a pity that the audience was too sparse .

On a less exalted level but very good by any standard were two Midday Concerts, the free series the Mozarteum offers at the Gran Rex. The Moreno-Capelli Duo has been for decades an exemplar of fine four-hand playing; Héctor Moreno and Norberto Capelli are Argentine but reside in Florence. Both have accomplished techniques and finely honed taste. Their interesting programme started with an intimate Schubert score, "Divertissement a l'hongroise", perhaps overlong for its material; they followed with the "War Pages" by Alfredo Casella, frankly descriptive music , and finally offered a good transcription by Liszt of his own tone poem "The Preludes", played with virtuosity.

The Sarastro Quartet resides in Winterthur, Switzerland; the sage priest of Mozart's "Magic Flute" was chosen for the ensemble's name. They are refined players with a beautiful intimate sound hard to appreciate in the vast expanses of the Gran Rex. They feature unfamiliar music stressing contemporary Swiss composers but also an Argentine, Constantino Gaito, whose two quartets they recorded for the Tradition label. Their unconventional programme started with an early Mozart Quartet (No.4, K.157), followed with Fabian Mueller's Quartet, a Swiss born in 1964, and ended with Gaito's Quartet No. 1. Mueller's score is tonal and melodic, well-written and expressive, whilst Gaito's 1916 work manages to steer clear of the prevalent folkloric stance of his time and gives us well-argued and pleasant music. The encore was Puccini's lovely "Chrysanthemums". All was played with distinction. The Sarastro also gave two concerts for the Festival of Encuentros de Música Contemporánea, which I couldn't attend.

Finally, the Stanislas Quartet from Nancy , France. The venue was the concert hall of the National Conservatorium López Buchardo, where they gave a master class earlier in the afternoon. It is a solid, serious ensemble, more at ease in Ravel's only Quartet than in Beethoven's last, No. 16. They included an interesting item; Guy-Ropartz (1864-1955) was a distinguished composer resident in Nancy in the interwar period and is rarely programmed nowadays, which made the audition of his Quartet No. 5 useful as information; fortunately it proved to be good music well worth the listener's time.

Para el Buenos Aires Herald

Wagner and zarzuela: the amazing range of the lyric theatre

Our two main private opera companies proceeded with their seasons at the Avenida with as opposite a pair of creations as can be imagined. Buenos Aires Lírica (BAL) took a giant step by offering a Wagner opera for the first time in their trajectory, whilst Juventus Lyrica incorporated a zarzuela, also a first for them. In their very different ways, both ventures fell on the positive side. BAL chose well, for "Der fliegende Hollaender" ("The Flying Dutchman") is more amenable to the resources of the company than any other of the ten Wagnerian mature works . It was a bold step and it proved a successful one. Juventus , on the other hand, offered Amadeo Vives' "Dona Francisquita", following the vote of their subscribers ; by accepting the majority view in three of their four 2007 choices Juventus has relinquished the right of the artistic direction to define a repertoire, and I can't agree. An enlightened programming policy can never be based on polls. Nevertheless, the zarzuela was agreeably served and I spent a pleasant night, though not a stimulating one.

"The Flying Dutchman" (1843) is a Romantic opera in which Richard Wagner transcends the influences of Weber ("Der Freischuetz") and Marschner ("Hans Heiling") and finds a style of his own. It is amazingly advanced in some parts ( the Dutchman's monologue, the Choir of the damned sailors) but is also conventionally melodic in the steps trodden by such German composers as Lortzing or Kreutzer , incorporating folksy and straightforward tunes on the choruses of Norwegian sailors and weavers.

I was among those who disagreed strongly with the Colón's production by Suárez Marzal on the Kuitca settings, so I longed for a return to sane concepts and good tradition. I do have some reservations, but the BAL staging had some relevant points. It was the work of an artist who made his local debut on this occasion: Fabian Von Matt, who studied here and in Vienna, and has been assistant producer in the Luebeck "Ring". He solved well the apparition of the phantom ship (effective red lights from Eli Sirlin) and he understood the psychology of the main characters. However, he introduced an extraneous element , an Angel, who intrudes at various instances and is instrumental in the redemptive close ; but even with the charming appearance of actress María José Iglesias, it felt superfluous. There were wrong details, such as giving poor Erik, a hunter, the black sleeves of an office boy. The Norwegian setting was respected, though transposed to the early 20^th century . The settings by Pilar Camps (apart from the damned ship) were rather poor, especially the panels with waves. Sofía Di Nunzio's clothes were mostly adequate, although I found not only Erik's sleeves wrong but also the Dutchman's attire didn't feel right. In Von Matt's work the final minutes were the weakest.

The musical side was quite strong. Homero Pérez –Miranda (a Cuban living in Chile) was a properly saturnine and haunted Dutchman, singing firmly (although lacking weight in low notes) and projecting the words with dramatic sense. Mónica Ferracani, an attractive blonde tall Argentine soprano with an important trajectory, was an impressive Senta, musically sound and sung with generous voice; it is her first Wagner and she surmounted with ease the challenge. Perfect is the word for Hernán Iturralde as Daland the mariner: his years at Stuttgart surely tell in the quality of his style and the voice is exactly the needed type. The others were some cuts below: Enrique Folger as an overheated Erik, Marta Cullerés with a frayed voice though used with authority, and Santiago Burgi on the other hand ingratiating bur rather green as the Steersman. The Choirs under Juan Casasbellas gradually found their feet (it didn't help that they were constantly knocked about by the producer); they were enthusiastic but raw. The Orchestra under Guillermo Brizzio's knowledgeable conducting was disciplined and correct, though the pit is much too small for the Wagnerian orchestra and the brass felt stifled.

"Dona Francisquita" is one of the two most often staged "zarzuelas grandes" (the other is, of course, "Luisa Fernanda" by Moreno Torroba). It is certainly the best work of Amadeo Vives. Written in 1923, it comes from the last brilliant period of the genre, the Spanish form of operetta. There are popular touches incorporating the "rondalla", an instrumental group based on guitars; a bad mistake of the production was to mime them on the stage whilst the sound came from the pit. But the staging by Oscar Barney Finn was pleasant and it boasted nice stage settings by Emilio Basaldúa, a tasteful orgy of decorative fans. Mini Zuccheri designed agreeable period costumes.

There were two casts, I saw the first. Fabiola Masino was too mincing and strident in the title role, though professional; Gerardo Marandino sang with some beauty and was well abetted by Pablo Skrt as his sidekick Cardona. Susanna Moncayo as Aurora combined uneasily operatic and popular voice projection. Good work from Alberto Jáuregui Lorda and Marta Cullerés as the aging couple and some young voices were heard to advantage in bit parts (Sebastián Russo, Iván Maier). The Choir under Miguel Pesce was in the picture, the dance led by José Zartmann with Mabel Espert was convincing and the orchestral side was well attended to by conductor Susana Frangi.

Para el Buenos Aires Herald

About pianists and chamber groups

Piano recitals aren't as abundant nowadays as they were three or four decades ago and the country's devaluation certainly hasn't helped in recent years, for the big names are quite expensive, but we do get some valuable visitors. Such is the case of the French artist Alexandre Tharaud, who was invited back by Festivales Musicales after his successful local debut last year. His task this time was very interesting: the complete traversal in two sessions of Maurice Ravel's creations for solo piano. I don't recall such a project being performed in recent years by any pianist, local or visitor, and it certainly is worthwhile. There were even two, perhaps three, premieres. And Tharaud has recorded the lot, so his concerts were promising. I could only hear the first, at the Coliseo, and I think Festivales has made a good choice.

In his piano music Ravel is at times Neoclassical ("Menuet antique", "Le tombeau de Couperin") but his most important music is Impressionist: "Jeux d'eau", "Miroirs". And his masterpiece, "Gaspard de la Nuit", is Impressionist in "Ondine" but Expressionist in "Scarbo". There's no end to his harmonic inventiveness and sometimes the music is devilishly difficult, taking the Lisztian grand manner as a starting point for adventurous forays into shimmering transparencies.

Tharaud is a typical pianist of our times: he has acquired a splendid technique and he can surmount any hurdle, but he doesn't get the equilibrium that famous Ravelians of yore knew how to obtain: Walter Gieseking, Monique Haas, Marguerite Long. He is at times too brusque ("Scarbo"); but he does obtain splendid coloristic hues and is certainly very professional. Some commented unfavorably that he read from scores, when habitually solo players know the music by heart, but I felt that it was just an "aide mémoire" and it didn't bother me, for it didn't affect his firm playing.

The concert I heard started with four short pieces, including the "Grotesque Serenade", his first piano work (1892-3), which may have been a premiere. Then, what is certainly one: "La parade", 1896, a curious quilt of waltzes, marches and a mazurka written for an intended ballet , and the disconcerting thing is that there seems to be a strong Satie influence (unique in Ravel's production). To close the First Part, those admirable "Valses nobles et sentimentales" evoking loosely Schubert but clearly Ravelian in its mix of Neoclassical and Impressionist; they were played with elegance and accuracy.

The Second Part started with the charming "Pavane pour une infante défunte" and closed with "Gaspard de la nuit", where I especially liked "Ondine". I disliked , however, the encores: an unnecessary Bach-Busoni Prelude and a fast and percussive piece by Rameau played too harshly. But the main thing was accomplished with distinction: a splendid panorama of Ravel's genius.

Chopiniana is a series of piano concerts taking as reference Chopin's music and organized by Martha Noguera. Thanks to her initiative our city has heard many valuable artists in recent years. In 2007 there will be two series; the first has started at a new venue, the hall "Los Jardines" at the Panamericano Hotel. It proved to have decent acoustics ; the seats are comfortable and the place looks nice. Curiously enough, the initial presentation included no Chopin, although the chosen composers were great admirers of the Polish composer: Schumann and Grieg. The player was Daniel Levy, a 60-year-old Argentine with a big European career and many recordings . He too read from the scores. Also, he expatiated at length on the music, which perhaps had some logic in this case for there was no hand programme: the pieces were announced by Noguera.

Levy chose no less than 21 of Grieg's vast amount of "Lyric Pieces", which seems too much of a good thing; probably a round dozen would have been enough to extend proper homage to the Norwegian composer , whose centenary of his death is being commemorated in 2007. From Schumann, his "Children's Scenes" op.15 showed Levy at his poorest level: excessive "rubati", a plethora of unmarked arpeggios, lack of rhythmic pulse, no regard to specificied dynamics and attacks that were too massive and harsh. Some pleasant moments didn't compensate. But although there were faults in Grieg (exaggerated rhythms, a shortage of delicate evocation) the pieces were generally well played and chosen. More Schumann to conclude: the "Intermezzo" from "Viennese Carnival" in a rather wild performance and the First Novellette, to my mind much better played than the other Schumann scores. The encore was a short Prelude by Scriabin.

Nuova Harmonia presented at the Coliseo the debut of the David Trio, founded recently (in 2004) . Two players are Italian: pianist Claudio Trovajoli and violinist Daniele Pascoletti; the cellist Philipp Von Steinaecker probably isn't. Their integration is very good and in their best moments the results were impressive. However, there was an excess of incisiveness in the violin and the high-lying harmonics of the cello in Shostakovich were flawed. The pianist was a tower of strength throughout. Haydn's Hob XV.14 had an interesting performance, with added ornaments and cadenzas, but the players seemed to go too far at some junctures. The splendid Shostakovich Trio op.67 had its gripping moments, and the artists found their full form in Brahms' marvelous Trio No.1, op.8 but later revised. The encore was a fine performance of the last movement from Dvorák's "Dumky" Trio.

Para el Buenos Aires Herald

.

Distinguished visitors grace musical scene

In recent weeks our city has been graced by admirable visitors from abroad who have offered distinguished recitals in major concert institutions. Probably the best was given at the Coliseo for the Mozarteum Argentino by the marvelous team of Vadim Repin (violin) and Itamar Golan (piano). Both have been here before and were a success, but their current form showed them at the top of their profession. One hears very rarely playing of the smoothness and accuracy produced by this Siberian violinist born in 1971, or piano execution of such rotund perfection as that presented by the Lithuanian pianist. If I want to quibble, here and there a bit more accent from the violinist wouldn't have been amiss. It helped that no less than three major sonatas were presented, only one of them habitual repertoire (Brahms' No. 3); the others were a homage to Edvard Grieg in his centenary year (No.3, his best) and the fascinatingly quirky Janácek Sonata, with its strong rhythmic and melodic contrasts.

The programme was completed with Chausson's lovely "Poem" and the pyrotechnics of Franz Waxman's Fantasia on Bizet's "Carmen", done astonishingly well by Repin. Encores: a melancholy piece by Tchaikovsky, the Bartók-Székely Romanian Dances and the soulful and devilish "Gypsy airs" by Sarasate; all were treats in such talented hands and minds.

Another brilliant violin-piano team was made up of Shlomo Mintz and Peter Jirikovsky ; their recital was at AMIJAI. Last year they had played in the same hall. In comparison I found the pianist much improved, his interpretations deeper and the technical side a great deal richer and firmer, particularly his tone has acquired a new roundness and beauty. On the other hand, I still feel that Mintz's tone has lost serenity and terseness; it's true that he makes things too difficult for himself by his choice of programme, for the majority of the pieces were ultravirtuosic. In less demanding but musically rewarding pieces the spikiness was also noticeable, but the savvy phrasing compensated and gave pleasure. I don't want to exaggerate, a lot of what he did was impressive; Mintz is still redoubtable but he has lost some of his amazing ability.

The First Part gave us two scores of similar period: Beethoven's fresh Sonata No.8 and Schubert's Sonatina No. 2 in A minor (the programme wrongly said in D major). Too nervous-sounding in Beethoven (especially in the first movement), Mintz settled down in Schubert and got the best results of the evening; so did Jirikovsky; there was lyricism, good taste and charm. The Second Part accumulated hurdles: the almost impossible "Tzigane" by Ravel was followed by no less than five pieces by fabled violinist-composer Pablo de Sarasate, all of them fingerbreakers. And the encore gave no respite: Saint-Saens' "Introduction and Rondo capriccioso".

Pianist Andrea Lucchesini had played here before, with orchestra, and had left a good impression. But his recital for Nuova Harmonia at the Coliseo showed him now as a major artist, of consummate technical command and very interesting interpretation. His tastes lean to Classicism and his touch is of extreme precision and clearness. Emotional turbulence doesn't come easily to him, but scintillating brilliancy does.

The mature Clementi sonatas are astonishing and certainly influenced Beethoven; Lucchesini chose Op.34 No.2, a pre-Romantic score that I knew through Horowitz's ground-breaking recording. The Italian pianist gave us a very clean and tasteful traversal, somewhat short on drama. The Op. 90 Impromptus by Schubert were done with consumate skill and delicacy. Fantastic is the word for Lucchesini's immaculate and fast execution of three D. Scarlatti Sonatas (K.491, 454 and 146). Schumann's "Carnival" is a kaleidoscope of emotions and of trascendental difficulties; the latter were roundly met, the former less so. Refined, no doubt, but also lacking in deep tone and truly Romantic phrasing. The encore was Chopin's passionate Prelude No.24, whose hurdles were solved with ease.

When I heard that Paul Badura-Skoda was returning to BA after many years of absence, I had mixed feelings. When I was a student in Washington in 1956, I got wonderful Schubert records of this pianist, who was then in his twenties, and I felt that his Impromptus Op.90 and his "Moments musicaux" were ideal specimens of the best young Viennese school, models of style and fluent technique. A couple of decades after that he gave here for the Mozarteum what may have been the best all-Schubert recital I have heard; but in other instances his results have been erratic . He has recorded enormously and is famous for both his collection of fortepianos (historic) and of original ("Urtext") scores. Now he is over eighty and the temporal side must be taken into consideration analyzing his recent recital at the Museo de Arte Decorativo, a non-subscription Festivales Musicales date and a benefit.

The programme was short, only the Impromptus op.90 and the "Moments musicaux". Before , the pianist adressed the public in good Spanish with a nice informality; alas, he decided to play a Chopin Etude "to warm my fingers" and it was pretty disastrous. The Schubert pieces were disconcerting: alongside sensitive phrasing there were whole pieces played harshly, difficult passages perfectly done were succeeded by others hectic and dishevelled. Age has affected not only the technique but also his artistic judgement and he is no longer stylish. Encores: more Schubert: Allegretto and a selection of waltzes. Back to my wonderful records.

Para el Buenos Aires Herald

.

Bach reigns as ever

No musical season is complete without the major Johann Sebastian Bach sacred scores. This is a good year for his repertoire: Festivales Musicales has given us in two sessions the Christmas Oratorio conducted by Mario Videla, Artistic Director of both Festivales and its adjunct, the Bach Academy. And Andrés Gerszenzon has offered Bach's mightiest challenge, the "Saint Matthew Passion".

It is theoretically possible to play and sing the Christmas Oratorio in one long concert of almost three hours (after all, the "Saint Matthew" is longer than that if done without cuts), but as it really is a succession of six cantatas with the common theme of Christmastime, it makes sense to hear it in two sessions (this would never do in the Passions, whose narrative can't be interrupted). And it allows for more thorough preparation. In these "after the crisis" years Festivales hasn't been able to import Helmuth Rilling and his admirable ensembles as it used to, so Videla, a specialist in his own right, has undertaken the task of performing the big Bach scores. He has been acquiring more skill in conducting, although he is still more a stylist than a commanding chief; I commend his Christmas Oratorio as the best performance of the series of big Bach scores he has been giving the Festivales public in recent years. He still doesn't quite get that last measure of excitement of the great occasions and there were a few misadjustments, but no one went away dissatisfied.

The cantatas were written in 1734-5 and are based on the Gospel according to St Luke and St Matthew and some additions by Picander or by Bach himself. The first three cantatas deal with the birth of the Child and the visit of the shepherds. The other three, with Circumcision and the Arrival of the Magi. The Evangelist tells us the story ; there are wonderful choirs of jubilation and lovely arias. The Bach Academy instrumental ensemble boasted some splendid players, such as Pablo Saraví (concertino), Edgardo Zollhofer (cello), and Andrés Spiller (oboe and oboe d'amore) at the top of his form. The vocal soloists were well chosen: tenor Christophe Einhorn (debut) comes from Strasburg and made a positive impression as the Evangelist and in the tenor arias: a firm, clear voice, a sense of drama and fantastic fluency in florid singing. There was delicacy and style in the others: Mónica Capra (soprano), Virginia Correa Dupuy (mezzosoprano) and Víctor Torres (baritone). The Orfeón de Buenos Aires under Néstor Andrenacci and Pablo Piccinni made a valuable contribution to the total effect with fresh young voices singing with great accuracy. A note on the performing version: Videla shortened most of the aria da capos.

The venue was the Auditorio de Belgrano, also chosen by Gerszenzon for his account of the Saint Matthew Passion. This is the mightiest (and the longest) challenge in the sacred music repertoire. One could wish in dramatic terms for a tauter design but if you empathize with Bach's constant inspiration you grieve when arias are eliminated or given partially. Gerszenzon made some cuts, which kept the duration under three hours.

The conductor has shown in earlier seasons that he is a conscientious musician though not a charismatic one. He was certainly audacious in having chosen this enormous score and he managed to give us a respectful view of this great Baroque music. He has toiled for six months coaching the Choir and Orchestra of the UBA (University of Buenos Aires) of which he is their Director. The results were dignified and honorable, and it is of course laudable that university singers and players should tackle such a task, but there were weaknesses in vocal projection in the 46-strong choir and some substandard playing in the 32-piece orchestra (divided into two 16-piece organisms in those fragments where Bach specifies two orchestras). I would single out as especially good Roberto Rutkauskas (concertino), Pablo Angiletta (viola da gamba), the veteran oboist Pedro Cocchiararo and Manuel de Olaso (organ). In their only intervention the Coro Nacional de Ninos under Vilma Gorini sang well their chorale.

The vocal soloists were a mixed bag. Pablo Pollitzer as the Evangelist was stylish but small-voiced; the other tenor, Maico Hsiao, took on the arias with nice timbre and taste. Sergio Carlevaris is a big-voiced bass baritone but he sings rather wildly. Mariano Fernández Bustinza was a bland Jesus. Soprano Selene Lara sang replacing Andrea Maragno and did reasonably well. On the other hand, Verónica Cánaves (contralto) was weak and uninteresting, and she has some of the best music. Acceptable, no more, two singers of multiple bit parts, Armando Garrido and Javier Lezcano. In all, a worthwhile effort but not a great experience for the listeners; I have no doubt that it was quite positive for singers and players: to be in contact during six months with such imposing music certainly leaves a valuable trace in their hearts and minds.

The Capella Seicento led by Federico Ciancio gave us a valuable experience at the Bach Academy (Central Methodist Church): seven fine historicist players and five solo singers (who also made up the Chorus) offered the premiere of Bach's Cantata No. 18, "Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee" ("As rain and snow"), an early work from Weimar, and Buxtehude's well-known cycle of short cantatas "Membra Jesu nostri". Beautiful music well played and sung.

Para el Buenos Aires Herald

Study in contrasts: "Samson et Dalila" and "Clone"

The Colón at the Coliseo presented Camille Saint-Saens' "Samson et Dalila" in a concert version whose main attraction was the return of famous Argentine tenor José Cura. The CETC (the Colón's Center for Experimentation) reopened after thorough restoration effected under the Master Plan and offered Antonio Zimmerman's "Clone" (world premiere), in total aesthetic contrast to the French composer's masterpiece.

Very probably the Colón's Artistic Director Marcelo Lombardero chose "Samson..." because it is one of Cura's best roles. The controversial tenor sang at the Colón only once, when he did Verdi's "Otello" nine years ago. The last Colón "Samson..." was offered in 1997 with no less than Plácido Domingo as Samson and in a very interesting staging by Beni Montresor. At the time I felt that Cecilia Díaz was just adequate as Delilah, below the level necessary to accompany the best Samson there was. Ten years later I still feel that she doesn't create a strong character and sings it unevenly, though she grew in the part after a rather boring First Act. It would have been useful to get to know any of the outstanding European mezzos (quite a few) that haven't visited us. Not only Díaz was cast in the same role, but also Luis Gaeta as the High Priest, though in this case I must say that he was quite good then and now; in fact, he gave us the best singing of the evening (I'm writing about the first performance).

After the poor impression made by the very restricted acting seen at Boito's "Mefistofele" in the recent concert version, Lombardero understood that something better had to be attempted, and although he was uncredited, he was the author of a rather convincing handling of the singers (what he called "puesta en espacio", translatable as "setting in place"): in front of the choir (immovable, frontal and on steps) the artists acted as they sang, reacting to each other with meaningful gestures. Of course, no stage designs, and one had to imagine such things as the falling of the temple or the mill. Delilah wore an attractive dress and for the men evening clothes were avoided in favor of dark neuter garments.

And Cura? Well, he certainly has a commanding presence and always holds the interest. After nine years of absence there were intriguing questions as to the purely vocal aspects, for his Otello had ups and downs. Singing is a dicey profession and artists often veer rather widely from one performance to another; so I can only report on the one I heard. And these are my conclusions: when he sings loud and high, his tone becomes unfocussed and metallic; as decibels become lower and the music descends from the heights , Cura's singing sounds controlled and beautiful, with poetic accents.

The two bass parts of Abimelech and the Old Hebrew were quite well taken by Ariel Cazes and Carlos Esquivel, and the cast was completed acceptably by Fernando Chalabe, Gabriel Renaud and Walter Schwarz. The score has often been considered an opera-oratorio due to the abundant and serious choral music it contains; the Colón Choir under Salvatore Caputo naturally could read its parts which certainly facilitates things, but this doesn't diminish the good quality of their singing, apart from some passages that were too soft to be heard with comfort.

Rodolfo Fischer , who last year conducted at the Colón Mozart's "Cosí fan tutte", seemed comfortable in the French idiom after some initial trouble with balance and intonation. But the Orchestra sounded increasingly warm and brilliant and the final result was satisfactory. Also, there were no disfiguring cuts as had happened in "Mefistofele".

One bad point: dates were changed and the first was a non-subscription performance ("extraordinaria") instead of being as it should a "Gran Abono" night.

I was quite happy by the results of the CETC's restauration. Of course you can't change the basic architecture of this subterranean space with its vast columns which impede both stage movement and good sightlines, but a lot was done that was possible and is positive: a much improved access stairway with full lighting; comfortable toilets; new dressing rooms; modernized video, sound and lighting; better lighting in the hall and a less claustrophobic ambience; spick-and-span cleaning of the premises; much-improved fire prevention; and enhanced coloring of the brick structure.

Unfortunately, I didn't like "Clone". The idea isn't bad; it is based on Julio Cortázar's homonymous short story adapted by Alejandro Tantanian: a modern madrigal ensemble rehearses Gesualdo's Book V and a parallel to the composer's true story becomes apparent: the tenor madrigalist kills the soprano (or so it is intimated) presumably for similar motives to those Gesualdo had: the composer found his wife in bed with her lover and killed them both. It could have been dramatic and taut, but the morose and redundant music and the static and inert libretto make the 70 minutes it lasts very long. Good singers (especially Selene Lara and Ricardo González Dorrego) and players (an original combination of bandoneon and viola da gamba) compensate partially. I didn't feel that the staging by Cristián Drut did much to improve the piece. I will mention the only bit that impressed me: at the very beginning the handsome soprano wears a magnificent Renaissance dress (by Cecilia Zuvialde) whilst she sings the only theatrical music in those long minutes.

For Buenos Aires Herald

A bumpy orchestral traversal

In recent weeks the panorama of orchestral concerts as been rather bumpy. Quite apart from the scandal of the total paralyzation of all musical organisms dependent on the National Culture Secretariat –of which more below- we've had uneven concerts from the Buenos Aires Philharmonic (the Phil) and a couple of visitors of not quite first rank.

To leave behind the bad taste in my mouth, a brief reference to the cultural disaster that affects in the most Kafkian terms official national culture. It has happened before, but perhaps never in such an extended scale. A labor conflict of the technicians assigned to all national organisms has effectively stalled all activity at the National Symphony, the two big choirs (Polifónico Nacional and Nacional de Jóvenes) , two specialized outfits of social implications (Coro Polifónico de Ciegos and Banda Sinfónica de Ciegos), the Orquesta de Música Nacional Juan de Dios Filiberto and the Teatro Nacional Cervantes. And the matter is small and ridiculous: the State gave years ago to the administrative workers and the technicians the same working hours, which means that the latter can't be present at the evening shows; easy enough to fix what is a blatant idiocy, but nobody does it, neither the Labor Ministry, the Economics Ministry or the Culture Secretariat. Could some workers be hired to permit the realization of concerts? No, it would affect the sacrosanct solidarity among labor unions... Meanwhile, as much as five millions pesos have been paid this year by the State to players and singers that don't play and don't sing! And there's no solution in sight.

Back to something less sad, concerts that effectively take place. One was the visit of the Berlin Symphony prior to performing at the amazing Ushuaia Festival. This Orchestra is of course no match for the great Berlin organisms: the Philharmonic, the Deutsche Symphonie (ex Radio Orchestra) or the Staatsoper led by Barenboim. But it can be considered a very professional outfit. This was their third visit here; in the first, in 1970, Fritz Weisse offered Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis" with the Berlin Concert Choir and foreign soloists; in the second, a few years ago, they came with their then Principal Director, Eduardo Marturet. This third is rather amazing, for according to the biography in the hand programme, the young Argentine Jorge Uliarte has been recently named their Principal Conductor (and he is the "alma pater" of the Ushuaia Festival). On the basis of what I heard, I can't understand it, for Uliarte seems to me a limited musician of barely correct technique and scant communication. Apparently his powers of organization and persuasion are greater than the musical ones, for after all the founding of the Ushuaia Festival is quite a feat of imagination.

They gave a concert at the Coliseo with hackneyed repertoire: Brahms' "Academic Festival Overture", Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and Dvorák's Ninth ("New World"). All decently done, no more. I have my doubts that the Berlin Symphony has only 59 players, for such was the number listed; it probably boasts about 90 players back home. Apart from the lack of personnality and dynamism , their music making with Uliarte was acceptable, but one needs more in such overheard pieces.

I was much happier with the debut of the Denver Young Artists Orchestra led by Adam Flatt at the UBA's Facultad de Derecho Main Hall. Denver is of course home to the prestigious Colorado Symphony Orchestra, but it can be proud of this youth organism for it seems one of the best of its kind. They number 57 but in the overbright and resonant hall they sounded like a hundred, also because they play with such intensity and involvement, and with a technical quality that many adult orchestras don't have. And they are led with outstanding precision and style by Flatt, a young artist in the best American tradition. Minor blemishes hardly affected my pleasure. Both in the Overture for Sheridan's "The School for Scandal" by Samuel Barber and in Tchaikovsky's difficult Fourth Symphony they kept to a high standard. Also they accompanied well the 18-year-old Hannah Robbins in Elgar's Cello Concerto; she played nicely except for some lapses of intonation in high positions. The encore was interesting: an excellent arrangement by Kenneth Harper of Mariano Mores' "Tanguera".

The Phil completed the first section of its subscription series at the Gran Rex with a concert conducted by Ronald Zollman, who made his debut here last year and left a good impression. The session had a special attraction, the premiere of a rather strange Haydn Symphony, No. 60, "The absent-minded" ; the habitual four-movement structure is abandoned and instead we have six movements, several of them with humoristic details such as the "scordatura" in the last movement. And this is because in fact it was used as incidental music for a play of the same title as the symphony, written by Jean-Francois Regnard. I'm sorry to say that the music sounded wan in the undernourished acoustics and that Zollman didn't catch the humor, even making a pronounced pause between the two last movements when it is of the essence that both should be played without any interruption.

The rest went better: an agreeable version of Ravel's "Ma Mere l'Oye" and a professionally handled Dvorák Sixth Symphony, lacking however in the infectious gaiety of the Bohemian folk rhythms.

Para el Buenos Aires Herald

From "bel canto" to "verismo"

Two recent revivals of worthwhile Italian operas brought us from the "bel canto " period to late "verismo". The Roma Theatre (Avellaneda), after a "Luisa Fernanda" (Moreno Torroba) that I decided to skip because I had seen most of the singers in the same parts at the Parque Centenario, offered Gaetano Donizetti's "La Favorita" with astonishingly good results. And the Casa de la Opera de Buenos Aires gave us Francesco Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur" at the Avenida with an uneven outcome.

Among the enormously fecund output that Donizetti produced between 1816 and 1844 (about 70 operas), "La Favorita" is amongst the most valid dramatic pieces. It has many good points, among them some admirable arias for Fernando and Leonora, several duets and ample concertantes. It started life as a French opera, "La Favorite", a transformation of an earlier incomplete opus, "L'ange de Nisida"; the librettists were Alphonse Royer, Gustave Vaez and Eugene Scribe and it was premiered at the Paris Opéra in December 1840; as was imperative at that theatre, it included a ballet. The story was based on a triangle formed by Alfonso XI, King of Castile (1311-1350), his lover Leonora de Guzmán (who had nine children with the King!) and the young Fernando, who falls in love with her ignoring her status as "la bella del Re".

When it was translated into Italian, the rigid Austrian censure intervened, several Italian librettists successively rewrote the lines (Calisto Bassi, Francesco Jannetti and Fausto Broussard) and some facts were ridiculously twisted around: what was logical in the French version became incoherent in the Italian (the Prior Baldassarre –of the Santiago de Compostela monastery - is also the father of the cuckolded Queen!). Still, this is the version given nowadays. With big roles for mezzo, tenor, baritone and bass and lovely melodic lines, it is still a pleasure to hear, though I wish I could get to know the original .

The Colón last offered "La Favorita" in 1995 and 1967 (with Kraus and Cossotto!). For the Roma it is a first, and I'm glad to say it's one of the best things I've seen there. The small old theatre has resonant acoustics and the voices sounded juicy and big, for the cast was well chosen and everyone was in very good shape. Carlos Duarte's voice is as expansive as his physique; he is a sanguine singer with a beautiful, Mediterranean timbre. He had a couple of uncomfortable moments, and his "Spirto gentil" was too lacrymous, but I liked most of what he did. María Luján Mirabelli has been uneven in the past, but this time all was right, her registers firm and expressive, her demeanor convincing and intense. I've never heard Enrique Gibert Mella sing with so much line and strength; his Alfonso had presence and he was up to the big climaxes. And Oreste Chlopecki sang with command and well-controlled shaping of phrases, his timbre not as black as I've heard him in earlier years. A fast vibrato diminishes the merits of Ana María Siniscalco (Inez). Correct jobs from dry-voiced tenor Pablo Gaeta (Gasparo) and the baritone Fabián Frías (Gentleman).

The Orquesta Sinfónica Municipal de Avellaneda certainly leaves much to desire, but it was led with vigor and style by the 29-year-old Sebastiano De Filippi, also known as a baritone. And although the voices of the Choir of the Instituto Municipal de Música de Avellaneda are of disparate quality, the young choristers were eager and responded well to their director, Ricardo Barrera. Producer Eduardo Casullo respected the laws of melodrama and of the historic environment evoked and was clear as well as dramatic in his indications; as stage designer a few columns were enough to give a feeling of monastery and castle, though the wrinkled white wall should have been improved. Fine costumes from Mariela Daga and Azelio Polo brought us to Medieval times. The lighting plot by Ernesto Bechara was traditional.

A shorter notice on Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur", for it was revived just a couple of years ago by Buenos Aires Lírica with Myriam Toker and Gustavo López Manzitti. The opera dates from 1902 and represents an attenuated "verismo" with a good deal of eighteenth-century pastiche. The story of the poisoning of actress Lecouvreur by her rival, the Princess of Bouillon, involves their lover Maurice of Saxony; there's an admixture of political intrigue and of the unrequited infatuation for Adriana by Michonnet, the manager of the theatre. The music is very well written and tasteful, with some fine melodies. Now I wish somebody remembered his other good opera, "L'Arlesiana" on Daudet, the one with the famous "Lamento di Federico".

Unfortunately there were grave vocal problems in both protagonists, Adelaida Negri and the young tenor Rodrigo Mora, quite green yet; the soprano as always has her moments but they weren't enough, and I found her spoken recitations too rhetoric. I liked Marina Biasotti as the Princess and Leonardo López Linares was outstanding as Michonnet. Eduardo Ayas as the Abbé of Chazeuil and Víctor Castells as the Prince of Bouillon were satisfactory. The others were in the picture. I didn't enjoy the choreography of Guido De Benedetti in a pseudo-Greek style. But Alejandro Atías was an attentive producer who respected the historical ambience both in the movements and in the stage designs (his own) and there were nicely designed dresses by Mariela Daga.

Para el Buenos Aires Herald

"Rodelinda": a major Handel event

I have no hesitation in pronouncing the production of George Frideric Handel's "Rodelinda" by Buenos Aires Lírica at the Avenida the most important event of the operatic season. It isn't saying as much as it seems, for the context gives us an astonishingly poor season as far as renovation is concerned. The Colón does works it has offered within the last fifteen years, Juventus Lyrica can only boast of a revival of Ravel's two short operas, even Adelaida Negri's Casa de la Opera (generally a source of interesting material) opts this year for well-known pieces, there's nothing new at the Roma (Avellaneda) and frankly I have little hope for a Bacalov opera which will be premiered at the Argentino (La Plata), a theatre that otherwise gives us the rankest repertoire. So the Argentine staged premiere of "Rodelinda" is a major occasion. Mind you, a condensed concert version was offered some years ago at the Salón Dorado (Colón) by that theatre's Institute of Art advanced students. And it isn't –as announced- a South American premiere, for Caracas did that under Philippe Herreweghe in 1985.

The history of Handel opera performances in Buenos Aires is shamefully short and incomplete, if you consider that he is the greatest Baroque opera composer and we have forty titles to choose from. Curiously one opera has been offered thrice: "Giulio Cesare" . Otherwise we can only mention a second Richter-conducted opera, "Serse", in 1971, also with Schreier, and then we jump to "Agrippina" in 2005 by Buenos Aires Lírica! Thirty-four years without Handel...

"Agrippina" was a vivid success; with the same conductor, Juan Manuel Quintana, we now have "Rodelinda". It is a good choice for most specialists consider it amongst the half-dozen best; for future years I certainly root for "Alcina" and "Rinaldo", splendid and fantastic, for "Tamerlano" and for a "Giulio Cesare" revival. Of course, "Rodelinda" is an "opera seria" and has the defects of the genre: with just two exceptions, it is a succession of recitatives and arias (the duet that closes the Second Act and the ensemble at the very end bring welcome relief); the arias are "da capo" ( a main section A, a short contrasting B, and an A' that merely ornaments the same music); and the dramatic construction is patchy and stereotyped. But so much of the music is marvelous that we can hardly fail to yield to its beauties. You might feel legitimately that a lot is slow and contemplative and that sometimes you yearn for more adrenaline, but there's no gainsaying the harmonic and melodic sensitivity shown by the composer, at the service of one of those convoluted stories that mix historical occurrence with the contrasting miseries and ecstasies of love. For the record, it deals with the seventh century Longobards and proceeds via two librettists (Nicola Salvi and Antonio Haym) from Pierre Corneille's play "Pertharite, Roi des Lombards", based in turn on a "Historia Longobardorum" by Paulus Diaconus. Some cuts were made especially in recitative but the opera still lasted more than three hours.

A crucial decision was taken by the BAL authorities: a production in the Baroque style without Postmodernist distortions. They brought over from France a specialist, Ivan Alexandre (debut), who tackled this Handel at face value: painted curtain drops, localized light (lanterns following the singers), exposed machinery, changes of scenery done in front of the spectator, and also some matters that made me cavil. The acceptance of certain practices of the early eighteenth century can make for a feeling of absurdity nowadays, and also made me doubt if what I was seeing was strictly historical : slow silent film gestures, precious to a fault (especially Grimoaldo's), or the men dressed in garments that included short rigid open aprons: were these true historical practice, or the particular vision of Alexandre and his clothes designer, Eduardo Lerchundi? Anyway, I disliked them. But I liked very much the beautifully conceived and executed curtain drops by stage designer Santiago Elder, of true aesthetic quality and exquisite taste.

Quintana has assisted René Jacobs and Marc Minkowski in Europe, and in recent years has been acquiring a solid workmanship as a conductor, as well as forming in Rosario an admirable Baroque orchestra. I was impressed by the continuity and natural expression he obtained from his proficient group of players , and I would only wish he had taken a little faster the numerous and extended laments.

The singers were half Chilean and half Argentine; the Chileans took the main parts and did them better than well. I particularly liked Evelyn Ramírez as Bertarido, the deposed King (she sang Nero last year in Monteverdi's "Coronation of Poppea"); the part was originally for a "castrato contralto", Senesino. Claudia Pereira (debut) started too coolly as Rodelinda but then found the necessary warmth as the music proceeded. Jaime Cacompai , also from last year's Monteverdi, was musically satisfactory as the usurper Grimoaldo, though I didn't enjoy his acting. Of the Argentines the best was Norberto Marcos as the villain Garibaldo, firm and clear. Gabriela Cipriani Zec was too self-effaced, soft-grained to a fault, and Vanessa Mautner seemed in bad voice, with some croaky passages initially.

But even if the cast wasn't ideal, the total effect was certainly valuable and I can only urge BAL to keep on the good road in this repertoire in years to come.

Para el Buenos Aires Herald

Teatro Colón: Diagnóstico y Prospectiva

Para aquellos que les interese leer mi artículo: "Teatro Colón: Diagnóstico y Prospectiva", publicado en el libro " Cultura, nuestra PROpuesta", podrán hacerlo ingresando en: http://teatrocolon2007.blogspot.com/