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The visitors ignored an order from the new host. “Please express your enthusiasm only by clapping as loud as possible,” says the Crown State Opera guide, so “well-deserved bravissimi” should be avoided. However, Monday was already strong during and especially after the premiere of “Mariposa”, the shouts of “Bravo” resounded in the room. For many reasons. It is clear that the Viennese find it difficult to express their enthusiasm in silence.
This “Butterfly” marks a new beginning that has it all. The premiere was not only the glamorous celebration of the opera’s resurrection in Vienna after the crown-related closures in the spring, but also the beginning of a new era at the Ring: the management of Bogdan Ro ?? čić. So reason enough to cheer.
Certainly: after the opening week that has just started with three new productions, more will be said, but already the first night of Puccini gives an idea of what the State Opera will be like under Ro ?? čić and, more importantly, what it will sound like. Since Monday, the State Opera has one thing in particular: a musical director.
Powerful sound paints
Even if Philippe Jordan is anything but a stranger in Vienna: the new position inspires him. The fact that he has held the first premiere himself (and will continue to climb the podium regularly in the future) is a sign in the direction of continuity and quality.
Jordan met Puccini’s “Butterfly” with a lot of focus and energy. There are powerful sounds, but always well dosed, that he puts in the room with the orchestra. Jordan knows how to indulge without getting lost. He knows how to reduce lyrically without letting the tension break. The fact that it softly covers singers with sound in the action drama fits into its powerful overall concept. You can’t celebrate the new musical director for his refined or revolutionary approach to the score, but you can celebrate him for a dynamic, well-crafted, and emotionally dense beginning. The desk of the Vienna State Opera is back in firm hands. For the new management team of the opera, the commitment and presence of Philippe Jordan are a hopeful advance.
Tonight also reveals a lot about the singers. With British-Italian tenor Freddie De Tommaso (as Pinkerton), the ensemble has gained a radiantly powerful voice, with Andrea Giovannini (as Goro) a more lyrical one. The three new members of the opera studio put together some surprising talent tests. Baritone Boris Pinkhasovich designed the Sharpless part with elegance, depth and warmth, Mezzo Virginie Verrez that of Suzuki with vocal and acting presence.
However, the most prominent house debut was Asmik Grigorian in the title role. The celebrated Salzburg Salome is vocally shown as Cio-Cio-San from his dramatic side. Even if he initially reached his limits in height and the volume of his voice only developed over the course of the night, it increased from picture to picture. The tragedy at the end suits you better vocally than the childish naivete at the beginning. What Grigorian is anyway: an absolute stage figure who not only gives voice to his role, but gives it soul.
In any case, he’s constantly full of character, powerful, and anything but interchangeable voices with great acting potential than Ro ?? čić has brought to the house. The maintenance and development of the set are obviously as important to him as the big names. The season will show if you can find the right balance here.
In terms of direction, the perspective of the era Ro ?? čić seems a bit more varied after the first night. There is no new production at the beginning of the season, but there is the takeover of the 2006 New York Met’s opening production. This award-winning “Butterfly” was first seen in 2005 in London. The director Anthony Minghella (“The English Patient”) proves to be a deep knowledge of Japan, the co-director and choreographer Carolyn Choa has rehearsed the production of her husband, who died in 2008, for Vienna.
Wonderfully illuminated images with strong color contrasts, as well as detailed arrangements and choreography, shape this story of a poor Japanese beauty who is seduced, betrayed, and ultimately driven to death by an American officer. It is the details that enchant: the precision and sensitivity with which the doll is guided by the child of Cio-Cio-San, how the passage of time becomes tangible through sophisticated lighting effects, how the mirror on the Empty black stage gives new dimensions to fan dance. It also rains cherry blossoms, white lanterns dance in the night sky. Stylized and cinematic epic images are sometimes more of a strongly stylized aestheticization than a staging. There is no question of interpretation here: static images are sometimes so attractive that they degrade the music to the broadband sound that accompanies the frames.
In any case, it does not go wrong with the tradition of the Vienna State Opera to enjoy the quality of the glory of the past. And the production fits very well with the repertoire of the company. However, when it comes to the present and future of musical theater, Bogdan Ro ?? čić still has a lot of room for improvement.
