Oct 12, 2022 6pm Staatenhaus Cologne (Opera Cologne)
Berlioz: Les Troyens
Cond: François-Xavier Roth, Dir: Johannes Erath
Enea Scala (Enee), Isabelle Druet (Cassandre), Veronica Simeoni (Didon), Giulia Montanari (Ascagne), Dalia Schaechter (Hecube), Adriana Bastidas-Gamboa (Anna), Dmitry Ivanchey (Iopas)
(scroll down for English review)
想不到隔了三個月，又有一個看應該是足本《特洛伊人》的機會。羅特除了有自己創立的世紀樂團，更是科隆歌劇院的音樂總監，這是他第三個白遼士製作，但很可能是最後一個了。
科隆歌劇院的維修沒完沒了，看來比柏林國立歌劇院那次更為災難。我上次看他們的製作，已是2013年華格納年的《帕西法》，當時劇院已在維修，那次是去一個在中央車站附近的馬戲團場地看的，現在那個場地在上演《紅磨坊》。歌劇團這幾年在Staatenhaus這臨時場地演出，那兒一共有三個場，這次是用一號廳，但真是很臨時、很不正規的模樣。就連歌劇團的辦公室，也是在建築物外，地盤辦公室一模一樣的鐵皮屋，就知道是次維修真的出了大件事。
就是因為不正常場地，讓導演很容易玩到花款，這個製作的舞台是個環狀天橋，樂團在中間演奏。雖然不是很新奇的設計，但最大的得益者是音樂。這是我第二次現場聽羅特的白遼士，仍想像不到他可以把白遼士玩到這麼爆炸，樂團放在這個地方，基本上是無遮無擋，他還大膽玩很多立體聲、舞台外聲音的效果，不只是stage band，就連合唱團也可以在四方八面，真正的360度音樂，可能比白遼士《安魂曲》玩得更盡。
還好導演沒玩得太盡，較大的改動是迦太基部分，Enee/Aeneas一早已是Dido的情人，而她的bob頭就是埃及妖后的形象，Enee不只是因為對Dido的愛情或責任而離不開迦太基，而是他一早樂不思蜀。
歌唱上，Enea Scala的名字近來常在羅西尼歌劇演出中聽到，我頗喜歡他既有美聲男高音那種高音，但又有相當金屬筫感的唱腔，非常夠英雄。雖然兩位女主角都是我沒聽過的歌手，但羅特身為白遼士專家，他選得來唱主角的一定有理由，似乎他是對兩位女主角，都是想要較輕盈，不要那麼華格納的聲音。說起華格納，他在《指環》用的六支豎琴，《特洛伊人》也有用，而羅特這個製作亦有，放在環狀天橋的外圍。
真是空前絕後的《特洛伊人》製作，回到歌劇院又好，在音樂廳作音樂會版本都好，都絕對再聽不到及得上這個的了，看到第五次現場《特洛伊人》，想不到遇到這個終極製作。
François-Xavier Roth’s third, and probably final Berlioz production at Cologne Opera. As the restoration of its theatre is stuck in quagmire, the opera troupe is still giving their shows at Stattenhaus. For this Johannes Erath production Hall 1 was used.
This temporary and unorthodox venue allows such liberty in staging that Erath’s stage is a circular catwalk with the orchestra inside it. But the winner is music. Without the confinement of the pit I got to hear the full glory of Berlioz’s orchestration and Roth surely took no prisoners, and pushed the music to unimaginable explosiveness. Further to that, he devised numerous antiphonal and offstage effects for both singers and instrumentalists. This is truly surround and immersive music and Roth probably took the hint from Berlioz’s mammoth Requiem.
Enea Scala, a rising Rossini tenor, was Enee and I love his heroic and metallic tone. I haven’t heard nor heard of the two female leads, although they sounded lighter than in most productions of this opera but they were still fabulous and I absolutely believe Roth’s judgement.
Not much to say about the production, and perhaps no news is good news. Oh yes, in the Carthage section Erath has Enee being Dido’s lover for a long long time, thus showing us that Enee has already forgotten his mission.
But as I said music is the winner, this is my fifth live Trojans (one of which is in concert) and I’m sure I’ll never hear anything like this one, no matter in opera houses or concert halls.