Obituary: Montserrat Caballé, 1933-2018

The soprano and recording artist was La Superba to her fans.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

I've got a secret: the great Montserrat Caballé could sing anything.

One would argue that in opera singers of a vanished age, it was the voice and only the voice that mattered. These words would be fitting as a eulogy for Montserrat Caballé. The soprano, who passed away yesterday at the age of 85, possessed one of the largest and most flexible instruments of her age, succeeding in everything from Rossini to dramatic operas by Puccini and Strauss. The cause of death was listed as a gall bladder infection.

DVD Review: Minstrel in the Gallery

A Tannhäuser from Barcelona embraces the art world.
by Paul Pelkonen

Once upon a mattress: Tannhäuser (Peter Seiffert. left) confronts Venus
 (Bèatrice Uria-Monzon, standing) in Act I of Wagner's drama.
Photo by Anoni Bofill © 2008 Teatro Liceu de Barcelona.

In Robert Carsen's production of Tannhäuser (filmed in 2008 at the Teatro de Liceu in Barcelona), Wagner's medieval minstrel is reimagined as a contemporary artist, walking a tightrope between willing, naked figure models and the glitzy world of gallery openings.

Tannhäuser is about pilgrimage, whether the title character's own transition from the sensual world of Venus to our own, harsher reality or the treks to Rome and back in quest of redemption. In this staging, "reality" is the plastic world of a gallery opening, and a controversial new painting (presumably of Venus) is his "harp," the representation of artistic expression for the troubled knight.

Mr. Carsen keeps the curtain up for the famous overture, showing Tannhäuser (Peter Seiffert) hard at work painting a naked, reclining Venus. (This is the "Paris" version of the score so the music flows right into the Venusberg ballet. Here, Venus' sex club under a mountain becomes a sort of art school, with frenzied dancers imitating Tannhäuser's movements and creating their own canvases.

DVD Review: Barn Dance of Death

Jenůfa from the Teatro de Liceu

Tenor Jorma Silvasti as Laca in Act I of the Olivier Tambosi production of Jenůfa.
Photo by Robert Millard © 2007 Los Angeles Opera.

This live DVD (filmed in 2005 at the Teatro de Liceu) of Leos Janaček's rustic tragedy Jenůfa brings together two generations of fine dramatic sopranos: Nina Stemme in the title role and Eva Marton in the key role of the Kostelnička. And yes, Met-goers, this DVD preserves the same production that graced the stage of that house in 2007.


Jenůfa premiered in 1904, and was the opera that "broke" Janaček, elevating him to the realm of the most important opera composers to come from what was then Bohemia, and is now the Czech Republic. Based on a play by Gabriella Pressiová, it is a searing tale of love, jealousy and mayhem in a Moravian village: an Eastern European answer to Cavalleria Rusticana

Janaček's opera is about surviving and withstanding tragedy. The power of love overcomes seemingly insurmountable obstacles, achieving, if not happiness, at least a kind of stability. This sturdy production (by Olivier Tambosi) keeps things simple with a triangular acting surface, symbolizing the complex relationships at the heart of the opera. The outer acts take place in a rustic barn structure, evoking the world of the Moravian peasants. The dark central act is staged in the dark, with a large stone inexplicably dropped in the middle of the stage.


The titular Jenůfa is a young girl with a complex family relationship. A series of tragic events ensues. Her face is slashed by a jealous lover. Her stepmother, the Kostelnička, takes it upon herself to drown Jenůfa's illegitimate baby. In the third act, the corpse is discovered. Jenůfa is nearly killed by a mob of villagers, until the Kostelnička steps forward and takes the blame for the tragedy.

Nina Stemme tracks Jenůfa's journey with a soaring performance, that takes her from a shallow, romantically obsessed girl, to victim, to a transcendent figure capable of forgiving the Kostelnička. Ms. Stemme displays a powerful soprano voice, rising to the occasion for the final duet with Laca that ends the opera.

As the Kostelnička, Eva Marton shows that there is life after Brunnhilde. Her voice still has the power that enabled her to sing Brunnhilde and Turandot. However she has acquired a powerful vibrato that flirts with wobble but never goes over the edge. She is also a fine actress, bringing weight and dignity to the character despite her horrific deed.

Finnish tenor Jorma Silvasti is simply terrific as Laca, the frustrated suitor who attacks Jenůfa, only to wind up with her at the end of the opera. Mr. Silvasti has good command of Czech and a fine, dramatic tenor. Baritone Pär Lindskog gives a strong performance as Steva, the callow stud whose rejection of Jenůfa sets the plot in motion. Peter Schneider conducts a rchly textured performance that makes the most of Janaček's unique tonaltites and folk rhythms.

DVD Review: Die Walkure--...the World-Ash Will Fall

The second installment of Harry Kupfer's Barcelona Ring continues in the same bizarre vein as the first. Once more, effective use is made of the "grid" background, providing lighting accents and color during the second act. The tree-image is also crucial to this opera--Wotan' outburst of "Das Ende!" causes an enormous branch of the rotting wood to smash down onto the stage. For the "Ride of the Valkyries," the wall opens two Valhalla-sized doors, through which the diapered corpses of the dead warriors walk on their way to the afterlife.

Despite the neo-Wagnerian weirdness, this is a pretty good Walküre. Human drama is the order of the day here, and the Gods are both fallible and flawed. Deborah Polaski is effective in the title role. This is not always the most beautifully sung performance--all the notes are present and accounted for--but it is dramatically sound and there are some lovely moments, especially in her Act III dialogue with Wotan. Polaski is not afraid to take chances with the role--when she is being dragged across the stage, clutching to the end of Wotan's spear, the image is heartbreaking. Her final lines



Falk Struckmann is a capable Wotan. While his baritone veers between dramatic darkness and resonant warmth, he compensates with some really good acting. With his ponytail and one-lensed Gargoyle shades, this is a wannabe God--more like a gang leader than a deity. He captures all of the character's inner conflict--it is when that conflict becomes public that Wotan shoots himself in the foot, ensuring his own doom by renouncing and banishing Brunnhilde. That said, his Farewell scene is poignant, and wonderfully sung, with the piano notes in place and a resonant warmth that is both welcome and necessary in the final scene of this opera. The dramatic chemistry between Struckmann's Wotan and Polaski's Brunnhilde is palpable and tangible--their final scene together is sexier than anything the Wälsung twins do in the first act.

As Siegmund, Richard Berkely-Steele has his own strange bits of stage business to contend with. Most notably, the bizarre Annunciation of Death scene, in which Polaski's Brunnhilde smears cold cream (or greasepaint, or something white could have been yogurt or Cool Whip) over his face, neck and hair, presumably in preparation for the afterlife. For one moment, you ask if this is Pagliacci. His sister is sung by the capable soprano Linda Watson. whose path from abused housewife to raging bundle of hormones is one of the joys of this production. She sings well throughout the performance, almost outshining Polaski in "O Heiliges wunder."

Erik Halfvarson's acting skills come to the fore in the unlovable role of Hunding. Halfvarson plays him as an abusive schmuck who deserves to lose his wife. The Icelandic singer colors the role splendidly with his sturdy bass. Lioba Braun continues her excellent Fricka--her big Act II duet with Wotan is one of the highlights of the long second act.

Once more, Bertrand de Billy is able on the podium, although he has an annoying habit of slowing everything down for the big moments (like the first appearance of the "Siegfried theme" in Act III. Other than that, he produces a light, transparent texture for his singers to work with, and an effective balance in the pit.


Photos: (right) Brunnhilde asleep in the Magic Fire scene.
(left) Falk Struckmann (Wotan) and Deborah Polaski (Brunnhilde) share a family moment.
© 2005 Antonio Bofill/Opus Arte.