DVD Review: Blonde Ambition

Anna Nicole at the Royal Opera of Covent Garden.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Busting out: Eva-Marie Westbroek as Anna Nicole Smith.

Photo by Catherine Cooper © 2011 

Royal Opera at Covent Garden/ Opus Arte

Mark Anthony Turnage's ambitious opera Anna Nicole is a scathing indictment of American celebrity culture, materialism and media hype. It's an opera about the things in society that have replaced opera in the popular culture. Its focus, the rise and fall of a girl from Texas named Vicki Lynn Hogan, who became an international celebrity as Anna Nicole Smith.

Beethoven, Wagner, and...Humperdinck?

Hänsel und Gretel go to Bayreuth.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Arnold George Dorsey, AKA
Engelbert Humperdinck.
by P

Mention the name "Engelbert Humperdinck" and most people in the 20th century will think of the British-born singer who followed in the wake of Elvis Presley with hits like "The Last Waltz." But opera aficionados know that the former Arnold George Dorsey borrowed his stage name from the German composer of the opera Hänsel und Gretel, currently playing at the Metropolitan Opera in an English translation.

The older Humperdinck is chiefly remembered for his work in the genre of märchenoper or fairy-tale opera. Hänsel (which premiered in 1890) tells of two lost children and their encounter with a nasty old Witch in the forest. Königskinder (Royal Children) is less well known but worthy of attention. It received a hearing last year from dell'Arte Opera Ensemble.

Before he found success with his musical trail of bread-crumbs, Humperdinck was associated with Richard Wagner. He worked as an assistant conductor at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, the theater designed by Wagner and built in that German city as a shrine to himself. But what is not generally known is that Humperdinck was one of only three composers to have his music heard at Bayreuth.

DVD Review: Hell is for Minimalists

Robert Wilson vs. Monteverdi's L'Orfeo.

Doomed, I tell you: Orfeo (Georg Nigl) and Euridice (Roberta Invernizzi) prepare to get hitched.
Image by Mario Brescia © 2011 Teatro della Scala Archives/Opus Arte.

Theatrical styles clash across a 400-year gulf in this Opus Arte DVD of Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, shot at La Scala. American director/designer Robert Wilson applies his trademark minimalist style to this opera, the oldest work from the Italian renaissance to remain in the repertory today. But fear not. If you can't stand the visuals, turn off the TV and run your player through the stereo. This is a beautiful performance.

Monteverdi's setting of the Orpheus myth is the oldest work in the repertory--a stark retelling of the story that combined dance, solo singing and skilled choral writing in a way that would prove enduring for the next four centuries. First performed in Mantua at the court of the Duke of Gonzaga in 1607, L'Orfeo proved instantly popular. Conceived as an entertainment for the nobility, it was soon discovered to resonate with the common man, sowing the seed for the entire operatic genre.

L'Orfeo takes place on the fields of Thrace and in the underworld below. Mr. Wilson chose a painting by Titian (well actually, a small bit of the background from Venus and Music) to create a Greek grove that, by his standards, qualifies as an actual set. the second act takes place mostly in the dark.There is not much action, but by the standards set by this director's Wagner productions or his work with Philip Glass, this staging is positively hyperactive.

Singer's Fall Stops Faust

Wendy White suffers fall during Saturday evening performance.

In the garden, before the fall. René Pape (left) as Méphistophélès duets with mezzo Wendy White
in Act III of Faust. Photo by Ken Howard © 2011 The Metropolitan Opera.

According to reports in the New York Post, New York Times and parterre.com, mezzo-soprano Wendy White fell last night during Act III of Faust at the Metropolitan Opera. The show was stopped. Ms. White was taken to the hospital.

According to Met press officer Peter Clark, Ms. White suffered bruises. As of Sunday night, she was released from the hospital and is "resting at home."

The fall happened at the start of the quartet between Faust, (Jonas Kaufmann) Méphistophélès (René Pape), Marguerite (Marina Poplavskaya) and Marthe, the character played by Ms. White. The quartet contrasts the romantic singing of Faust and Marguerite with the byplay between the devil and the nurse.

According to eyewitness accounts published on the parterre.com message boards, Ms. White was entering behind Mr. Pape, with both singers on the multi-tiered scaffolding on one side of the stage, when she suddenly disappeared. A "loud crashing noise" was heard. Mr. Pape turned to the conductor and made a "cut" gesture with his hand slashing across his throat. Mr. Kaufmann was heard to say "Sorry, we have to stop." The curtain came down quickly.

A stage manager came out and asked the audience to remain in their seats while the incident was sorted out. Five minutes later, she returned, and announced that there would be an "early intermission." After a 25 minute pause, the opera resumed with Tamara Mumford taking over the role of Marthe. Conductor Pierre Valet  picked up the work from Faust's line "Eh quoi, toujours seule?"  This time, the singers made their entrance from the wings, not the set. The opera ended late, about 12:35.

According to a Met press representative quoted in the Times article, the accident was caused when a hinge, which connected a piece of plywood to the spiral stairway broke. The plywood fell, and Ms. White fell with it, landing on her back. Considering that the elaborate scaffold set is almost 25 feet high, she may have been very lucky indeed. 

Wendy White is a Metropolitan Opera fixture who made her debut as Flora in a 1989 production of La Traviata. We here at Superconductor would like to wish her a speedy recovery, and express relief that the singer is apparently unhurt.