„Celelinuto Celelin “m a Théedre of the Monnaia in Brüssel | EUROtoday

At least twice, in his romance concerning the “Gloire” within the first act and when his trigger appears already misplaced shortly earlier than the triumphant finish, Hector Berlioz granted his first opera hero moments of introspection, reflection, even doubt. Otherwise, Roman carnival hustle and bustle reigns in “Benvenuto Cellini”. In it, the gifted Renaissance sculptor and goldsmith, personally commissioned by the Pope to create a serious work, cares primarily about his love for the gorgeous Teresa, not about deadlines. Cellini, a brawler and man of genius, continually has to outdo his much less gifted colleague Fieramosca, which is a small feat for somebody like him and, above all, the explanation for all kinds of ordinary conditions of stage comedy and delightful love duets.

But then, when a kidnapping plot will get out of hand, Cellini kills Fieramosca’s pal Pompeo, and there is a lifeless man on the comedy stage. This is the way it can occur in an “Opera semiseria”: Suddenly it’s not so humorous anymore. And behind all of the jubilation, the creative drama shines by, which was most likely Berlioz’s personal; the celebration of an erotic and inventive victor who doesn’t concern the Pope and never the union (shortly earlier than the all-important casting of the later world-famous Perseus bronze, the employees wish to strike).

In Brussels, the American-Italian director Thaddeus Strassberger phases Berlioz’s Theater of Excess as a tongue-in-cheek try and outdo it; a horror vacui fills the stage of the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie with a revolving pretend marble present staircase on which there’s at all times one thing occurring. The pillar figures and the allegories of the ceiling portray within the auditorium come to life and touch upon the occasions by dancing, there may be juggling and acrobating, and when there may be nothing else, pizzas fly by the air.

The theater inside the theater of Cassandro’s troupe, a duel of singers through which, funnily sufficient, there is no such thing as a singing, is a full of life drag present. A Roman revue, puzzled collectively from antiquity, classicism, the Renaissance to Fascismo Italiano, papal kitsch, hippieism and the gaudy current. Teresa, the daughter of the papal treasurer Balducci, continually watches cleaning soap operas on tv, whereas her father prefers Urbi et Orbi TV.

So there may be at all times one thing to see, overly illuminated, which makes Cellini’s two moments of reflection all of the extra clearly stand out from the – undoubtedly virtuosically realized – tableaux of slapstick. The American tenor John Osborn is the Cellini of the hour, who brings the astonishing top and intonation safety required on this function, however lacks a couple of nuances, particularly within the two arias that trace on the underbelly of superheroism. Just like Ruth Iniesta gave Teresa some youthful freshness. Jean-Sébastien Bou appears for nuances within the function of Fieramosca, who’s eternally inferior in love and artwork, however, like Tijl Faveyts’ father Balducci, solely exhibits a caricature of a bourgeoisie that can’t maintain a candle to the genius. Flawless Florence Losseau as Cellini’s loyal assistant Ascanio, placing Gabriele Nani’s Pompeo. Ante Jerkunica provides Pope Clement VII the bass gravitas he wants; In the tip, his generosity goes as far as to forgive the assassin Cellini: he has accomplished his work, and when the steel threatens to expire, he melted down his (virtually) complete early work in a daring act. Thank God the “Saliera”, the well-known salt cellar, is saved in Brussels on the final second, and when Benvenuto and Teresa are celebrated of their white wedding ceremony state, Cellini carries it within the bag, smiling fortunately, all the pieces is okay.

This ends the comedy, however the broader questions that, in Berlioz’s work, are linked to the artistry of the liberating act stay underexposed in Strassberger’s Cellini present, which desires to shine a lot, on the expense of leisure. From immediately’s perspective, an interrogation of the genius idea of the redemptive act could be fairly promising. But it stays bling-bling.

The Brussels music director Alain Altinoglu, who can also be chief conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, throws the Orchester Symphonique into Berlioz’s extraordinarily formidable rating with good momentum; The approach he instantly slows down the tempo within the prelude to the pizzicato of the basses provides an thought of ​​the intense distinction dramaturgy of the music that’s to return. Altinoglu stays grasp of the motion even in probably the most intricate ensembles, particularly because the woodwinds shine with nimble eloquence; the choir is allowed to shine, as is Berlioz’s instrumentation sophistication. Occasionally, within the finale, it will get too loud, however general Altinoglu hits the tone of this work, which is so unusually hybrid between opéra comique and grand opéra. The model “Paris 2”, which premiered in 1838, will probably be performed, with composed recitatives.

It is the primary new manufacturing deliberate by the brand new Brussels boss Christina Scheppelmann herself; She began the season with a “Falstaff” programmed by her predecessor Peter de Caluwe. The selection of the unpopular, complicated and musically delicate piece is undoubtedly brave, and the outcomes of Strassberger’s interpretation are manageable. What does the story of this Cellini inform us immediately, and maybe additionally concerning the potential of artwork, particularly opera, within the twenty first century? – The director experiences how she as soon as requested passersby incognito on the Place de la Monnaie whether or not they knew what sort of constructing it was and what was occurring behind the pillared portal. Quite a couple of folks guessed that it should be a financial institution department; She desires to alter that. This requires intelligent communication; additionally the braveness to ask the proper questions.