Rusalka, Asmik Grigorian; Prince, David Butt Philip; Vodník, Rafal Siwek; Duchess, Emma Bell; Ježibaba; Sarah Connolly; Hajny, Ross Ramgobin; Kuchtík, Hongni Wu. Directors, Ann Yee And Natalie Abrahami; Set Designer, Chloe Lamford; Costume Designer; Annemarie Woods; Lighting Designer, Paule Constable. Conductor, Semyon Bychkov.
I have heard this work once before live, at Glyndebourne, certainly, and possibly I saw the famous ENO Pountney production in the early 80’s – if I did,, 40 years ago, I’ve completely lost any memory of it . I was looking forward to the ENO Rusalka in March/April 2020, abandoned on the brink of the first performance by the pandemic, and I suspect it might have been a finer production than this. But not musically…………
For, above all, this new ROHCG production offered an extremely fine musical performance, and the conducting of Semyon Bychkov was almost beyond praise, really. I cannot imagine a more poetic and sensitive account of this work. There were countless moments when a gorgeous phrase was highlighted, a sensitive sudden hushing or diminuendo made, and much beautiful playing by the orchestra, particularly in the woodwind and horns. Nothing was raucous. I suppose, in terms of pulse, it was slowish – the beginning of Act 2 notably so, given other readings I have heard – but somehow this didn’t really matter. I just enjoyed the beautiful sound world Bychkov was creating. ‘World class’ is a bit of an over-used epithet, particularly since our last-but-one Prime Minister, but I really can’t use any other phrase for the musical aspect of this performance. All the Wagnerian tendencies and tinges were brought out in this reading, but also it shone with Bychkov and the orchestra’s clear love for Dvorak’s haunting folk tunes and idioms too.
And not just the orchestra……..the cast was extremely fine, with no weak links. Small parts were cast from strength – Russ Ramgobin, for instance, an extraordinarily powerful Alberich in the Birmingham Rhinegold in 2021, was Hajny. Emma Bell, a very fine Sieglinde in the ENO Valkyrie in the same year, was a lustrous Foreign Princess, with her striking creamy tones; Sarah Connolly a commanding presence as ever as Jezibaba. David Butt Phillip made a lot of what I can imagine might be a rather droopy character in other hands, with a strong clear voice, sounding as though he should be singing some of the less demanding Wagner roles soon, and convincingly portraying the obsession the character has with Rusalka (he used a ‘head voice’ a couple of times in the higher range which emphasised a point by a gentleman near me, that he was originally a baritone. I hope the tenor upper range doesn’t become a problem for him. ……..And then there was Asmik Gregorian as Rusalka…….she is always fascinating to watch, one of those singers who just have a magnetic presence on stage. Her voice isn’t conventionally beautiful, but its slightly harsh brittle sound is ideal for singing tortured characters such as Senta, Jenufa and Rusalka. She uses her voice very well – almost whispered moments, big climaxes – and acts convincingly; a totally gripping performance.
So, if this were a concert performance, I am sure it would have been one of my highlights of the year……But………
I felt there were two problems with the evening, reflecting on it the following morning:
- Inherently the work has flaws dramatically. The third act, in particularly is sluggish, with several rather inconsequential episodes (such as the three singing Wood-sprites) to pad out the inevitable crises of Rusalka meeting her father after running away from the Prince, and the Prince’s meeting with Rusalka and joining her in death. As a whole it is a long evening, with at times little to focus on on stage (but of course with the gorgeous music to enjoy). (Interestingly I had dredged up from my memory something about Gustav Mahler expressing a willingness to conduct Rusalka. Googling that this morning, I learned, at least according to the article I read, that Mahler had indeed entered into correspondence with Dvorak about performing the work in Vienna, in 1901, but that the projected run of performances was repeatedly postponed and in the end never took place, due, in part, the article said, to Mahler’s doubts about whether it worked as an opera).
- Though, to its credit, it never got in the way particularly, the production had few insights to offer. The second act set was the best – a box set of rooms with the upper part of the stage blocked, to show the artificiality and restricted nature of the Prince’s world. There was a very effective moment when the upper curtain is raised and we see the world of the forest and pool beyond, as Rusalka’s father, the Vlodnik, enters the Prince’s palace. The first act was a fairly conventional – almost story-book like – forest and pool (I kept getting a bit irritated that, having created a convincing pool centre stage, people kept walking all over it) with a large round rocky quasi-toilet seat above, to give a sense of peering into the pool. The same basic set in act 3 had all the green and blue colourings removed to create a bleak polluted pool of reds and greys, without forest cover. The singers seemed to be largely left to their own devices. But, though things seemed a bit routine, this was not particularly in a bad way – the production just was not doing more than framing the music in a rather old-fashioned approach. In directoral terms there is so much that could be done with this work – domestic violence? abuse of women and trafficking? the climate crisis (which the programme notes said were a focus for the production, but this did not particularly come across); something about the modern view of identity? It’s a pity the production didn’t challenge the audience more / make more contemporary connections
But the music, as I say, made for a hugely enjoyable evening!
John's musical journey 