LONDON - There were three big surprises about Charles Mackerras' direction
of Smetana's "The Bartered Bride" Tuesday in Covent Garden.

The first came during the opening measures following the downbeat:  no one
can conduct that fast and make it work, especially a 75-year-old (a baby
age for a conductor, but still. . .)

Surprise No.  2 came at the very end, realizing that not only did Mackerras
maintain the breakneck tempo throughout the opera, but he also presided
over a sparkling, flawless performance, something that was so right it
couldn't be imagined any other way.  (Budapest used to be almost as
welcoming of "Bride" as Prague, so I have a basis of comparison.)

And then, when he walked onto the stage to take the bow at the end,
to great applause and cheers, it was unexpected to see how Mackerras is
showing every one of those years, in contrast with the vigorous middle-aged
man he looked like at his memorable 70th birthday celebration.  And yet,
appearance notwithstanding, I have never heard anything more youthfully
energetic from this great maestro over the years than this performance.

The Royal Opera invested a great deal in this production, with a real
circus scene, Alison Chitty's opulent design, all kept in constant motion
by Francesca Zambello.  It must have been a great challenge to find
first-class singers willing/able to sing "Bride" in English (at Mackerras'
insistence), but by and large, the singing was fine - if nowhere on par
with that tremendous orchestral performance.  Credit too Covent Garden for
the use of supertitles for an English-language production, something the
English National Opera doesn't deem necessary (oh, how it WAS, at "War &
Peace"!) and German houses wouldn't dream of it for German operas - much
needed, except for the crystal-clear Dresden "Walkure."

My favorite was Susan Gritton's Marenka:  a clean, committed, effective
performance.  Paul Charles Clarke, in the male lead role of Jenik, was
fine, but his is a tenor that seems too fragile; it didn't break, nor did
it provide assurance that it is coming from a source of reliable strength.
Jeremy White was the hardworking Kecal, replacing Paata Burchuladze, who
would have been more impressive vocally, but apparently couldn't or
wouldn't handle the role in English.

The rest of the cast - Alan Opie (Krusina), Yvonne Howard (Ludmila), Diana
Montague (Hata), Timothy Robinson (Vasek, not overdoing it), and Yvette
Bonner (Esmeralda) - did well, especially in diction (which Mackerras must
have worked on, no matter what it took).  The chorus, on the other hand,
while moving - and even dancing - especially well, was hard to understand.
Those supertitles came handy during the choral numbers.

For equal (Central European) time, perhaps Covent Garden is ready now for
Moniuszko's "Halka" or "Straszny Dwor" (musically superior to "Bride")
maybe Erkel's "Bank Ban" or "Hunyadi Laszlo" (which are not), but no
Armenian works, please.

Janos Gereben/SF
[log in to unmask]