What nonsense it is about "Fidelio" - difficult, not written well for
the voice, this, that, and the other.  "Fidelio," above all is glorious
music, and that's exactly what Antonio Pappano's direction of the Royal
Opera's Thursday night performance realized: the utter beauty of the
score.

It took a bit of time to get there: in the overture (and at various other
times) the brass sounded somewhat harsh and not in balance, but soon
enough extraordinary things happened.  The brief orchestral introduction
to the Act I quartet elicited tears with its quiet, subtle, almost
otherworldly sound.  Ditto for the music leading up to and climaxing in
the Prisoners' Chorus (Renato Balsadonna's men constructing an amazing
crescendo from whisper to desperate outburst), and time and again,
perfectly articulated music - quite without Bernsteinesque rhythmic drive
or other condutors' lyrical excess - revealed the essence of Beethoven's
music.  Pappano and a good ensemble cast also maintained a consistent,
wonderful balance.

Karita Mattila, in the title role, helped to make that balance possible
with a shaded, nuanced, dark-hued performance, serving the music, without
a smidgen of playing or singing as the "star." Although the post-Nilsson
generation is used to a more hard-edged, heroic sound, Mattila's bright,
soaring voice does very well indeed.  Also, this eminently feminine
soprano managed (with the help of creative barber, not hairdresser) to
cut a sufficiently manly figure, doing her (his) part against the ardent
pursuit from the fresh-voiced, appealing Ailish Tynan's Marzelline.

Tynan was also vocally/dramatically/comically effective in thwarting
Robert Murray's Jaquino, the veteran tenor going to the edge in portrayal,
but with a beautifully controlled vocal performance.  Eric Halfvarson's
many successes in San Francisco didn't prepare this listener for his
brilliant "proletarian" Rocco, played without a hairpiece, sang impeccably,
leaving more of an impression than most singers ever manage in the role.

Terje Stensvold's Pizarro is sonorous, mean but very real, not the usual
caricature; you certainly don't sympathize with this monstrous character,
but can get a bit closer to understanding what makes him tick.  The
ageless Robert Lloyd is a grand Don Fernando, yet another star artist
handling the role within the ensemble.

Endrik Wottrich, the Florestan, got that impossible opening note out
impressively, but his light head voice, a German singer sounding for all
the world like a "Russian tenor," does not suite the role well.  His
voice soon became strained, with numerous "clippings" audible and
disconcerting.

Singers from the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme did remarkable
work as the two lead prisoners: Haoyin Xue is a fine tenor, and Krzysztof
Szumanski's warm, lyric baritone is a certain asset on the way to an
important career.

The Jurgen Flimm/Robert Israel/Florence von Gerkan production is aging
well, it's still visually interesting, although quite unnecessarily
"modernized" with a flash camera here and some modern weaponry there.
It may sound like damning with faint praise, but it is simply a statement
of fact that nothing could - or did - take away from the great experience
of Pappano singing Beethoven.  Even with limited time in London, one is
greatly tempted to hear this "Fidelio" again.

Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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