Another old review of mine. (from 2003)
Entfuehrung aus dem Serail (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
Selim: Klaus Maria Brandauer
Konstanze: Malin Hartelius
Blonde: Patricia Petibon
Belmonte: Piotr Beczala
Pedrillo: Boguslaw Bidizinski
Osmin: Alfred Muff
Conductor: Franz Welser-Moest
Director: Jonathan Miller
This is the last and definitely one of the best productions of this season. Comparing to the previous one, a Ponnelle/Harnoncourt collaboration, this production is a lot more quiet and modest, especially considering the set. And because it’s quieter, it gains more depth as well and amazingly it still has all the witty and funny sides of this opera. The stage setting is very simplistic, mainly just walls and doors with very little props indicating whether it’s outside of Selim’s palace or the hallway in the palace…etc. Through this simple setting, one is sort of forced to concentrate on the singers and the music. Since this is such a superb cast, there isn’t one single dull moment in the whole two and a half hours performance.
Jonathan Miller changed (and cut) quite a few things in this production. One major change is that Konstanze is in love both with Belmonte and Selim. Since Konstanze has already given Belmonte her word (and she’s a very virtuous girl with tons of principals), she cannot admit her love to Selim, not even to herself. Of course, both Selim and Konstanze are aware of this, but none of them wants to make the “first move”. Selim does not want to force her and Konstanze does not want to do anything that’s against her principals. All this was played superbly through the body language between Selim and Konstanze. This change of the plot opens a whole new dimension and meaning of Konstanze’s lyrics. And Malin Hartelius has very successfully and subtly conveyed the inner torments of Konstanze through her singing and acting. She’s been singing this role at OZ at least for two years now, IIRC, and she’s getting better and better at it. IMO, she’s got just about everything a Konstanze need, secure technique, beautiful voice, clear diction and subtle phrasing, plus she can act and is very very gorgeous. What can one ask for more?
Another star of the show is Klaus Maria Brandauer, a very renowned Austrian stage/film actor. This is indeed a luxury cast. Maybe some of the Woollies might have seen him as Meryl Streep’s husband in “Out of Africa”. It would be like Met had hired Al Pacino or Dustin Hoffmann to play Selim or Covent Garden Sir Anthony Hopkins. Although Brandauer (or Miller) has changed the texts of Selim a lot but it worked very well. Brandauer’s Selim is not a tyrant, but a very wise and sensible man with a great sense of humor, who loves Konstanze dearly and respectably and is very patient with her. I know this is probably blasphemy, but Brandauer’s Selim makes me want to scream to Konstanze “Dump the juvenile Belmonte and take Selim. Here’s your man who knows how to treat a woman well…… and he’s rich, too”. ;-)
Oddly enough, Blonde in this production has really red hair, a French accent and she’s the “constant one” of the two girls. Even though Patricia Petibon has the voice and technique to sing Konstanze, she would probably never sing it. If anyone has seen her live on stage, would understand why. I have rarely seen a singer with such energy. There’s no doubt that she sings well, but it’s amazing see her sing and jump around and run back and forth and roll on the floor and kick off her shoes….. all at the same time. It seems she has fun doing those things while she’s singing, and of course, I have a lot of fun watching her as well.
Like Hartelius, Piotr Beczala has been in OZ’s “Entfuehrung” for a while now. He seems to have lost the shrillness that I used to hear his voice sometimes. (It’s great to see a singer develop over the years, but it’s definitely also an indication that I’ve been visiting OZ far far too often. ;-)) Although not my favorite Belmonte at OZ (that’s Jonas Kaufmann, in case anyone wants to know), but he’s very good, both vocally and in acting. Of course, since he’s been doing this for so long, his German has improved a lot. Last night was the last performance of the season, and probably because of that he became very naughty and did a few improvised gags. For instance, while Pedrillo was singing his Serenade to give the girls a signal to open the window, he was doing some warm-up exercises like stretching and push-ups for the coming abduction.
Last but not least, Franz Welser-Moest was great as usual. Although the sound of the orchestra didn’t have the spicy character like in the Ponnelle/Harnoncourt production, but it’s clear and precise. Although I still miss Harnoncourt’s Entfuehrung a bit, but this new “Entfuehrung” is definitely more than a consolation. It has led me to hear a brand new side of this opera. I know that “Entfuehrung” is Mozart’s declaration of love to his “Konstanze”, but I have never heard it in the orchestration until last night. Well, I was sitting in the first row, right behind Welser-Moest, it was pretty hard to ignore the orchestra like I sometimes do. ;-) Just one more small remark on Welser-Moest: without a doubt, he knows how to make good music, but he surely also makes a lot of noises while he’s conducting. If I didn’t know better, I would probably think he’s having an asthma attack.;-)
JP of OZ
PS. the link to the synopsis
http://www.opera-opera.com.au/plotm.htm#mozaentf
