When Barbe-bleue loses his fifth wife, the turbulent Boulotte is selected at random to be the next one. But Barbe-Bleue falls in love with Hermia – who loves the shepherd Saphir – and soon wearies of Boulotte. So, he asks his alchemist to concoct for him an “anti-wife” philtre. But, as on the previous occasions, it is merely a sleeping potion and Boulotte wakes up the other five “dead” wives. They reappear, dressed up as gypsies and bring the truth to light.
The production bears the imprint of the conductor, Marko Letonja, and the director, Tobias Richter, whose understanding is ideal: both breathe a troupe spirit - specific to comedy - into this heterogeneous cast, which brings together young and old. Both give as much importance to recitatives as to arias and ensembles.
The composer's opera buffa transcends the spirit of Beaumarchais’ comedy and combines the absurd with a touch of satirical realism in a score where rhythm and virtuosity place the comic effects in an ongoing dramatic narration. As a result, the characters – Rosina in particular – gain a new degree of realism and break with the usual archetypes. Damiano Michieletto’s giddying production embraces this perpetual motion and carries in its wake the happy couple formed by Lawrence Brownlee and Pretty Yende.
British director Phelim McDermott offers the audience a new take on the culture of the people of Ancient Egypt in Aida, one that allows us also to question the world in which we live. This new perspective entails a number of bold creative choices that do not make use of the traditional staging imagery associated with Aida. Aida’s command to Radames — “Ritorna vincitor!” — comes at a price. The triumphal march of the victorious Egyptians is a procession for the coffins of the heroes fallen in battle, the chorus are their grieving kinsfolk. McDermott’s staging resonates keenly with the images of so many civilian and military funerals that crowd our newsfeeds. Here is a triumphal march that does not seek to hide the true, lethal and disastrous nature of war, whatever side you are on.
1995 recorded performance of Charles Gounod's Faust at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, with conductor John Nelson.
Live performance from the Grand Théâtre de Genève, February 25 2016.
