| Page Views: 1,132 Last Visit to Brussels: December, 2007 | Opera and cycling in Brussels by Nemorino - last update: Mar 21, 2008 |
| Taking their bows at the Brussels Opera |
In Brussels I saw the same opera two nights in a row in two different versions. The first night the title role was sung by a baritone, Ludovic Tézier, and the next night the same role was sung by a tenor, Andrew Richards.
This is highly unusual, because usually a composer decides on one kind of voice and that's the way it is. In this case, though, composer Jules Massenet (1842-1912) originally wrote his opera Werther for a tenor, but later went through and made the necessary changes so it could be sung by a baritone.
The man in the blood-stained white shirt in the first photo is Andrew Richards. On his left is the French soprano Sophie Koch, and on his right the orchestra conductor Kuzushi Ono and the stage director Guy Joosten, who came up with an ingenious and convincing interpretation that was fully consistent with the text and the music. |
The staging was the same on both evenings, and the changes in the score are actually quite minimal from one version to the next, but I found it did make a difference to have the title role sung by a deeper voice the first night. The baritone seemed more like a brooding romantic hero, whereas the tenor came across as a timeless tortured soul. Though that could also have to do with the personalities of the two singers, as well as with the level of their voices.
Werther is an opera I have seen previously, in different productions, in Darmstadt, Würzburg, Freiburg in Breisgau and Frankfurt am Main. |
| In the Brussels opera house |
The Brussels Opera has been an exciting place since the 1980s, when it was run by one of the outstanding contemporary opera administrators, Gérard Mortier, who later went on to run the Salzburg Festival, where he was constantly at odds with conservative opera fans and local politicians. He is now the head of the Opéra National de Paris, meaning that he is in charge of two of the five Paris opera houses, namely the Opéra Bastille and the Palais Garnier. From 2009 he will head the New York City Opera, the second opera house in that city after the Met.
Another outstanding opera administrator, Bernd Loebe, was Artistic Director of the Brussels Opera throughout the 1990s. After leaving Brussels he returned to his home city of Frankfurt am Main, where he became the General Director (Intendant) of the Frankfurt Opera starting in 2002. |
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 Comments for Nemorino about Brussels | | | | |
Bwana_Brown Sat Oct 10, 2009 22:16 UTC
An interesting take on tenor vs. baritone in the Werther opera. It was nice to see that the Old England building has survived in fine style! Looks like CycloCity needs a bit of a shake-up but the program to help the homeless is amazing! An excellent page! | calcaf38 Sun Aug 30, 2009 17:05 UTC
I see you point about Paris tips. I'm going to Venice in October, and I'm already working on organizing a page with only OTBP tips - like I did for Philly, concentrating on the Venice Ghetto, obscure alleyways,and so on. | LoriPori Thu Jul 23, 2009 23:12 UTC
I would love the musical museum esp. the Harps & Harpsicords. Brussels is certainly rich in culture. | hopang Thu Jul 9, 2009 15:09 UTC
Excellent Brussels page! The Old England, Bozar Centre for Fine Arts, European Parliament and Brussels Town Hall certainly look amazing. Bring back fond memories of our trip to that city on several occasions. ~ho & pang |
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