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Homer and Virgil, in ‘only' five acts
A mammoth "Les Troyens' at the Met
Steve Cohen
Les Troyens is a mammoth work that's rarely staged, for understandable reasons. This five-act Berlioz epic of the Trojan War lasts as long as Gotterdämmerung and requires even more resources— a big chorus and a host of proficient singers who have short individual scenes.
Four decades have passed since the Royal Opera— the first company to stage the entire five-hour work in one evening— last presented Les Troyens, and ten years have elapsed since the Met attempted it.
When Troyens is mounted, a mediocre performance from any of the many singers can ruin the experience. That's what happened this season when the Met's revival was marred by a beleaguered Marcello Giordani in the main role.
That fine tenor struggled with the high tessitura written for Aeneas, the hero who survived the Trojan War, sojourned in Carthage and eventually founded Rome. Giordani was so challenged by the role that he left the production in mid-run and announced that he'd never sing the part again.
Young tenor's break
Flying to the rescue from an engagement in London was Bryan Hymel, a 33-year-old native of New Orleans, just four years out of Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts. In his Met debut, Hymel elicited ovations from audiences and cast alike. Then he appeared on 761 cinema screens worldwide when the Met beamed Troyens in HD.
Hymel effortlessly handled the high passages with Gallic lyricism but also with sufficient power to cut through Berlioz's huge choral and orchestral accompaniment. His singing was simultaneously refined and heroic. One of the best moments occurred when he sang a long-held high B flat over the chorus and orchestra as they proclaimed his destination: "Italie."
This was quite a change of style from the last time I saw Hymel, when he sang Puccini's La Bohème love duet with Angela Meade at an AVA party last spring. Which brings to mind the fact that three straight Saturday Met matinees have been headlined by AVA alumni: Hymel in Troyens, Angela Meade in Trovatore and Joyce DiDonato in Maria Stuarda.
Fall of Troy
Les Troyens can be immensely enjoyable if you revel in the leisurely pace and the digressions into dance and choral intricacy— less so if you want action. The opera's first half relates the Homeric story of the Greeks' destruction of Troy, and we briefly see a large Trojan horse. Cassandra warns the populace of their doom but no one believes her and she commits suicide as Aeneas escapes.
The second half, based on Virgil's Aeneid, shows how the refugees from Troy fled to Carthage, where Aeneas romanced that city's Queen Dido. But gods and ghosts call Aeneas to go to Italy where he will build Rome to greatness and he leaves the distraught Dido, who (like Cassandra) commits suicide.
Susan Graham was glowing as Dido and Deborah Voigt was stalwart as Cassandra. Other fine contributions came from Karen Cargill as Anna, Dido's sister, and Kwangchul Youn as Narbal, a minister to Dido. Paul Appleby sang his melancholy sailor's aria, "Vallon sonore," with refinement. Fabio Luisi conducted poignantly, at somewhat slower tempi than James Levine used to take with this opera.♦
To read a response, click here.
Four decades have passed since the Royal Opera— the first company to stage the entire five-hour work in one evening— last presented Les Troyens, and ten years have elapsed since the Met attempted it.
When Troyens is mounted, a mediocre performance from any of the many singers can ruin the experience. That's what happened this season when the Met's revival was marred by a beleaguered Marcello Giordani in the main role.
That fine tenor struggled with the high tessitura written for Aeneas, the hero who survived the Trojan War, sojourned in Carthage and eventually founded Rome. Giordani was so challenged by the role that he left the production in mid-run and announced that he'd never sing the part again.
Young tenor's break
Flying to the rescue from an engagement in London was Bryan Hymel, a 33-year-old native of New Orleans, just four years out of Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts. In his Met debut, Hymel elicited ovations from audiences and cast alike. Then he appeared on 761 cinema screens worldwide when the Met beamed Troyens in HD.
Hymel effortlessly handled the high passages with Gallic lyricism but also with sufficient power to cut through Berlioz's huge choral and orchestral accompaniment. His singing was simultaneously refined and heroic. One of the best moments occurred when he sang a long-held high B flat over the chorus and orchestra as they proclaimed his destination: "Italie."
This was quite a change of style from the last time I saw Hymel, when he sang Puccini's La Bohème love duet with Angela Meade at an AVA party last spring. Which brings to mind the fact that three straight Saturday Met matinees have been headlined by AVA alumni: Hymel in Troyens, Angela Meade in Trovatore and Joyce DiDonato in Maria Stuarda.
Fall of Troy
Les Troyens can be immensely enjoyable if you revel in the leisurely pace and the digressions into dance and choral intricacy— less so if you want action. The opera's first half relates the Homeric story of the Greeks' destruction of Troy, and we briefly see a large Trojan horse. Cassandra warns the populace of their doom but no one believes her and she commits suicide as Aeneas escapes.
The second half, based on Virgil's Aeneid, shows how the refugees from Troy fled to Carthage, where Aeneas romanced that city's Queen Dido. But gods and ghosts call Aeneas to go to Italy where he will build Rome to greatness and he leaves the distraught Dido, who (like Cassandra) commits suicide.
Susan Graham was glowing as Dido and Deborah Voigt was stalwart as Cassandra. Other fine contributions came from Karen Cargill as Anna, Dido's sister, and Kwangchul Youn as Narbal, a minister to Dido. Paul Appleby sang his melancholy sailor's aria, "Vallon sonore," with refinement. Fabio Luisi conducted poignantly, at somewhat slower tempi than James Levine used to take with this opera.♦
To read a response, click here.
What, When, Where
Les Troyens. Opera with libretto and music by Hector Berlioz; Fabio Luisi conducted. Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, Broadway and 65th St., New York. HD Encore in movie theaters nationwide, January 23, 2013. www.metoperafamily.org or www.fathomevents.com.
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