# Munich for Werther and Mefistofele (Oct 2015)



## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Mefistofele is the main reason for this visit. A chance to see one of my favourite operas with a great cast. So I tacked on Werther with Villazon the previous evening just to make a trip of it.

There's not much to report, apart from almost missing my flight. I reached check-in just as they were closing. Rolled eyes from the guy behind the counter. Huge sigh from me. Okay, I was cutting it a bit fine there, but it's still a better policy than 3 tedious hours in a departures lounge.

Munich. Train 45 minutes to the centre. I had plenty of time to check into the hotel and wander around the centre. It's my first visit to the opera here but not to the city. The most recent was the World Cup semi-final in 2006 (oh my, time flies!), with other visits for sport and business previous to that. I took lunch at the Viktualienmarkt, to join the locals paying in not a bit of notice to the WHO's announcements as they smoke, drink and eat sausages as they always have.

First night it's *Werther* with *Rolando Villazon*. Rather static staging, the ever-present side and back walls covered in writing, illustrative of his fevered mind I guess. Smack dab in the middle of the stage throughout is a large boulder on which sits Werther's desk, and which is invisible to everyone else. You'd think one of the kids on stage would mention it to their uncle, but no, its invisibility cloak is just too good!

Villazon's French diction doesn't convince and it feels by rote, although things improve on the notable arias. Let's face it, Werther is a downer. At least the composer's Manon is enlivened by comique scenes before the tragic last act.

An early night after my early start. Next day. What to do? There's plenty to see in Munich anyhow, but I'm in luck. There's a concert with one of the world's great violinists at 10am. It's a public rehearsal at the Philharmonie. I stroll in at 9:30 and buy a ticket for the flat rate €10. I'm dressed like most of the orchestra, in jeans. I read somewhere that this massive brick concert hall doesn't cut it these days, similar to the current Barbican discussions, but it seems fine to me. A good acoustic I thought. So I get Maxim Vengerov in Tchaik's Violin Concerto (and a few reruns too) then a scintillating Dvorak's 8th symphony. I've enjoyed a great concert and it's only midday! Next, I walk back to the Nationaltheater (i.e. opera house) and try for a guided tour. €7 secures me a berth on the German language tour at 2pm. Time for a leisurely lunch at the Viktualienmarkt again. A huge slab of roast pork, kartofel, and beer.

A half hour into the guided tour, and we're still getting a verbose lecture in front of house. My German language skills are negligible. There aren't many laughs coming from the mainly German tourists, so I guess I'm just missing a dry history lesson. In any case I had the English crib sheet with the ticket which summarises the main points of the talk. Finally we get what we came for - Dressing rooms, backstage, cavernous understage with its state-of-the-art hydraulics), and finally the orchestra pit. This house is very spacious front and backstage and in great shape. We saw the stage hands setting up Mefistofele of course, giving my first (ominous!) taste of this production.

I think I've touched on this before - having a sedentary hobby such as opera-going needs a healthy counter-balance. The perfect way to do this is to be a _flaneur_ - a stroller and observer of cities. To a flaneur, a city and its people are like a museum, without the entrance fee, and with more choice of cafes. So what did I observe? Firstly it's widely acknowledged that Munich is a great city to live in by any measures; the biggest and most prosperous in Germany. It also boasts more beggars than any city I've seen in a while!

I also observed a lot of street musicians, including a quartet featuring a grand piano that gets wheeled around to various locations. In fact they seemed to be following me. So the solution, like avoiding daleks, is to find some steps to go up. If there's one thing that all buskers here have in common, from a humble accordianist to this savvy quartet, it's a suitcase with CDs for sale at €15. CDs from buskers are always impulse buys you'll regret. Topped only by timeshare apartments. When I see someone about to buy, part of me want to stop them and save them €15, but alas it's a lesson they need to learn for themselves. Of course the other thing one can't fail to notice is the amount of folk from the Middle East.

I've delayed it long enough. Now I have to write about *Mefistofele*, and the fact that I spent plenty of money to see one of my favourite operas with a great cast. The abstract metal frame IS the set from start to finish. Many smaller props are used throughout, together with liberal use of the hydraulic stage, enough to make the viewer seasick. In this production Heaven has been closed down, and much of what we see in the prelude is projected on a screen, with Mefistofele and his cohorts lounge around in soft chairs to watch. The projected images included Central Park, New York, Upper West side and John Lennon's face appear (Imagine there's no Heaven, ha ha!). And then towers, and a picture of a passenger airliner in flight. Surely they're not going to? It's getting pretty close to the mark, but thankfully they stop short. What point they're trying to make is anyone's guess. The Prologue ends and receives barely any applause, and it's not because the audience is stunned. It's simply that the production is DIRE.

Thankfully *Joseph Calleja* is making a good fist of his parts, and it's pretty much his night. Clear some space on the stage and let him sing, seems to be the policy. *Rene Pape* as Mefistofele literally takes a back seat most of the time, even singing sometimes from his beat-up low armchair at the side of the stage. I think they're trying to make the point that he's lacking motivation without his old adversary to pit his wits against. (I think the plot reworking is borrowed from Megamind, although that film is far more entertaining.) As Margherita *Kristine Opalais* sings a fine L'Altra Notte in Fondo al Mare. Margerita's salvation at the end of the act had me shedding a few tears in Budapest earlier this year. Not a chance here, as another act ends with a whimper. The audience know they're watching a stinker. What a pity this is their first exposure to Mefistofele.

Opalais's work is over as 'Helen of Troy' is sung by somebody else. Ah, the exotic setting of ancient Troy for the 4th act... except here it's set in a grotty old people's home, Elena is a nurse and Faust one of the residents. I need not go on. What a dreadful disappointment this production is. I just found a review on ft.com with the same sentiments.

Afterwards I bumped into Calleja and had a few words and a handshake while waiting for my tram. Yes, he was out of the building pretty quick, and who can blame him?

It's been a pleasant couple of days, particularly with the concert added. I'm happy to return to Munich again, but I'd want to check on the quality of the production first!


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