Hui He | Cio-cio-san
Joseph Calleja | B.F.Pinkerton
Eijiro Kai | Sharpless
Zoryana Kushpler | SuzukiThomas Ebenstein | Goro
Peter Jelosits | Yamadori
Lydia Rathkolb | Kate PinkertonIl Hong | Uncle Bonze
Mihail Dogotari | Der kaiserliche Kommissär
Stefan Soltesz | Dirigent
Josef Gielen | Regie
Tsugouharu Foujita | Bühnenbild, Kostüme
I won´t save the best for the last: Hui He is a truly great Cio-Cio-San, possibly the best around at the moment. The Chinese soprano was in great vocal shape is by far the most complete and intense Cio-Cio-San I heard in the last 15 years. (Never mind the final D-flat of her entrance which was completely flat). She is a resolute and vocally sturdy Cio-Cio-San – there is not much fragility and childlike in her singing. Hers is a true spinto voice, yet her singing has nuance and variability. Maybe the „Un bel di vedremo“ lacked a little balance and vocal evenness , but she is able to produce spine chilling top notes as in the last scene („E questo? E questo?“ and a heartbreaking „Tu, tu, piccolo iddio“) as well as tender and well spun pianissimi and messe di voce. The voice may sound just a hint squeezy in the middle range, but is astonishingly solid and well balanced throughout the range. I have alway wondered how any soprano can possibly manage this killer-part, however she did not show much fatigue towards the end, when she fervently shot those top notes into the auditorium. One could certainly feel the impact she had on the public, especially in the last scene. Well deserved ovations.
Calleja was called an „ideal Puccini-tenor“ in an Austrian newspaper. I don´t quite agree. Of the big Puccini roles he sings Rodolfo and Pinkerton (Cavaradossi not yet) and he sings them very well. One especially comes to appreciate the clean phrasing and the effortlessness and exactness of his singing. He keeps the vocal line nice and svelte resisting the temptation to broaden the sound excessively. Yet, in Butterfly more than in Bohème he lacks a little the incisiveness and power to cut through the at times heavy orchestration (VERY heavy and loud under the direction of Stefan Soltesz on this occasion). „Amore o grillo“, which calls for more accento, and „Addio fiorito asil“, too, unfortunately are partly covered by the orchestra. He is at his best in the soft and lyric moments starting with a beautiful and tender „Bimba non piangere“ and all the way through the love duet where his voice soars beautifully.
Eijiro Kai´s Sharpless has a certain manly authority but the voice is throaty and does not carry well.
Zoryana Kushpler´s Suzuki is the best role I heard from her although the registers are not ideally blended and she forces a little too much on the lower register with the result of being short and squeezy in the top.
The orchestra conducted by Stefan Soltesz was insensitive, terribly heavy and loud. It reminded me of Maazel´s „Turandot“ many years ago, where at times you feared that the roof would come down. It seems there had been some disagreements between tenor and conductor – maybe contributing to Calleja´s cancellation of the Friday performance due to the “unhealthy climate” in Vienna. I cannot immagine, however, that Puccini would have wanted his singers to either have to scream or being drowned by the orchestra most of the time.
Selma Kurz
No quiero dejar lo mejor para el final: Hui He es una gran Cio Cio San, creo la mejor disponible en panorama actual. La condicion vocal de la soprano china es excelente: sin lugar a duda la mas mas completa e intensa Cio Cio San que he escuchado en los ultimos 15 años. No importa el re bemol final de su entrada totalmente desafinado: ella nos enseñò una voz solida y segura, sin fragilidades.
Hui He indudablemente una soprano spinta, con una voz llena de matices y color. Quizas en “Un bel di vedremo” le faltò equilibrio y uniformidad, pero fue capaz de producir tanto increibles agudos en la ultima escena “E questo? E questo?” y en el desgarrador “Tu, tu picciol Iddio” como dulces y perfectos pianissimi y medias voces. En ciertos momentos la voz pareciò un po…
Calleja fue considerado por la prensa austriaca el “tenor pucciniano ideal”. Yo no estoy totalmente de acurdo. De los grandes papelese puccinianos Calleja cantò Rodolfo y Pinkerton (Cavaradossi, todavia no) con excelentes resultados por la limpieza del fraseo y la facilidad y precision del canto. Calleja logra mantener la linea del canto agradable resistiendo elegantemente a la tentacion de abrir excesivamente la voz. En fin, en Butterfly mas que en Boheme, le faltò un poco de seguridad y fuerza para superar la pesada orquesta dirigida por Stefan Soltesz. Por ejemplo, en “Amore o grillo” le faltò un poco de acento y en “Addio fiorito asil” desafortunadamente fue tapado por la orquesta. Fue un Pinkerton mas lirico que hombre desconsiderado. Lo mejor fue la dulzura y el lirismo en el tierno y bello “Bimba non piangere”, y asì continuò por todo el dueto siguiente.
Eijiro Kai fue un Sharpless autoritario pero un poco engolado, con una voz difil de soportar.
La Suziki de Zoryana Kushpler fue el papel mejor cantando que he escuchado de ella a pesar de sus registros no muy bien equilibrados entre ellos. En ciertos momentos parecia esforzar demasiado el registro bajo resultando empujada y corta en el registro agudo.
La orquesta conducida por Stefan Soltesz resultò terriblemente fuerte y pesada. Me recordò mucho la “Turandot” de Maazel de hace unos años donde la gente creìa que el techo se iba a caer. Creo que hubo cierto tipo de desacuerdos entre el director y el tenor, debido tambien a la cancelacion de Calleja del espectaculo del viernes. De todos modos, no creo que Puccini hubiera querido que sus cantantes gritaran o que fueran sofocados todo el tiempo por la orquesta.
Die prunkende Schleife Duetto I Rethberg & Tauber 1922
S´ist schon was Wahres d´ran (Un pò di vero c´è) Duetto II Rethberg & Tauber 1922
Deine Mutter soll dich im Arme tragen Lotte Schöne 1928
http://youtu.be/dRI3jkC1Tmw