|
|
|
Fernando de La Mora was a good Faust (on both performances), he has the right French-style of singing, and can sing piano when required. He sang his big aria ("Salut demeure") dolcissimo and at the end hit the high C and descend into a beautiful pianissimo. He did have problems with the Prologue which lies a bit low for him and until Act III he lacked more volume in his voice, but from Act III on he sang strongly. He sang a high C together with Marguerite in the end of Act II that is certainly unwritten but it had little volume so I am not sure everybody heard that! In the first performance Mary Mills was indisposed and was replaced by the unknown Kelly Kaduce. What a pleasant surprise! Kaduce was marvellous, she has a big, round vice, even from the bottom to the top no apparent breaks. She is also a formidable actress, she portrayed the naive innocent girl then the mature woman and finally in the last act was superb as a demented Marguerite. She ended the "Bijoux" aria with a crowning high note (am sure people outside the theater could listen to it) and sustained it for a very long time. The "Scene d'eglise" was also superb because she has the stamina and volume necessary. The trio was also very good. An artist to watch! Mary Mills unfortunately was not as good. She sang well but her voice is smaller and she also did not have the same dramatic engagement. For example, in the last act she did not appear bald, I don't know if because she did not want to or they've changed the production in mid-run. Andr� Cognet was disappointing as a Mephistopheles vocally though. He is a baritone and had lots of problems with the tessitura. His first aria lacked impact and volume, and the other aria he could not differentiate between the different laughs. He acted well though and looked the part. His French of course was impeccable. In the final trio his voice disappeared. Jesper Taube was good as Valentin. He sang the crescendo at the end of his aria correctly and also had a good performance when cursing Marguerite. Jennifer Anne Cooper sang well enough as Si�bel but had problems with the tessitura too. This is a tricky role because some of the high notes are hard for a mezzo. Marion Pratnicki was effective as Martha and so was Ray Fellman as Wagner. Richard Buckley on the first performance was dissapointing. He was hurring the singers and orchestra all along, the orchestra got lost at a crucial moment (when Faust sees Marguerite as a vision in the Prologue) and seemed at odds with the singers. On the second performance though he was much better, more relaxed and attentive to both the singers and the score. The orchestra played well on the second performance but still lacked the sufficient gallic refinement to play this French score. The chorus was better on the second performance but very weak on the second (specially off the stage). |