Sibelius' and Shostakovich's 5ths
Kansai Philharmonic
Trifoni Hall - 21 February
The Festival of Visiting Japanese Orchestras 2007
Two fifth symphonies and two conductors. First the Sibelius conducted by very handsome Sachio Fujioka. A great performance - nuanced, well-paced, dramatic. He squeezed every bit of content out of the piece and had the orchestra playing eloquently. With the exception of the violas, the playing was exemplary - with special praise for the winds and brass.
The Shostakovich was conducted by Taijiro Iimori. Always a crowd-pleaser, and with good reason, this symphony rocked the hall. In even the third movement, which I've always found a little overdrawn, my attention was held. The first movement was conducted at a hellishly fast tempo - but the players hung in there. And the finale was played at a moderate pace - not rushed as it often can be. (Athough I do like the Kondrashin recording in which he takes the finale adagio.)
Alogether, this was an excellent evening, and at 4000 yen (about $33) for the best seats, it was a bargain for Tokyo.
Richard Strauss' "Daphne"
Tokyo Nikikai Opera Theater
Tokyo Bunka Kaikan
10 February 2007
A staged production of a rarely seen work. I'm a fan of Richard Strauss and have been attempting thoughout the years to see productions of all his operas. I'm down to the last three - and the rarities have all been seen in Tokyo: Daphne, Danae, Aegyptische Helene. So, kudos to conductor Hiroshi Wakasugi, the driving force behind these Strauss productions. It's good news that he will become the new director of Tokyo Opera. I hope he'll start replacing the productions of the war horses with more interesting and newer works. How often can people see Carmen, Figaro, Traviata?
That being said, the orchestral playing was the highlight of this performance. The singing - an all-Japanese cast - was pretty spotty. To sing Strauss requires guts and strength, and I have yet to hear a Japanese singer, with the exception of Mari Midorikawa, sing Strauss with credibility. Too bad. It was all sung pleasantly, but there was too much thinness.
The production was, as usual, absurd. The cast members were all garbed as your typical Greek gods, and their acting consisted of posturing. Daphne was very silly - back of the hand to the forehead to convey distress, for example. But, all that would have been tolerable, albeit unimaginative, had it not been for five modern dancers who flung themselves about the stage in an extremely discordant and disruptive manner throughout the performance. It was bizarre and baffling.
The climax of the opera is the transformation scene in which Apollo turns Daphne into a laurel tree. (Bay leaves anyone?) In this production, Daphne wandered offstage to be replaced by one of the dancers who, if my eyes did not deceive me, was topless. She proceeded to hurl herself about the stage, obviously finding becoming a tree quite difficult and trying.
I have to add a comment about the total lack of any body fat on the five dancers. They were as flat as boards and horrifying to look at - the move to ban too thin models from the runway should be considered for dancers.
An imperial princess sat in front of me, and she applauded heartily. I suppose she had to.
