Breakfast. Free time in Berlin. Afternoon-flight to Vienna. Just an
hour before the opera started was I in the Staatsoper, naturally I
had skipped visiting my hotel first. So all my luggage in
Staatsoper. Relaxing and meeting friends before the opera started. I
had bought the Viennese newspapers on the airport Schwechat and
looked through it on the train to Vienna City. I usually am quite
drowsy when I get into the opera houses after my traveling, not
this time. Unfortunately it didn't get that much interesting on the
stage.
The ouverture was well played with the orchestra conducted by Marco
Armiliato. And the young bass as Jorg was quite good. But he was a
young man playing an older man, not utterly convincing. I was ready
to admire the soprano Hui He as Lina first I was a bit put off by
the painting of her face as too white, reminded me of Chinese opera,
it was a visual disturbance that I would have learned to live with.
But this very beautiful large voice was simply too weak in the
piano. You need the hear the voice even it should sound piano.
Cosmin Ifrim as Raffaele was charming. And Hui He and Cosmin Ifrim
was a nice couple of singers. Renato Bruson (Stankar) was not, in my
opinion, in great form. Even though Jose Cura acted the role very
well, I felt that even he was not in such a great form. The
Moshinsky production is wonderful but without a great Stiffelio,
Lina & Stankar it could not stand on it own. How I longed for Leo
Nucci as Stankar and Emily Magee as Lina, they sang so well in
Zurich I wished they came to Vienna too. Really, the test for this
opera is the ending of it. "Allor Gesu..." and PERDONATA!!, the
adulteress is forgiven in the Bible and in Opera, and I felt
nothing. Big applause to Hui He and Renato Bruson from the house but
not from me. I really wished that I could feel that Jose Cura did
another great performance. ´Maybe it was the weather?
Anyway, after the performance, applause and backstage, I found my
hotel pension Haydn and had another good nights sleep.
