Although the Fach system is essential for the operatic establishment, there is just a splash of science in it. Some voices have a unique combination of qualities that make them unpredictable. The classic specimen for this phenomenon is the Bulgarian soprano Ljuba Welitsch, who appeared in a series of hard-to-cast roles such as Salome and Butterfly, in which her lightness of tone made her believably girly in sound and the tightly-focused bright edge made her pierce through a big orchestra. It didn’t hurt either that she had a non-Wagnerian physique.
As much as Welitsch, Asmik Grigorian is not a dramatic soprano and one would hardly call her a big-voiced lyric soprano either. A metallic edge, a solid technique and excellent instincts make her ideal for some of the roles Welitsch sang (and their repertoires have many common items) and even some Welitsch did not dare to sing. In any case, you’ll find both Salome and Butterfly in the first group. As a matter of fact, Butterfly was the role she chose for her much commented on debut at the Metropolitan Opera House, and I could understand why in this evening’s performance of this opera at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Cio-cio-san is a tough piece of singing, where you would applaud any singer who is still managing the notes more or less as written by the end of the opera. That said, it is a role that requires a lot in terms of musical and dramatic interpretation. When the soprano just gets through it as an athletic feat, the whole opera feels empty. Ms Grigorian is not only vocally equipped for the part, but most importantly has the rare combination of musicianship, imagination and intelligence to bring this delicate and complex character to life. To be honest, she was not in her best voice. Compared to herself in different performances in Salzburg, her high register, if true in pitch and firm, sounded surprisingly matte. You could still hear it on top of the big orchestra, but within a restricted dynamic range and with little color. And yet this did not prevent her from offering a mesmerizing performance, every phrase shaped for its full musical and theatrical effect, her middle register clear, youthful and well-focused, the high mezza voce reliable, the tonal variety remarkable, you could hear the development of the dreamy young woman through the obsessive denial of reality as a means to postpone an inevitable tragic end. To make things better, one did not feel any preconceived notion about the character. Ms. Grigorian did not go for any cliché here. Even in the first act, there was nothing doll-like and silly in her childishness, and she did not go for empty grandeur in the end. I don’t need to say that she also acted famously in this dusty revival of a lazy 1987 staging by Pier Luigi Samaritani the costumes of which show that the costume designer couldn’t tell the difference between a China dress and a kimono.
As Pinkerton, Joshua Guerrero proved that he understands the style, the nature of his character and he even acted well, but his tenor lacks the slancio for this repertoire. Irene Roberts (Suzuki) did not strike me as well-suited for Italian roles, the tonal quality a bit grainy, the low notes a tad recessed and her pronunciation of the language rafter indistinct. Korean baritone Dong-Kwan Lee, on the other hand, offered a most convincing performance as Sharpless, his baritone ample and firm, a pleasant tonal quality and he interacted very well with Asmik Grigorian in their scenes.
Conductor Yi-Chen Lin led a symphonic account of this score, with rich sonorities, a good ear for clarity and a slightly disciplinarian beat. She did not make the lives of her cast very easy in the sheer volume of orchestral sound, but she was often attentive to their needs in tricky moments. The white-heat approach to acts 2 and 3 had the side effect of preventing the build-up in tension, and the opera ended in a plateau rather on the emphatic side. In any case, it is always exciting to hear a conductor who really believes than there is more than accompanying singers in this fascinating score.
thank you as always for sharing your experience!
Thank you!