2024-06-01 00:51:10
Situational humor with out complexities, humanity, naive appearing and a light-weight head. Director Ondřej Havelka took a easy route within the new manufacturing of the opera The Secret by Bedřich Smetana. It premiered in Prague’s Nationwide Theater final Friday and was one of many occasions of the continuing Prague Spring competition.
The key is certainly one of Smetana’s works that no person is aware of a lot about. To your detriment. In his music, there may be super animal energy, power rolling ahead in currents, kneaded by the acutely aware and arduous work of the then fifty-four-year-old composer, who on the time of composing Tajemstvi already had all of the operas by which we kind a picture of him right this moment.
Maybe it’s the uncomplicated manner with which director Ondřej Havelka approached the story of the disputes, trifles and passions of two hostile households in addition to a number of different characters from round Bezděz, that represents method to the great rating. Nonetheless, the high-quality efficiency by conductor Robert Jindra and the wonderful singing solid additionally contributed to the success of Friday’s premiere.
The plot is straightforward. Two members of the town council stand in opposition to one another in any respect prices, and so do their cronies. Malina is wealthy, Kalina quite the opposite, and he additionally suffers from the truth that years in the past, on account of empty pockets, he didn’t get Malina’s sister Róza as his spouse. In his insulted self-importance, coated within the mud of twenty years, he forgets that he did not actually battle a lot for Róza. Each males have grownup youngsters: Víto and Blaženka, who, however, don’t lack braveness and stand behind their love even in the meanwhile when the entire village finds out about their secret relationship.
The posthumous message of the priest, who favored beer and supported companion love, will lead each households to the ultimate reconciliation, and the truth that the capability of each sulk will ultimately be exhausted with God’s assist. Final however not least, the motto of the opera performs a job, in keeping with which outdated love doesn’t rust.
Earlier than the premiere, Ondřej Havelka emphasised a reality that’s apparent to anybody who spares just a little over two hours of time, opens the rating with the libretto and listens to your entire opera in peace.
Adam Plachetka as Kalina, Jana Sibera as Blaženka and Aleš Briscein as Vít. | Picture: Serghei Gherciu
The libretto is laughable as a result of it’s interval and naive. You’ll be able to’t assist however pause on the gasp of the innkeeper, “Oh, it is arduous work! The place to first? I do not know the place!”, on the sneer of Malin’s pals, “He is nothing, who inherited solely the wind in an empty bag from his father!” or over Blaženca’s confession “Once I hear solely the froth of your horn, solely the shot of your rifles, I already know from afar, since you solely hear the sound of your horse’s horseshoe?”
Certain, not everyone seems to be Shakespeare, and a few works get outdated. Nonetheless, the timeliness of the message and direct communication with right this moment’s viewers just isn’t the one worth that may be measured. Even ideologically or temporally distant contents are nonetheless price attending to know, and the viewer can, quite the opposite, get nearer to them.
The best way to obtain this on this case? Admit weaknesses and switch them into strengths. Ondřej Havelka guided the singers to intentionally clichéd, illustrative appearing. In collaboration with set designer Martin Černý and costume designer Barbora Maleninská, he created a interval manufacturing within the spirit of Nineteenth-century theater firms with all its imperfections and allure.
Forgotten textual content and feverish communication with assist, the would-be motion scenic impact of a falling plank or the exaggerated comedy of underground pidumen – not solely these components are included within the manufacturing past the scope of the libretto.
Aside from these, its energy lies within the easy playfulness and perspective that grows out of small issues, within the actual understanding of the director’s intention on the a part of the singers, in addition to the delicate notion of the wonderful line between naive humor on the one hand and banal humor on the opposite.
The key tells in regards to the disputes between two hostile households. The image reveals František Zahradníček as Malina and Adam Plachetka within the position of Kalina. | Picture: Serghei Gherciu
It isn’t about jokes in any respect prices. Lyrical passages, arias and duets have their calm and the rating all the time stays within the foreground, troublesome for the orchestra, singers and choir. To ensure that a pulsating animal matter to develop from the flowery weave of voices within the ensemble passages, which the opera is stuffed with, the musicians needed to work in the direction of absolute rhythmic precision throughout rehearsals after which additionally to an outline that creates the impression within the viewer that not a lot is definitely occurring.
This was achieved nearly flawlessly on the premiere on Friday, and everybody who participated within the musical staging, from Zdenek Klauda to the conductor Robert Jindra, contributed to this. Beneath his fingers, the orchestra was brisk and full-blooded, assured and supportive of the singers.
The principle character of the sharpened and hardened Kalina is excellently performed and sung by Adam Plachetka, who’s maturing fantastically into Smetano’s roles. In each phrase, the clear, full and cultured vocals guarantee the listener that issues are alright.
The younger love couple was embodied by Jana Sibera and Aleš Briscein, each seasoned singers with the flexibility to arch the cantilena, give life to the phrase and sparkle to the characters. A particular stage component was given to the retired soldier Bonifác by Jan Martiník, who typically loosened his usually velvety, malleable vocals an excessive amount of past the prescribed size of notes.
František Zahradníček portrayed Malina as a broad-shouldered, godlike man. He was historically assured as a singer, as was Jana Kurucová within the position of Róza. Jiří Hájek gave the viewers a smaller position, however nice pleasure as a grasp mason, Martin Šrejma did job because the singer Skrivánek, and the well-prepared choir led by Lukáš Kozubík performed a significant position within the profitable efficiency.
Attending to know Smetana’s Secret rather well means listening to it. Almost certainly, he is not going to cowl an individual with a cloud of euphoria on the first assembly, however the extra time he spends with him, the extra he actually will get beneath his pores and skin. The Prague manufacturing might provide precisely this. It’s a kind of that individuals go to repeatedly with pleasure.
Opera
Bedřich Smetana: The Secret
Director: Ondřej Havelka
Music manufacturing: Robert Jindra
Nationwide Theatre, Prague, premieres on Might 24 and 26, subsequent reruns on June 1 and 16.