Who and what makes the Opera going.....?

Recently, I came across interviews with Placido Domingo and Dame Gwyneth Jones, inwich they complained about how the power of "directors" (regiseurs) have gone far too far.

I believe it is high time that singers open their mouth, not just to sing, but also to be honest about how things are going on in the opera-houses in the world. We are witnessing a constant disrespect from all kinds of directors, who seem only finding enjoyment in disregarding everything  what the composer had in mind for the particular opera they have in hands, and treating the audience as if they are a bunch of idiots, who need to be fed with all sorts of visual facts that only take away from what realy should be going on.

Let me make one thing very clear:I am not at all against modernizing the theatre or opera performances. Far too many productions where it all worked out well, are in my memory-box! But at the same time, many where the whole thing totally fell apart. A director has NO right to change the essence of what a work is about. One can set the work in a different time or place, that´s OK, as long as it doesn´t destroy the original meaning.Two examples of opera´s I watched from the Salzburg festival. The first one is "Il Trovatore", shown first last year. I was totally unprepared for the show, was only looking forwards to hear Netrebko sing and see Gatti conduct. At the very beginning I almost fell off my chair and thought, "what the hell is this!!". However, it only took not more than a couple of minutes to figure out the whole concept. The whole story,(weird as it is) takes place in a picture-gallary,and the workers there transform into the caracters of the plot. An amazing idea indeed, but did it work!!!This wonderful production is to be seen on youtube.(very recommended!) Well, this year it was Beethoven´s Fidelio, and that is quite another story. I always try to find information about productions, but all I got from the "festspiele" was the usual story of what´s going on in the opera. Again, "what the hell is this?", but now this horrible feeling did not go away, in fact it triggered anger and disgust. Had nothing to do with the fabulous singing cast, but purely what this Mr. Claus Guth thought he could do to make this masterpiece into something unrecognizable. All dialogues were left out, instead some strange electronical noises or heavy breathing....the set, the costumes, everything pointing to something totally unconnected. Frankly I don´t give a penny for what this man wanted to say with this production!!

But as said before, there are many brilliant modern productions to be enjoyed too. Main thing for me is, that there is the right ballance between what you hear and what you see. Only then can a production be called good.

I also think that it is time that the leadership of opera-houses should go back to the musical-directors. After all: opera is music-theatre...and not theatre-music.

In all their attempts, directors, who ignore and don´t undertand the power of what the music has to say, will be utterly rediculous and fail all the way.