Arts Musings

May 19* and 26, 2012
Severance Hall, Cleveland, Ohio


Richard Strauss: Salome, Opera in concert


Franz Welser-Möst, conductor; The Cleveland Orchestra
Rudolf Schasching, tenor
Jane Henschel, mezzo-soprano
Nina Stemme, soprano
Eric Owens, bass-baritone
Garret Sorenson, tenor


Jennifer Johnson Cano, mezzo-soprano, Rodell Aure Rosel, tenor, Matthew Plenk, tenor, 
Bryan Griffen, tenor, James Kryshak, tenor, Darren Stokes, bass-baritone, Evan Boyer, bass,
Sam Handley, bass-baritone, Brian Keith Johnson, baritone


Eric Weimar, Répétiteur and Joella Jones, Rehearsal Accompanist

The Cleveland Orchestra has been sounding particularly good of late and seemingly reached their pinnacle for the first-time-ever presentation of "Salome" in Severance Hall. Augmented to bursting by extra instruments and with very tight seating arrangements due to the balcony-like platform for the singers which occupied the back portion of the stage usually taken up by the percussion section, they played as if they had been waiting forever to bring forth Strauss' music. Even without the singing, the result would have been incredible; combined with some amazing voices, the performance was one to be remembered always.




Why Maestro Welser-Möst doesn't conduct opera full time is a mystery. He has a real affinity for it, immersing himself to become one with the musicians and lead the singers seamlessly, never interfering but always watchful. Another house's loss is Cleveland's gain though, for at least once a year he brings a carefully selected work to Severance Hall. This year, rather than a fully-staged work, he chose to do Salome as a concert arrangement, and with the performer's he chose, staging wasn't missed a bit. There wasn't a weak link in the casting; from the smaller roles on up, each person gave just as much, perhaps even more because of the lack of costumes, props and movement, to the roles they were assigned.




Of particular note was the clear diction and strong voice of Jennifer Johnson Cano as the Page (and a Slave); she has a warm sound but with a steely core that made one sit up and take notice of what she was saying. A member of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, she bears watching as her voice matures and she takes on larger roles.

Nina Stemme, @ Tanja Niemann

  

  

Nina Stemme's name has been mentioned among the great Salome's in opera history, and for good reason. The consummate singing actress, her facial expressions and body language turned her to a petulant young girl, experiencing new feelings for the first time and being frustrated by being told "no" from several sides. She tried to be seductive, pouted, flounced and did everything but stamp her foot. While the role is that of a teenager, the vocal line can be terrifying for most singers. The tessitura sits quite high and is exhausting to sing but Ms. Stemme was strong from start to finish and her final twenty minute scena was truly electrifying- the finest I've ever seen. She sang to the imaginary head she cradled in her hands, completing her wild descent while effortlessly spinning Strauss' music to its hectic climax.

Salome clearly could have learned her manners from her mother, Herodias. Jane Henschel was alternately imperious as she called for the silencing of her tormentor, Jochanaan, exasperated. amazed at the ravings of her husband and pleased as she watched her daughter doing her dirty work for her. Always a solid performer, she didn't disappoint here. Herod is a role that can go wrong very easily. There isn't much to like about the fellow- he's crass and lewd, with a roving eye that all too often lands Salome, but is kept in check, barely, by his wife. Rudolph Schasching portrayal was that of a man teetering back and forth between moments of lucidity and wandering madness and it worked very well.

Eric Owens, @ Paul Sirochman

        

                                                         



Eric Owens has had a very successful couple of years and it's easy to see why. His voice is impressive, smooth and velvety, and his acting resolute and strong. The unfortunate fact was that his placement for the "off-stage" singing left us hearing little more than muffled sound. Higher voices carry better in Severance Hall, and the positioning dictated by the over-sized orchestra only served to make things quite a bit worse for the men. Their voices went up and out but may have hit the back of the super-title screen rather than reaching out into the house. The three women were heard and understood, but while the men sounded nice, it was all but impossible to discern what they were saying. It was also hot on that platform, necessitating surreptitious face and neck mopping in between singing duties.

Yes, the orchestra was huge, but the musicians were fully invested in the performance. It seems like every instrument possible was included in the scoring for Salome, but of special interest was the heckelphone (a "oboe on steroids" that is so large that it rests upon the floor) solo, eerily and beautifully played Jeffrey Rathbun. That's not something you hear everyday! The most famous music from the piece, the Dance of the Seven Veils, was played at an every accelerating pace, filling the hall with sound that pinned us into our seats. A deep breath and off they went again, finishing the opera sounding just as fresh as when the evening began, 90 minutes earlier. Maestro Welser-Möst produced a jewel of a piece, which despite the acoustic flaws, will go down as one of the finest evenings of opera ever performed in Cleveland.

The entire show goes on the road to Carnegie Hall in Manhattan for one performance on May 24th before returning for the final performance here on May 26th. Do everything you can to catch it in one place or the other.