Picture by Scott Arenstein
The Los Angeles Philharmonic’s present season, the ultimate one for outgoing Music & Creative Director Gustavo Dudamel, affectionately known as “Gracias Gustavo,” gives a wealth of performances, a lot in order that even mid-week, single-concert occasions ship a unprecedented expertise on the spectacular Walt Disney Live performance Corridor. These concert events additionally draw a broader viewers than typical weekend reveals, highlighting the LA Phil’s position as a key cultural establishment in Downtown LA.
On Tuesday, March 24, the LA Phil introduced the U.S. premiere of Irish composer Gerald Barry’s seventh opera, Salome, carried out by his frequent collaborator and fellow composer, Thomas Adès. Since debuting Barry’s second opera, The Triumph of Magnificence and Deceit, in 2006, the LA Phil has commissioned and premiered two different operas based mostly on basic literature: The Significance of Being Earnest (2011) and Alice’s Adventures Beneath Floor (2016), all carried out by Adès. Salome, one other LA Phil fee, was scheduled to have its world premiere in April 2021 below Barbara Hannigan’s course, however the world pandemic prevented these plans. Salome ultimately premiered in a 2025 stage manufacturing at Theater Magdeburg, directed by Julien Chavaz and carried out by Jerome Kuhn, with Alison Scherzer, who additionally sang right here, within the lead position.
With a libretto by Barry himself, Salome relies on Oscar Wilde’s play, the identical supply as Richard Strauss’s well-known 1905 opera. It options good, wacky deviations from the unique that solely Barry’s thoughts may produce. On this model, Salome doesn’t dance, however sorts as an alternative, and Herod dictates to her Wilde’s personal letter De Profundis, written throughout Wilde’s imprisonment. Barry removes all of the names besides Salome; Jokanaan is just addressed as The Prisoner, and he speaks solely in French. The opera ends with a “I’ve kissed your mouth” chorale, mirroring Salome’s personal phrases in Wilde’s play. Most significantly, the piece’s temper shifts from tragic to nearly comedian (or perhaps tragicomic). In Barry’s personal phrases, “Salome is an opera of voyeurism, the moon, French, God, punishment of sin, misunderstanding, intercourse, the metronome, suicide, hysteria, starvation, blood, typing, talking appropriately, sterility, “The Blue Danube”, the wind, fever, artwork, Wilde, dreaming, beheading, Frankenstein, kissing.”
Musically talking, Barry’s Salome couldn’t be farther from the opulent sound of Strauss’s creation. I attended The Significance of Being Earnest through the New York Philharmonic’s Biennial a decade in the past and was struck by the accessibility of his music (made memorable by the breaking of 40 dishes as percussion). If something, Salome’s rating was much more accessible. The declamatory type of the singing made many brief, repeatable phrases simple to discern, they usually had been very humorous. To my ears, the emphasis on brass and decrease strings, coupled with quite a few musical quotes (together with an interpolation of “The Blue Danube”), gave the rating an nearly Americana, notably Ivesian, really feel. The brilliance of the rating didn’t cease there. Barry developed distinct singing methods for nearly each character; Salome’s phrases stretched the bounds of the soprano’s voice with its high-flying octave jumps, whereas The Prisoner spoke his traces moderately than singing. Each the music and the texts pushed the piece’s black comedy to the forefront, making Salome a rarity within the modern opera world.
Barry discovered an ideal interpreter in Adès, a lot in order that in an interview, he admitted that they’ve all the time “been on the identical web page, the identical wavelength.” Adès’ contribution to the night time’s success couldn’t be understated; he coaxed a glowing, chamber-like high quality from the LA Phil New Music Group, bringing readability and vigor, whereas clearly having enjoyable with the rating.
LA Phil assembled an distinctive forged for this premiere, together with three from the world premiere, particularly Scherzer, tenor Timur Bekbosunov (who goes by merely TIMUR) as The King, and Vincent Casagrande as The Prisoner. It wasn’t onerous to see why Scherzer was forged within the title position ever for the reason that deliberate 2021 premiere, as she totally embodied Salome along with her presence and voice. Her brilliant, shimmering tone effortlessly soared over the various coloratura passages and octave jumps, and he or she introduced an intense Lolita persona to the stage, even on this semi-staged presentation. Equally, TIMUR sang his excessive phrases with ease, juggling a spread of feelings from lust to worry, pairing effectively with Sara Hershkowitz as his crafty spouse.
Casagrande’s efficiency as The Prisoner was exemplary. Singing and talking totally in French, Casagrande didn’t simply painting a confused, indignant individual but in addition supplied comedian aid at occasions. He introduced this duality by various the supply of his traces, giving many nuances and colours to his presentation. Justin Hopkins and Karl Huml, respectively, accomplished the forged as The Younger Syrian and The Soldier, each lusting after Salome and even The Prisoner.
Barry insisted that “Tragedy and humor, they’re just about the identical factor.” With Salome, he efficiently blended the 2 right into a convincing murals that, in a approach, represents the world we stay in. Whereas many modern operas attempt to be socially conscious of their seriousness, I actually admire that Salome did so in a enjoyable, humorous method. Judging from the viewers’s response, I do know I wasn’t the one one.
Precisely one week later, I returned to the Walt Disney Live performance Corridor for a really completely different but equally mesmerizing efficiency, Katia and Marielle Labèque performing Philip Glass’ Cocteau Trilogy, suites for 2 keyboards from the three Glass’ operas impressed by the movies of Jean Cocteau, particularly Orphée (1993), La Belle et la Bête (1994), and Les Enfants terribles (1996), organized by Michael Riesman. This efficiency was additionally a part of LA Phil’s ongoing Physique and Sound competition, which started with Prometheus with Esa-Pekka Salonen in January.
The three Glass Cocteau operas are basically French in nature, although they manifest otherwise. Orphée is a chamber opera influenced by Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. For La Belle et la Bête, he changed the movie’s soundtrack, set the phrases to music, and synchronized the scenes with the opera, successfully remodeling the movie into an opera. Les Enfants terribles is a dance opera, scored for voices, three pianos, and dancers. Collectively, the trilogy marks the height of Glass’s “center interval” and accommodates a few of Glass’s loveliest music.
The Labèque Sisters have a longstanding relationship with Glass. In 2015, they premiered Glass’ Double Concerto for Two Pianos with the LA Phil and Dudamel. In 2020, they recorded the Les Enfants terribles Suite and later toured with the piece the next yr. The success of that recording and people concert events prompted them to work with Glass and Riesman to finish the trilogy, which they recorded in February 2024.
This presentation was a Philharmonie de Paris manufacturing, together with varied artwork facilities within the UK and France. It was additionally designed to stimulate the senses of sight and odor because the Labèque Sisters carried out beneath a glossy, custom-designed chandelier conceived by Nina Chalot and Cyril Teste and lit by Mehdi Toutain-Lopez. Perfumer Francis Kurkdjian created three distinctive fragrances to accompany every suite. In earlier concert events in Europe, the fragrances had been blasted into the air. Right here, the viewers was given a leaflet with three scent strips, much like these present in buying malls.
The Labèque Sisters gave a really dedicated, even ferocious, efficiency of the Suites, exploring the intricacies of Glass’s repetitions and modulations. It was wonderful to see how fully synchronized they had been, barely making eye contact with one another. I used to be initially bowled over to listen to that the grand pianos sounded moderately skinny and muddled from my seats within the second-to-last rows on the Terrace degree, notably through the opening quantity “La Chamber d’Orphée,” the place every sister took turns enjoying the melody with a whole lot of pedaling. Nonetheless, by the point “Le Voyage aux Enfers” arrived, the virtuosity and ferocity bowled me over. The sound was even higher within the second half (after intermission), once they performed the Les Enfants terribles Suite. For this live performance, the Sisters dropped “Le Café” (a pity, as a result of it’s my favourite!) and rearranged the order of the primary few numbers from the Orphée Suite. In addition they ditched “She Slapped Me” from the Les Enfants terribles Suite, whereas protecting all numbers of the La Belle et la Bête Suite intact.
Personally, I used to be moderately detached to the non-musical points of the manufacturing. Whereas the chandelier appeared nice, through the first half, it principally displayed white strips of sunshine, which didn’t add any significant sensory expertise to the items. It was completely different within the second half, the place the lights started in brilliant purple and step by step light to white to suggest the lack of the characters’ actuality. Kurkdjian concocted evocative scents for every suite, together with incense for Orphée Suite (very masculine); rose for La Belle et la Bête Suite (little question influenced by the animated Magnificence and the Beast); and candy cotton sweet for the ultimate suite. Sadly, I barely noticed anybody peruse these scent strips through the efficiency, because the viewers was totally captivated by the Labèque Sisters’ enjoying.
It was completely great to see the Labèque Sisters carry out these Suites with such conviction, and the viewers showered them with a prolonged standing ovation. Extra to come back on this marvel of a Season.
