Frankfurt am Main (MH) – The prominent audience in the presence of Frankfurt’s mayor Mike Josef and head of the cultural department Ina Hartwig (both SPD) gave great applause on Sunday evening for the successful debut of the new general music director Thomas Guggeis. The only 30-year-old successor to Sebastian Weigle conducted his first opera premiere with Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” at the Frankfurt Opera House.
“The Marriage of Figaro”
With loose, springy phrasing, the finest melting sound, encouraging the singer and choir to breathe naturalness, his forward-pushing Mozart was convincing across the board. His accompaniment to the recitatives, partly improvised from the fortepiano, also revealed the desire to make music together with the Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra on an equal footing.
Director Tilman Köhler achieved his best production at the Frankfurt Opera by relying entirely on the acting agility of the singer-actors. The cleared stage, with few props, including a wooden phalanx of doors by Karoly Risz, psychologically atmospherically lit by lighting magician Joachim Klein, allowed the nuanced singing and performance art of the magnificent Frankfurt ensemble to emerge in all its individual class in its reduction.
Kihwan Sim played a jealous, deeply desperate Figaro, Elena Villalón a pragmatic Susanna. Danylo Matviienko’s role debut was rousing in the role of the abusive count, while guest star Adriana González, as his betrayed wife, received the most applause with her outstanding messa di voce skills. Kelsey Lauritano shone as Cherubino, while Idil Kutay from the Opera Studio drew everyone’s attention with her supporting role as the clever Barbarina.
The fact that at the end the seventh star of the “Opernwelt” was presented to Bernd Loebe on stage by editor-in-chief Jürgen Otten and the head of the cultural department Hartwig promised a decision for a “good new building solution for the municipal theaters as quickly as possible” rounded off the successful premiere.
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2023-10-01 22:42:29
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