The Berlin Philharmonic
Back in Salzburg for Annual Festival
Masterful Music Making
By
Irving Spitz
 |
Robert
Gambill (Peter Grimes), John Tomlinson (Balstrode),
Amanda Roocroft (Allen Orford).
© Bernd Uhlig / Osterfestspiele Salzburg 2005 |
The Berlin Philharmonic made its annual appearance in Salzburg
with an exciting program comprising three concerts and one
opera. The emphasis this year was on the British composer,
Benjamin Britten. His opera, Peter Grimes, is a gloomy saga
about the proud, self-willed fisherman. It is his uncompromising
independence and unwillingness to accept any help, that brings
Peter Grimes to disaster and suicide. Director Sir Trevor Nunn
and designer John Gunter filled the stage of the Grosses Festspielhaus
with Brugellian bleak true-to life sets depicting most realistically
the fishing village and its simple yet hostile and aggressive
inhabitants. The Grosses Festspielhaus is ideal for concerts
but is a nightmare for an operatic production team. In this
powerful production, Nunn succeeded in bringing out the tragedy
and pathos of the figure of Peter Grimes and made the bloodthirsty
villagers who failed to understand Peter Grimes the true villains
of this great epic.
At an early age, Britten
expressed the desire to study with Alban Berg but in fact
never did so. For the most part, Britten rejected the 12-tone
mode and instead used melodic harmonies. First performed
in 1945, Peter Grimes is arguably the greatest opera by a
British composer since Henry Purcell’s Dido
and Aeneas. Sir Simon Rattle with the magnificent Berlin Pilharmonic
Orchestra brilliantly portrayed the subtle nuances of this
overpowering and complex score contrasting the agitation and
pathos of Peter Grimes and the frenzy of the mob. Particularly
effective was the brilliant juxtaposition between the offstage sacred Church music in Act 2
Scene 1 and the profane, represented by the argument between
Peter Grimes and Ellen Orford. Intertwined in this wonderful
kaleidoscope of sound, were the sea interludes, amongst the
most sensual music composed in the last century. It was the
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Rattle that made the biggest
impact.
American tenor Robert
Gambill took on the challenging role of Peter Grimes. The
notes were there but he lacked the stage presence of Jon
Vickers or Peter Pears, Britten’s long-standing
life companion who originally created the role. Gambill’s
voice portrayed the required pathos, anger, sorrow and misunderstanding.
He was best in his monologues when reminiscing about the death
of his first apprentice and musing about his hopes and aspirations
for life. This was not a villain but a tragic misunderstood
figure. Veteran British bass-baritone, John Tomlinson was the
old retired sea captain Balstrode. With his commanding presence,
he used his sonorous arresting baritone with authority. Soprano
Amanda Roocroft took on the sympathetic role of Ellen Orford.
She was particularly effective in the soft passages. Ellen
in particular, but also Balstrode initially tried to humanize
Grimes and make him socially acceptable. They were, however,
unsuccessful and then persuaded Grimes to take his boat out
to sea and not to return. The rest of the large cast was also
exemplary, in particular Jane Henschel as Auntie, the landlady
of the inn and Kathryn Harries as Mrs. Sedley who lead comic
relief to this grim tale. The excellent chorus was formed from
the London-based European Voices and students from the Guildhall
School of Music & Drama. With justification, this performance
was enthusiastically acclaimed by the full house and did Salzburg
proud. The Berlin Philharmonic has been making this annual
pilgrimage to Salzburg since 1967. Next year features Debussy’s
Pelleas and Melisande.#
