Okay, here's my own little submission:
On Friday night I saw Eugene Onegin at the Houston Grand Opera, and it was
STUNNING. Bo Skovhus was hot, I mean, HOT. And what a voice. The soprano
was Zvetelina Vassileva, whose voice was sumptuous and earthy. I had never
even heard of her, but I enjoyed her performance emmensely. Both acted VERY
well, and I was completely drawn in (this doesn't happen to me very often, as
I am often too critical of technical aspects to enjoy much else). Another
notable performance was by my friend, Angela Niederloh, who is a young member
of the opera studio. Despite her youth, her portrayal of the old nurse was
INCREDIBLE. It actually took me a few minutes to realize that that was her!
Her rich mezzo carried so easily all the way back to my rear orchestra seat,
and she really captured the physicality of an old woman.
I appreciate a lot of the things that the director, Sabine Hartmannshenn, was
trying to do... there were some moments where my breath was taken away, as
well as a few moments where I had to try to stifle a laugh. A few of the
concepts worked better than others, although on the whole, I felt the
direction was strong.
Then there were the sets. They were so striking... Wolfgang Gussman was the
designer. There were so many levels and textures and colors, but at the same
time it had an incredible simplicity to it. I can't say enough positive
things about this entire production.
Of course my pals in the chorus sounded great, as the HGO chorus tends to
often sound!
Anyway, any of you who are within driving distance to Houston, I URGE you to
come and see this! It will be playing for the next few weeks. Also I'm sure
this production will be touring around, so make sure to catch it!
Lauren
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