Anna Netrebko, Bryn Terfel and Ekaterina Semenchuk, Laeiszhalle, Hamburg 9. Sep 2009

The Russian-Austrian soprano Anna Netrebko, Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and Belarussian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk, with the French maestro Emmanuel Villaume conducting the Prager Philharmoniker and Chor der Prager Philharmoniker, performed in a concert at the Laeiszhalle, Hamburg on 9. Sep 2009.

Programme
Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Semenchuk & Bryn Terfel
Prager Philharmoniker, Chor der Prager Philharmoniker
Emmanuel Villaume, Dirigent

Laeiszhalle, Hamburg 9. Sep 2009

1. Teil

M. Glinka: Ouvertüre zu Ruslan und Ludmila
M. Glinka: „Grustno mne“, Ludmila’s Kavatine aus Rusland und Ludmila (1. Akt), Anna Netrebko & Chor
P. I. Tschaikowsky: „Da, chas nastal“ aus Die Jungfrau von Orleans, Ekaterina Semenchuk
G. Gershwin: Ouvertüre zu Girl Crazy
G. Gershwin: "I've Got Plenty of Nuttin'", "It Ain't Necessarily So", Lied des Porgy und Lied des Sportin' Life (2. Akt) aus Porgy and Bess, Bryn Terfel and Chor
J. Offenbach: „Barcarolle“ aus Les contes d’Hoffmann, Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Semenchuk & Chor
C. Gounod: „Le Veau d’Or“ aus Faust, Bryn Terfel & Chor
E. Kalman: „Heia! Heia! In den Bergen…” aus Die Csardasfuerstin, Anna Netrebko & Chor

2. Teil

G. Donizetti: „Quanto amore! Ed io, spietata!” aus L'Elisir d'Amore, Anna Netrebko & Bryn Terfel
G. Verdi: „Va pensiero” aus Nabucco, Chor
F. Cilea: „Acerba voluttá” aus Adriana Lecouvreur, Ekaterina Semenchuk
R. Wagner: „Chor der Pilger“ 3. Aufzug aus Tannhäuser, Chor
R. Wagner: „Oh, du mein holder Abendstern“ aus Tannhäuser, Bryn Terfel
G. Puccini: Intermezzo 3. Akt aus Manon Lescaut
G. Puccini: „Un bel di vedremo” aus Madama Butterfly, Anna Netrebko
G. Puccini: „Tre sbirri, una carozza …Va Tosca…Te Deum” aus Tosca, Bryn Terfel & Chor

Encores
G. Bizet: „Habanera“ aus Carmen, Ekaterina Semenchuk & Chor
L. Arditi: „Il bacio“, Anna Netrebko
M. Leigh: "The Impossible Dream" aus "The Man from La Mancha", Bryn Terfel

Reports
Our friend Attila attended the concert of Anna Netrebko, Bryn terfel and Ekaterina Semenchuk at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. This is the report he wrote for the blog:

From the beginning this concert had a very special atmosphere. The audience seemed to be made up of a lot of Germans from outside Hamburg who had travelled here especially for the occasion. The buzz was enhanced by the unusual combination of both Anna Netrebko and Bryn Terfel in the same programme. Every artistic partnership brings out new elements in all the participants, and in terms of Anna's performance, I think Bryn Terfel - even though they hadn't initally been scheduled to sing any duets together - really brought out in her a dynamic, brazen, raw confidence; much more a Musetta than her usual Mimi persona. I imagine she benefitted from a rehearsal with Bryn who exudes charisma, and in many ways was the galvanising force of the evening. He manifestly has a real artistic generosity, lifting his colleagues to his heights rather than dominating them.

At the opening the orchestra and conductor showed they were going to be key players in the evening; the Prague Philharmonic played beautifully under Emmanuel Villaume who sweated buckets injecting every piece with passion and energy - nothing was humdrum, everything was fresh. They opened with the overture from Ruslan and Ludmilla to set the scene for Anna's rendition of Ludmilla's cavatina, "Grustno mne". She literally bounced onto the stage overflowing with confidence, she looked great - glowing and visibly slimmer - and sang with a definiteness and cleaness of attack I had not heard from her before. There was no diffidence here, no waiting to warm up. During the chorus parts she turned her back to the audience to face the choir to jolly them along.

Next, the late addition, mezzo Ekaterina Semenchuk, was impressive in her aria from Tchaikovsky's Maid of Orleans if a little lacking in charisma. Maybe the prospect of performing on the same stage as Anna had daunted her, and she had died her hair blonde for the evening and bore no resemblance to the brunette pictured in the programme.

The evening's Gershwin section took the concert into more unorthodox programming; a wonderful swinging account of the overture from Girl Crazy set the stage nicely for Bryn Terfel's entrance which was all swagger in keeping with his recent Bad Boys album. Bryn's two pieces from Porgy and Bess were brimful of charisma and presented with an ongoing patter that soon won the audience over. The contrast between Bryn's highly articulated sprechgesang approach and Anna's and Ekaterina's more conventional operatic delivery only added to the evening's electricity.

The first item taken from the Souvenirs album saw Anna and Ekaterina inject an almost erotic tension into "Belle nuit, o nuit d'amour" from Les Contes des Hoffmann - so much so that when it failed to end in a kiss they both broke out in girlish giggles.

Back to his Bad Boys album, Bryn showed off his real operatic credentials with "Le veau d'or" from Faust. He filled the hall with venom and was able to whistle along to the melody, and even if he was at times almost shouting it was always highly effective at conveying an overwhelming personality. I imagine that Tito Gobbi must have had a similar effect on audiences.

Anna finished with the first half with another Souvenir's selection - her party piece "Heia! Heia!" from Die Csardasfurstin. A black butterfly that had flittered about before the start of the concert then started fluttering about over the orchestra adding a further touch of magic to the evening. This really was Anna in overdrive whipping the whole hall up into a frenzy. I did wonder whether there was a certain over confidence here, and the more aggressive thrilling vocal attack left me wondering whether Anna was maybe pushing the voice a little. This was Anna "on acid" - exciting dymanic singing, not the ethereal floating of chiaroscuro tone that is her usual hallmark.

The prospect of Amina's aria from La Sonnambula to open the second half of the concert had really whet my appetite, but without any prior announcement both Anna and Bryn came onto the stage together 'in character' for a duet from L'Elisir D'Amore. Bryn sidled his way along the front of the orchestra looking a little sheepish. First, he got a laugh from the audience when he took out a bottle of mineral water from his pocket - which was obviously supposed to be the elixir. He then made the scene really come alive when he pulled out another bottle - this time beer and started drinking it before passing it onto both Anna and the conductor, Villaume, who all drank in turn.

The chorus gave a beautiful hushed rendition of "Va, pensiero" from Nabucco, followed by Ekaterina in an aria from Adriana Lecouvreur. She has a powerful voice, but she doesn't really lift the text and her stage presence is slightly clumpy. However, although no one had come to hear her sing this evening, I suspect no one will forget her too quickly either, and will be watching to see how she develops as an artist.

Another beautiful piece from the choir, this time the pilgrims' chorus from Tannhauser led to an intense spellbinding rendition of Wolfram's aria from Bryn - almost more spoken than sung. The reaction from some parts of the hall was delirious.

An unusually inspired orchestral performance of that old warhorse, the intermezzo from Manon Lescaut was followed by the piece I was most eager to hear - "Un bel di" from Madama Butterfly. Anna still seems to be pushing the lower notes of this aria rather than just letting them come with ease, and during the opening phrases she had to turn her back and clear her throat, but she soon regained her composure. The aria really suits both her voice and her personality and it was the first piece of the evening to really take flight. She was clearly pushing a little too much, but the emotional power she generated was devastating. Afterwards at the stage door, Anna said she is slowing working on the full role of Butterfly, "It's coming, it's coming slowly".

Bryn finished the programme - again with a piece from Bad Boys (as the baritone is so often the villain, he has a wealth of material to draw from), this time a fantastic rendition of the end of Act 1 of Tosca; full of malevolence with the conductor, Emmanuel Villaume, playing the role of Spoletta and conducting at the same time. Bryn impressively switches into character so easily, but for me it's always a little external, he never quite reveals the soul, but by the end of the Te Deum he almost visibly transformed into a demon revealing the devil within Scarpia.

There were three encores, Ekaterina did the Habanera from Carmen. This was her best performance of the evening. It started off well-sung but unsexy - until Villaume gave her some encouragement, suggesting with his gestures that she make it a little more flirtatious, and the piece took off. She suddenly started to use the audience as her partner, not see it as her enemy. At one point she had here eyes transfixed on me - it was like having a stalker on the stage, so I like to think I did my part to help her!

The next piece was a clearly hastily altered plan, with Villaume telling the orchestra the next item as he walked onto the podium. Anna sung one of her favourite pieces, Gottardo Aldighieri's "Il bacio" which is always enjoyable, she sang it well but it left me wondering that maybe the Butterfly aria had absorbed too much of her vocal energy.

Bryn preceded his encore with the latest football scores in the two matches being played by Germany (against Azerbaijan 1-0) and Wales (losing to Russia). His stunning rendition of "The Impossible Dream" from "Man of La Mancha" showed Bryn's 100% commitment to connecting deeply with the text, an amazing thing to experience, and for me his voice is almost more suited to the genre of musicals than it is to opera. He whipped the house up into a frenzy of an ovation which broke out into a slow handclap demanding more, leaving the three singers and conductor just standing on the stage at a loss because they hadn't planned any more encores. Literally the whole hall was on its feet, right up to the gallery, screaming and cheering which only stopped when the orchestra finally stood up and left the stage.

In short, an incredibly varied and entertaining evening, but in a hall that still bears the memory of Callas's great 1959 concert it somehow left me wondering when will we see an absolutely legendary concert from Anna. I think I need to hear fewer songs from her albums and more deeply felt heart-stopping deeply-characterised arias like Butterfly's.

On-line Press Reports
Anna Netrebko in Hamburg - Hamburger Abendblatt [Photos]
Unbeschreiblich weiblicher Gesangsklang - By Tom R. Schulz, Hamburger Abendblatt 9. Sep 2009 [German]
Ein Tag im Leben der Anna Netrebko - Hamburger Abendblatt 10. Sep 2009 [German]
Ein strahlend schöner Abend: Anna Netrebko verzaubert Hamburg - Hamburger Abendblatt 10. Sep 2009 [German]
Netrebko und Terfel verzaubern ihr Publikum - By Marcus Stäbler, NDR Kultur 10. Sep 2009 [German]
Weltstar: "Hamburg, wir kommen wieder!" - By Nataly Bombeck, Hamburger Abendblatt 11. Sep 2009 [German]
Atemlose Sehnsucht - By Peter Krause, Welt Online 11. Sep 2009 [German]
Gala-Abend mit Opernstars - Hamburger Abendblatt [Photos]
Press Release, Anna Netrebko, Ekaterina Semenchuk & Bryn Terfel: Pictures from audition - Prague Philharmonic Choir Website 10. Sep 2009 [Photos]
Anna Netrebko und Bryn Terfel in Hamburg - BR Bayern 4 Klassik 10. Sep 2009 [German] [Audioclip]

Photos
Programme of the concert. Part 2 did not begin with La Sonnambula, as it was announced in the official programme, but instead with Gaetano Donizetti L'Elisir d'Amore, 2. Akt 2, 2. Szene, "Quanto amore! Ed io, spietata!", sung by Anna Netrebko and Bryn Terfel (with a bottle of beer). Photos [1-2]: Herbert

Overview of the Laeiszhalle Hamburg building. Photo: Anne

Overview of the interior of the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Anne

Overview of the interior of the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Herbert

Anna Netrebko at the first part of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photos [1-3]: Anne

Bryn Terfel, Emmanuel Villaume, Ekaterina Semenchuk and Anna Netrebko at the first part of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Anne

Ekaterina Semenchuk and Anna Netrebko at the first part of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Anne

Anna Netrebko at the second part of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Britta

Ekaterina Semenchuk and Anna Netrebko at the second part of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Britta

Emmanuel Villaume, Bryn Terfel, Ekaterina Semenchuk and Anna Netrebko at the second part of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Herbert

Bryn Terfel, Ekaterina Semenchuk and Anna Netrebko at the second part of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Anne

Ekaterina Semenchuk and Anna Netrebko at the second part of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Anne

Ekaterina Semenchuk, Bryn Terfel and Anna Netrebko at the second part of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Anne

Bryn Terfel and Anna Netrebko at the second part of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Anne

Emmanuel Villaume, Bryn Terfel, Ekaterina Semenchuk and Anna Netrebko at the end of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Anne

Bryn Terfel, Ekaterina Semenchuk and Anna Netrebko at the end of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Anne

Emmanuel Villaume, Bryn Terfel, Ekaterina Semenchuk and Anna Netrebko at the end of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Anne

Anna Netrebko at the end of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Anne

Emmanuel Villaume, Bryn Terfel, Ekaterina Semenchuk and Anna Netrebko at the end of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Britta

Bryn Terfel, Ekaterina Semenchuk and Anna Netrebko at the end of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photos [1-2]: Anne

Anna Netrebko at the end of the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photo: Anne

Bryn Terfel at the stage door of the Laeiszhalle after the concert at the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. Photos [1-2]: Britta

Bryn Terfel at the stage door of the Laeiszhalle Hamburg after the concert. Photo: Anne

Bryn Terfel at the stage door of the Laeiszhalle Hamburg after the concert. Photos [1-2]: Herbert

Anna Netrebko at the stage door of the Laeiszhalle Hamburg after the concert. Photos [1-2]: Britta

Anna Netrebko at the stage door of the Laeiszhalle Hamburg after the concert. Photo: Anne

Anna Netrebko at the stage door of the Laeiszhalle Hamburg after the concert. Photos [1-4]: Herbert

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Concert of Anna Netrebko, Bryn Terfel and Ekaterina Semenchuk at the Laeiszhalle, Hamburg 9. Sep 2009