(Pic by Brent Ness: Simon Keenlyside as Hamlet)Mesmerizing performance of British baritone Simon Keenlyside in the title role. (Review by William Charlton-Perkins)
Currently showing at Cinema Nouveau in the Metropolitan Opera’s Live in HD series, Ambroise Thomas’s rarely staged Hamlet is well worth experiencing, not least for the mesmerizing performance of British baritone Simon Keenlyside in its title role.
One of the great singing actors of our age, blessed with one of the most beautiful voices of his generation, Keenlyside has carved a niche in his career championing this often maligned 19th century operatic take on one of Shakespeare’s most complex creations. His performance, superbly filmed live onstage last month in New York, leaves one in no doubt as to his star power in winning over his audience. This is a multi-layered realization of a tortured soul which stays with you long after seeing and hearing him in action.
I was disappointed to find that Natalie Dessay, scheduled to sing Ophelia in this production, had been replaced at short notice due to illness by the German coloratura soprano, Malis Petersen. Ms Petersen’s commitment to her role, however, coupled with the beauty of her soft-grained instrument, is hard to resist. The ovation she receives at the end of her celebrated ‘Mad Scene’ is well deserved.
Jennifer Larmore, vocally and visually ravishing as Gertrude, Hamlet’s guilt-wracked mother, is simply magnificent. She exudes star quality every moment she is onstage. Every gesture, each facial expression, and every nuance of her burnished mezzo soprano, hits its target dead centre, constituting what is nothing short of a master class in great operatic performance.
James Morris as Claudius, the protagonist’s villainous step-father, ably fills out his role too, even if his once splendid bass is rather threadbare these days.
This swiftly paced production by Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser employs minimal but atmospheric use of sets and props. It moves seamlessly from one scene to the next, allowing the singers and the mercurial French maestro Louis Langree to carry the action forward unimpeded by time-consuming scene changes.
Catch this one while you can, tomorrow may be the last day of its run! – William Charlton-Perkins
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