Wise guys, who are versed in every situation, and who know how to fish in turbid waters and come out every time with a profit, are not the only aspect of the Great French Revolution. The Ensemble Opera Diversa held the premiere of a new opera by Miloš Štědroň yesterday which, despite the initial lack of clarity, eventually turned out to be an ironic celebration of political cunning, espionage and managerial skills in dealing with human material.
The main character of the new opera by Miloš Štědroň is the French politician and Napoleon's Minister Joseph Fouché. He is a chameleon by title and his colourful changes are impressive on the short time scale in which revolutionary events of the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries in Paris were concentrated. Fouché got involved in politics right from the beginning of the revolution. He began as a follower of the Girondists, switched to the Jacobins, was arrested and threatened with execution, but he was pardoned and actually initiated the execution of Robespierre. He built an extensive network of relationships with influential people and gradually became rich as well. He joined Napoleon, and became his Minister of Police; after the battle of Waterloo he joined the opposition and eventually became the Minister of Police again – but this time in the service of Louis XVIII. At the end of his career, he was relegated to the position of an ambassador to Saxony, which Miloš Štědroň replaced with Morava, specifically Haná. In our snappish home environment, which does not appreciate any authority and can be in eternal opposition to anything, Fouché's political exile ended very clearly.
The music of the Chameleon is brisk, fresh and complicated at the same time. Miloš Štědroň does not adhere too much to the time when Joseph Fouché lived – in that case, he would probably need to base it on the great French opera which was being born then and is probably the most distinctive musical expression of the French Revolution. However, the recitatives are based on another of the author's favourite periods, namely the mannerism at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. Based on that, Miloš Štědroň formed his own distinctive and consistent mannerism. With adequate representation, the listener can rely on the fact that if he liked one of Štědroň's pieces, they would probably like another. That does not mean, however, that the author would be robbing himself even if the Chameleon was based on the old play of Divadlo Na provázku, written in 1984 with Ludvík Kundera, Petr Oslzlý and Peter Scherhaufer.
The whole thing is significantly revised and the old sequence of scenes is followed by an elaborate opera consisting practically of one long ensemble. By that, the Chameleon would slightly call to mind Puccini's comedy Gianni Schicchi but, eventually, we have a rather varied Offenbach fairy tale before us. A three-beat time appears often, the royal couple and the nobility are characterised by the minuet, the jovial people from Haná by a song about the Prostějov brewery complicated by entirely non-folk modulations. Sometimes, there is a short ballet accompanied by reproduced music that announces each occasion of Fouché's political coat swapping accompanied by the words: "I promise loyalty!"
Most performers have multiple roles and it is not easy to become familiar with them but, gradually, the situation clarifies and the human mess surrounding Fouché acquires meaning even in its confusion. Conductor Gabriela Tardonová performed excellently in the opera and it was primarily due to her work that the entire performance held together and, without a hitch, reached the celebratory final chorus for all the secret police that the author could think of. The orchestra played reliably; the subscription concert series with a focus on a challenging repertoire is clearly good for it.
Two practical things made their significant marks on the roles. The first one is the personnel change which the ensemble is going through. Many of the singers who were the core performers of Diversa already have other engagements elsewhere and the ensemble must search for new matching members. The second difficulty lies in the Chameleon itself, as it includes parts for eight singers, which is a lot for a chamber ensemble. The singers were collected from all over the place, and it was apparent that they are somewhat unsettled and unconnected in the ensemble, which is a problem due to the ensemble nature of the opera. Out of the earlier "diversants", Fouché's role was taken by the reliable Aleš Janiga, David Vonšík played the third Punch (or Fool) in a row, the royal roles of Louis XVI and XVIII were played by bassist Aleš Procházka, and the pathetic urgency of Jiří Miroslav Procházka fits Robespierre's well. But even young singers appeared there: Kristýna Vylíčilová, Michal Marhold, Michal Robotka, and Michaela Baladová, distinctive with her musical style. With the last four, it was clear that they are still in development and have everything in front of them. They performed well in unison ensembles; however, in solo performances, the aforementioned style fragmentation was apparent and it was not saved even by the diverse old hands.
The Chameleon is produced by the core director of Diversa, Tomáš Studený – he became the Opera Director in České Budějovice and this fact again is obvious in the ongoing replacement of the ensemble. The Sylva Marková’s scenery was simple: just a small raised stage and old costumes evoking the time of the events. Several chairs and several cabbages with unclear significance were used as props. At the beginning, Tomáš Studený introduced his production as "a stage reading of the opera" but even without this information it would be possible to refer to the result as "semi-staged". The singers sang partly from notes, but sometimes they decided to do elaborate collective movements that bordered on creating tableaux and it also touched on a musical in style. These creative movements are characteristic for Tomáš Studený and they understand the music of Štědroň well. The direction was adequate for the piece and restrained – it did not unnecessarily highlight the occasional drastic or vulgar nature of the libretto, and it managed to gracefully deal with these aspects. Simply, we can say that it honoured the music.
Among the operas of Miloš Štědroň, Chameleon is an unsurprising but nice piece –like a pleasant reunion with an old friend. An unexpected feature is its ensemble nature, which places greater demands on performance than usual and probably would be also challenging for a permanent ensemble of a regular theatre. And, as part of the theatrical aspirations of the Ensemble Opera Diversa, it is, after the serious and mythical Ponava, a certain step aside from marching in place. Not so embarrassing, but it forces one to ponder what will happen with the operatic creation of the ensemble in the future.
Miloš Štědroň: Chameleon. Operatic farce of the Great French Revolution (by Ludvík Kundera). Musical arrangement – Gabriela Tardonová, Director – Tomáš Studený, Scenery – Sylva Marková. Singing and acting: Aleš Janiga, David Vonšík, Aleš Procházka, Jiří Miroslav Procházka, Michal Marhold, Michael Robotka, Kristýna Vylíčilová, Michaela Baladová. Ensemble Opera Diversa. 3 December 2015, Reduta, Brno. Premiere.
No comment added yet..