Just like every year, the Znojmo Music Festival brought its visitors an opera of its own production. For this year's 18th edition, subtitled Returning Home and Our Guardian Angels, the organizers prepared a stage performance of Joseph Haydn's oratorio The Return of Tobias. The Old Testament story about a tested marriage and a blind father was performed by the Czech Ensemble Baroque under the baton of Roman Válek and directed by Tomáš Ondřej Pilař at the premiere on 15 July 2022 (this performance was visited by this author) in the riding hall of the Louka Monastery – the reprise and last performances will take place on the following two days. Shira Patchornik (Sarah), Lucie Kaňková (d'Azaria), Dagmar Šašková (Anna), Theodore Browne (Tobias), and Adam Plachetka (Tobit) performed the solo roles. Costumes were designed by Ivana Ševčíková Miklošková, choreography by Martin Šinták, and lighting design by Tomáš Příkrý.
Il ritorno di Tobia (The Return of Tobias) from 1775 is Haydn’s first oratorio. Although it was eventually overshadowed in the composer’s legacy by the pair Die Schöpfung (The Creation) and Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons), the work cannot be denied – despite its somewhat undramatic libretto – its haunting musical impact. However, unlike The Creation and The Seasons, The Return of Tobias is not given much prominence, a fact that the artistic team, headed by Tomas Ondrej Pilář and Roman Valek, decided to change. At the same time, this is not director Pilař’s first collaboration with the Znojmo Music Festival and the Czech Ensemble Baroque. Already during the 15th edition of this event, the director worked up Handel’s Saul with Adam Plachetka in the title role. Pilař’s characteristic work is also typical for The Return of Tobias. It is characterized by a strong work with symbols and archetypes, a strong visual experience and a certain, perhaps even surrealistic “dreaminess” of the world. This effect is also enhanced by the excellent light design (Tomáš Příkrý) of the set, which is based on several landscape paintings of the late 18th century. The use of fire as a prop was also well-executed and imaginative. Although there was more than enough happening on stage at times – the action between the characters, the choreography of the chorus and the ballet numbers – for the most part, it did not feel overdone or distracting. The costumes were inspired by period fashion, but with a modernizing approach. The result was tasteful and ideally suited to Pilař’s grasp and style.
Although the staging was undoubtedly well done, both narrative and engaging, the singing performances of Shira Patchornik, Lucie Kaňková, and Dagmar Šašková deserve even more recognition. While Shira Patchornik as Sara boasted a velvety soft, delicate and emotionally charged expression, Lucie Kaňková left an impression with the ease with which she handled the demanding coloratura and the dazzling work with expression that her role as the companion of d’Azario/Angel Rafael allowed her. Dagmar Šašková, as the caring mother of the title character Anna, managed to capture all the emotional positions that appear in the work with her clear mezzo-soprano. Not only the pain and fear for her son Tobias, but also the joy of his return was convincing. In the optics of handling emotions, the most impressive was the moving duet Dunque, o Dio by Dagmar Šašková with Theodore Brown as Tobias. In the individual performances, Browne was technically flawless but slightly lacking in more accentuated work with expression and emotion. Especially in the aria Quando mi dona un cenno, a more moderate tempo would not have hurt, which would have made it easier for the singer to create a truly moving lyric. Also, Adam Plachetka’s performance – with a truly disproportionately massive vibrato at times – was, in my opinion, overshadowed by the trio of singers, although one must highlight the emotionally strong and universally believable (in acting and singing) portrayal of the main character’s blind and distressed father – in the recitatives and in the arias.
The choir under the direction of Tereza Válková cannot be praised enough; intonationally flawless, dynamically varied, rhythmically unified, and with maximum understanding of what is happening on stage. It is no secret that the Czech Ensemble Baroque choir is composed almost entirely of soloists who have excellent musical sensitivity and a polished singing technique. A stunningly impressive crescendo and maximum intonational unity across the entire choir – even in the very demanding positions that Haydn did not spare – made every performance of the choir a gem of a performance. The orchestra was also of a very good standard, and although towards the end of the first half there were some intonational inconsistencies here and there in the brass section. The second act enhanced the positive impression of the result, and the brass section in particular shone unusually well here. The orchestra as a whole was dynamically varied, and Válek sensitively decided when to let which section stand out and when to strive for a more homogeneous musical whole. Perhaps only some of the phrase endings could have seemed slightly mechanical and some tempos more brisk than they needed to be. Overall, however, this was certainly a fine performance in all respects.
This year’s Znojmo Music Festival chose an unjustly neglected oratorio, which was given a dreamy directorial grasp, fantastic vocal performances and well-executed orchestral staging. The festival’s round anniversary is just two years away, and one can expect the celebrations of such an anniversary to be more than impressive. However, before we start speculating on what stage work will appear at the 19th or 20th edition, those who have not yet seen The Return of Tobias can go to the riding hall of the Louka Monastery to get their own picture of today’s performance.
Tobias (tenor) – Theodore Browne
Anna (mezzo-soprano) – Dagmar Šašková
Tobit (bass) – Adam Plachetka
Sara (soprano) – Shira Patchornik
Raffaelle (soprano) – Lucie Kaňková
Czech Ensemble Baroque Orchestra & Choir
Director – Tomáš Ondřej Pilař
Conductor – Roman Válek
Choirmaster – Tereza Válková
15 July 2022, riding hall of Louka Monastery, 20:00
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