Despite benefiting from a timid revival in the past few decades, Karol Szymanowski’s Król Roger is still a rarity in German opera houses and particularly in Berlin, where the last attested production dates back to a concert performance in 1982. Given that 20th-century operas centering a disruptive character of seemingly divine nature are a very specific weak spot of mine, I was excited to see this Polish jewel scheduled in the ongoing season of the Berlin Philharmonic – even if, once again, only in concert version. Unfortunately, my expectations ended up being disappointed by what felt like an unpolished (no pun intended) execution.
With only two dates in Poznań and Berlin respectively, this limited production marked a joint celebration between the two countries on the 107th anniversary of Poland’s independence. The guest ensemble included the Poznań Opera Orchestra and Chorus, led by conductor Jacek Kaspszyk, and soloists from Poznań’s Grand Theatre. Even a performance of good quality, however, may go underappreciated if the public is provided with few tools to understand it. To my surprise, no libretto was made accessible to the audience, neither in the programme notes nor as surtitles – even though the main auditorium of the Philharmonie is equipped with several screens. As most opera enthusiasts know, reading a concise synopsis cannot replace the experience of understanding each line, which is the very basis of an enjoyable theatre performance. This is all the more relevant in the case of Król Roger, which is not only seldom staged but also inspiredly mystical.
Where words failed, music came to a partial rescue. Szymanowski’s score is a peculiar one. Late Romantic in style, occasionally bordering on explicit homage to Richard Strauss, it is also an eclectic mix of liturgical music and vague orientalist suggestions. A veteran of the opera, Kaspszyk approached Szymanowski’s orchestration by tending toward a nebulous sound where clear, pure timbres came to the surface rather sparsely. In this haze only the crisp sound of metallophones and cymbals pierced through, together with frequent appearances of the first violin. Among the woodwinds, the cor anglais added a pastoral touch, while the oboe came to the spotlight at the beginning of Act 2, a fitting musical counterpart to the setting of King Roger’s Byzantine palace.
On the other hand, Kaspszyk proceeded with rather homogenous tempi, evoking a static atmosphere which might have resembled a mosaic if it hadn’t fallen short of theatricality at times. Kaspszyk’s interpretation languished during simple dialogues between characters, reaching its best moments when Szymanowski’s score builds up and gains volume. Ensemble scenes were greatly aided by the Poznań Opera Chorus, arguably the most mobile part in the entire performance.
In the title role, Szymon Mechliński displayed a clean, well-projected baritone, steady in the low register if slightly hindered in its emotional manifestations. Especially in a concert performance, some more varied, introspective phrasing could have added nuance to the character. Ukrainian soprano Ruslana Koval sang Roxana with a beautiful lyric soprano, composed and comfortable in its tessitura and dutiful in the hints of coloratura that the role requires. As the Shepherd, Andrzej Lampert often ventured in the high register, which was perhaps not the ideal lodging for his range – even with a moderate warm-up throughout the opera, the tenor sounded slightly strained and encumbered. Piotr Kalina completed the cast as a reliable Edrisi. At the end of the evening, the public’s appreciative response left me looking forward to the next appearance of Król Roger in Berlin – hopefully, in a more convincing suit.
