Nikolaus Harnoncourt’s reading of Le nozze di Figaro was very warmly received by the audience Saturday night at Theater an der Wien. This month sees all three of Mozart’s Da Ponte operas performed, un-staged, at TAW by this team with several of the principals participating in more than one opera. It is a mammoth undertaking which has not been without its hurdles, including Martin Kušej bowing out of the project and some of the principal cast members settled on very late in the day. Thanks to a tastefully constructed last-minute stage design, however, and the strength of much of the cast, it was an evening well worth attending. I don't always appreciate singers using vocal scores in concert performances of opera; thankfully, the vast majority relied upon the score very little, using it as a security aid.
It often takes time to adjust to Harnoncourt's tempi. The Overture, for example, was so slow it nearly dragged. That said, his departures from standard performance practice do force listeners to hear new elements in music so well-known as to be easily taken for granted. He drives the audience to discover colours and corners in the score that are often fleeted through in many of today’s performances and recordings. Concentus Musicus Wien was wholly attentive to the maestro throughout, and though there were a few mishaps, by and large it was extremely musically satisfying.
Harnoncourt is particularly innovative and demanding in his treatment of the recitative. In the interest of underlining the importance of the text, a large proportion of the recitative passages were declaimed with only occasional phrases actually sung. This technique, though interesting, was not mastered confidently by all of the singers and often sounded artificial and wooden, particularly by Andrè Schuen. Vocally a perfect Figaro, Schuen has a beautiful timbre and is very promising. However, despite his impressive stature, his Figaro lacked charisma and presence.