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Opera in the Arena
REBECCA SCHMID listens to
Renée Fleming and the Berlin Philharmonic
Renée Fleming could not have chosen a better time to take the stage in Berlin. The World Cup delirium was at its height on Sunday [27 June 2010] after the German defeat of the English as she starred in the Berlin Philharmonic's last concert of the season. An audience of 22,000 people, some wearing hats striped with the German flag or soccer jerseys as they enjoyed wine and evening picnics, filled the 'Waldbühne', an outdoor arena on the outskirts of the city, for a program of orchestral excerpts and arias entitled Nacht der Liebe ('Night of Love') under the baton of Ion Marin.
In keeping with the evening theme, Fleming appeared in a floor-length red dress to sing her opening number, Mesícku na nebi hlubokém from Antonín Dvorák's Rusalka. Rusalka being one of her strongest roles, it would be unfair to hold her to the standards of early recordings capturing the creamy tone and emotional depth that catapulted Fleming to fame...
Copyright © 1 July 2010
Rebecca Schmid,
Berlin, Germany
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