Opera stars sing praises of the matinee show
Afternoon slots feature fresher performances and more engaged audiences, say talent behind Macbeth
WHEN it comes to a cultured evening out, nothing conjures a vision of sheer glamour like a night at the opera.
True lovers of the art form, however, may wish to switch their allegiance to the matinee, according to the stars of the Royal Opera House.
The afternoon performances feature happier singers with fresher voices and the audience are more engaged, director Sir Antonio Pappano and his leading talent have said, as they admitted a change to 3pm shows would be “perfect”.
Pappano, who today conducts the premiere of Macbeth in an unusual matinee slot, said he had noticed a striking difference between the audiences in the afternoon and evening.
Anna Netrebko, the Russian soprano, said she loved earlier performances, which allow her to look forward to a “beautiful” evening meal in good time and leave everyone happy.
Her Macbeth co-stars Zeljko Lučić and Yusif Eyvazov – Netrebko’s husband – said they too preferred an afternoon opera, with evening performances giving singers all day to wait and worry about how things will go.
“You know what’s interesting,” said Pappano. “It’s the public that’s different for the matinees. There is a freshness. Everybody knows they’re going to have dinner. There’s always that feeling.
“A lot of the matinee crowd will be from outside London too; people who have made a big effort to get there because they really want to be there.
“It’s not a
‘oh another night at Covent Garden’. something quite special. I good.”
Speaking of Macbeth, which has its first performance at 3pm, Netrebko joked that there would be time for a party afterwards, conceding: “I love early performances. I’m an early bird, I’m very energetic in the morning and sleeping in the night.” She said that by 8pm she generally felt sleepy.
“You don’t really want to eat in the night,” she added.
“It’s better if you sing at 3 o’clock, you finish at 6 and then you have a beautiful dinner and life is perfect.”
Asked if the matinee should become the new standard for high-pressure performances like opening nights and press nights, the three singers agreed: “It’s better.” In reality, the Royal Opera House is compelled to schedule a programme which will work for its broad selection of paying guests, with its evening performances allowing working people and those in education to attend.
However, the thought-provoking debate will likely encourage anyone currently dismissive of the afternoon opera, often considered to be the choice for families, to think again.
The Macbeth cast also discussed the filming of their performance for broadcast in cinemas, in a format that has proved popular with Royal Opera House fans unable to travel to Covent Garden.
It will be broadcast live in cinemas on April 4 from 7.30pm.
Asked how they work around the cameras, and what changes they need to make to their performances, Pappano said the production had been carefully designed by experienced filmmakers to distract the singers as little as possible.
Netrebko added she hoped the film would not spend time capturing closeups of her face while singing, saying
‘It’s better if you sing at 3 o’clock, you finish at 6 and then you have a beautiful dinner and life is perfect’
“nobody” wanted to see it.
“To be a camera director for this kind of performance, opera performance, you have to know a lot of things and you have to be very wise and smart to do the right angle, to capture the right motion,” she said.
“Opera, it’s not for close-up. The big opera is not for close-up.
“Nobody wants to see this open mouth. If the camera will boldly look at us singing it would be boring.
“So the directors have to work really hard, make us look good, make interesting angles so the audience can see what is happening.
“We are doing our job and they have to do their job, and it’s not easy. So let’s hope they will capture a performance in the best way and present it right into the cinemas.”