Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Streaming Diary: A Tom Hiddleston-led CORIOLANUS, Alvin Ailey graciously dances through the hurt in ODE, and Karita Mattila goes for the jugular as SALOME

• By drediman
• June 13, 2020
• No Comments

As I quickly approach the three-month mark of lockdown, I remain thankful for the quantity and quality of the performing arts content that I’ve been able to stream on a daily basis. Here are my latest thoughts on my streaming adventures.

Tom Hiddleston and company in Donmar Warehouse’s production of Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus”.

THEATER

This past week via NT at Home, I caught the webcast of Donmar Warehouse’s sold out production of Coriolanus (RECOMMENDED), starring film star Tom Hiddleston in the title role. Over the years, I’ve seen a surprising number of effective productions of this lesser known Shakespeare tragedy about the demise of a ruthless, flawed Roman soldier-turned-politician (the 2000 Almeida production at the Gainsborough Studios starring Ralph Feinnes and Robert Lepage’s blockbuster 2018 staging for the Stratford Festival quickly come to mind).

This 2014 Donmar production from director Josie Rourke is an intimate and stripped-down affair, focusing on the title character’s psychological journey instead of the play’s narrative sweep. The approach has the potential to inadvertently expose one of the work’s main drawbacks – that the central character just isn’t that interesting, despite his outrageously tempestuous disposition throughout much of the play. Facing this risk head-on is the dashing Mr. Hiddleston, who proves compelling (as he did last fall in a revelatory revival of Harold Pinter’s oft-performed Betrayal on Broadway). His fine performance here manages to find hidden nuances in Coriolanus, resulting in a portrayal that’s uncommonly sympathetic.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs Jamar Roberts’ “Ode”.

DANCE

In terms of dance, I caught two pieces that address the here and now with penetrating astuteness. First up was Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Jamar Roberts’ Ode (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), a piece that meditates on black lives in relation to the current prevalence of gun violence. The 17-minute ensemble work for six male dancers premiered to great acclaim last year for good reason. Instead of approaching its serious subject with heavy-handed anger and self-righteousness, Mr. Roberts instead focuses on the richness and beauty of life itself. Delicately set to Don Pullen’s jazzy but reflective “Suite (Sweet) Malcolm (Part 1 Memories and Gunshots)”, it’s a sophisticated response that’s made all the more powerful and poignant for being graciously understated. Ode is a gentle, enveloping embrace that has gained even more urgency in recent weeks.

Additionally, I caught The Storm Will Pass Soon Now (RECOMMENDED), a new dance solo choreographed by Joshua Bergasse for his wife, the ravishing City Ballet principal Sara Mearns. Set to a touching song by by Zoe Sarnak (with smooth vocals by Broadway leading lady Margo Seibert) and danced within the claustrophobic confines of a New York apartment, the made-for-film dance succinctly and moodily captures the angst and frustration of covid living, particularly for performers. The short piece also explores the fascinating intersection between film and choreography beautifully, focusing as much on cinematography (e.g., closeups of Sara’s distraught face) as it does in choreography.

Karita Mattila in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Richard Strauss’s “Salome”.

OPERA

Of the operas I vieweOf the operas I viewed this past week, by far the most memorable of the bunch was the Metropolitan Opera’s Nightly Opera Stream of a 2008 performance of Richard Strauss’s infamously lurid Salome (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), starring Finnish soprano Karita Mattila in the title role. I’ve heard much about Ms. Mattila’s no-holds-barred performance as the notorious “Biblical Lolita” (which she debuted at the Met in 2004), and I’m thrilled to finally have had the opportunity to assess it for myself. I’m happy to report that the performance lives up to its legendary reputation among opera fans; it’s one of the most courageous and fearless operatic performances I’ve ever seen.

Ms. Mattila, in commanding voice in this performance, immerses herself in the role with such breathtaking conviction that it’s a bit frightening to watch. Nevertheless, my eyes were glued on her throughout (her Dance of the Seven Veils is a true showstopper), especially her grotesque but strangely beautiful encounter with John the Baptist’s head later in the opera, a segment which unsettlingly features some of the opera’s most glorious music. By turns volatile and seductive, the vocal and dramatic intensity of her performance never let up and had me in the palm of her hand.

Although I initially found Jürgen Flimm’s modern-dress production to be a tad on the bland side, it eventually introduces menace to the staging, ultimately leaving me shaken as this striking opera should. Indeed, Salome remains audacious to this day, with its overt depictions sexuality and gore, as well as its famously extravagant orchestral demands. Even though the opera clocks in at well under two hours, Strass’s opera is a masterclass in efficiency, as well as musical and dramatic grandeur. Particularly with Ms. Mattila going (literally) for the jugular, you definitely get your money’s worth.