Why the Vienna New Year Concert matters

The Wiener Neujahrskonzert, the Vienna New Year's Concert 2018 with the Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Riccardo Muti, for the fifth time - he's much older now than when the photo above was taken, but you're only as old as you want to be.  Muti was on good form, clearly enjoying himself.  Spontaneity is the spirit !  Like champagne, the Vienna formula works best when it's served fresh with wit and gaiety. Some years, it's fallen flat, and you think "not again" and then, like this year, it sparkles again.  The Wiener Philharmoniker parties, too. All year round, they play "serious" repertoire, but on New Year's Day, they make merry with Strauss (Johann I and II, not Richard !), with marches, waltzes and ventures in operetta.  But Vienna is "more" than music, it's the world's biggest New Year's Eve Party.

All over the world, millions join in the festivities.  When the concerts started, Vienna was the capital of an Empire.  Now it commands a new position as flagship of classical music for many who wouldn't otherwise listen at all.  Not by any stretch of the imagination is it typical concert fare and it does not represent what happens the rest of the year. But so what if some of those listening think all concerts are like this ?  The Vienna New Year's Concert fascinates because it's a symbol. It presents western culture as something glorious, thrilling and fun, which all can enjoy. The spirit of Empire, reprised : nothing wrong with that since it's not backed by military might.  So why not celebrate Vienna itself, and its heritage ?  Now the world's sinking into small-minded reductionism, it's a good idea to remember that the idea of nation state isn't compulsory.  Can we dream of a world without borders, where all can participate as they wish ? As long as it’s not enforced by the barrel of a gun, physical or mental. Remember what happened to the Hapsburgs in 1918.

Since the New Year's Concert is not an ordinary concert by any means, it's perfectly valid to present it on an extraordinary scale.  Music, especially music like this, is communal, meant to be heard live, involving all the senses. The audience might not dance, but they know about the New Year’s Ball, and about the waltz tradition.  They dress up to enhance the sense of occasion.   Hence the flowers, bringing scent and countryside into the city in mid-winter.  New Year means hope and renewal, and the return of summer. Miss that and you miss the whole darn point of the New Year Concert !
The Neujahrskonzert represents much more than music. Vienna itself  (and Austria) is the star !  Thus the shots of the city in its splendour.  This year, we get to see architectural treasure, in greater close up than we could walking round as tourists. As we hear the Tales from the Vienna Woods, we see them, briefly, and see close-ups of the zither being played, an important detail for those keen on how music is made.  Music doesn't exist in isolation. It's the product of many influences, and, as we listen, we (in theory anyway) might be opening our minds to the richness of human endeavour.  Vienna brings to millions all over the world, the experience of live music "in the round", in its true context. For that, we should celebrate.

Please also see Thielemann Swings !  Christian Theielemann's Silvesterkonzert in Dresden, which matters because he's doing Vienna next year

Bats! Die Fledermaus ENO Johann Strauss

 I love Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus because it's utterly, barmily bats. The plot's mad. Jolly tunes distract lest you get too sober. Christopher Alden's production at the Coliseum for the ENO captures the operetta's crazy spirit well. It reflects the music's polyglot diversity: Csárdás, waltzes, Hussar marches, Italian opera, can-can and Tyrolean Ländler.  Die Fledermaus really shouldn't be played "straight" or literally, because that's not how the music works.

Shadows of bats fly across luxurious satin drapes, and a huge timepiece hangs from the ceiling. Nothing seems to be happening on stage. This is a great opportunity to listen to the music without distraction: Later, we'll hear ticking sounds in the orchestration - watches, clocks or time bombs? But for now, we can indulge in the escapist frou-frou of the Overture. Perhaps we're in an eternal New Year's Eve Gala where time - and reality - stand still? Eun Sun Kim conducts with more energy than effervesence, but that's perfectly valid. There's so much dance in this music that it should feel physical and exuberant.

Gabriel von Eisenstein (Tom Randle) is supposed to be going to jail but goes to a party instead. As if life were so easy! Rodelinda, his wife, (Julia Sporsén) makes much of marital fidelity but keeps her options open. Adele, her maid (Rhian Lois) has ideas above her station.  Prince Orlofsky (Jennifer Holloway) provides them with the means to act out their fantasies, He/she is  a woman acting as a man. The "Bat" is Dr Falke (Richard Burkhard)  luring Eisenstein into a devious trap.  Bats are associated with darkness and with the unconscious. Die Fledermaus, for all its airhead frivolity, has dangerous undercurrents,

At Prince Orlofsky's Ball, everyone turns up in disguise. Prison Governor (Andrew Shore) and Prisoner-to-be pretend to be French aristocrats. Behind a mask, Rodelinda von Eisenstein can manipulate the men around her.  Excellent costumes (Constance Hoffman) for the ENO chorus, too, suggesting images of decadence  and delusion. Set Designs (Allen Moyer) hint obliquely to silent film. This is an erudite touch, since many early movies dealt with dreams and psychological issues. Indeed, Die Fledermaus was filmed as a silent in 1917, directed by Ernst Lubitsch who made several"opera movies" without sound, such as Gypsy Blood (Carmen) (more here).

Good operetta, good conducting and excellent staging. So why did I, to quote Prince Orlofsky, weep at the "chatter and weariness" of these "scenarios of ennui"?

This is a "numbers" operetta, with long sequences of dialogue between the show tunes. Unless the lines are delivered with quickfire wit, they fall flat like stale champagne. The characters became hammy caricatures. Corny accents aren't funny when everyone is doing them. Here, lively farce descended into hammy end-of-pier pantomime. Some singers can sing with magnificent panache. This cast was good by ENO standards, which are not very high, but not good enough to truly animate their roles. It didn't help that  Strauss wrote many opportunities for applause, so the audience dutifully clapped on autopilot,  further killing dramatic pace.  Mindless clapping makes shows drag. Might it be possible to pare the dialogue down to the minimum, even if it meant losing some of the jokes ? But the real problem is that most singers can't do razor-sharp repartee the way good actors can.