The Moon Was Magical, but Not ‘Damnation’

Hector Berlioz was a wild composer, one of the wildest, least predictable of the 19th century and maybe of all time. And as performances of his operas and his strange uncategorizable pieces--the not-quite symphony “Romeo et Juliette” and the not-quite oratorio “La Damnation de Faust”--become increasingly common, one way to make the strange composer seem less strange, less outrageous, has been by focusing on the classicist side of his technique and interests.

The classicism is there, as Herbert Glass rightfully pointed out in his Los Angeles Philharmonic program note to “The Damnation.” But it seemed almost a shame to be reminded of it when the work Berlioz called a “dramatic legend” was given Tuesday night at the Hollywood Bowl.

“The Damnation” is an extravagantly French rendering of Goethe. Faust here is proto-existentialist; Mephistopheles is the suave boulevardier (as Glass’ note suggests); and Marguerite could be Catherine Deneuve in “Belle de Jour,” prim and proper in appearance and manner, yet willing to indulge in a uninhibited fantasy life.

And the conductor, Kent Nagano--though a Northern Californian and a great supporter of California’s music (such as works by John Adams)--has an approach to the score that is, like Northern Californian wines, at least as French as the French. He has been the music director of the Opera de Lyon since 1989, and he made a delicious recording of “The Damnation” in Lyon three years ago for Erato that is the last word in supple lyricism and cosmopolitan sophistication.

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Not nearly enough of that suppleness came through at the Bowl. But this appears, at least in retrospect, a project destined to fail. One reason is that, even with a couple of extra rehearsals, “The Damnation” verges on foolhardy music for the Bowl. It contains too much music that requires attention to too many details. (One wonders why the orchestra didn’t repeat the “Romeo et Juliette” that it had performed just this spring at the Music Center.)

Nor is Nagano’s elegant approach to “The Damnation,” so wonderful on recording--where the delicate music can be savored--easy to convey in a space the size of the Bowl and through amplification, improved though the system may be. Worse, the Philharmonic sounded under-rehearsed, unconvinced or just tired (maybe all three); the chorus, the William Hall Master Chorale, was substandard (and the choral parts are extensive and crucial); and only one of the mismatched four vocal soloists could manage Nagano’s style of imaginative understatement.

So, first to Mephistopheles, the American bass James Morris. Today’s leading Wotan in Wagner’s “Ring,” Morris proved Tuesday as versatile as Nagano. He was able to throw off the weight of a humorless German god wrestling with genuine Faustian destiny and turn on the Gallic charm.

Next to him, tenor John Aler was an all-too-earnest Faust. Markella Hatziano, the Greek mezzo-soprano making her Hollywood Bowl debut and an inexplicable recent favorite for Colin Davis’ Berlioz projects, was a Marguerite full of fiery temperament; there was passion in her to be sure, but not the more important clarity of pitch or tone. Philip Skinner sang Brander’s song about the rat in the kitchen with some color.

The Philharmonic was professional but no more. There was a nice soft tissue of sound for the “Dance of the Sylphs” and the “Minuet of the Will-o’-the-Wisps” was pure Hollywood Bowl magic, thanks not only to the gossamer playing but also a cooperative moon in between thick clouds offering just the right glow.

And yet, how very leaden it could all become when Nagano asked for a bit more from the orchestra. And then there was the brick-like chorus, ever so literal in syllable, rarely so literal in pitch or dynamic, and always seeming a fraction of a second late. This was just the kind of pedantic classicism that Berlioz so successfully killed. So labored was one outburst of sopranos meant to express horror that the audience laughed.

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All of this seems a particular shame when one considers just the kind of news Nagano has been making this summer. In London, he gave the world premiere of “White House Cantata” fashioned from Leonard Bernstein’s “1600 Pennsylvania Avenue” and salvaged some of the exceptionally fine music that got lost when the musical failed. A couple of weeks ago at the Salzburg Festival, Nagano gave the world premiere of an orchestral work by Matthias Pintscher that made such a strong impression that Claudio Abbado immediately commissioned a piece from the 26-year-old German composer for the Berlin Philharmonic and the Salzburg commissioned a new opera from him for 2001.

Where is it written that the Hollywood Bowl can’t capitalize on just such news rather than always resorting to its old-fashioned programming notions?