Text: John L. DiGaetani

San Francisco Ring 2011 Kuva: Cory Weaver / San Francisco I was very happy to be at the second of the three Ring cycles which the performed during June of 2011. The star of the whole cycle became Nina Stem- me, a Brünnhilde who reminded many of us of Birgit Nilsson and her singing of that role. Stemme, another Swedish soprano, sang the role gloriously with a large, gorgeo- us voice which could easily be heard over the orchestra. Her top was secure, her mid- dle was very good, and her low notes usually projected well. She can even sing with por- tamento — the shaping and connecting of notes — something Birgit Nilsson could also so. But Stemme is a better actress and can move around the stage with dramatic intent. One wished that her German diction were better, but this was a minor flaw. Certainly drama and acting were real fortes in this Ring, thanks to Francesca Zambello’s forceful direction so that the sympathetic throughout this Ring, making Katy Tucker added tremendous meaning singers’ acting became consistently involved him a wonderful foil to Wotan’s attempts at and visual variety during the musical inter- and motivated. Donald Runnicles provided legality and love. ludes between the scenes, emphasizing natu- excitement from the orchestra thanks to his The production mixed visual styles, with re and its destruction by human greed and conducting an orchestra with a solid and ac- most of the singers appearing in contempo- corporate industry. The theme of industria- curate brass, though one sometimes wished rary dress, but the updating usually made lism and its destruction of nature, while re- for a lovelier tone from the strings. Runnicles sense — though if Wotan were a corporate levant in the Ring, made for some very dre- also generated rhythmic energy throughout executive why would he be carrying a speak ary sets during the last two , often do- the cycle. This was a feminist Ring, with the and worrying about what the goddess Erda minated by shades of gray — especially sad female roles particularly emphasized, an en- thinks? Changing time periods usually ma- during Act II of . The theme of ho- ding with a young girl planting a tree — an kes the plot look silly, but can be very ef- melessness, still so apparent in San Francis- effective symbol of new hope for the world fective despite this — which happened in co, also appeared in this Ring with the Rhi- now that the gods have died and humanity this Ring. ne maidens in the last opera, appearing as takes control. Some of the feminism beca- Speaking of Erda, Ronnita Miller be- women who lived on the streets and beg- me rather naive — implying that men are al- came a vocally impressive Erda, and also a ged Siegfried for their ring back. Melissa ways interested in power and carrying guns. first Norn. Her large mezzo-soprano/cont- Citro made Gutrune a lively presence, here Both Fricka and Brünnhilde voiced murde- ralto voice sounded glorious and added to having an affair with her half-brother Ha- rous intent as well and caused the deaths of the impression of her music. The Siegfrieds, gen. Gerd Grochowski’s Gunther personi- Siegmund and Siegfried. always the most difficult roles to cast, were fied the weak leader, looking for direction Brandon Jovanovich became a very force- satisfactory as well. Both Jay Hunter Mor- from his siblings. ful Siegmund and an interesting Froh — sin- ris (in Siegfried) and Ian Storey (in Götter- Zambello’s production and direction and ging both parts very well with a lovely bari- dämmerung) sang these difficult parts very Runnicles’ conducting, plus this excellent tonal color in his beautiful heldentenor voi- honorably, though one wished the costume cast of singers, created standing ovations at ce and acting with abandon. Anja Kampe’s designer (Catherine Zuber) had not made the end of each of the four operas and in- Sieglinde became a victim of spousal abuse, them look like stagehands so often. dicated the success of San Francisco’s Ring. though not always sung beautifully enough. More successful than the costumes were Both dramatically and musically, this Ring Mark Delavan’s Wotan convinced more for the sets by Michael Yeargan, which varied became a moving artistic experience and his acting, playing each scene forcefully and from corporate boardrooms to scenes of na- (thankfully) not a freak show. presenting Wotan as a leader horrified by his ture. The film strips by Jan Hartley and S. own power and the victim of that power, but Kuva: Cory Weaver / San Francisco Opera his singing sometimes wore out by the final scenes. Andrea Silvestrelli was both Fasolt and Hagen and his acting remained always impressive, though his vocal quality varied from wonderful to gravelly. Daniel Sumegi sang both Fafner and Hunding, both very capably. Also in Das Rheingold, Elizabeth Bishop sang the part of Fricka with gorgeo- us voice and subtle and varied acting. Stefan Margita stole the show in Rheingold as Loge for his comically cynical acting and clear and always audible diction. David Cangelosi be- came a comic but still malicious delight as Mime in the first and third operas, earning well-deserved ovations. Gordon Hawkins’ Alberich appeared malevolent rather than http://www.suomenwagnerseura.org/wagneriaani/ Wagneriaani 53 Kuva: Ken Howard / Lepage’s Walküre at the Met Text: Craig Knobles

Disappointment was what I felt as I left the air like the floating promontories painted backlighting have much to do with fire as Metropolitan Opera House after the première by Magritte. The effects strove for realism it streamed blindingly into the opera hou- of the second segment of ’s (more effective in the opera house than on se, not unlike the sun that ended the Paris Ring, Die Walküre. The feeling came not just HD.) Symbolic elements did exist: Fricka ar- Opera’s new Siegfried. from swollen expectations of the visual ex- rived on a throne, which glided slowly but One expects spring, the Todesverkündigung citement that would result from this inven- noisily down from the top of the crag, her and the Zauberfeuer to be high points, but tive director, but from the misapplication of rams as armrests. This impressively enfor- here they disappointed. What was memo- spectacle that showed a lack of concern for ced her majesty and the correctness of her rable, however, in this Walküre were the inti- the drama’s profile. argument. The crag itself was furrowed by mate moments, though these came through The inevitable machine was back at work, lava flows, or fissures in the earth through better in the HD broadcast than in the hou- rising to pure vertical to represent logs, like a which one could see the magma pulsing, se. The gestures between that old married stockade; then with the planks separating to Lepage’s evocation of the Icelandic fire be- couple Wotan and Fricka were sometimes indicate the trunks of trees in a forest through neath the ice – suggesting too that Nibel- touching, sometimes angry, but always vividly which Siegmund and his lantern-carrying pur- heim was erupting into Wotan’s world. La- depicted. Brünnhilde’s hesitant approach to suers wove their way. Next the planks spun to ter, in the god’s monologue with Brünnhil- Siegmund was achingly poignant. The Wo- create the ceiling of Hunding’s house, with de, the crag became an eye socket, while a tan/Brünnhilde scene of Act III was intri- the two central slats remaining vertical to be- disk rose to form an eyeball, on which were cately choreographed up until the last mo- come the sword-pierced tree. Finally with the projected vaguely the scenes Wotan descri- ment when he lifted his daughter off-stage freeing of Notung, the ceiling turned over bed. Was this Wotan’s other eye, the one gi- on their two spears. Even a bit of humor was to form Hunding’s roof and thrust the Wäl- ven up to gain knowledge (or Fricka), or was added as Hunding hung his fur cape on the sung pair outdoors. Other than these chan- it the eye described to Siegfried as “das eine, sword: familiarity breeding contempt. ges, the machine remained inert in Act I, a das mir zum Sehen verblieb”? These images Act I had the most exciting of the principal mere backdrop to the action. A bit of visu- had vividness, so much so that they trum- singers, , whose virile, thro- al relief did come during Siegmund’s narra- ped what should have been the magic cen- aty sound had a distinct edge, but warmth, tion, when the ceiling was used to show sil- ter of the act, making painfully prosaic the endowing his Siegmund with melancholy – houettes of his tale in the flickering hearth- Todesverkündigung, with Brünnhilde merely and I have never heard a securer high A in light, an animation almost as clever as that stepping out from the wings. “Wälsungen-Blut.” His Sieglinde, Eva-Ma- used in Act I of Stockholm’s Siegfried. But Act III likewise misplaced its effects. The ria Westbroek (after a first-night indisposi- this was all there was of visual excitement; Walkürenritt had the Valkyries riding planks tion required her replacement post Act I by and, what should have been riotously ex- made to look like the heads of particularly the ever competent Margaret Jane Wray) had pressed, namely the coming of spring, was long-nosed horses: it was a crowd pleaser. good moments too, lavishly pouring out her shown here merely by the backdrop’s being Later the magic mountain mentioned abo- broad soprano at every opportunity. The au- lit a sickly chartreuse. ve suffered avalanches at two key points in dience stood up and cheered at the end of Lepage has promised an expansion of the confrontation between the god and his the act, but what audience doesn’t? techniques as the cycle proceeds, just as the daughter; but the act’s finale misfired, with Otherwise, the greatest excitement came music in the Rheingold prologue expands a Zauberfeuer that looked not at all fiery, its from singers in the subsidiary roles: Hans-Pe- and diversifies, and the other two acts did projection of flames confined to the outline ter König as Hunding and Stephanie Blyt- have striking effects, though mostly decora- of the rock, which folded itself into a great he as Fricka. Both had voices the size and tive. The machine scrunched up into a rocky bird, and, as it became absolutely vertical, quality of the legendary singers of the past, crag for Wotan to stand on at the begin- hung the ex-Valkyrie upside down, like a Ge- and could easily have been put into a cast ning of Act II, and created an entire snow- org Baselitz painting. What was not there with Flagstad, Nilsson, Melchior, Vickers, or capped mountain in Act III, suspended in was a feeling of flame; nor did the golden Rysanek without seeming at all out of place.

54 Wagneriaani http://www.suomenwagnerseura.org/wagneriaani/ As each sang, I could imagine that we were tiated the heights of the “hojotoho’s” well, ve will result from Lepage’s exploration, so- in a new golden age. But their splendor did which perhaps reimbursed us for her breat- mething that will cast new light on the mea- put the others in the shade – in Act II Blyt- hiness in the lower parts. Her athleticism as ning of the Ring. I would be delighted if the he blew Bryn Terfel off the stage. well as Terfel’s allowed them to hop around machine came to symbolize Fate – Cocteau’s No one would claim that the Met and the the set, while their interaction had extreme- Machine infernale – with its exigencies stan- Met Orchestra is the best frame to display ly touching moments, necessary in the dra- ding for the limits placed on the characters. either Terfel’s Wotan or ’s ma that centers on these two. Yet in the back of my mind is the example Brünnhilde. His Walküre Wotan had subt- Despite his pain (after the first night he of another innovative director who fell flat lety and none of the hectoring that plagued took all his bows from the pit) on his face when confronted with Wagner’s his Rheingold, yet he lacked the impact that conducted boisterous performances, drawing epic. In summer 1999, Andrei Serban came great Wotans must have. His singing seemed a rough-and-ready sound from the orchest- in practically at the last moment to restage Ni- overly careful and poised. His efforts were ra. His conducting varied from evening to kolaus Lehnhoff’s production for San Fran- focused on defining the character – not a evening: for instance, on those nights when cisco Opera. He seemed awed by the job and bad thing – and, as in Rheingold, he became Westbroek was going especially strong, he spent far more time considering how to dress securer with each performance. broadened the tempo at “O herrstes Wun- the giants than how to address Wagner’s the- What can be said about Deborah Voigt? der!” to let her soar. mes. Lepage, of course, has had much more I dislike the squeezed quality of her present I should explain my disappointment furt- time than Serban to mull over what he wants voice, the gold has tarnished, and far too of- her. I don’t consider the new Met Ring a “bad” to do, and the sets and mechanism are his ten in the early performances she was unab- Ring, just unfocused, at least up to now. I own, but I get the same feeling of aimless- le to hold a steady tone. That said, she nego- continue to hope that something substanti- ness. I hope I’m wrong.

Siegfried at the Met Opera Text: John L. DiGaetani Kuva: Ken Howard / Metropolitan Opera In November of 2011 the Met’s new Sieg- fried had its premiere and by and large re- ally pleased the audience. The night I saw it “the machine” worked just fine and eve- rything went smoothly – not always the case. The machine moves enormous planks around so that the unit set changes to ref- lect each of the scenes and its visual requi- rements. It is fascinating to see the set mo- ving and sliding and altering to meet the de- mands of the various scenes. While the ima- ges onstage are governed by the dimensions of the machine, these images were consis- tently enticing. large and has real ping and a beautiful though she did not have the sonorous low The machine was also able to project won- tone. He got the biggest ovation at the end tones that the role demands. derful images of nature onto the planks – for not only getting through this most diffi- Deborah Voigt sang with a fresh, youth- a birch forest, falling leaves, a blacksmith’s cult of tenor roles but singing the part beau- ful-sounding voice as Brünnhilde. The Sieg- hut, a waterfall, a mountain top, a flying tifully and with dramatic credibility. fried Brünnhilde is the highest of her three bird, etc. The forest bird was especially cap- Bryn Terfel’s Wotan is certainly now the roles in the Ring, and Voigt certainly has tivating in the second act, though the moun- greatest Wotan around – he sang the role the high notes so she sounded wonderful, taintop at the end of the opera needed more with a lovely, lyrical baritone sound, excellent and her duet with Siegfried at the end of the light to reflect Wagner’s stage directions. But German diction, and dramatic conviction. opera has sexual energy and dramatic exci- Robert Lepage’s Ring did not become Euro Here he was the defeated Wotan, the Wan- tement to end this most comic of the four trash and did try to reflect Wagner’s stage derer, trying to control events but knowing Ring operas with real flourish. directions and the visual demands implied that they were beyond his grasp. Eric Owens ’s conducting won a well-de- in the orchestral music. We were never put was a lyrical-sounding Alberich, though one served ovation at the end, especially since in someone’s basement (as in the Copenha- wished he were more malevolent and more he had to take over quickly due to the illness gen Ring) and the costumes were never ridi- a foil to Wotan. Gerhard Siegel’s Mime of James Levine. Luisi conducted with brisk culous (as in the Los Angeles Ring). In fact, was comic rather than malevolent, though tempos so that this Siegfried moved along with Francois St-Aubin’s costumes and Etienne here again more malice would have genera- real energy and dramatic drive. While some Boucher’s lighting added to the drama onsta- ted more dramatic intensity. He was too li- of the lovelier passages were not as languo- ge, though I did wish the final scene of the keable and his plotting to poison Siegfried rous, one appreciated that this performan- opera were brighter since the opera moves never became a palpable reality, though Sie- ce never dragged. Luisi also remained sensi- from darkness to bright light. gel sang the part beautifully. tive to the singers’ needs and, except in the The big surprise of this Siegfried was the Hans Peter König presented a very mo- first act, which was too loud, he by and lar- Siegfried, , who replaced ving Fafner, who appears from beneath the ge did not drown out the singers. , who replaced . dragon when he is mortally wounded and The Met’s new Ring, produced and di- All these cancellations undoubtedly added to becomes very sympathetic as the dying giant. rected by Robert Lepage, has so far won the pressure on this tenor. But Morris, who Mojca Erdmann impressed as the Forest audience approval for its clever designs and sang the role in the San Francisco Ring last Bird, with all the easy high notes and fle- emphasis on the cycles of nature which cont- summer, sounded much better at the Met – xibility that this bel canto soprano role de- rol the Ring. Water, earth, fire, and air all a real Heldentenor who was not vocally ex- mands. Patricia Bardon had dramatic pre- become tangible realities in this lovely Sieg- hausted by the end of the opera. His voice is sence and a lovely contralto voice as Erda, fried. http://www.suomenwagnerseura.org/wagneriaani/ Wagneriaani 55