Wagneriana Zu dir, Frau Venus, kehr’ ich wieder, Fall 2011 In deiner Zauber holde Nacht. Volume 8, Number 4 —Tannhäuser From the Editor his fall brought us two terrific events. On September 24 Sirius XM and Metropolitan Opera’s charming host Margaret Juntwait gave a talk titled “The Met on the Other Side of the Camera and the Microphone,” fol- T lowed by an opera quiz in which she awarded CDs to those who answered her questions correctly. The Col- lege Club was the perfect venue for this intimate and fun get-together, which was followed by an informal recep- tion. For photos of the event, see page 8. On October 30 the talented filmmaker and writer Hilan Warshaw gave a fascinating talk and presentation on the influence of Wagner on films, with rare video footage. Although the talk was a repeat of last year’s event, there was so much new material here that it might as well have been part 2 of the same topic. For those who could not attend, there is a DVD available of the lecture and video clips. We are now planning winter and spring events. On February 24, Music Advisor Jeffrey Brody will present Vis- conti’s marvelous film Ludwig. On April 22, Maestro Brody will give a lecture/demonstration titled “The Unknown Wagner-Humperdinck Collaboration,” featuring the world premiere (since 1882) of Humperdinck’s Parsifal music. In this issue you will find two reviews of the Metropolitan Opera’s simulcast of Siegfried. In addition, there is a review of Tannhäuser in Paris, appropriately followed by an article by member and art historian Donald Rosenthal on paintings of scenes from this opera. –Dalia Geffen The Visual Aspects of Lepage’s Siegfried Siegfried, Metropolitan Opera simulcast in HD, November 5, 2011; conductor: Fabio Luisi; Brünnhilde: Deborah Voigt; Siegfried: Jay Hunter Morris; Mime: Gerhard Siegel; the Wanderer: Bryn Terfel; Alberich: Eric Owens; Erda: Patricia Bardon; Forest Bird: Mojca Erdmann; stage designer: Robert Lepage hough I should suspend judgment on the 24 planks of the 45-ton “machine,” I begin to doubt its worth. Yes, a metal frame seems T very appropriate for an opera whose three key events involve metal: the forging of Nothung, the smashing of Wotan’s spear, and the lifting of Brünnhilde’s breastplate. But perhaps the machine’s benefits— a unifying focus for action, a shiny background, a varied division of the stage into separate areas—are outweighed by its disadvantages: the creaking, danger to the performers, and huge costs to reinforce the stage (we must all dread the danger that the Met might join City Opera in fi- nancial collapse). But the stunning visual aspects of this production almost made me forget the machine at its heart, especially the three-dimensional projec- tions with a technology never before used in a theatrical production. Yes, there were other stunning visual aspects: costumes, props, lighting, and Heldentenor Jay Hunter Morris with the 1 dragon in Lepage’s Siegfried at the Met superb acting. But the three-dimensional projections often made me feel I was watching reality. Never had I seen an actual Forest Bird, much less one that responds rhythmically to the singer’s voice as she sings. (Didn’t Lepage use a similar dance in The Damnation of Faust simulcast that first brought him to the attention of most of us?) And the projections dominated the entire opera. First came the cave, near the brimming waters that cool Nothung as it is being rebuilt. This is the ideal background for Siegfried’s and Mime’s angry resistance to the learning that their teacher, the Wanderer, seeks, vainly, to impart. Next, Act 2 makes us see the forest with flocks of birds shimming through the trees. And in Act 3 projections make us see the earthy depths where Erda sleeps—another unsuccessful teacher. (The opera’s only successful teacher is Brünnhilde, who unwittingly teaches fear to Siegfried.) Finally, pro- jections enable us to view the rocky mountaintop and ring of fire at the climax. Yet when in the simulcast interview Lepage and Peter Gelb thanked their Siegfried for being the salvation of the production in real life as he was for Wotan in the opera, we realize that technology always comes second to the per- formance of great singing actors in achieving the visual aspects of opera. No matter what the technology is, it’s the performers who ultimately make us see the drama: The comedy of Mime’s greed and Siegfried’s ignorance (peak- ing at “That is no man!”), the struggle for world power in the wrangling between Mime, Wotan, and Alberich— ironically, won by Siegfried, who doesn’t know what he’s won, the hero’s growth to manhood by overcoming a series of obstacles, and finally, the gradual awakening to joy of the two lovers in the happiest finale of all the Ring operas. Not a bad actor among any of these six principals! If the most striking image is the Forest Bird, we should note that the Forest Murmurs scene symbolizes how modern technology opens up new areas of understanding to the modern audience, with visual effects Wagner could have scarcely imagined. The taste of dragon blood enables Siegfried to hear Mime’s concealed murderous intentions, just as today’s technology enables our Forest Bird in 3-D projection to be guided by the rhythms of the singer crooning her message. Even more important, the taste of dragon blood that awakens Siegfried to danger is comparable to the simulcast technology that was nonexistent a decade ago yet now makes it possible for far more than a million viewers in 56 countries to simultaneously watch the glorious opera with the world’s best singer- actors. Wagner’s dream of the total work of art is at long last fully redeemed. –Reginald McKeen Reginald McKeen has been a member of the Boston Wagner Society since 2004. Siegfried a Slap at Wagner was incensed by the visual and directorial presentation of Act 3, Scene 2 in Siegfried as presented by the Metro- politan Opera. In this glorious scene we are supposed to experience a huge change from the previous acts. In- Istead we got an ineptly staged dark scene. This is inexcusable in any context. The ascent of the music in the high strings is supposed to signify a light and airy realm. This change is part of Wagner’s design in the musical arc— from dark to light—and in the visual contrast between the cave and the forest. I have seen quite a few variously designed Rings—from realistic ones to abstract ones—and this change has always occurred. If this failure is due to the need to keep the stage’s lumi- nosity low for the projections, then let’s do away with them. Just a bright sky would do. This is the happiest moment in the Ring, a glorious ending in C major, and Lepage has slapped it in the face! My reaction was especially strong because, after having liked the first act of Siegfried, I was prepared to rethink my reaction. Alas, each of the fol- lowing acts strengthened my negative response to this staging of Wagner’s Ring, and this mountaintop scene was an insult. As for the “machine,” it was used successfully only in the first act. It was set up so as to leave in many locations—the cave, outside by a stream, and above the cave. For the rest, I felt that the machine restricted the singers’ Heldentenor Jay Hunter Morris and movements, resulting in banal direction. Soprano Deborah Voigt Brünnhilde as Somnambulist In Die Walküre, we had left Brünnhilde suspended upside down where she is supposed to sleep for about 18 years. Well, it seems that she walked in her sleep because Siegfried finds her lying horizontally on the mountaintop! On Fabio Luisi’s Conducting Luisi’s timings were close to Levine’s, but his interpretation was off the mark. This was especially evident in two cases: (1) There was no aural highlighting of the shimmering strings during the “Forest Murmurs” section, with the 2 result that the scene passed by uneventfully; (2) the prelude to Act 3 was mushy. There was no delineation of the different motivic strands that build to a great climax. Even the timpani rhythms were underplayed. The Cast: Strength Where It Counts Jay Hunter Morris is a Siegfried that I want to hear and see again. His fresh, youthful voice and agile acting created a believable character. His interaction with and response to the other characters was good, and only in the final scene did I notice that he was looking at the conductor. Gerhard Siegel as Mime created a character who was slow- ly losing his mind. He sang the role without whining and acted without caricature. Bryn Terfel’s Wanderer was a joy to hear. His lightweight bass-baritone allowed him to sing with great feeling, and yet he was able to deliver the vocal power needed in his confrontations with Mime, Erda, and Siegfried. Eric Owens as Alberich sang very well but did not seem hostile enough in his scene with the Wanderer. The Forest Bird was well sung by Mojca Erdmann, and its realization through active projection was excellent. Deborah Voigt’s Brünnhilde was disappointing vocally. Her awakening did not create a climax. She improved later in the act but never achieved vocal ecstasy. As with Morris, she was seen looking at the conductor a lot. Vocally, Patricia Bardon’s Erda was good, but the staging of her interaction with Wotan created an expectation that something unique was about to occur when she left her mountain cleft.