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Cycle 1 blog
Wed, 06/15/2011 - 4:05pm
I will try to express my immediate opinions, good and bad, of Cycle 1 after each opera. So, those who are attending Cycle 2, will know more or less what to expect.
Rheingold
To answer your biggest question: yes, the singing ensemble was quite strong and one of the best I can recall. Loge, Stefan Margita, stole the show. Even the secondary roles were well sung; we have been to productions were this has not been so. I am happy to report that acting and coreography were front and center: this dramatically improved the drama. Hallelujiah.
Well, I was less impressed with the production itself. I did not particularly care for their version of the Rhein or the God's backporch. NIbelheim was the only set I liked last night. I also object to: the rainbow bridge, a big bedsheet as the Rheingold, Donner's hammer depicted as a croquet mallet that shoots sparks. The conducting, while solid and reliable (no mean feat for the Ring), was sluggish.
Bits and Pieces
- On page 30-31 of the program (that has the complete cast listings of all past SF Rings), I was happy to be reminded of my greatest moment of Wagner opera: 1985, Edo de Waart in the pit, Walter Berry (Alberich), and Thomas Stewart (Wotan) in front of Fafner's cave in Walkure. This production also featured Peter Hofmann and Jeanine Altmeyer as Siegmunde and Sieglinde, but that is a subject for another day.
- On the second floor, where the outdoor balcony is, they have set up a 'Biergarten': for $14, you get a bottle of bear, a pretzel, and a hot dog; I do not know if it is worth it, but I will try it and let you know, at least it is a good place to get some fresh air.
- My seat is third row in the balcony, and, having been in the dress circle and grand tier a couple of days ago, I can assure you that the sound is just as good. However, in the balcony, there is that idiotic screen that might block your view of the stage: I am far enough down (C6, third row) so that the bottom of the screen is at the same level as the proscenium arch. Next Ring, whenever that will be, I will be pop the extra $$$ for Balcony Front.
- I suppose it bears repeating that the supertitles is not a word for word translation. This is both good and bad, since a full translation gives you a headache to watch, but the SF ones, you do miss some of W's poetry and linguistic mastery.
Tonight: Walkure
I saw the dress rehearsal on Saturday night, and it was identical, as far as I remembered, to the one last year. But, more honest, unabashed, unguarded comments to come. Stay tuned.
Your big question: what about the singing? Fabulous: the cast was uniformly strong, not an easy task in an opera that has so many moving parts. Stemme and Delavan were delightfully solid, and the magic-fire-water-music was nicely done. As in Rheingold, the real treat was a secondary role: Siegmund and Sieglinde, definitely the best Volsung twins I can ever recall hearing. Never before has 'O hehrstes Wunder! Herrlichsre Maid' had more dramatic impact, or Siegmund made mincemeat out of Brünnhilde.
The production? Oddly, the only part I did not like was Act 1, which is actually the most 'traditional' set of the current Ring. Why? Same reason as the previous couple of SF Rings: the sets moved. Kinetic flats, in this case, are more distracting than they are helpful. The warrior maidens? I suppose that many will regard paratroopers and portrait pictures as brilliant cultural references, I guess so. This is one scene that I will never criticize: the problem is W's idiotic stage directions (flying horses indeed; is that the best he could come up with?), not the inadequate realizations of assorted and sundry designers.
Bits and Pieces
Singing? For those who missed Friday, I feel sorry for you: you missed something very special, Jay Hunter Morris doing his first Siegfried. For once, I felt like I really understood what was going on. Act 1 (and Act 3) was an excellent object lesson in the difference between good Wagner and truly great Wagner. This certainly is not the first time that 2 good tenors tackled Act 1, but they were acting their hearts out, and it makes a dramatic difference.
Production? I only have 2 minor quibbles: I did not care for the Forest Bird stage business, or the fire-breathing-recycling-bin. Yes, very clever, and too much so, since they were more distracting than helpful.
Bits and Pieces
The singing? Yes, Storey had some vocal problems towards the end of Act 2, but he did Act 3 and was perfectly fine. Neither Siegfried was able to keep up with Stemme, who, incidentally, powered her way through her role and gave us one of the better Immolation arias. The true glory, however, goes to the fabulous Chorus. Sumegi did something rather remarkable: he sang Fafner, Hunding, and Hagen quite well; holy cow. Act 1 Gibichung is another case where acting makes a difference (both Hagen and Gunther were initially afraid of Siegfried; Siegfried and Sieglinde flirting on the couch); it converted a scene that is too often boring and makes it a bit more intelligible.
The staging? My objection, again, is scenery that moves. I also did not like the TV screen stuff, even if it is a bit funny.
Bits and Pieces
Final Thoughts
Sieglinde and Siegfried flirting on the couch? Götterdämmerung?????? Talk about regie theatre . . . . .
Turn in your helm, it couldn't happen, she is dead. Or is this a flashback?
Maybe Siegfried and Gutrune flirting on the couch. OR Siegfried and Gunter flirting, if you want to really go metrosexual-regie. But never Sieglinde and Siegfried.
And while we're at it . . . Hagen and Gunter SHOULD be afraid of Siegfried. H & G have no street cred - just a lot of anger and feelings of inadequacy. Add to that the fact that Siegfried was rowing a boat upstream on the river complete with a horse as a passenger (don't try this at home), Grane to be exact. Golly it would scare the bejeezus out of most mortals. Fear? You betcha!
Das Ende
Wag