Jim Leigh Wonders: A bühnenbilderische Ring?
- 3rd cycle 21,22, 24,26 August 2000
Opera Review (From the December 2000 newsletter)
[ For details of cast and production team see Flimmflam:
The New Bayreuth Ring - review by Richard Mason ]
The new Bayreuth Ring was a fascinating and engrossing experience.
Jurgen Flimm has wide experience in many German drama theatres. His
opera experience is more limited but he has directed numerous operas
in Europe, often in association with Wonder, who has wide European
experience as an opera designer. He designed the current Bayreuth
Tristan.
The production is very true to Wagner. Mid 20th C capitalism
is being replaced by early 21st C capitalism even though
the politics is but a vehicle. The overriding new idea is extensive
use of visual leitmotivs (bühnenbilderische leitmotive) to
weld the cycle together. While Flimm and Wonder have sought a somewhat
different aesthetic in Rheingold, its visual motives recur.
For example there is the ship motif - broken canoes for Rhinemaidens
in Rheingold Scene1, presaging Siegfried's later tragic Rhine
journey—seen again whole in Gotterdammerung Act 1 where
Siegfried launches the boat and again as the front only when the Rhinemaidens
re-appear in Götterdämmerung Act 3; the rope motif-
(control) binding Alberich in Rheingold, Walküre SAS jumping
down on it in Walküre Act 3, leading bear in Siegfried Act1
and as noose when Mime's head is forfeited to the Wanderer in
the riddle scene, and woven by Norns; and the travel motif-box
for Alberich as a toad, suitcases for gods moving to Valhalla and
Mime and to my eyes, that enclosing Brunnhilde in magic fire, suggested
by bureaucratic red tape around a large rectangular box.
Another feature is scenic overlay. Hunding's hut (a Russian
summerhouse with an ash tree in it) is present from Walküre
onwards. Siegmund's and Sieglinde's love scene occurs in a similar
setting to that between Siegfried and Brunnhilde in Götterdämmerung.
An elaborate system of detailed deep perspective painted backdrops
unifies the decline of the old god industry, its obliteration when
the dragon is slain and Siegfried regains the ring, and its regeneration
by Siegfried and Brunnhilde's world redeeming love. They are
also used to show the final destruction of Valhalla and the cleansing
of the curse by the Rhine.
Das Rheingold.
This was probably the best of the four parts. It is by far the busiest
in settings and stage business. It is very much like a play, with
the gods clearly distinguished as very much ordinary folk (Schiller's
"gods as men" and Wagner's own "men as gods").
Froh cracks open a beer can and Wotan uses the office water cooler
with plastic cups.
The Rhinemaidens introduce the image of the broken boat and the central
elevator used by the maidens. Alberich steals gold dust from the hearth-like
trough in front of the stage. The Rhinemaidens are all young and good
looking, wearing one piece swimming costumes under bathing robes.
All sang well: von Kannen was magnificent throughout the cycle as
Alberich. He bore a strong physical resemblance to "Lichtalberich"-Wotan,
sung powerfully and beautifully throughout by Alan Titus.
Much was made of the second scene of Rheingold. This introduced
the first of the perspective backdrops. A vast rundown industrial
city with large buildings in the distance, and Wotan Pty Ltd's
1970s rundown factory, with the front office grubby and very ordinary.
Valhalla was a pillbox like structure with slits for windows. Freia
had curly hair and seemed to have a black nightie on. Froh was a student
or junior management with a briefcase and Donner an older, soon to
be redundant, time server. Fricka had a frumpy skirt and cardigan.
The gods were packed ready to move into Valhalla. The giants were
on very effective leg-extending prostheses that enabled convincing
murder in scene 4. Loge was a dashing character with commedia del'arte
characteristics-not averse to song and dance routines. His initial
entrance was preceded by a bolt of real fire.
The descent to Nibelheim was by elevator into Alberich's newer
21st century industry with computer terminals and drone-like Nibelungs
making micro chips under controlled dust conditions, dressed in protective
suits and working almost in synchrony. Mime, sung by Australia's
Michael Howard, was more conventional, a bespectacled fusspot.
Everyone wanted to hear Sinopoli's Ring, after his Tannhäuser,
Dutchman and Parsifal. The answer was similarly, with loving
attention to detail and continuing regard for the singers. The orchestral
transitions were symphonic rather than over-dramatic. The always amazing
Bayreuth acoustic allowed everything to be fully heard, probably at
its best in row 30 centre where we all were. As to the individual
singers, those in Rheingold were faultless. It was hard to
switch from the drama to the music, but this is what Wagner intended.
The metaphor of Das Rheingold was the transfer of power from
old to new, and the fact that this power was now compromised by the
loss of the gold, ring and Tarnhelm to the giants. A near disastrous
stage mishap occurred when a skip bearing ingots came off the tracks
and only very timely intervention by three stagehands got it back
on without stopping the show for a beat. If they hadn't, the
whole Freia scene could not have happened properly at all. As it was
Freia was very nervous standing on the railway tracks behind the bars
which looked none too stable. This anxiety communicated itself to
the audience.
The rainbow bridge was not that effective from our view. The ending
had the first of many characters on stage when Wagner didn't
want them there. In this case, Mime slunk out from under the rail
tracks with his Globite suitcase.
Die Walküre
The Ashtree had an archery target covering the sword and two instruction
notices pinned on it. Act 1 was dominated by Waltraud Meier and Placido
Domingo. Kang's Hunding was big but monotone. The spring night
scene was effective. It was very likely Meier's and Domingo's final
appearances. Meier was crying at her curtain call. Personally, I prefer
Poul Elming as Siegmund, and Meier possibly has too big a voice for
Sieglinde.
Act 2 Scene 1 showed the inside of Valhalla, as is now standard,
rather than the wild place of the text. Wotan's office has improved,
but he knows they are in for a fall and is on his mobile phone, shredding
documents. When Fricka wins, she seats herself in the biggest executive
chair like a newly appointed CEO. Wotan later trashes the place at
"das Ende".
Gabriele Schnaut was eagerly awaited as Brünnhilde, although it was
her 99th performance at Bayreuth. She is fair and good-looking
but was clothed in a SAS-like outfit. She had not been singing well
in the earlier cycles, but was reasonable in Walküre. The Fricka's
scene was excellent as was Wotan's long central narration.
Scene 2 showed Siegmund dragging Sieglinde on a sled. The set was
four corners of a ruined building and a desolate wintry backdrop with
two huts and rows of sticks. The annunciation of death and the final
fight were rather tame. Fricka's gloating after Siegmund's death
was a theatrical tour de force. The Walküren sisters
seemed to have been selected for intimidating bulk, as the Rhinemaidens
had been for slender good looks. Fierce in their SAS gear, they abseiled
down the inside of Valhalla. Sinopoli's ride was rather light, consistent
with his overall style of letting instrumental detail be heard. Wotan's
angry entrance and the sisterhood's halfhearted shielding were
well done and, cleverly, Brünnhilde changed into a nightdress behind
her sisters.
I thought the final scene very clever, with rotating curved panels
created from the Valhalla walls gradually enclosing her and the magic
fire represented by static radiating red rays on the floor and two
bands of red tape gradually boxing her in. The orchestra was a little
sloppy in the final scene. There were prolonged curtain calls, mainly
for Meier, Titus and Domingo and only muted respect ..and a few boos...for
Schnaut.
Siegfried
The Act 1 scenery was overlaid on that from Walküre Act 1,
except for a wintry backdrop. Mime had a lot of stage business and
was adequately sung without caricature. Schmidt's roars were transformed
into ringing pure power at the right times. He very convincingly acted
the boorish young Siegfried (and the more mature one later). The forging
scene was convincing. The Wanderer was hanging about for longer than
usual in the Act (now a cliché). The re-forged sword is put back into
the Ashtree, not used to smash the anvil. I'm not sure if one
of the bits of paper on the tree in Walküre was a set of forging
instructions.
Act 2 scene one introduced a new character, the schoolboy Hagen doing
his homework under Alberich's supervision. Neidhohle was a vague
space, but the dragon was a giant space-age techno-monster occupying
the entire stage; his destruction a Chernobyl-style meltdown, his
skeletal frame remaining. Kang's booming offstage voice was terrifying.
Schmidt sang and acted through the forest murmurs very well indeed
and used one of Wotan's instruction sheets for his horn whittling
exercises. As a premonition, he cut himself and tasted his own blood.
With Fafner's death, the backdrop changed to complete post-nuclear
desolation. The Alberich-Mime scene was a little boring, as usual,
but both Howard and Schmidt acted well in the scene of Mime's false
blandishments. Wotan, in the background, still manipulated his patently
unfree hero. The orchestra played superbly.
Act 3, as usual sounded different and Sinopoli brought out all the
contrapuntal work in the Prelude. The desolate backdrop remained.
Erda was frosted and seated in Valhalla's executive chair. The odd
scenic motive of the mine equipment from Rheingold Scene 4
reminded us of "easy come easy go" in corporate power games.
I now started to listen more carefully for the first appearance of
the "World inheritance" or "Siegfriedsliebe" motif
foreshadowing a new era based on love rather than power; and very
moving it was.
Siegfried's ascent through the fire was played with curtain
down right up to his first words. This very well played symphonic
interlude allowed one to hear the first transition to high strings
in the whole work. The fire music was much better played than in Walküre.
The final love duet was staged simply in the curved opening panel
from Walküre, with a backdrop of snow, but with advanced lighting
effects and some good acting. While both Schnaut and Schmidt have
big voices and neither was outsung, some ugly roars and screeches
could be heard. The final totally botched high C by Brünnhilde on
"Lachender Tod" seemed the result of uncertainty-whether
to even go for it. There were a few boos but apparently not as many
as in the first cycle. It was Schnaut's 100th Bayreuth
performance.
Götterdämmerung
The Prelude opened on Brünnhilde's rock also with a snowy background.
The Norns were weaving with large knitting needles. Brünnhilde, a
happily married woman, was quietly sewing Siegfried's socks in
the background, while he was mucking about with his boat in the bulrushes,
getting ready for an early start down the Rhine. All Norns sang well,
especially Judit Nemeth as 3rd Norn. The dawn love duet
was sung over a cosy morning-after breakfast, with Brünnhilde affectionately
attending to Siegfried's needs before sending him happily off
to work. Both sang out well and Schnaut relieved everyone when she
seemed in more confident form. The boat was realistically launched,
The Gibichung Palace was a chrome and glass corporate headquarters
with busy executives and office workers on its three levels. Hagen
was the CEO and Gunther possibly a concerned heavy investor. Gutrune
was desperate for a husband. Tomlinson was perhaps too nice as Hagen,
while Gunther was very powerfully sung, with perhaps too much bravado.
A sign of Sinopoli's orchestral clarity was the audibility of
the Golden apples theme after Hagen's rejection of the blood
brotherhood cup. Some critics said he had been coarser in Götterdämmerung.
An interesting feature was the arrival of the office workers coming
up from stage rear, as if from a U- Bahn station. Waltraute was sung
by Violeta Urmana in a rather dull confrontation on chairs reinforcing
the "gods as men" line. Alberich lurked in the background
before Hagen's Watch began.
Act 2 showed the altars to Wotan, Donner and Fricka, along with some
runic looking backdrops. The men's' chorus was strong and the characters'
movements in and around the building were carefully rehearsed. Schnaut
was good in this Act and the conspiratorial trio went really well,
with the difficult to pick up "murder" motif emphasised
by Sinopoli.
The Rhinemaidens' reappeared on the prow of a boat and they
were more obviously tarty than in Rheingold. One was putting
on her face; another shaving her legs! Fafner's skeletal remains were
visible as was Neidhohle, as a roped off construction site .The maidens
on the prow resembled the New World discoveries monument in Lisbon.
The backdrop re-introduced the initial industrial world lost by the
gods and now in the hands of the Gibichung men. Siegfried's narration
and death was witnessed by rifle bearing hunters on collapsible chairs,
but also directly by Brünnhilde in the background.
The Immolation was very effective, with the destruction of Valhalla,
the return of the ring and the cleansing by flood done by overlapping
scrims. A variety of regenerative scenes replaced the corrupt world,
including the one with the huts from Act 2 scene 2 of Walküre.
Valhalla's remnants sank into the Rhine like destroyed battleships.
Then the final statement that the Schopenhauerian denial of the will
to power itself and its replacement by erotic love is not enough to
redeem the world. Denial of the erotic principle is also demanded.
This was depicted by a young knight with armour and spear in a completely
clean background— Parsifal, the 5th part of the Ring.
An extremely interesting interpretation of the Ring as timeless myth,
wholly consistent with Wagner. My only criticism: the drama overshadowed
the music at times.
Jim Leigh
4 September 2000
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