Bill Watson: Bayreuth 2000—a disappointment -
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 ]
It is now over two months since my wife Edna and I attended the Bayreuther
Festspiele performances of the Ring cycle, Die Meistersinger von
Nürnberg and Lohengrin. In commenting on the experience,
I must stress that my best musical experiences have been in Germany,
notably in Bayreuth, Berlin and Dresden. This means that my expectations
were very high for our fourth Ring cycle at Bayreuth. These expectations
were not satisfied.
Part of the disappointment may have been caused by the large heads
that obstructed my view of the stage. Fortunately, the heads did not
interfere with the superb sound produced by the orchestra under Sinopoli.
Although I enjoyed the modern brightly lit sets and costumes, I thought
there was a lack of continuity between sets, and the unimaginative
blank curtain between scenes was a cop-out. In the cycle, some of
the mechanical gadgets didn't work, giving it an under-rehearsed feeling.
But the main problem related to vocal quality, which in the past has
been beyond reproach. Poor quality certainly did not apply to Waltraud
Meier, surely one of the greatest operatic singers, as Sieglinde,
or to Placido Domingo, who light flexible voice and excellent acting
made him a very good Siegmund.
There were also excellent performances from many others, eg John
Tomlinson as Hagen, Gunter von Kannen as Alberich and Violeta Urmana
as Waltraute. But for me, the show was spoilt by the poor showing
by both Schmidt as Siegfried, and Schnaut as Brünnhilde. Both were
consistently too loud and lacked adequate variation in colour and
lyricism. It may have been deliberate intention of Director Flimm
to emphasise that power and not love is the major motivator of mankind.
Alan Titus as Wotan had a very good voice but he, too, was consistently
too loud, and not an adequate replacement for Tomlinson.
The lack of variation made me very conscious of the tedious element
of the Wagner librettos. I was never so conscious of Wagner's need
for a good editor. Surtitles would have helped, but I can scarcely
expect them in English in Germany.
Germany is awash with tales of the power struggle within the Wagner
family. It seems the next decade may see radical changes in Bayreuth
when Wolfgang Wagner finally leaves. It is interesting to reflect
on the parallel between Wolfgang and his family; between Wotan and
his underlings, and between the oldies of Bayreuth and the younger
generation in Germany.
Bill Watson
21 November 2000
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