| . |
Wagner Society in NSW Inc
Colleen and Mike Chesterman, Liz Jacka and Lesley Lynch In the last issue of the Wagner Society newsletter, Richard Mason reviewed the first cycle of the Covent Garden Ring.Based on our attendance at the third cycle we would like to present an alternative view. Six of us gained tickets through the internet in the opening sale to Friends: we chose the third cycle so that we could see Bryn Terfel's performances as Wotan/ Wanderer and Placido Domingo's performance as Siegmund. T o his was in the end pointless, due to Terfel's withdrawal at the first rehearsal.Despite the views of our esteemed President, we will however review the performance of his replacement, John Tomlinson.One of us was seeing his 16 th Ring, another was a Ring Virgin.All of us were swept away by the cumulative effect of the 4 operas, a view shared by an enthusiastic last night audience on November 2. Like Richard, our greatest praise is for the fine conducting of Antonio Pappano. We had heard that during the individual performances of the operas in previous years he had presented a very detailed and attentive perspective. Now he had combined this with a commanding sweep through the music, which was superbly fulfilled by the large orchestra, with a few unfortunate errors by the brass. It was dramatic and exciting. We would guess that Keith Warner's direction had been simplified since the first stagings. Certainly many of the key moments were most powerfully presented.We were particularly impressed by the ending of Act II of Valkyrie, often rather rushed and confused. Through this Act Warner had concentrated on the inter-relationships between the characters and at times in this Act one could feel the tight bonds between Wotan and Fricka, Sieglinde and Brunhilde as if they were rope. It built on the intensity of Act I, when Siegmund and Sieglinde circled each other symbiotically; this was beautifully sung by the young Dutch soprano Eva-Marie Westbroek and the still compelling Domingo.Barry Millington, the surtitler for the operas has written in Andante of the influence of Feuerbach's view of the ‘I-You' relationship on Warner's interpretation. The philosopher also influenced the characterisation, familiar from many other Rings since Chereau, of the gods as effete aristocrats, the giants as hostile tradesmen and the growing strength of the human race's ability to overturn the gods of their own making. This was powerfully represented by Warner as golden statues of the gods decorating the Gibichung Hall whence they were taken by young people to be burned in bonfires at the conclusion of Gotterdammerung . Still problematic were aspects of Stephen Lazarides' designs–overfussy in Rhinegold with ropes and ladders coming down from the ceiling, a curious crashed aeroplane in Siegfried , dominating Mime's hut – this was apparently meant to represent the means of the Wanderer's journeying, but he did not emerge from the cockpit, just wandered around from the side. But together he and Warner made a powerful use of symbols recurring through the operas – the red rope of fate, the curved steel surrounding Brunnhilde's rock, the whirling white screen that makes a powerful backdrop to the Valkyries' ride. Richard was particularly critical of John Tomlinson as Wotan/ Wanderer and on this we would vehemently disagree. Certainly his voice is not what it once was, but in this last of the four cycles it was powerful. More than this, in seeing a Ring rather than hearing a recording, one is inevitably drawn to the three-dimensional body, to the power of the performance. In this Tomlinson was magnificent. From the moment in the prologue to Rhinegold, when we see him cutting his spear from the World Ashtree, he represents Wotan as deeply flawed, aware of his failings and railing about his diminution even as he struggles to complete Valhalla . It was a performance that brought to mind a great Lear or Prospero, particularly as he was represented tearing into shreds his collection of wisdom. Rosalind Plowright was brilliant as a shrewish Fricka who knew how to dominate this guilt-wracked figure. Lisa Gasteen had missed the second cycle with a cold, but returned for the third. Again her voice is weak in some top notes, particularly in the difficult 3 rd Act of Siegfried . But her acting ability, her energy and intensity, together with some beautiful singing, made for a very powerful Gotterdammerung .John Treleaven acted Siegfried as a country innocent, rather than as a fool. His voice is powerful but lacks the intensity and purity of a high heldentenor. Richard praised the singing of those in the smaller roles, which we would absolutely endorse. In particular, Peter Sidhom's powerful Alberich and Gerard Siegel's neurotic Mime were excellent and in Rhinegold their dreadful experimental laboratory with human body parts scattered around was genuinely horrifying. Sadly the wonderful Philip Langridge had a virus and his Loge was not in good voice. Peter Coleman-Wright was excellent as both Donner and Gunther and Emily Magee sang beautifully as Freia and Gutrune. The production began with naked Rhinemaidens pushing a ball like a world as they played in the Rhine . At the end of Gotterdammerung as they regained the gold, they slipped out of the shabby homeless men's costumes they had worn as they wandered the world mourning their loss and again faced the future (and the audience) in naked beauty. It was a startling and moving image of hope in the future. The applause and flowers at the end indicated the huge delight this production had brought to the audience. Back to Reviews This Page was last updated on: 31-Mar-2008 © Wagner Society in NSW Inc 2007 |