Wagner Society in NSW Inc

Postcards from Bayreuth 2009

This is our sixth visit (and Ring) to Bayreuth and, for the first time in twenty years some things have changed. The custodians of the doors have new outfits and they look great - and they now smile.. There is a proper coffee bar in the cafe! The programs are now all individual (not as good unfortunately), there is a Handy Bank out the back of the Festspielhaus and there are no further sightings of the grandson of the Master (this in a way is sad).

Monday 17 August 2009. Day 1 – Tristan and Isolde

Weather
Outside the Festspielhaus: unspeakably hot and humid
Inside the Festspielhaus: unspeakably hot and humid

The reading of the entrails for this visit to Bayreuth was not good to say the least. Two weeks before we were due to arrive we received sad news that Frau Scheer of our beloved Gasthof/ Hotel –Spiegelmuehle had succumbed to a long illness and that the Hotel –Spiegelmuehle was closed. We were out in the street.

Surprisingly it is possible to secure a room in Bayreuth at the last minute (if you throw lots of Australian Roubles around) but we managed to secure the use of a friend’s apartment so all was well.
We dressed for the opera and drove up to the Festspielhaus and parked in the well organised parking area. This is our sixth visit to Bayreuth and, to be honest, there wasn’t a huge excitement. This came when Conductor, Peter Schneider started to do his stuff. The sounds emerging from the pit were simply spectacular. Director Christoph Marthaler has created a static production which is a bit disappointing but who cares when we realised that Irene Theorin was going to give us the second best Isolde we have seen (after Waltraude Meier). Theorin has a powerful and great sounding voice that refused to take prisoners. Robert Dean Smith was good but he paled next to the female voice thundering away. This was a remarkable performance of the opera.

Eating
Well this was potentially a problem give that our beloved, Spiegelmuehle was closed. In our opinion the Spiegelmuehle served the best food in Bayreuth. This night – don’t laugh – we ate at the Avena Congress and the food and service were extremely pleasant

Tuesday 18 August 2009. Day 2 – Mastersinger

Weather
Outside the Festspielhaus: unspeakably hot and humid
Inside the Festspielhaus: unspeakably hot and humid

To be brutally honest I was not looking forward to this production. The HUGE surprise was the incredible quality of the music and the singing.

The Conductor, Sebastian Weigle was completely in control.

The overture was, to me a bit disappointing in that it lacked tightness and excitement but over the course of the opera Weigle, created something special. The musical brilliance of Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg was added to by probably the strongest and most consistent Sachs I have seen. Alan Titus must play Wotan at some stage and Klaus Florian Vogt was equally consistent and strong with his unwavering, clear and brilliant sounding high tenor voice.

The work itself, the sound from the pit and the power and beauty of the singing transcended the production. We come to Bayreuth to experience the work of Richard Wagner interpreted by the leader in the pit and executed by the orchestra and the singers not to experience the director’s interpretation.

Eating
Having one’s own apartment is fantastic. Instead of going to a restaurant after the very long Mastersinger, we adjourned to our apartment, with its well appointed kitchen and cooked a splendid meal for a Canadian friend. We polished off the meal with a very acceptable Franken Sylvaner.

Wednesday 19 August 2009. Day 3 – Parsifal

Weather
Outside the Festspielhaus: unspeakably hot and humid but not as bad as the night before
Inside the Festspielhaus: hot and humid but not as bad as the night before

We arrived at the Festspielhaus on a high given the standard of the two previous nights’ performances (I almost wrote ‘production’ but that would be incorrect). Parsifal did not disappoint.

I didn’t like the first act in terms of its production but the second and third acts worked very well. Committee Member, Terence will, in due course, give a more detailed description of the production but to my mind it all worked well and the sets were spectacular. I suggest that Wagner would have been delighted by the transformation of the sets. Stephan Herheim set a steady pace and the orchestra was almost perfect. Christopher Ventris was in splendid voice and Thomas Jesatko  as a cross dressing Klingsor was just the thing. Mihoko Fujimura as Kundry was only so-so but why complain? This was the third great opera in three nights.

Eating
This particular night we packed a nice Franken Sylvaner and some chicken sandwiches and sat on the edge of the green fields in both intervals. What a treat! Committee member Dennis of course managed to sneak in a glass of bubbly and I did not ignore the delights of the Bratwurst.

Thursday 20 August 2009. Day 4 Das Rheingold

Weather
Outside the Festspielhaus: especially unspeakably hot and humid – the hottest day in Bayreuth this year
Inside the Festspielhaus: especially unspeakably hot and humid – the worst night yet

This Tankred Dorst production is tight and professionally staged. Christian Thielemann ensured that the singers were always supported and were never drowned out. The conducting was transparent. He clearly is a master of Wagner’s music.

The singers were also in command of the stage. The red headed Arnold Bezuyen as Loge stole the show with great acting and a fine vocal sound. The lighting on Erda was a bit strange this time. The last performance we saw had the Earth Mother bathed in a warm red glow. This time she was in a white light and more brightly illuminated. Very odd.

The start of the Ring meant that the Australian contingent arrived – except for Jim and Carol Leigh, all from the NSW Society were Bayreuth Virgins. The NSW contingent – Colleen, Michael, Melinda, Marie, Lynette, Charles, Dennis, John, Greg and Kay. The excitement in the air was palpable.

Most of us from Sydney and Melbourne ended up at the Wagner Society of Southern California’s post Rheingold dinner. Sherwin Sloan, the bandmaster of this event, unfortunately had health problems and he could not come to Bayreuth. He was missed. We were advised that, if he had come, this would have been his 90th Ring. I have had a love/hate relationship with this particular function over the years but it is usually fun. Linda Watson, our Brunnhilde, made a gracious speech. She, like many of us, noted that the custodians of the doors had new uniforms.

Friday 21 August 2009. Day 5 Die Walkure

AND THE RAINS CAME!!!!!

Weather
Outside the Festspielhaus: the great rains of Bayreuth complete with Donner and Froh doing their bit. The temperature has plummeted to 24 degrees C.
Inside the Festspielhaus: especially unspeakably hot and humid – nothing has changed.

The general comment as those of us without umbrellas huddled under the canopies hoping that the downpour would cease to allow us to get to our cars without ruining our suits was that Christian Thielemann was continuing to create something special. We all agreed that his ability to allow the individual sounds of instruments to fill the theatre is remarkable.
The first a

t was just a tad underwhelming. Thankfully Endrik Wottrich was able to complete the act, unlike a couple of years ago, but, while he gets there his voice is constrained. He looks great though. Eva-Maria Westbroek’s Siegline proved to be a crowd pleaser.

The second act was considerably more exciting. Linda Watson’s Brunnhilde was credible though Albert Dohmen as Wotan is just OK. All in all a good act.

The Ride of the eight girls with spears and helmets was marvellous. It was pleasing that the singers were powerful and were all able to hit those top notes. The final scene was suitably poignant. All in all a great night.

Eating

We joined the Chestermans’ and Charles Manning for a picnic in our car park/cornfield. Great fun though I left the plates, bread, napkins, knives and forks back at the apartment. Idiot! The white wine also had a cork but we managed to solve this particular problem.

Charles Manning, Michael Chesterman, Colleen Chesterman and Dennis Mather

Sunday23 August 2009. Day 6 – Seigfried

Weather
Outside the Festspielhaus: a very pleasant 24 degrees
Inside the Festspielhaus: almost bearable.

This had the promise of a great night yet there was something about Christian Thielemann’s conducting that worked against the fulfilment of the promise. This was a night where there were no shivers down the back and the response by the audience at the end was polite. Some parts were good and Christian Franz and Linda Watson were almost there but not exciting. All in all good but not exciting.

Eating
The Sydney group, organised by Committee Member Dennis, headed for Oskars for a great supper.

Monday August 2009. Day 7 – Gotterdammerung

Weather
Outside the Festspielhaus: a very pleasant 24 degrees
Inside the Festspielhaus: almost bearable.

I really wanted these last (of seven) operas to be exciting. It was good but there were no shivers down the spine. Perhaps I will leave it to Terence or some other reviewer to explain the lack of excitement. Having said this I would not have missed the Bayreuth experience for a king’s ransome. That says something about this festival. It must also be said that this is all about live theatre with its pluses and minuses.

John Studdert

Back to Society Home Page

This Page was last updatedAugust 28, 2009->->->->->->->->

© Wagner Society in NSW Inc 2009