DVD Walküre from The Thielemann Ring

Walküre. DVD. Bayreuth Festival 2010. Production: Tankred Dorst. Conductor: Christian Thielemann. Cast: Johan Botha (Siegmund), Edith Haller (Sieglinde), Linda Watson (Brünnhilde), Albert Döhmen (Wotan), Mihoko Fujimura (Fricka), Kwangchoul Yun (Hunding)

I have no doubt that this Bayreuth-Ring 2006-11, directed by Tankred Dorst will be known as The Thielemann Ring.

From the beginning, this Ring was planned for CD release only and released as a 14-CD boxset in 2009 with the doubful honour of being one of the strongest in terms of the conductor, as well as probably the weakest in terms of singers.
However, with the recent explosion of the DVD-operatic market it probably makes sense for the Bayreuth Festival to try and distribute it.

Tankred Dorst was universically criticized for lack of ideas and static concept upon the premiere in 2006.  However, I saw the Ring in Bayreuth in 2007 and have to agree: The only highligt was Christian Thielemann. Who, on the other hand was stunning.

Dorst´s main idea that The Gods live amongst us,but we cannot see them and that man destroy nature are neither novel nor exciting. Admittedly, his preparations were not optimal, having had to take over after the cancellation from Lars von Trier. But nevertheless, a Bayreuth Ring is a Bayreuth Ring and this Ring was disappointing. I have previously written a comprehensive review of the entire Dorst-Thielemann Ring including a detailed description of the staging.

Edith Haller took over Sieglinde´s part from the previous years Eva-Maria Westbroek and Adrianne Pieczonka, and though somewhat weak in expression she has a truly beautiful voice with a wonderful bloom and seems to raise easily over the orchestra.
Johan Botha has a large, effortless voice, but for the rest I completely agree with the message he got from  the Intendant of the Vienna State Opera. Both Albert Döhmen and Linda Watson performs in accordance with Tankred Dorst´s staging: Neither spectacular nor disastrous. While Mihoko Fujimura does not have a large, dramatic voice, it is very beautiful.

Christian Thielemann is the true revelation of this DVD and, indeed, hearing him conduct this Ring in Bayreuth was one of the major operatic experiences I have had. The glittering beauty, the broad tempi, the subtle changes in tempi. It becomes quite clear, however, how the acoustics of the Bayreuth Festival House with the covered pit actually works against the explosive and contrapunctual nature of the Ring and if you a a conductor don´t work against it, you risk to lose the momentum and make it sound like Parsifal. This, however, does not seem to bother Thielemann, who in fact conducts this Walküre much as he does Parsifal.
Nevertheless, together with Daniel Barenboim, no conductor today has a better understanding of Richard Wagner.

Trailer:

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Johan Botha: 2
Albert Döhmen: 3
Edith Haller: 3-4
Linda Watson: 3
Mihoko Fujimura: 4

Christian Thielemann: 5
Tankred Dorst´s production: 2-3

DVD: Pountney and Gergiev Turandot from Salzburg

Turandot. Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg Festival 2002. Director: David Pountney. Cast: Gabriele Schnaut (Turandot), Johan Botha (Calaf), Cristina Gallardo-Domas (Liu), Paata Burchuladze (Timur), Robert Tear (Emperor). Conductor: Valery Gergiev with the Vienna Philharmonics. Further information here.

In brief, director David Pountney dismisses of all kitsch in a spectacular staging of Turandot created for the 2002 Salzburg Festival.

David Pountney elaborates on the widespread fear of the 1920´s that technical advances would spin out of control resulting in the swallowing of individual into a massive grey mass.

The spectacular sets by Johan Engels gradually transforms an "inhuman state only capable of murdering" (Pountney) to one of humanity. Cogweels in motion span the entire stage width as well as the side of the orchestra pit. A technical world populated with robots and mechanical humans. Grotesque chinese mask represent the local colorite.
Turandot, trying to expel all human thoughts and feelings, hides on top of a 9 meter veil within a gigantic golden human head. This obviously crashes and brings her to stage level when Calaf solves the third riddle, frail-looking and in a white cloth.

The riddle scene is spectacular with Turandot placed high above a blood-red graveyard within the golden head an with the almost equally high positioned robots of the Emperor and the Mandarin, his mouth piece at the front. Turandot´s change to compassionate human being seems finally complete upon washing the dead body of Líu. It all ends in social utopia - everyone shred their masks and the instruments of torture are discarded.

As most will know, Puccini didn´t complete the opera before his death and here Berio´s new 2001 ending is used, which has the major advantage of Berio not trying to adopt a pseudo-Puccini language not his. A very and sincere ending to Turandot, vastly preferably to Alfano´s version, in my opinion.

Gabriele Schnaut gets reasonably away with Turandot. That Johan Botha is not really suited to staged theatre is not new and here he seems strained in the top as well. Cristina Gallardo-Domas is a very sincere Líu, who unfortunately comes with a rather unpleasant vibrato. Paata Burchuladze gets away with Timur only because the part is not very challenging.

Valery Gergiev is most of all very loud. There is not much else to say about him in what is far from his finest hour.

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Gabriele Schnaut: 4
Johan Botha: 2
Cristian Gallardo-Domas: 3

David Pountney´s staging: 5

Valery Gergiev: 3

Overall impression: 4

Johan Botha too fat for Vienna..

Vienna State Opera Intendant from 2010 Dominique Meyer, has stated that he finds tenor Johan Botha "too fat" and that he "cannot move on stage".

In the Neue Kronenzeitung Botha replies (my translation, not available online, but excerpts in German here):

Botha is annoyed:"I hardly know any thin Wagner tenors. A singer must eat and drink after long, stressful singing.. I will not apologize. But I try not to gain more weight. Botha cannot move, that is an empty phrase! "

Since his relocation from South Africa to Vienna, Botha has always been associated with the Vienna State Opera.

"I am happy director Holender was available. At least I understand one thing: For Holender and Klaus Bachler, I was good enough. I think in my fach, I have set a standard of singing and interpretation in Vienna. Both Christian Thielemann and Semyon Bychkov has confirmed this."
And what will Botha do in the Wagner (and Verdi) year 2013 at the Wiener Staatsoper? Botha: "Don´t ask me. I guess I am not wanted. But I am happy and I am contracted years in advance - even at the Met until 2015. Ask Mr. Meyer!"

Well. No disrespect to Johan Botha, who based on public appearances seems a both very pleasant and hard-working guy. And one has to respect him for working his way up from the 1990 Bayreuth Festival Chorus to land the biggest Wagnerian parts on all the major stages.

But I have also seen him live, and I will have to agree with Dominique Meyer on this one...

Vienna: Major triumph for Christian Thielemann in Meistersinger

Meistersinger von Nürnberg. DVD. Vienna State Opera 2008. Prod: Otto Schenk. Cond: Christian Thielemann. Cast: Falk Struckmann (Hans Sachs), Ain Anger (Pogner), Johan Botha (Walther von Stolzing), Adrian Eröd (Beckmesser), Ricarda Merbeth (Eva), Michael Schade (David), Michaela Selinger (Magdalena).

This is a so-called traditional production of Meistersinger, recorded live in 2008 at the Vienna State Opera, which for obscure reasons decided to revive Schenk´s 1975 staging of Wagner´s Meistersinger under the label "new production", referring to a socalled "musical reinterpretation" by German conductor Christian Thielemann. We already know Otto Schenk´s Meistersinger from the DVD from the Metropolitan Opera. This Vienna production is not quite as sumptuous, in fact it is rather austere and dusty at times, especially in the first act.

I remember well that in 2008 Thielemann was unanimously praised by the Austrian press for these performances, labelling them the best conducted Meistersinger in Vienna in decades and five hours of pure pleasure - referring mainly to the orchestral performance.  I am well acquainted with Thielemann´s mighty way with this score: Light, yet not too light, and with this inherent understanding of Wagnerian phrases, including in Thielemann´s case some very unconventional phrasing slowing the orchestra down at decisive points. Such as the much-debated major pause he always takes between "wach" and "auf" in the 3rd Act, It is still there. Egocentric or courageous? Probably both.

That Christian Thielemann favours traditional productions is no secret and not a problem as such. A traditional production may be as good, or better than a modern. That entirely depends on the individual characterization by the singers. However, too often, traditional sets are combined with a lack of personal direction + a not negligible amount of dust. Which is the case here.

It is understandable that Thielemann likes Johan Botha´s voice as it is both glorious and solid. But.. this is not a CD, and excuse me, the man is simply too heavy and cannot act his way out of a paper bag.
But Ricarda Merberth? Really she is quite disappointing as Eva: Matronly, wobbly and unexquisite, she is the stand-up-and-deliver type of singer. One shouldn´t think Eva would be that hard a part to cast?
She looks rather like the superb Ain Angers mother than his daughter. And with Michaela Selingers feisty Magdalena looking ten years younger and feistier than Eva. Michael Schade as well makes a rather mature, but however well sung David.
Falk Struckmann´s rather metallic voice with a certain lack of warmth may not be to everyones liking, however he is in better shape here than otherwise around that time.
Best is Adrian Eröd as Beckmesser: Funny as well as well sung and the scenes between Beckmesser and Sachs remain among the few infusing some life into this otherwise rather un-dead production.
However, we already know Otto Schens Meistersinger from the Metropolitan Opera released on DVD, with a vastly superior cast. Christian Thielemann´s Meistersinger is worth preserving Otto Schenk´s Vienna State Opera production with the current cast really is not.

The bottom line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):

Johan Botha: 2
Ricarda Merberth: 2
Falk Struckmann: 3
Adrian Eröd: 5
Ain Anger: 4
Michael Schade: 3

Otto Schenk´s production: 2

Christian Thielemann: 5

Overall impression: 2

Vienna: New Walküre in which Uusitalo looses his voice

A nightmare for Finnish bass-barytone Juha Uusitalo: At the premiere of Walküre, the first installment of the new Ring at the Vienna State Opera , Uusitalo was apparently singing with a cold and lost his voice during the Monologue. In the third act he could only whisper, and Oskar Hillebrandt, seemingly in the process of eating a pizza at the Westbahnhof, was brough in to sing the remainder of the part. Terje Stensvold, an excellent Wotan, is scheduled as Wotan in the next performance on Thursday.

The production is by Sven-Eric Bechtolf. Franz Welser-Möst conducts. The cast: Nina Stemme, Eva Johansson, Juha Uusitalo, Johan Botha and Michaela Schuster.

Reviews:

Der Standard thought the staging to be uninspired and naive in the conception. However particular praise to Johan Botha and Nina Stemme as the Wälsung twins.

Financial Times also was rather unimpressed with Bechtolfs staging, but even less impressed with Holender´s tackling of Uusitalo´s lost voice. Quote:

"Holender was greeted with storms of boos, a reception not inappropriate for a man who had failed to organise an understudy for the opera’s heaviest role. He held up both hands and talked. When he had hired Uusitalo four years ago, the man had been in fine voice. He has sung the role well in other houses. He was fine at the dress rehearsal. He, Holender, had advised Uusitalo to be more careful with his voice in the last rehearsals. Oskar Hillebrand had answered his mobile phone and agreed to sing the part from the pit, while Uusitalo acted his role silently on the stage, a solution that he, Holender, did not especially like, but what else can you do with such a production?The boos were tamed, but the cost was high. Uusitalo was just having a bad night. It can happen to anyone."

Mariss Jansons with Beethoven 9 in Salzburg

Competing for attention last Friday night with both Claus Guth´s Nozze di Figaro next door and Mozarts C-minor mass, the guest performance of Symphonieorchester des Bayerische Rundfunk conducted by Mariss Janssons nevertheless completely sold out the Salzburg Festival Hall.

The concert started with Honeggers 3rd symphony, a work I was not familiar with by a composer that I am not extensively familiar with either – a tonal piece with floating harmonies. According to seasoned concert-goers, the coupling of the Beethoven 9th with a “modern” piece is now common practice. The Beethoven, of course, was the main thing. And the performance was greeted ecstatically by immediate standing ovations by the entire audience, which I was a bit curious about. I mean – the performance was good – but I missed some structure and dynamic particularly in the first and third movement.
Four stellar soloists were hired for the occasion: Krassimira Stoyanova, Lioba Braun, Johan Botha and Thomas Quasthoff – although the female parts are so small that I wouldn´t think it worth the effort to hire stellar female singers, since you hardly hear them sing and I guess just about any soprano and alto would do justice to the very small parts. Furthermore, Thomas Quasthoff´s lyrical bass-bariton does not seem ideal for the bass part (the largest solo part).

Vienna: Johan Botha and Barbara Frittoli in Freudian Otello

Otello. Vienna State Opera, May 31st 2007. Production: Christine Mieliz. Cast: Johan Botha (Otello), Barbara Frittoli (Desdemona), Falk Struckmann (Iago). Conductor: Daniele Gatti.

Johan Botha is Otello at the Vienna State Opera. He has the required vocal skills, fills the auditorium effortless with great top notes on pitch and a voice under excellent technical control.

What is the problem with Botha then? Quite simply, that I find him entirely uninteresting as a performer. First of all, he is simply too large to successfully impersonate any character on an opera stage. Secondly, Botha appears static and is unable to create any chemistry between him and Barbara Frittoli´s wonderful Desdemona. Or Falk Struckmann´s Iago. Johan Botha´s Otello appears naive bordering on stupid. The vocal characterization does not improve on the physical. You wouldn´t be needing much of a brain to fool this Otello..

Falk Struckmann plays Iago with wonderful consistency as he (as always) plays himself. Earlier this season is was Telramund, now it is Iago: More friendly than menacing, but nevertheless unpredictable. Vocally he was in great shape, much better heard live than on record.

The Vienna State Opera orchestra played wonderfully for Daniele Gatti.

Christine Mielitz´ 2006 production is very spartan and very blue. This Otello cannot adjust to a world without war, and thus kills the only person that dares contradict him.

However, Otello without an Otello is a hard-sell. Botha is no Plácido Domingo and it would be unfair to expect him fill the Otello-vacuum left by Domingo. However, what Johan Botha offers as Otello, simply is not enough to make it worthwhile. I´d rather take Domingo on DVD than Johan Botha live..