Rusalka in the basement of Fritzl

Rusalka. DVD. Bavarian State Opera 2010. Production: Martin Kusej. Conductor: Tomas Hanus. Cast: Kristine Opolais (Rusalka), Klaus Florian Vogt (Prince), Günther Groissböck (Water Goblin), Janina Baechle (Jezibaba), Nadia Krasteva (Foreign Princess).
A both shocking and haunting production, this Rusalka is one of Martin Kusej´s best stagings and probably one that many will find it hard to forget – whether one agrees or not with the “concept”.

Inspired by the horrors of the likes Josef Pritzl and Wolfgang Priklopil, Martin Kusej completely ignores any trace of the romantic era painting a grim and shocking picture of contemporary sexual violence.

While Fritzl/Rusalka´s Father/Water Goblin and his wife/Rusalka´s Mother/Jezibaba live upstairs, Rusalka together with her sisters are kept prisoners in the cellar of an (from the outside) idyllic house. the mother/Fritzl´s accomplice but also she who helps Rusalka escape.

It is simply heartbreaking to see how Rusalka is damaged beyond repair and does not stand a chance adapting to life outside, when she escapes, aided by her mother/Jezibaba. Obviously an insensitive Prince (perfectly played by Klaus Florian Vogt), who carries on a premarital affair with the Foreign Princess does not help her either, however it is clear that the psychological damages inflicted upon Rusalka during her childhood as a prisoner are too severe and incompatible with a normal life on the outside. Finally, Rusalka flees back to the comfort of her prison, the only place she knows and among the most outstanding features of Kusej detailed direction is the ambiguity of the psychological portraits – Rusalka´s ambiguity towards her father and also her mothers/Jezibaba´s ambiguity as both an accomplice and support in Rusalka´s escape. 

In the end, however, Fritzl is finally caught by undercover police, but damaged and shattered, the children end up in a mental institution and, by now, Rusalka is clearly insane.  The closest I have ever seen an opera come to a psychological thriller. It may not have been Dvorak´s intention, but it works.

Originally planned for Nina Stemme as Rusalka, Kristine Opolais gave up her Metropolitan Opera debut (Musetta in Boheme) when Stemme pulled out - retrospectively the right choice as she later was hailed as one of the most noteworthy debuts of the 2012-13 Met season as Magda/La Rondine.

Kristine Opolais is the ideal interpreter of this haunted Rusalka, looking and acting the part worthy of a Hollywood-star and with a silvery, agile voice, she certainly is up to the demands of the part. That her voice does not quite appeal to me should not be held against her.

Gunther Groissbock is terrifyingly convincing as Fritzl/Water Goblin in what could easily be one of the most thoroughly unsympathetic character´s ever seen on an opera stage (contrary to Dvorak´s intention). Probably not what he expected signing up for this production....

Not less outstanding are Klaus Florian Vogt´s cool, egocentric Prince, Janina Baechle´s Jezibaba, herself a damaged creature and Nadia Krasteva´s looker of a Foreign Princess.

There is only one let-down here, and for me that is Tomas Hanus in the pit, whose style is rather rigid, reluctant and transparent and does not truly capture Dvorak´s flow.

Almost unwatchable, at the same time one of the strongest stagings I have ever seen.

Production trailer:

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

Kristine Opolais: 5

Klaus Florian Vogt: 5

Günter Groissbäck: 5

Janina Baechle: 5

Nadia Krasteva: 5

Martin Kusej´s production: 5

Tomas Hanus: 4

Overall impression: 5

Katharina Wagners Meistersinger: A winner on DVD

Meistersinger. DVD. Bayreuth Festival 2008. Production: Katharina Wagner. Conductor: Sebastian Weigle. Dast: Franz Hawlata (Hans Sachs), Michael Volle (Sixtus Beckmesser), Michaela Kaune (Eva), Klaus Florian Vogt (Walther Von Stolzing), Norbert Ernst (David), Carola Guber (Magdalene), Artur Korn (Veit Pogner), Markus Eiche (Fritz Kothner), Friedemann Röhlig (Ein Nachtwächter).

I remember very well this production, the first I saw in the BayreuthFestival house in 2007. Arriving at the last minute, I squeezed into my hard seat on the 25^th row followed this spectacle, which had opened a few weeks earlier, to almost universal criticism.

For some reason, Meistersinger normally receives a very traditional treatment even by directors otherwise renowned for inventive staging. Perhaps it was the depart from this “traditionalisation”  that made many criticise Katharina Wagner´s staging? Or perhaps the fact that the succession (to Wolfgang Wagner as Festival Director) at that time was very much debated, and that she, as his grand-daughter was judged as much politically as artistically? I, for one, remember having seen dozens of negative comments related to this staging from people who had not even seen it at the time. Anyway I found at the time, and I still find now, that this staging is more than interesting, and the DVD with the frequent use of close-up, provide myriad of details, which were impossible to notice from the 25^th row in the house. Especially the last 45 minutes are quite extraordinary, presenting a daring and entirely novel interpretation:

To truly enjoy this staging you will probably need to accept/agree that this opera is an allegory of changes in society; about how society reacts to change and how much change it can accept:

In Act 1 we are in a 19^th century brotherhood of sorts: Traditionally clad “meistersingers” sit around the table, reading small yellow books of German classics. At that time, Sachs, barefoot, is a slightly controversial outsider. But not nearly as controversial as the modern-dress Walther, who sprays paint on everything and everybody. Not a singer, but a painter, the point is driven through, by him assembling a puzzle of Nürnberg all in disorder compared to Beckmessers perfectly assembled Nürnberg puzzle.

In Act 2, the sullen Eva hangs around what looks like an East-German Canteen in the 1950´s, where Sachs sits with his typewriter in the corner. In the only hint at shoemaking, sneakers seem to be dropping from the sky and all ends in an orgy of paint-throwing.

The real stuff begins in Act 3: Now Beckmesser is suddenly the outcast with his T-shirt “Beck in Town” and finds himself in Sach´s fancy apartment, where the heads of the old German masters (Brahms etc.) dancing in the background. Sachs, with his elegant suit, is now constructing a neat idealised family-concept literally within the frames of a doll-house for Walther and Eva to be filmed in. How come this sudden change? Then, in the choral scene preceding the “wach auf”, Sachs is captured and tied to a chair by these heads while they, often clad in underwear, perform a weird dance and Eva blindfolded walks amidst them. What is going on here, seriously? Next however, Katharina Wagners master-stroke begin in earnest with an eerie scene in which Sachs´s helpers capture a stage director and conductor, putting them in a coffin, starting the fire to burn them exactly at the “wach auf” in a scene reminiscent of the Nazi epoque. Very strong theater, indeed. Et voila, what comes out of the coffin? A golden calf it seems. When a model of the auditorium emerges from under stage, we the audience are double spectators to Walther bringing home a check of 10.000 from the Nürnberg Bank, while Beckmesser now is an outcast.

The staging requires a familiarity with German culture, both ancient and present, that I perhaps do not have and there are myriads of details to discover here, as the pace is furious, especially in the third act.

To summarize, Sachs and Walther essentially submit to conformism while Beckmesser moves in the other direction. 

No, Katharina Wagner does not have all the answers and admittedly the staging of the first act seems a bit heavy-handed. But then again, the first act is really long and not for the first time do I wish Wagner would have lived to revise (read: shorten) it, though I have no idea if he ever thought about that and anyway, if he had lived any longer his next project (after Parsifal) would probably have been a revision of Tannhäuser (needed as well).

More singers stand out on the DVD than I remember from the live performance, especially Franz Hawlata, underpowered in the theater but not here, taking fully advantage of the close-ups for us to see his detailed and impressive acting.

Walther really is a super role for Klaus Florian Vogt, probably his best role together with Lohengrin and Michael Volle also leaves nothing to be desired. As for the rest nobody was exceptional, one way or the other, though admittedly Michaela Kaune was vastly better than the Amanda Mace I saw the year before.

Katharina Wagner presents with the only production on DVD truly departing from medieval Nürnberg and trying to wrestle with this issues. For this alone, this is a must-see.

Trailer for the DVD:

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

Franz Hawlata: 4

Michaela Kaune: 3-4

Klaus Florian Vogt: 5

Michael Volle: 5

Norbert Ernst: 4

Carola Guber: 4

Katharina Wagner´s production: 4-5

Sebastian Weigle: 4

Overall impression: 5

lulu: finest dvd version on the market

Lulu. DVD. Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. 2009. Production: Christof Loy. Conductor: Antonio Pappano. Cast: Agneta Eichenholz (Lulu), Michael Volle (Dr. Schön/Jack the Ripper), Klaus Florian Vogt (Alwa), Jennifer Larmore (Countess Geschwitz), Will Hartmann (Painter etc.).

Are you familiar with Christof Loy and his work (such as Lucio Silla in Copenhagen,Theodora<"> or Die Frau Ohne Schatten"> in Salzburg) you will have an idea of what to expect from this  Royal Opera Covent Garden production of Alban Berg´s Lulu: A minimalist, black stage. Modern-dress protagonists. And what you don´t always get with Christof Loy, but have here: Exciting personenregie.
Furthermore, the minimalistic approach places huge demands on the singers, who have to be as excellent actors as singers. Which they all, somewhat unusually, are here. First and foremost Swedish soprano Agneta Eichenholz, who substituted for the originally scheduled Aleksandra Kurzak, and used a year to learn the part. She is simply outstanding. Not only does she have a beautiful, full voice and throws off the coloratura with seemingly ease. But she has this mysterious, disturbing allure that makes one understand why everything evolves around Lulu the way it does. This  Lulu is a seemingly passive creature, but with a mysterious, disturbing allure. Victim or femme fatale? None, or perhaps both. With empty gazes, there is an indifference to her characterization, which rings very true. I cannot help wondering why this woman does not have a bigger career. I don´t think there are that many, if any singers around able to deliver an equally intriguing portrait of Lulu.

Bayreuth Lohengrin - A rat experiment

Lohengrin, DVD. Bayreuth 2011. Production: Hans Neuenfels. Conductor: Andris Nelsenos. Cast: Klaus Florian Vogt (Lohengrin), Georg Zeppenfeld (Heinrich der Vogler), Annette Dasch (Elsa von Brabant), Jukka Rasilainen (Friedrich von Telramund), Petra Lang (Ortrud), Samuel Youn (Der Heerrufer des Königs).

Lohengrin as a laboratory rat experiment. Not as silly as it may sound. In fact, director Hans Neuenfels has created a vastly interesting as well as moving production of Lohengrin – conceptually by far the most interesting available on DVD and probably the overall most interesting I have yet seen.

We are inside a white laboratory. The people are rats. The protagonists seem to be super-rats. Or perhaps not all of them. Lohengrin, who struggles in vain to enter the lab during the vorspiel, and Telramund, whose narration is accompanied by a projection of “wahrheit” may have be placed in the lab as part of the experiment to see what reactions they provoke. Or maybe not. Because nothing is entirely clear in this challenging production. The lab technicians seem to be always in control, entering and exiting the laboratory manipulating with the rats.
Black-white, action-reaction, the people are rats and they are followers. And they chose to follow Lohengrin, gradually changing their rat-like appearance into human shape. And who should Elsa follow? Brought in by the rats, covered in arrows, she takes shape according to her surroundings – rats, swan, Lohengrin. Love is not an ingredience in this experiment.
A tilted wagon, a dead horse, rats escapint with gold bars and money: Ortrud and Telramund are caught by the rats when trying to escape.  But why exactly Telramud becomes a rat after his failed attempt to kill Lohengrin is less clear to me. And who is this Schützer von Braband? An embryon capping his umbilical chord. As a reaction to the experiment, perhaps?

Lohengrin as an experiment of how we react to authorities. Not at all uninterersting, as a matter of fact probably the conceptually most interesting Lohengrin I have seen to date as it captures the primitive action-reaction, hero-antihero as well as black-white patterns somehow inherent in the plot. The sets are aesthetic, the colours are clear and beautiful. The answers are by no means obvious and this multilayered production probably requires repeated viewings by most to capture the essence. Whatever that may be perceived to be.

When the production opened in 2009 Jonas Kaufmann was Lohengrin. In 2010 Klaus Florian Vogt took over the role and this is thus his second Lohengrin on DVD. With clear ringing notes Klaus Florian Vogt is superb, a “tenorial” Lohengrin far from the sound we have been used to from Plácido Domingo as well as Jonas Kaufmann, and both vocally and physically perfectly suited to this production. He may even have lost some of his eeriness these past few years giving place for a rather human interpretation.

Unfortunately Annette Dasch is by no means a first-rate Elsa. Unable to sustain a legato line, often out of breath, shrill and with no bloom and warmth in her tone. That she looks fabulous capturing the essence of eery passivity that Neuenfels undoubtedly wanted does unfortunately not outweigh her vocal short-comings.

As Telramund Jukka Rasilainen has the appearance but not quite the voice, while Petra Lang is a better Ortrud than almost anyone else I can think of today.

Accompanied by a swift and spirited performance from Andris Nelsons, this DVD is a must for those interested in contemporary performances of Richard Wagner´s work. Though for those less familiar with the work probably Lehnhoff´s aesthetic, rather straight-forward production from 2006 may be an all-round better choice. Or even the Claudio Abbado conducted 1990 production from Vienna - visually dreary but musically superb.

Elsa´s call and the appearance of the Swan:

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

Klaus Florian Vogt: 5
Annette Dasch: 2
Petra Lang: 4
Jukka Rasilainen: 4
Georg Zeppenfeld: 4

Andris Nelsons: 4
Neuenfels production: 5

Overall impression: 4

So zieht das Unheil in dies Haus (or: The Berlin Barenboim Herheim Lohengrin)

Lohengrin, Berlin State Opera, April 12th 2009. Production: Stefan Herheim. Cast: Klaus Florian Vogt (Lohengrin), Dorothea Röschmann (Elsa), Michaela Schuster (Ortrud), Gerd Grochowski (Telramund), Markus Brück (Herald), Kwangchul Youn (Heinrich). Conductor: Daniel Barenboim. Further information here.

Norwegian director Stefan Herheim has become one of the most sought-after directors after his staging of Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival last year. Some thought Herheim created a masterpiece. Others, me among them, did not. Though I have greatly admired Stefan Herheim´s stagings of the past, such as the brilliant deconstruction of Entführung in Salzburg 2003, the Parsifal was quite simply to overly-intellectual and disorganized as I saw it.
Which also applies to this new Lohengrin production, though this time to a degree that I actually find Stefan Herheim more or less has ruined the piece.
The short version of this review is that I do not recall any new staging of any Wagnerian opera, which appealed so little to me than this Lohengrin. Daniel Barenboim, on the other hand, was sensational.
In fact I have pondered for two days on how to put this on paper in a both civilized and fair manner. And to start with the fairness, I may add that though the general opinions in the German press on Herheim´s staging were only luke-warm, this review is firmly rooted in the very negative end of the specter. Not to forget, that others found this staging to be a masterpiece.
To the point: I simply didn´t understand the concept. It was a confusing, un-dramatic as well as highly intellectual mish-mash which brought me nothing. And worst of all: It took all the attention away from the music.

It started well: A Richard Wagner puppet dances on a tree-trunk during the prelude. A feather drops down and he apparently starts to compose. We then move on to Act 1, opening in present time with groups of people waving banners displaying the three opera houses in Berlin, apparently an allegory of Brabant with The Herald starting out as the Berlin bear:

All main characters, Ortrud (and possibly Lohengrin) excepted, are puppeteers with a medieval puppet version of their character, which they control. Around the time the horn and helmet clad Lohengrin arrives, the action moves into the medieval times. Still with puppets.
And with the additional twist of all characters wearing naked-body suits with strategically placed figleaves, which they change into at various points, running around the stage.

The explanation? According to the programme booklet, Stefan Herheim explains that the sin of Eve (eating the forbidden apple thus rebelling against God) in Eden is central to the drama of Lohengrin. Who am I to say he is not right? However, as engaging theater, in my opinion it fails completely. And has very little connection to the music drama Lohengrin.

Though the puppet-puppeteer concept does seem rather appropriate for a static piece like Lohengrin, Stefan Herheim, as I see it, fails to ask (or answer) the central questions of Lohengrin, such as: Where does this man come from? Why must we not know his name etc.? Questions Peter Konwitschny actually does both ask and answer in his famous Hamburg production, a major inspirational source for Stefan Herheim.
Readers who admire Konwitschny´s Lohengrin, certainly stand a rather good chance of at least reacting more positively to Herheim´s as I do.

The working relationship between Daniel Barenboim and Stefan Herheim was not the best, with Herheim publicly accusing Daniel Barenboim, among other things, for extended abscence during rehearsals (probably rightly). Daniel Barenboim, on the other hand, publicly disagreed with Herheim´s decision to stage the prelude, a decision it was "too late to change" as he put it. A rather strange statement, as one may argue he could have thought about participating in the rehearsals at a point before it became "too late" for changing anything, including the director...

Being the third, and last, performance of this run, the orchestra was simply sensational. Somewhat unusual for Daniel Barenboim, his tempi were rather brisk. But with an energy and inner sense of the dramatic structures making this easily the best conducted Lohengrin I have heard.
Of the singers, Dorothea Röschmann stood out as a simply wonderful and very touching Elsa. With her old-fashioned way of singing, much like that of Elisabeth Grümmer, the dark colouring of her voice combined with superb, stylish phrasing made for a very moving experience. Unlike her Eva in last years Meistersinger, Elsa seems to suit her well. She does reach the limit of her voice, but she doesn´t exceed it.
Klaus Florian Vogt´s Lohengrin has spurred starkly contrasting opinions: Admirers point to his ringing, effortless topnotes. Detractors point to his monotonous singing. Both sides are right as I see it: Vogt´s Lohengrin is monotonously sung and acted with the added benefit (?) of an indifferent psychopathic air to his presentation. Though he really does hit those notes, piercing effortlessly through Barenboim´s orchestra. But contributing to any degree of interpersonal drama he does not. Neither does Stefan Herheim. At least not on stage..

Beauty of voice or expression is not what Michaela Schuster offers. However, her over-all portrait of Ortrud was superb: She clearly inhabited both the comic and desperate sides to the character and delivered a very effective, vocally as well, performance. Accompanied by Gerd Grochowski´s character barytone, singing rather well as Telramund, but having a hard time to penetrate through Barenboim´s orchestra.

How would René Pape have looked running around in a naked-body suit with figleaves and a wooden stick chasing Elsa´s bridemaids? Fortunately (for him), his illness (he has now recovered) prevented us from finding out and Kwangchul Youn delivered a fine performance.
In summary, if you ask how much action and how many intellectual concepts one may put into one Wagner opera, I´d say Stefan Herheim is the man with the answers. And if anyone should still ask who is the pre-eminent Wagnerian conductor alive, it is Daniel Barenboim.

Links to most German and international reviews of the production .

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

Klaus Florian Vogt: 4
Dorothea Röschmann: 4-5
Michaela Schuster: 4
Gerd Grochowski: 4
Kwangchul Youn: 4

Stefan Herheim´s production: 1-2

Daniel Barenboim: 5

Overall impression: ?

Bayreuth 2008 Meistersinger - great success for free public live transmission in revival of Katharina Wagner´s controversial staging

Approximately 38.000 turned up for the free live transmission of Sunday´s performance of Katharina Wagner´s Meistersinger from the Bayreuth Festival to a public square in Bayreuth - undoubtedly helped by the spectacular weather as well.

Opinions of the success of the not exactly free online streaming seemed to vary (I opted out of buying a ticket since the weather was spectacular and I saw this production live in Bayreuth last year). This Sunday July 27th performance is NOT the one to be released on DVD later this year, which was recorded before the Festival started.

Selected impressions of the 2008 Meistersinger revival:

Associated Press: "Whether you love it or hate it, there's no denying that there's never a dull moment in Katharina Wagner's uproarious production of "The Mastersingers of Nuremberg",, "Katharina's staging of Wagner's only comic opera is hugely entertaining and has some bright and striking ideas".

Frankfurter Allgemeine: "Bayreuth is pop and Katharina Wagner is the princess" .."the staging tends to be too explicit".

Abendzeitung: Praising Katharina Wagner´s detailed work with the singers especially Michaela Kaune and Klaus Florian Vogt.

Netzeitung: "The Bayreuth audiences are still divided over this staging"

Based on the radio transmission: Sebastian Weigle was fine, though not exceptional, with a rather placid reading without the contrapuncts making this score really exciting. Futhermore the coordination with the singers was rather shaky during the ensembles. Best among the singers were Michaela Kaune (Eva), Klaus Florian Vogt (Walther) and Michael Volle (Beckmesser). Franz Hawlata is not a bad Sachs, but seems rather stretched by the part.

Ortrud on DVD: Waltraud Meier in Lehnhoff´s Baden-Baden production (also featuring Klaus Florian Vogt as Lohengrin)

Lohengrin. Baden-Baden Festival 2006. Director: Nikolaus Lehnhoff. Cast: Klaus Florian Vogt (Lohengrin), Solveig Kringelborn (Elsa), Waltraud Meier (Ortrud), Tom Fox (Telramund), Hans Peter König (Heinrich). Conductor: Kent Nagano with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. Further details here.

Nikolaus Lehnhoff seems not to have forgotten his old boss and mentor Wieland Wagner as there is a certain New Bayreuth timelessness as well as an air of ancient Greek tragedy to this Lohengrin recorded live in Baden-Baden in 2006, also seen at La Scala last season.

Lehnhoff sees Lohengrin as a psychological drama centered around Elsa, who is virtually present on stage during the entire opera. This is a drama of contrasts: Good vs. evil, white vs. black, hate vs. love, white spots on the good guys, dark on the bad guys etc. It takes place in a non-specified modern time period. The main stage elements are a concrete circular Greek amphitheatre (Act 1 and 3) and a flight of Freudian steps going nowhere (Act 2).

Lohengrin stands out from the rest: He wears a silver suit. He appears through a vertical door of light. He plays on an inverted piano in Act 3, which disturbed Kent Nagano so much during the rehearsals that he asked Lehnhoff to exchange it with an ordinary piano (which he refused). This Lohengrin is clearly more interesting in his art (and ultimately in himself?) than in pursuing a relationhip with Elsa, a directory approach excellently suited to Klaus Florian Vogt´s strenghts as a performer. Everything ends in chaos when Elsa lies dead on the floor at the end of the opera.

There are virtually no weak elements in a cast chosen as much for dramatic as vocal abilities.

Solveig Kringelborn interprets Elsa (unless she simply plays herself) as a slightly naive/irritating woman. Vocally her upper-register vibrato may not be to my taste, but otherwise she is actually rather good.

Ortrud is one of my favourite characters in any opera, and I still regret never having seen the Harry Kupfer Lohengrin production at the Berlin State Opera in which Ortrud and Telramund allegedly were the good guys and Elsa indeed did kill her brother. As a new Lohengrin will be staged next season in Berlin, it seems a production of the past.

Waltraud Meier´s mesmerizing Ortrud, finally available on DVD, is vastly better than any of the competition on (or off) DVD and whatever one may think of Lehnhoff´s staging, this DVD is well worth owning for her Ortrud alone. Furthermore, Waltraud Meier is in superb vocal shape. In fact, I have never heard her less sharp in her high register than here, cutting through the orchestra like a razor-blade. And she has never looked better on stage than here in Act 2. Indeed, the Ortrud-Telramund scene from this production may be one of the very best opera scenes to ever be released on DVD (video clip below).

Telramund, basically a whimp, is a thankless part, but Tom Fox manages to infuse some dignity into him, vocally as well. Hans Peter König furthermore is excellent as the good-natured King Heinrich.

Finally, Klaus Florian Vogt is a curiously fascinating as well as vocally superb Lohengrin - his voice is powerful and clear with an effortless top virtually unheard of today. Furthermore he sings with plenty of nuance and dignity. He looks fine on stage as well. But a romantic hero he is simply not, with a strangely inexpressive face and an air more remniscent of a psychopathic serial killer than a swan knight. Either Klaus Florian Vogt, Lohengrin or both are in love with themselves (to be fair: Klaus Florian Vogt seemed a very pleasant guy in the bonus documentary)...

Kent Nagano is inspired throughout, keeping a relatively brisk tempo with plenty of energy.

A 60-minute bonus documentary is included, of which one may conclude that while watching Lehnhoff´s staging is both illuminating and entertaining, watching him talk about it is equally irritating. Furthermore a not negligible part of the documentary is spent inside Klaus Florian Vogt´s van, parked directly outside the Baden-Baden Festival House, and serving as his home away from home...

Which is the Lohengrin DVD to own? This one, in my opinion. For a traditional production, Claudio Abbado´s Vienna production (with Plácido Domingo and Cheryl Studer) is wonderfully conducted and sung (Ortrud apart), but gives the impression of being trapped in the dark medieval ages with no escape.

For an entirely deconstructive take on Lohengrin, Peter Konwitschny´s Barcelona production may be worth a look.

For various reasons, mainly related to casting issues, I cannot honestly recommend either the early Bayreuth or the Metropolitan Lohengrin DVD productions.

Waltraud Meier and Tom Fox, Act 2. This scene alone is worth twice the price of the entire DVD:

Waltraud Meier and Solveig Kringelborn - Church scene confrontation Act 2:

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

Klaus Florian Vogt: 4
Solveig Kringelborn: 4
Waltraud Meier: 5
Tom Fox: 4
Hans Peter König: 4-5

Kent Nagano: 4

Lehnhoff´s staging: 4

General impression: 4 (downgraded after some thought - see the comments)

Good Friday Parsifal in Dresden: A long night indeed...

Photo taken during the final applause

Parsifal, Dresden Semperoper, Good Friday, March 21th 2008.
Theo Adam (d), Peter Schneider (c). Cast: Klaus Florian Vogt (Parsifal), Kurt Rydl (Gurnemanz), Katarina Dalayman (Kundry), Franz Grundheber (Amfortas), Eglis Silins (Klingsor)

It is Good Friday, the day where you would expect most Parsifal performances to be concentrated. In fact, very few houses run Parsifal performances on this exact day, concentrating performances on the day before and on Easter Sunday.

The Dresden Parsifal (more info here) in short: This is not a Parsifal production worthy of the Dresden Semperoper. And I am referring mainly to the staging of Theo Adam dated 1988: With a few exceptions it genuinely looks like something from Wagner´s own productions in Bayreuth: Dull and gloomy with the singers basically standing passive on stage and singing to the audience with no interaction apart from the demonic energy Kurt Rydl infused into the scenes with Gurnemanz. No traces of personenregie here.

It seem like this production adheres to most of Wagners stage directions (except that Amfortas in stead of Kundry dies in the end) and thus should be ideal for those adverse to the new tendencies of Regietheater. But I suspect, based on the unenthusiastic applause and sporadic boos, that even more traditionally inclined operagoers were not impressed by this staging, despite the realistic representation of the various symbols such as the Spear and Grail and placing Klingsor on top of a castle build on skulls, shaking in its foundation (not intended) whenever he moved.

In short: It was a long night. As I am opposed to booing, the only thing left was to have some drinks (several needed) during the intermissions. It was still a long night.

On the positive side, Klaus Florian Vogt is fabulously secure and with a beautifully clear voice as Parsifal. I cannot remember the last time I´ve heard this part sung with so much ease. He did not seem strained at any point at all. And, not unimportantly, he is definitely no wimp to look at. There is, however, a certain eeriness to his appearance, which I´ve also noted in other productions, making him dramatically completely unconvincing as an innocent boy. However, the same eeriness suited him quite well as Walther in Bayreuth last year and as Andrei Khovansky (who is in fact a maniacal killer) in Khovanschina last year in Munich. As well as in the Lohengrin production from Baden-Baden (also on DVD). If I met this guy with (or without as a matter of fact) a bow in his hand, I would most likely fear for my life.

However, Kurt Rydl may not have had such concerns since he is probably the most demonic Gurnemanz I´ve yet to see. If I was Parsifal, I would genuinely fear for my life with this guy. Although not quite at ease with the top notes, he was the only of the main characters successfully infusing some life into this production. Whatever you may think of his vocal abilities, he is definitely not boring. Which also goes for Franz Grundheber´s Amfortas – convincingly acted but vocally he was clearly under pressure.

Most dismaying, Katarina Dalayman is just not a good Kundry – she has the kind of regal quality to her singing which may make her a fine Brünnhilde and Isolde – but Kundry is no disengaged Queen: Dalayman does have the top notes, but she is no compelling presence on stage, to put it mildly. The second act scene between her and Parsifal was completely disengaging – both standing on each side of the stage delivering their monologues.

And what happened with the orchestra? I know Peter Schneider as a more than competent conductor in this repertoire, but this was just not good. There was no flow, the music sounded fragmented, it didn´t keep together at all.

Curiously, I had expected this to be a house in which there was no applause after the 1st act (like in Munich) or at least an attempt not to applaud after the 1st act (like Vienna and Bayreuth): But no. There was applause as well as curtain calls after the first act (like Berlin State Opera).

Now, this production is 19 years old and is almost revived every year, Semperoper being one of the oldest and most esteemed Wagner houses in the world. It would do the house (and the unsuspecting public) good to have a new Parsifal production. As soon as possible.

Curtain-call photo from left: Kurt Rydl, Franz Grundheber, Katarina Dalayman, Klaus Florian Vogt

Bayreuth 2007: Katharina Wagner´s Meistersinger

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Meistersinger. Bayreuth Festival 2007. Production: Katharina Wagner. Cast: Franz Hawlata (Hans Sachs), Klaus Florian Vogt (Walther v. Stolzing), Michael Volle (Beckmesser), Amanda Mace (Eva). Conductor: Sebastian Weigle.

Don’t attend the Bayreuth Festival simply to have fun, drink beers with your friends and listen to good music, because nobody else does. Wagner in Bayreuth is serious stuff and tensions ran high in the Meistersinger audience even before the curtain was up as audiences greeeted The Festival representative announcing the partial indisposition by Franz Hawlata due to back pain with aggressive mumbling.

In many ways, Meistersinger may be the most difficult of Richard Wagners operas to stage, not at least due to the many ambiguities: Is it a comedy? A tragedy? Is Beckmesser a comical figure? Or is he evil? Or maybe even a hero? And it is obviously more challenging to import t an authentic 15th century Nürnberg cobbler into a modern semi-abstract staging, than it is with Gods and Giants.

Since the re-opening of the Bayreuth Festival in 1951, Meistersinger has been staged twice by Wieland and three times by Wolfgang Wagner, both very keen on clearing the work from nationalistic tendencies, emphasizing either the historical context or the caricature elements of the work (Wieland) or the down-to earth elements (Wolfgang). Katharina Wagner joins this tradition and is primarily interested in the socio-politic aspects of the piece as opposed to the love story between Eva and Walther.

The outline of the production is as follows:

The Meistersinger are governors of a traditional art academy, placed around a wooden table while guarding the sacred flame. The apprentices are students. The main concept seems to evolve around the idea that destruction of these traditions is necessary for society to develop.
The question then is: With what are these values replaced?

Hans Sachs is the outsider, a typist, chain-smoking in bare feet. Initially Walther, a painter, is the rebel, aggressively splashing paint aimlessly around when not painting “Eva” on sculptures. He quite literally turns things upside-down, such as paintings of Nürnberg and clearly is infatuated by himself. More than by Eva, anyway.

The ideals of the Meistersinger, represented by grotesquely oversized masks and figures of Goethe, Schiller, Bach, Wagner and other German icons dancing naked around, are cast down by Hans Sachs. Sachs also burns doublets of both a conductor and stage director. Subsequently, however, both Walther and Sachs undergo a development from rebels to conformists and conservatives, while Beckmesser on the other hand turns into an angry rebel. Walther changes from paint-splashing rebel to conform family father in a screen-show set up by Hans Sachs in which Beckmesser seems the only authentic participant with his rebellious guitar-accompanied song.

The Bayreuth audience is placed on a secondary stage as witnesses. In Hans Sachs´ infamous “deutsches volk” phrase (which made Konwitschny famously stop the piece in Hamburg) an oversized male statue appears on stage – probably to display the irony of the quotation. In summary, conformity and conservatism is replaced by conformity mixed with more than a touch of cruelty. As I see it.

First of all: I fail to see any major controversy in this staging. Obviously, when compared to the relatively conventional production by Wolfgang Wagner preceding this one, Katharina Wagner´s staging is closer to the Regietheater school than previously seen in Bayreuth and closer to the likes of Konwitschny and Marthaler (though I fail to see the often-quoted similarities between her and Schlingensief) than to her father.

Secondly: There is much good to be said on this production, which I thought had many fine points. However, a bit more discipline in the presentation of the ideas would make them stand out more clearly. A lot is going on at stage simultaneously. But she proved herself a talented, though not fully developed stage director.

Vocally, the evening was largely disappointing. Franz Hawlata´s is a great actor, but Hans Sachs is far too challenging for him vocally. Also Eva was undercasted with a shrill-sounding, non-acting Amanda Mace. Klaus Florian Vogt was in excellent voice as Walther (replacing Robert Dean Smith, who withdrew due to artistical differences). Furthermore he is definitely not a wimp and looks rather good, though in an eerie way. Rather odd, the entrance of Vogt´s Walther playing piano in tennis shoes is an exact copy of a scene in the Baden-Baden 2006 Lohengrin production.

Best of the singers was Michael Volle, with an excellent characterization of Beckmesser.
Unfortunately Sebastian Weigle´s reading was rather unexciting. The prelude started well, but the rest of the piece didn´t seem to flow.

Extended audience applause after Hans Sachs literally put Eva, Walther, David and Lena into two frames. And scattered applause after his monologue as well, something I have never experienced this before – and then in Bayreuth of all places..

I would say the booers just won over those shouting bravo at curtain call, Katharina Wagner seemingly unfazed at her solo curtain call.

These signs were displayed all over the Festival House, though I am not sure why:

Munich: Tcherniakov with superb Khovanshchina

Khovanshchina. Bavarian State Opera, Munich. March 2007. Director: Dmitri Tcherniakov. Cast includes: Paata Burchuladze, Anatoli Kocherga, Doris Soffel, Klaus Florian Vogt. Conductor: Kent Nagano.

Mussorgsky´s Khovanshchina is a favourite opera of mine, for strange reasons not staged very often. Or perhaps the reasons are not that strange: It is in Russian, there are no heroes or heroines, no love story and it is very long..But the music is some of Mussorgsky´s most beautiful and the plot focuses on universal themes such as the struggle for power and the conflict between religion and power.

A new production, like the present by Dmitri Tcherniakov at the Bavarian State Opera is not something which happens every season. Or even every fifth season.

In the very interesting young Russian director Tcherniakov´s staging the focus is on the conflict between Zar Peter (who does not appear in the opera) and The Opposition consisting of autonomic warlords (primarily the Khovansky´s). With the superimposed conflict between the old faith (Khovansky and the priests) and the new faith (Zar Peters supporters).

The set consists of 5-6 vertical rooms, where the main characters go on with their life, whether actually singing or not. In a naked concrete set-up the name of each rooms inhabitant is written with laser at the beginning of each scene.

In brief: The staging is no less than brilliant. Rarely does a director succeed in bringing new insights into heavy subjects such as the nature of power and organization of society as Dmitri Tcherniakov.

For the right bass, Ivan Khovansky is a fantastic part. The late danish bass Aage Haugland (on Claudio Abbado´s recording) brought an unsurpassed ominous stage presence to the part, at times yelling more than singing, which suits this role fine. I wonder if this is something René Pape would ever consider? Realizing the part is too low for him and on paper not suitable for his voice at all, I am nevertheless convinced he would make a smashing Ivan Khovansky.
Here at the Bavarian State Opera we have Paata Burchuladze, who is way past his rather short prime which seemed to occur more than 10 years ago. Though he brings a certain refreshing sophistication to Ivan Khovansky, vocally he is anything but fresh.

On the other hand Klaus Florian Vogt as his repulsing son Andrei was in excellent voice with the air of a crazy serial killer.

Anatoli Kocherga was very strong as Dosifej, and also Doris Soffel convinced as the young widow Marfa, who for strange reasons is in love with Andrei Khovansky despite his cheating on her and trying to kill her...

Kent Nagano is conducting, a bit too passive for my taste, though no less than competent. Again the inevitable comparison is with Claudio Abbado, whether fair or not. But Dmitri Tcherniakov is definitely someone to watch out for in the future.

Photograph from http://www.staatsoper.de/ (Bayerische Staatsoper 2007)