Previous episodes of this Wagnerian docu-soap may be read here, and for new readers the background of this unique Wagnerian docu-soap is written up here.
After a long period of complete silence by the protagonists, the Honorary President of the Friends of Bayreuth named Edgard Hilger has decided to speak his mind. Again the tabloid Bunte is the chosen medium:
["If the Bayreuth Festival does not get a new director soon, I fear for the future of this world-class institution," he says and continues: "All insiders know, that Wolfgang Wagner due to his health condition has not been running the Festival on his own for quite some time. And since that was a condition for his life-time contract, I now consider this to be expired. Wolfgang Wagner may have a contract for life. But the condition was that he remain in "full legal capacity".
An anonymous member of the Board of Directors (of the Festival) further states that : "Wolfgang Wagner has to be present at the meeting at November 6". If not "we will not keep postponing the meetings and invite him again and again...". Furthermore, this anonymous source is certain that 2008 will see a new Festival Director. ]
The push for change by the involved parties is not surprising. The scheme of the Friends of Bayreuth is however not apparent: Obviously they will back the candidate guaranteeing them maximum influence...
And an up-date on the doings of the protagonists:
Katharina Wagner - has been seen at the premiere of Claus Guth´s Meistersinger in Dresden.
Eva Wagner-Pasquier and Nike Wagner - have not been seen.
Christian Thielemann – has been seen on the podium in Munich this weekend conducting his first performances of the season with the Munich Philharmonics in an all-Strauss programme (reviewed here by ionarts). A quick look at Christian Thielemann´s conducting schedule this year finds him focusing almost solely on Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner (as usual) - but also on Pfitzner, whose music Thielemann finds very underrated (one non-musical reason undoubtedly being Pfitzner´s not all-to-clean record during the Second World War, to put it mildly). Politically, it is not a very smart move of Christian Thielemann to begin championing his music, particularly when he himself has previously been accused of both right-wing sympathies and conservatism (which he denies and probably rightly so, in my opinion). Actually, the only reason I can possibly imagine for him playing this music is that he likes it.
So....Richard Strauss, probably the most loved composer in Munich, exponent of the Great German Cultural Tradition as well as Thielemann, the magnificent Richard Strauss (and Wagner) conductor. Surely, the conservative Friends of Bayreuth will back this man as leader of the Bayreuth Festival guaranteeing the Great German Cultural Tradition to continue in Bayreuth?? And even if you don´t care about the Great German Cultural Tradition - isn´t he the man to back anyway, in lack of serious competition? A world-class conductor teaming up with Wagner´s designated heir against two low-key operatic/music festival managers? And whatever you may think of Christian Thielemann´s abilities to run the Bayreuth Festival, he undoubtedly has star quality. Which the Bayreuth Festival needs as well.
Expect Thielemann to conduct marvellous performances in Bayreuth, but do not expect him to bring major changes to the Festival Administration. Nothing in his past career (which includes being music director for the Deutsche Oper Berlin) has suggested that he will.
Monday, 29 October 2007
The London Warner/Pappano Ring: Walküre revisited
As I reported on this Walküre production with a virtually identical cast last week I will be brief:
Plácido Domingo is still the best Siegmund around. Stephen Milling is still the best Hunding around and Eva-Maria Westbroek is still a wonderful Sieglinde. Sir John Tomlinsons still performs Wotans monologue as the true highlight of Walküre it should be.
This time the Brünnhilde was Lisa Gasteen, who generally hits (almost all) the notes, but didn´t make any particular impression apart from that.
Antonio Pappano continued his brisk Keilberth-style conducting from Rheingold and fully deserved the thunderous applause he got.
Plácido Domingo is still the best Siegmund around. Stephen Milling is still the best Hunding around and Eva-Maria Westbroek is still a wonderful Sieglinde. Sir John Tomlinsons still performs Wotans monologue as the true highlight of Walküre it should be.
This time the Brünnhilde was Lisa Gasteen, who generally hits (almost all) the notes, but didn´t make any particular impression apart from that.
Antonio Pappano continued his brisk Keilberth-style conducting from Rheingold and fully deserved the thunderous applause he got.
Von Otter/Kuusisto/Forsberg in Korngold recital
I suppose I ought to be more familiar with Korngold´s music, so I wouldn’t have had to risk neck injury to look at my neighbor’s programme to follow the going-ons at this recital – since programs were sold out even before people started arriving, though the Queen Elizabeth Hall was only half full at most…..
Luckily accompanist Bengt Forsberg provided some initial explanations of the programme – which mainly consisted of songs by Korngold and contemporaries (sung by Anne Sofie von Otter) as well as his violin sonata (played by Pekka Kuusisto). I must admit, I was very impressed with Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto – his appearance in casual outfit and an almost non-chalant take on the music, but a very engaging presence on stage. Anne Sofie von Otter sang beautifully, but she somehow seemed not to perform at maximal intensity.
I now see that Intermezzo has also reported from this event (more extensively), and with more or less the same main points as myself.
Luckily accompanist Bengt Forsberg provided some initial explanations of the programme – which mainly consisted of songs by Korngold and contemporaries (sung by Anne Sofie von Otter) as well as his violin sonata (played by Pekka Kuusisto). I must admit, I was very impressed with Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto – his appearance in casual outfit and an almost non-chalant take on the music, but a very engaging presence on stage. Anne Sofie von Otter sang beautifully, but she somehow seemed not to perform at maximal intensity.
I now see that Intermezzo has also reported from this event (more extensively), and with more or less the same main points as myself.
The London Warner/Pappano Ring: Rheingold
Keith Warner´s London Ring is an eclectic mix of ideas seemingly borrowed from others: A bit of psychoanalysis, some Harry Kupfer, plenty Götz Friedrich. According to Keith Warner he is ”spinning the plate of microcosmos and macrocosmos simultaneously”, creating an universe where ”Strindberg/Ibsen meets the poetic universe of Greek drama” challenging ”the continuous power and existence of the Judaeo-Christian God”.
With dark sets carved out of a Strindberg play, a room with a spiral in the middle is a constant feature. The rooma apparently symbolizes Wotan´s mind as the spiral creates a vertical axis communicating with other rooms of Rhinemaidens, Valhalla, Nibelheim etc. Through the spiral a shining globus is attached to a red wire (another constant feature) symbolizing the Gold.
Alberich´s human experiments in the Nibelheim room are easily worthy of a Nazi camp. Wotan is not too noble either, continuously trying to manipulate with everyone to his own means.
However, humour and irony is also present in this Rheingold, quite apparent in Philip Langridge´s excellent Loge, making no efforts to hide his contempt for the Gods, constantly scheming to make Donner and Froh look like the ignorant fools they probably are, and forcing Wotan to chase him desperately to get his hand on the last golden apple after Freia´s involuntary departure.
The idea of placing normal-sized giants in front of two large projected shadows worked out well, as did the Nibelheim and Tarnhelm scenes (for once): The Tarnhelm was a white cube, both enlarging (so he embraces the entire stage) and diminishing (crawling on an elevated part of stage) Alberich.
I would like to see Alberich for once portrayed as a worthy adversary to Wotan instead of a clown. Unfortunately, Keith Warner´s Alberich is the usual fool, though well sung and acted by Peter Sidhorn.
Generally, the singers were good, although none were truly exceptional. Too much sprech-gesang for my taste on the parts of both Gerhard Siegel, Philip Langridge and Peter Sidhorn. Sir John Tomlinson’s strengths, such as dramatic projection and characterization may come better to their rights in Walküre than in the higher-lying legato-dominant Rheingold-Wotan. However, he commands the stage as ever and is well matched by Rosalind Plowrights Fricka. Catherine Wyn-Rogers made me wonder, how it is that Erda is such a difficult part to cast.
While Anthony Pappano does not dazzle with insight into Wagner´s score at the level of Thielemann or Barenboim, his conducting is nevertheless clearly far above average: His tempi are brisk, he is relatively straightforward, not overly dynamic and he follows the singers closely. In many ways he reminds of Joseph Keilberth conducting as heard on the recently released Testament Ring: Somewhat superficial, but never inadequate or boring.
Superb Sibelius recital disc by Kim Borg
A wonderful Sibelius Recital disc with the superb Finnish bass Kim Borg (1919-2000) recorded by Deutsche Grammophon in 1958-60 was released on CD earlier this year.
Kim Borg´s voice is exceptionally beautiful, especially in the middle and lower registry. He sings songs by Sibelius in both Finnish, Swedish, French and English plus three bonus tracks by another Finnish composer Kilpinen. Wonderfully accompanied by Erik Werba.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
Sunday, 21 October 2007
Plácido Domingo on stage directors, atonal music, opera stars and how to manage an opera house
My translation below of excerpts of an interview with Plácido Domingo in the latest edition of the German magazine Opernwelt (Albrecht Thiemann interviews) (I find some of his points quite interesting and have enlightened these)
On the future of opera
Plácido Domingo: First of all, I do not believe that opera as an art form is endangered. Most often, such statements come from people who advocate radical operatic productions and a need for each opera to "identify with our times". But what does the search for truth mean in this context?
We have over the last forty years invested a lot of time, energy, research and money to reconstruct the operatic sound to match what the composers of the Baroque era, the Viennese classics, etc. had in the ear had when they wrote their works. Suddenly countless musicians experiment with historical instruments. This has undoubtedly enriched our hearing of these works. And that raises the question for me: Why do we now insist that our ears perceive the music the same way as the composers who wrote it, while with our eyes and our intellect, the exact opposite is organized on stage?
Does anyone seriously believe that Verdi imagined Rigooletto at a monkey planet or that Mozart would have been delighted to see his operas as the zeitgeist of the 21st Century? And have those responsible for radically new interpretation of the established masterpieces ever thought, that perhaps they are the ones jeopardizing the future of opera?
These millions [used on semi-innovative opera productions] should instead be used to get something really new. In short, new works for both the eye, ear and intellect. To avoid misunderstandings: I have nothing against innovative staging approaches to masterpieces of the operatic literature, as long as they are tastefully executed and with talent behind. In Los Angeles, for example, William Friedkin set the prelude in "Ariadne auf Naxos" in the Malibu villa of a filmmaker. It was a great idea with which the audience could relate immediately... So what makes one "upgrade" acceptable and another not? It is the way a production is formed and how it is implemented. Whether talent and empathy is obvious and whether it becomes clear why it it is set in another era.
On atonal music
Plácido Domingo: In terms of atonal music, I have done my duty: Ginastera, Abril and to a certain extent, Tan Dun. When I sing atonal music, it should have a distinctive sound. Atonality for the sake of atonality sake does not interest me. I say this being quite aware that opera revolves around singing and the beauty of the human voice. Around the world people go to the opera to hear beautiful voices. Of course, I realize that the transformations of music during the last hundred years is needed to make new, unprecedented expressions and to test effect orms, not least in the field of musical theater. But the voice a deeply romantic instrument. Therefore, I often wonder whether it would not be better, to leave the atonal segments to the orchestra and give the voice more tonal music to express human feelings and dramatic situations. Yes, I believe in atonal vocal music, but I do not think that atonality is a "must" to create a significant new work.
On the difference between the Opera in Washington and Los Angeles
Plácido Domingo: The audiences in Washington and in Los Angeles, for example, cannot be lumped together. It is my conviction, that we make opera to entertain and enlighten. Also, I must consider the fact that in Washington, many people in one way or another are related to politics, while in Los Angeles you rather feel the presence of the movie industry and big business. Because every four to eight years, the government changes in Washington, there is a high turnover. Many people leave the city, while others come here. Especially when the power passes from the Democrats to the Republicans or vice versa. These findings influence my artistic planning, of course. An example: At the Washington National Opera, I have an American opera on the repertoire every season....For I believe that the capital of the United States should deal with American culture. That applies especially to new works. The true value of a piece of new music can, in many cases, be measured only after the hype around the "world premiere" settles down. It is also like this in Europe.
At the Los Angeles Opera....I have tried to get personalities from the film industry to work with opera. I have asked directors known from the film and music industry to direct classic operatic repertoire on stage: William Friedkin, Maximilian Schell, Marte Keller, Gary Marshall, Vincent Patersen, Julie Taymor. I have also commissioned a new opera - by a composer who usually works for the film industry.
Incidentally, my faith in film directors was developed long before my connection with the Los Angeles opera. For example, I was the one, who persuaded John Schlesinger to stage "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" at Covent Garden and "Un ballo in maschera" in Salzburg.
On funding
Plácido Domingo: Opera in Europe has for decades been funded by public means only. But the world is changing and there is now also countries where we can no longer readily rely on the flow of public money to opera. Even valid contracts mean little when the promised funding is just not there.
In the United States, opera has always been privately funded. The crucial point is that the artistic independence is maintained regardless of where the money comes from.
On contemporary European and American operas
Plácido Domingo: "Moses and Aron" has been staged several times in the US, among other places at the Metropolitan Opera. But unfortunately, the performances were poorly attended. Zimmermann's "Soldaten" was staged at the New York City Opera, but here the interest was so low that a revival of the production was cancelled. That does not mean that Americans have anything against contemporary music from Europe. The works of Benjamin Britten, Dmitri Shostakovich and Hans Werner Henze have been well received here. Some works just come across the Atlantic better than others. That composers like William Bolcom, Tobias Picker and Scott Wheeler are more or less unknown in Europe is an example of this. Could the neglect of contemporary operas from America perhaps relate to some kind of chauvinism? If this is true, it would be very foolish. If you wonder about the weak presence of works such as Zimmerman's "Soldaten" at American opera houses, I may just as well ask why a Bolcom opera like "A View from the Bridge," a success both at the Chicago Lyric Opera as well as the Metropolitan Opera and to be shown in the 2007/08 season at the Washington National Opera, have never been performed in Europe?
On American vs. European stage directors
Plácido Domingo: There are several American directors having great success in Europe: Francesca Zambello, David Alden, Robert Wilson, Peter Sellars – to mention only a few. On the other hand, American opera houses also have engaged several European stage directors. Achim Freyer, for example, made a fantastic «La Damnation de Faust» in Los Angeles. And he will stage a new Ring Cycle there as well.
On the importance of opera stars vs. the ensemble
Plácido Domingo: Of course, the ensemble is of paramount importance, I agree. But it is also a fact that every major opera house has a "wish list" of about 15 singers whom they´d prefer to hire. The ideal combination is one of established stars and young singers. This mixture holds a double advantage: The stars help the box office sales; the houses help the stars of tomorrow.
Rudolf Bing once said something very beautiful and true about this subject: "I loathe dealing with stars. But I need them. "
On chosing repertoire
Plácido Domingo: As a head of an opera house, you have to be very conscious of your audience. I should not forget that I don´t manage a Festival, but two houses with many subscribers. In Washington, as well as in Los Angeles, most visitors are locals, not tourists. And I cannot close my eyes to most of the wishes and needs of this core audience. In a house where Verdi's "Vespri siciliani" and Strauss' "Frau ohne Schatten" has never been played, I must first play such pieces before I introduce Berg's "Wozzeck," Hindemith's "Cardillac" or Luigi Nono's "Intolleranza".... Therefore, I cannot make radical choices. The problem with many radical productions - termed "Euro-trash" is that the viewers are robbed of imagination. An example [of the opposite]: Wieland Wagner´s staging of the works of his grandfather were revolutionary in their poverty, and yet they had a magical world created only by light. It was possible to be a spectator listening to wonderful sounds quite alone, while the eye associated many different things with the action on stage. At festivals such as Salzburg and Bayreuth, where year after year the works of a single composer (Mozart, Wagner) is at the center and the audience are mainly tourists, you have other opportunities to show "radical" stagings/performances.
On looks vs. voice in opera careers
Plácido Domingo: Ultimately, the best ones make it. Has it not always been so? Just give me one singer of historic rank, who did not in the true sense of the word have "extraordinary" vocal quality. Does the look matter? Not necessarily. But, of course, it helps the credibility, if you are visually suitable to a role on stage.
How have you managed to keep your voice fresh for almost five decades ?
Plácido Domingo: The answer is: with discipline and self-knowledge.
On stadium/arena concerts
Plácido Domingo: I have performed some 3,300 nights in 124 different roles on the operatic stage. These performances were always very satisfying for me, because in the opera you follow a role from beginning to end: A criminals, sometimes an emperor, priest or hero, painter or saint, a biblical figure, clown, duke, king or general. It's great, to embody so many different people. I have done about 100 Arena concerts in order to access a different audience: You sing every four or five minutes, a new aria or duet, a musical number, a song or something from an operetta or Zarzuela. Melodies, which most people know and love. What is wrong about dealing with various forms of expression of the music to an audience?
Saturday, 20 October 2007
London Pappano/Warner Ring: Superb Domingo, Westbroek and Milling in Walküre
I thought he was good when I heard him in Munich this July. But that was nothing compared to his Siegmund in the Royal Opera performance of Walküre yesterday. Plácido Domingo, despite his 67 years, is quite simply still the best Siegmund around. While he occasionally may be stiff on stage, his voice was as beautiful as ever, with a distinct glow, no barking or yelling and an effortless "Wälse" cry. Even his German diction seemed better than usual.
He was accompanied by Eva-Marie Westbroeks wonderful Sieglinde, which, Waltraud Meier apart may not be seen better on stage anywhere.
Stephen Milling is equally unrivalled as an astonishingly evil Hunding with superb command of the stage. His laughter after Siegmunds murder is simply spine-chilling. And when he dies, he falls flat on the floor being stabbed in the chest by Wotan: Chest and head hit the floor with a major PLUNK resulting in scattered audience whisper along the lines of "wauw - that must really have hurt".
No, Sir John Tomlinson does not have the top notes, and his vibrato is far too large when he is strained, but in large parts of the Walküre he isn´t and when he is on, he simply commands the stage, which counts for a lot. Such as in one of the best monologues I have heard. A roguish Wotan, but one you cannot help feeling sorry for despite his inadequacies. That his voice isn`t really suitable for the "leb wohl" anymore, I`ll just forget.
Fine performance also from Susan Bullock (replacing the indisposed Lisa Gasteen) as Brünnhilde. While her acting seemed a bit neurotic, she looked the part, did not tire and did not have a too unpleasant vibrato.
Keith Warner’s Room of Wotan´s mind continues to be the center of action, with the vertical spiral in the center and a white fan on the ceiling creating an oppressive atmosphere of A Doll House (Ibsen).
In the second act we are at the bottom end of the spiral, with the previously mentioned red tread guiding Siegmund and Sieglinde´s flight, while Wotan anguishes and throws furniture around. For the third act, Keith Warner operates with a symbolic door through which Siegmund´s body falls. The fire, which continuously has malfunctioned, was working. But only just, as it seemed to stop half-way up the spiral case, though finally decided to continue as scheduled.
Antonio Pappano repeated his excellent performance from Rheingold. Brisk, energetic and attentive to detail as well as to the singers.
Thursday, 18 October 2007
Dresden: Claus Guth with new Meistersinger
For American tenor Robert Dean Smith, it all ended in the living room of Hans Sachs in the third act of the premiere of Claus Guth´s Meistersinger at the Dresden Semperoper.
Despite Hans Sachs (Alan Titus) offering him a glass of water, the voice was simply gone in the middle of the Prize Song. Raymond Very (who?) quickly jumped in and finished both Prize song and opera, without conductor Fabio Luisi missing a single beat.
Reactions to controversial director Claus Guth´s staging were, as always I may say, mixed: According to the various media, he takes Meistersinger very seriously, follows the text meticulously and focus on rebellion within a closed community as well as Eva´s relationships with both Sachs, Walther and Beckmesser, none of which are taken lightly.
Claus Guths Meistersinger is no comedy. Stark reality is present underneath the surface. To further the interpretation, each singer was represented by a double-puppet as the chorus held small Nürnberg houses in their hands on an otherwise almost empty stage.
Reactions to controversial director Claus Guth´s staging were, as always I may say, mixed: According to the various media, he takes Meistersinger very seriously, follows the text meticulously and focus on rebellion within a closed community as well as Eva´s relationships with both Sachs, Walther and Beckmesser, none of which are taken lightly.
Claus Guths Meistersinger is no comedy. Stark reality is present underneath the surface. To further the interpretation, each singer was represented by a double-puppet as the chorus held small Nürnberg houses in their hands on an otherwise almost empty stage.
Uanimous praise in the German press for Bo Skovhus in his debut as Beckmesser, Fabio Luisi´s conducting and Robert Dean Smith/Raymond Very as Walther.
Photos by Matthias Creuziger for the Semperoper from Richard Wagner Werkstatt
Tuesday, 16 October 2007
From the dusty archives...
Wolfgang Wagner´s 1989 Bayreuth Festival staging of Parsifal will be revived next year in Seoul, Korea overseen by his daughter Katharina. She states, that she declined an offer to stage a Parsifal production of her own, thinking her style "not appropriate in this cultural setting". Apparently a dusty 20-year old Parsifal production is more appropriate...
Whatever qualities Wolfgang Wagner may have, innovative stagings of his grandfathers works are not among them...
Just checking the mail....
Peter Emmerich, spokesperson of the Bayreuth Festival in front of boxes and boxes with ticket applications for the 2008 Bayreuth Festival (from www.festspiele.de)
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