greg@olivee.UUCP (Greg Paley) (06/11/85)
I had been so impressed by the earlier operas in this "Ring" cycle that I was a little afraid that the ultimate challenge of the final opera would prove too much and serve as an anticlimax. What I experienced was, visually and musically, a performance of such power and variety that I'm still having trouble calming down and being rational about it 4 days after. The impact was, as I suppose it should be, deeply moving but also profoundly disturbing. The producer, Niklaus Lehnoff, deliberately raised more questions than answers. After hearing boring, lackluster, but competent performances by Edo de Waart with the San Francisco Symphony, I would not have believed second hand reports about his powerful performances during this cycle as a whole. In the "Goetterdaemmerung" he surpassed himself (apparently to the surprise of members of the cast and orchestra also, as his rehearsals did not hint at the power and weight he achieved in performance). The performance was well-knit and masterfully shaped, none of the (over 5 hours, the score was uncut) music seeming extraneous, but rather integrated into a symphonic unity. There were some problems in the orchestra this time, particularly the brass, during the first act. It was to be expected that, with their performance/rehearsal schedule, some fatigue would set it. However, this disappeared after the first act was over, and the playing of the later music and final cataclysm was overwhelming in both its power and beauty. There were two comments that can be made about the entire cast. First, as in the previous operas of the cycle, there were no instances where there was a lurching disparity between the visual image the singer presented and that which is specified by the character. Second, all of them, even the smallest parts, had been so fully prepared and were performed with such obvious total commitment that they came across as multi-facted flesh-and-blood people. These qualities combined with the sheer musicality of execution - not a single instance of shouting, wobbling, pushing or vocal shoving, made for a performance unique in my experience. Not that there weren't flaws. I mentioned the brass problems. Eva Marton had moments where her voice was tremulous and spread. Rene Kollo suffered from constriction in certain labored passages. Both of them fell short of pitch on a few high notes. I noticed these things in passing, but the were made insignificant by the power, beauty and depth of their overall performances. Marton was incredible. Making no allowances, this would rank as a superb performance of Brunnhilde. Considering, however, that this was her first performance in the role (she had sung the "Siegfried" Brunnhilde only before) it was nothing short of phenomenal. There were moments when I missed the sheer power and laser-beam thrust that Nilsson had brought to sections of the music (notably the second act oath on the spear and conspirator's trio). Nilsson never, to my taste, achieved the sheer purity and beauty of sound that Marton did, however. Moreover, Marton's performance was so imbued with personal warmth and commitment, had so fully integrated her singing with her acting so as to make them a single physical event, and brought so much original thought and clarity to every word and phrase that comparisons are ultimately irrelevant. At the end of the opera, before general curtain calls, she was allowed a solo bow which provoked an instantaneous standing ovation. Rene Kollo made Siegfried's development and final distintegration believeable and haunting. Lacking the ultimate in sheer power and freedom for the big sections, he gets through them intelligently without forcing. This allowed him to sing his final lyrical sections and death scene with beauty and clarity. This is certainly a far cry from the one-dimensional "L'il Abner" that used to pass for Siegfried. A real surprise for me was the portrayal of Gunther and Gutrune, the secondary couple whose greed and weakness cause them, under the manipulations of their half-brother Hagen, to be instrumental in bringing the tragedy about. Gutrune is usually played as pallid and insignificant. In this production, played by Kathryn Bouleyn, she was stunningly beautiful. In her bearing and action, she was a spoiled tart at the beginning, with emphasis placed on the incestuous relationship between her and her brother (she ran her hand up and down his thigh as they lounged around drinking). The idea of Siegfried, posed by Hagen, is at first a game and an acquisition to a spoiled child. From him, however, she takes on an increased self-esteem and regality which makes for a greater tragedy when these are dashed out from under her with his death. An unforgettable portrayal, sung with a full, clear soprano (a little edgy on top), particularly memorable in her final scene when she looked around at the dead bodies of Siegfried and her brother, clutched her arms around herself and fled the stage in sheer horror and bewilderment. Her brother, Gunther, was performed by Michael Devlin. He was tall, slender and handsome, with an inflated self-image that made him an easy pawn for Hagen. His weakness caused his outer bravado to gradually collapse in on itself and was very effectively played and sung. There was, however, a certain coarseness and strain that were disturbing to hear in such a relatively young baritone. John Tomlinson was magnificent as Hagen. Dark, slender, and, according to my wife, extremely sexy and dangerous looking, his voice had such power and clarity that he almost sounded amplified. In keeping with the overall avoidance of stereotypes, his character was ambiguous - you were never quite sure what he was thinking or feeling until, after he killed Siegfried and was left alone on stage, he let his rage and self-hatred explode, thrusting his spear over and over into a sacrifical ram that had been carried on for the festivities that were interrupted. This "Ring" was spread over four seasons. "Rheingold" was depicted as taking place in the springtime, "Walkuere" in early summer, "Siegfried" in a beautiful autumn, and "Goetterdaemmerung" in the winter. After the immolation scene, and the collapse of the Gibichung Hall, Valhalla was seen sinking into the river Rhein which, when it overflowed its banks and cleansed the stage, looked cold and icy, leaving a world that was empty and frozen. At the very end, a solitary figure appeared (this Lehnhoff's idea - not Wagner's), the fire-god, Loge. The final question as to whether this was the end or a new beginning was left open. This was, in its visual elements, direction, singing, conducting and playing, a production that need not apologize to any other opera company in the world today. - Greg Paley