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La Scena Musicale, 16 July
2009 |
Joseph |
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Letter from Munich: Lohengrin
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Wagner: Lohengrin, München, 8. Juli 2009 |
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The
centerpiece of this year's Munich Opera Festival is undoubtedly the new
production of Lohengrin. It features a stellar cast led by German tenor
sensation Jonas Kaufmann in his first assumption of the title role, which he
is scheduled to reprise in Bayreuth next year. Kaufmann is partnered by the
fast rising Greek-German soprano Anja Harteros in her first Elsa. The stage
director is Briton Richard Jones, who has a long list of cutting edge
productions to his credit. My own experience of Jones's work is limited to
the Queen of Spades at the COC four years ago (originally staged for WNO),
Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk at ROH, as well as Hansel and Gretel at the Met
(also originally staged at WNO). To my eyes, the Tchaikovsky and
Shostakovich are successes, but I find his vision of the Humperdinck
excessively dark. When it comes to the musical side of things, one can be
assured of excellence in the Bayerisches Staatsorchester under Kent Nagano.
So it is no wonder that this Lohengrin is the most highly anticipated event
of the summer. Tickets were sold out months in advance. In the performance I
attended on July 8, I saw more people than usual milling about in front of
the National-Theater before the show, holding up 'Suche karte' signs. Thanks
to the Oper fur alle program, over 10,000 people got to experience the July
5 opening al fresco and for free, in Max-Joseph-Platz. The weather was
threatening all day, and it did rain a little during Act One. The faithful
stuck around and finally the they were rewarded with sun and dry weather to
go with the magnificent singing for the rest of the evening.
How to describe the production? Upon entering the theatre, one sees flyers
being handed out with the photo of a child, with the word "Vermisst"
(missing) printed on top. A few of these are even pasted inside the
auditorium. It doesn't take long to figure out the child in question is
Gottfried, Elsa's brother. With the first strains of the prelude, Elsa
stands with her back to the audience, in front of a vertically placed
drafting table, designing what appears to be a house. In fact the house
metaphor figures prominently throughout the opera. It is obvious that Jones
has a singular vision in his re-interpretation of this most beloved of
Wagner operas. His concept may be well thought out, but its execution I find
problematic. If one is looking forward to a glamorous and Romantic
production, he/she will have to look elsewhere. There are no pretty scenary
and little hint of nature. Also problematic is the way the characterization
of the leads. Dressed in track pants and a blue T shirt, this Lohengrin is a
common man - albeit one who hangs out with a mechanical swan - someone who
longs to settle down with Elsa into a middle-class existence, making babies
in a suburban house with a nicely planted flowerbed. The two spend a lot of
time building their dream home onstage, but a house without a proper
foundation isn't going to withstand evil winds. When the doubting Elsa can't
hold her tongue anymore on wedding night, their dream of a life together is
dashed. But who could have anticipated that this Lohengrin would douse the
crib with gasoline and setting it on fire! Telramund (Wolfgang Koch) is a
big bully, manhandling Elsa throughout Act One. At one point, poor Elsa is
threatened with immolation a la Joan of Arc at the hands of Telramund, only
to be saved in the nick of time by the arrival of Lohengrin. The townspeople
are also a curious bunch, the men in brown shirts and the women in sneakers
and uniforms that recall National Socialist youths - the implication is
clear. The opera ends with the townspeople sitting on barracks-like long
tables, each drawing a pistol pointing to the mouth, a mass suicide that is
both unnecessary and gratuitous. It's no wonder that the vociferous booing
at the end was targeted for Mr. Jones. To be sure, protests of concept
productions in European houses are par for the course. Yes, opera houses
should not be museums and it is imperative to re-think and make historical
works relevant to the 21st century audiences, but it is also important that
such re-imaginings not go against the music, and the overall spirit of the
work.
If the production was not to everyone's taste on July 8, the musical side
of things received only kudos. To my eyes and ears, Jonas Kaufmann is simply
the finest heldentenor since Jon Vickers. His timbre is reminiscent of the
great Canadian, except Kaufmann has a more secure high register. Kaufmann
embodies the role of Lohengrin fully. His In fernem Land was the most poetic
I have heard. Arguably the best jugendlich dramatischer sopran to come out
of Germany in years, Anja Harteros sang a radiant Elsa on Wednesday, her
rich, luminous tone an unalloyed pleasure. She was dramatically powerful as
well - this Elsa is no shrinking violet. The rest of the cast was almost as
good, with Christoph Fischesser a well sung and unusually youthful Heinrich.
As Telramund, Wolfgang Koch gave an intensely dramatic performance in his
interaction with Ortrud. If there was a weak link, it was the Ortrud of
Michaela Schuster - her voice is a bit underpowered and her timbre not
sufficiently dark and menacing to contrast with Harteros. Schuster was
mightily taxed in the final outburst in Act Three. Nagano led the Munich
forces in a thrilling performance, perhaps a little too much power at the
expense of spirituality. But all in all, this was a most memorable evening
at the opera. |
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