Robert and I both enjoyed hugely the Wiener Staatsoper performance of Wagners Das Rheingold, the first (vorabend) of the four operas in the Ring Cycle. Of course we were always going to be off to a good start with good central seats in that magnificent opera house, with a wonderful conductor (Jeffrey Tate) a highly accomplished in-house orchestra, and a cast who would always, here in Vienna, be of the first order. Key to the success and beauty of this production was the inspired direction of German actor & director Sven-Eric Bechtolf, who most unusually in the current traditions of European opera managed to turn out a whole opera with not one stupid thing in it! The sets, while not elaborate, were not stark, and went just that comfortable little bit further than merely evoking the setting, adding the perfect level of texture to the action. The costumes were sensibly epoch-non-specific and more to the point attractive, rendering the singers attractive as they performed against an attractive background. Its almost revolutionary to see a production in Germanic Europe which is not ugly and grunge- filled ... what a joy! Even more to the point, the whole mis-en-scène - stage direction, sets, lighting - was configured to enhance and amplify the very detailed narrative that Wagner gives us in the libretto and his stage directions, and there was not one moment when what we saw was contradicting the music or the text. This production was first aired in 2009 (as is often the case the Wiener Staatsoper has assembled this full Ring Cycle over four years, one at a time) and looking at the cast list from its first outing there are it seems only three singers who were in the original - Polish baritone Tomasz Konieczny (Wotan, but who played Alberich in 2009) and the two Giants Fafner (Estonian Ain Anger) and Fasolt (Romanian Sorin Coliban). In any event, I had not seen any of the cast perform before, except for the Viennese tenor Norbert Ernst who sang Loge, who I had seen in the same role at the Bayreuther Festspiele - Bayreuth Festival Ring Cycle last year. They were all good. Tomasz Konieczny was a persuasive and authoritative Wotan despite being a quite youthful-looking 42, and I look forward to seeing how he handles the older & more tortured Wotan/Wanderer in the next two operas. Austrian mezzo Elisabeth Kulman was an austere, beautiful and worried looking Fricka, and, again, I look forward to seeing how she handles this role in Die Walküre, in which Fricka can come across as either dignified but morally outraged, or just plain shrewish, depending on the performers ability to nuance the part. German baritone Jochen Schmeckenbecher brought to the role of Alberich both a wonderful voice and an actors ability to put across the complex humanity of a character who can at times seem nothing more than a set-piece villan. His only problem is that he is quite tall and handsome, and so he has to work hard to effect the identity of a wretched mean-spirited dwarf! Australian soprano Caroline Wenborne was a buxom life-filled Freia, and brought colour and vigour to a role that in the wrong hands can sometimes just disappear into the fabric of the show. And the Giants were sensational - kitted out in the most effective costumes and make-up that I have ever seen, and both singing sonorously just the way a giant should! Curiously, I am always - always - surprised when towards the end of Das Rheingold the earth goddess Erde suddenly appears and interrupts the action with her dire warnings. And this time (somthing like the 25th time that I have seen this opera!) was no exception, as Erde (in a welcome conventional way) rose up from behing a ledge of rock. German mezzo Janina Baechle was ideal in the role, beautiful and mysterious, and rendering the house as well as the rest of the cast still and breathless during her short but terribly important appearance. The Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper was hardly short of magnificent, and (apart from just two brief wobbles in the horns towards the end) note-perfect. Jeffrey Tate drew from them a gorgeous range of moods and tempi - one minute playing with almost hypnotic subtlety and tenderness, and the next making a sound that you could almost swear was amplified (the acoustics of this house are sensational). So all in all a stunning start to this Ring Cycle. My only reservation (which is really not much of a reservation, and could just as likely be attributable to my own mood on the night) was that splendid as this production and performance was in every way, I was left at the end not quite so emotionally affected as I have been by other productions even though they were technically not so excellent. Could it be that this production is just a little too perfect? Probably not, but we will find out as we see the further three operas over the next week.
Posted on: Sat, 31 May 2014 11:40:28 +0000
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