Saturday, November 05, 2011

New Siegfried

Some quick thoughts on yesterday's Siegfried HD cast. The movie theatre is very kind to the LePage productions, I think. Among other things, the swooping cameras can get into the trench area between the apron thing and the machine, meaning the awkwardness of the setup is not a constant bother. So take this faint praise for the production with a grain of salt: I think this is the most successful outing of this Ring so far. The audience is asked to endure almost no time with the hideous naked Machine, which I'd wager might almost allow for some suspension of disbelief from the Family Circle. The projections are set for much longer periods, mitigating the "whatsit gonna do next" dynamic that so cheapened Walkure and Rheingold. And elements like final conflagration for the love duet and the deep forest background for Act II were quite lovely (funny how this was the instance in which the videoz most faithfully mimicked the plastic shrubbery of the Schenk, no?)
Which is not to say it is "good". There are still unforced errors aplenty, including, but hardly limited to: the need to over-choreograph Wagner's transition music with stage business ranging from the merely distracting (Siegfried's one-man fire dueling over the Act III scene transition) to the downright boneheaded (the extremely misguided stealing of baby Siegfried in the opening material); the inability to leave well-enough alone when it comes to video gimmickry (I'm not a hater I swear, a little bit of 3D woodbird would have been fine with me, but when things cross into Zippideedoodah territory you've gone too far); the weird fussy staging choices (Wotan's speer is really a poster tube with the runes rolled up inside? And he has to take them out when he talks to Erda? And then Siegfried doesn't bust the speer but the left over metal rod? Wha?); and the refusal to use all these alleged magical powers to solve some of the most obvious staging challenges of the piece ($45M and we get a hilarious talking snake head for a dragon, gotcha). But the biggest trouble is that we still have zero evidence that this Ring has any sort of an aesthetic, much less an interpretive, program in place. We are not witnessing a vision for the Ring; we are witnessing an ambitious but pointless formal experiment in stagecraft.
But these shenanigans were mostly forgiven on account of a winning afternoon music-wise, for which we can chiefly thank last-minute Siegfried Jay Hunter Morris and slightly last-minute maestro Fabio Luisi.
Morris' Siegfried is a joy in a part where "less-awkward than others" is considered a triumph. He brings out the beauty in Siegfried's music in a way rarely heard, lingering lovingly over phrases that often get a bark. He sounded a bit less fresh than on the prima broadcast (because who wouldn't) but still maintained a remarkable level of security throughout, never delving into that danger, danger fake throaty business that is the Siegfried's most common weapon. As if that weren't enough, he credibly portrays Siegfried's naivete and wonder in a way that goes beyond the standard "middle-aged dude bouncing around" delivery. Truly, he had the HD audience eating out of the palm of his hand (his ability to look the part doesn't hurt either) by the end of the show, a feat I'll admit I didn't quite think possible. Here is a Siegfried that is not overshadowed by his colleagues with lesser assignments but is truly the star of his own show. Complaints that his voice is a shade too light for the role, or might be underpowered in house could be valid but also I don't care. JHM is operating at the forefront of research in the field of Siegfried portrayals and should be celebrated for it.
Luisi likewise deserves great credit for his energetic, propulsive reading of the score, the kind of reading that makes one question how this opera could ever get a reputation for dragginess. I suppose he might be guilty of TOO much momentum at times--there are some magisterial moments lost in the fray here.
The supporting men in this dudeliest of operas were uniformly strong. Perhaps Luisi's gentler accompaniment was what Terfel needed, or the Wanderer just lies in a better place for him, but I detected little of the shoutiness that marred his Rheingold and Walkure outings. And where the stentorian authority needed to make those Wotans resonate seemed to escape him, the Wanderer's shadings of regret, humanity, and desperation were beautifully drawn out. Gerhard Siegel has been appropriately praised for his musical singing of Mime, though he perhaps suffered most from the production's lack of a clear concept. Eric Owens and Hans-Peter Konig supplied vocal luxury to spare in Alberich and Fafner.
This was a success for Voigt, though I don't think anyone is unclear about the fundamental discord between where her voice is right now and the demands of Brunnhilde. Still, she seemed to be working very hard to keep things in the right place and it paid off handsomely (moreso during the HD cast than on opening night, where she appeared to be wisely and aggressively cutting her losses). She also seems much more alive to the dramatic demands of the Siegfried scene than the Walkure Brunnhilde, which felt like it never came together beyond a very general level. Vocally, I don't know if the good work here says one way or another how she'll fare with the big Gotterdammerung sing. But acting-wise I'm certainly looking forward to what she does with the part.
P.S. Not that I don't appreciate Renaay's time, but could we maybe transition into having these HD cast intermission interviews done by professionals? There's a whole group of people who get paid specifically to ensure public/recorded interactions are not painful to watch. Hire some of them.

13 comments:

Lisa Hirsch said...

About that asterisk - it seems orphaned, though I presume you're talking about Fleming's interviews and announcements? I wanted to throw things at her.

Alex said...

D'oh. Maybe we'll just make that a PS...

There is a happy medium between puffery and watchable and right now they are not finding it. Obviously I'm not expecting these to be probing sessions but I don't think it helps the cause to make your audience watch that kind of awkward fluffing of singers by singers week after week. Can't they just get Juntwait back there?

stray said...

Why not just skip the interviews altogether? This is one place where opera really could be less like baseball.

JohnL said...

Comments and review so far put me in mind of the well known opera Ring Cycle spoof by comedienne Anna Russell, to wit, "Most opera presentations seem to be given by experts for the benefit of other experts."

I for one am no where near an expert, but I revelled in enjoying the HD brodcast, warts and all. Well done, ESPECIALLY to interviews with Mr. Morris where his totally unexpected (to me) Texas background and slang shone forth! Yeeeee HAH!!!!

Alex said...

JohnL: Please rest assured that zero percent of any slagging on the HD cast (and I really did have a great time, production and personnel quibbles aside) is directed towards JHM, who was almost as delightful backstage as he was on the spinny planks.

Will said...

In the opera house on the 5th, JHM was fully audible without forcing from one end of the performance to the other, ably seconded by Luisi who conducted the score with a clarity and transparency of texture that honored Wagner's orchestral demands while not covering any member of the cast at any time. In this he was preferable to James Levine who has never hesitated to let the orchestra rip no matter who on stage got overwhelmed.

Perhaps the microphones masked some of Ms Voigt's problems, but in the big space of the MET, what I heard was grainy, uneven tone that wasn't smoothed out and under control until Brunnhilde's line about seeing Grane awake in the woods. Shortly thereafter the high notes began and were thin, one was definitely off pitch, a couple were lunges and the final one just wasn't there. I've always liked Voigt -- I was present for her breakthrough Ariadnes in Boston -- but I fail to see how she can make it through the dawn duet and especially Act 2 of Gotterdammerung in this vocal condition.

Lisa Hirsch said...

The microphones did mask her problems; they made her sound much better than you describe. Sigh...

Alex said...

Will: Thanks for the report, esp. the intel about Luisi's skillful handling of the balance issues that don't register in the movie theater. Looking forward to it when I'm in-house for Gotterdammerung...

Will said...

Alex, which performance of Gotterdammerung are you going to?

Alex said...

This is like slow-mo IM...I'll be at the opening--we should meet up if you're there that night!

Will said...

That's what I was hoping but I'll be at the February 11 matinee.

Here's the rest of my NYC season just in case any of them correspond to your schedule:

Khovanshchina (Mar 17, Sat matinee MET)
Don Giovanni (March 17 Sat eve MET)
Cosi Fan Tutte (March 18 Sun. mat NYCO)
Manon (March 31, Sat eve MET)
Billy Budd (May 4 Fri. eve MET)
Makropulos Case (May 5 Sat matinee MET)

Alex said...

Nuts...well, good to know on the others, will keep you posted as I figure out the Spring!

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