Wotan - Derek Welton (Rheingold), Iain Paterson (Walküre), Samuel Youn (Siegfried)
Götz Friedrich (director)
Peter Sykora (designs)
Jasmin Solfaghari (Rheingold, Siegfried), Gerlinde Pelkowski (Walküre and Götterdämmerung) (revival directors)
Götz Friedrich's second ring production had been a regular repertoire of Deutsche Oper Berlin since 1984, including two overseas tours to Japan and America. The set is specially marked by the tunnel view as fixture throughout the cycle. Finally this Easter the production received its farewell appearance over two cycles with a promising cast. I am grateful to my friend who kindly gave his tickets to me, so to enjoy this spectacle from a great viewing spot on the first balcony. As a whole there were many memorable moments especially the impressive stage set and forward looking dramaturgy that mostly stood the test of time. Though it had also shown its age and one could see the reasons why it would be replaced by a new production in 2020.
Friedrich focused on the visual conception that many dramatic points began by observing from afar, and characters grew in size as they emerged from the back. The stage floor gradually descended and became steep towards the front to give a magnifying impression inside the tunnel. The enclosed structure kept the focus within space, and I felt acoustically it helped to concentrate and project the singing forward. Stage smoke was also skillfully produced like an actual cloudscape in different forms and even the tempo of formation was controlled. One particular moment was the thunderclouds realised with special lightning effects when the raging Wotan stormed upon valkyries after Brünnhilde and Sieglinde. The effect was memorable and spectacular enough for an epic mythology. Another spectacle was the magic fire of Brünnhilde's rock with flames lit from nine big stage holes alike volcanic ones. Despite it recalled the technological limitation back then when the stagehand had to lit the fire by torch, visually it looked grand and effective. Fafner the dragon as a giant robot and Valhalla in the form of a walnut lectern with revolving top also made impressive sights. Though thirty years since the first viewing, both began to look dusty and rather symbolic than generating the theatrical excitement.
Yet importantly, the attraction of this production was that the contemporary relevance and convention approach reached a fine balance. It did not go too far from a direct narration but neither afraid from making directorial concepts, which gave more insight than just showing decorative backdrops. Both the beginning of Das Rheingold and end of Götterdämmerung saw white hooded figures around the stage in silent. Their inanimate presence recalled the role of silent actors as props in Greek tragedy, which the composer had in mind to conceive the ring as mythological play but also a modern myth. They were the eternal spirit that never vanish though neither play a moving role in the drama. Though importantly they reconnected where the same tale could restart again like the wheel of fate. From there they gave an indirect introduction of the rhinemaidens, and the guarded gold that later led to the curse that brought the gods to their destruction. Instead of a mine, Nibelheim rose from the ground and had a reception with Alberich as bouncer guarding the entrance, which the decorations suggested an underground disco club. Nibelungs, faces hidden, were the enslaved lot and fearful of Alberich's command. Displays of personal ego and their cunning deeds were emphasized in greater importance within the context. Loge was indifferent to Wotan's authority as first, until his involvement in capturing Alberich made him no different from the others being tied to the tangle webs. It made the paradox of building Valhalla at great costs more poignant as he helped to assemble the wealth before Fafner killed Fasolt over greed. Though rest of the dramaturgy in Rheingold were symbolically portrayed that I felt the revival directors could have directed better. Fricka was tame in making her demand which undermined the demonstration of tension between her and Wotan. Confrontation between gods and giants were clumsy and far from a gripping violent scene. God's slow dance to Valhalla was pretentious enough, but far from the ascend that the music had gloriously suggested. The dramatic lightning scene was also underwhelming when Donner hit his hammer to break the cloud.
The tunnel was absent for the first time in the first act of Die Walküre and a bunker formed Hunding's dwelling instead. The dim stage lighting created a gloomy atmosphere with a huge and grotesque structure as the tree which Siegmund later pulled out Notung. Hunding entered the room with his huntsmen, which gave a more logical development in hunting after Siegmund than on his own. A chilling and bleak impression was in contrast to later the passionate and fantasy like reunion of the Wälsung, which warm lights flooded the stage with a healthy tree in the foreground. The tunnel reappeared as the couple eloped, then saw a fallen giant (Fasolt?) and model of a ruined city sat on the slope. It was unclear whether the ruins symbolised where Valkyries retrieved the heroes to Valhalla, or Wotan's vision envisaged the doom of gods. Though likely served as a metaphorical object to Wotan's dilemma when the destruction was approaching. Fricka became an irritating moaner and Wotan lost his temper by her complaints, yet it reminded him that he had promised to uphold the moral codes. The tangled web turned Wotan from a cool and stern outlook, previously at Rheingold, into an angry and moody figure. The death of Siegmund did not move Wotan that much neither the hesitation to kill, which the Wälsung siblings were a tool in his grand plan than considered as his children. He was visibly more troubled by Brünnhilde not because of her disobedience, but rather her wisdom and council made him felt guilty. Out of all the characters, she was also the only one wearing a classic outfit in armour and a norse helmet with wings. Interestingly, rest of the valkyries wore leather attire alike rebellious punk teenagers. By act three, a large sculpture replaced the city ruins but nothing symbolic than as backdrop. There was not much scenic wise until the magic fire spectacle as mentioned early, followed a conventional exchange between Wotan and Brünnhilde.
Among the four instalments, the staging of Siegfried was the least directorial and closer to a direct narrative. Mime's hut and workshop were half underground, but the set was visibly had the dusting looking. Stage lights stayed same throughout even when Mime was terrified by Wotan's threats after the riddles, which was dramatically underwhelming. Only Siegfried's forging of Notung with effects on sound, lights and stage equipment regained some theatrically interest. While the hero forged the sword under spotlight, Mime prepared the poison on the side and plotted against him. When it came to the confrontation between Fafner and Siegfried, the disguised dragon became a robot for a stage machinery display. The fight though felt like a fantasy of toy battle that far from dramatic and rather still in action. After Mime was stabbed and he disappeared into the back, it left an empty stage that far from marking the chilling cost of Siegfried's revenge. Stage lights turned red when Wotan told Erda of his plan emotionally. The mother of earth lost her colourful outlook of an indigenous figure by then and fully in white instead. Although it was in Wotan's plan to have Siegfried breaking his spear, he stayed to watch the hero in reaching Brünnhilde's rock. Friedrich probably felt the point of Wotan's confidence in his plan being succeeded was also the mean to an end, which hesitation sunk in and the risk heightened as future no longer involved his interference.
The staging for Götterdämmerung was uneven though that theatrically first act was not always able to realise the symbolism visually. Only later in the final two acts saw more thoughts showing by the sequence of actions. While the Norns weaved a long thread, smoke effects at the back of the tunnel and changed from red to white as the doom of gods was told. It thickened as the thread broke and turned into a volcanic orange colour to set up for the sunrise scene. Instead of seeing the couple awakening from the bed, Brünnhilde sat next to the side while Siegfried ran up the stage and waving Notung. But from then the two did not show any affection and just stood in the same position. Light projection was used for the colourful effects of Siegfried's Rhine journey. The scene then changed into a steel surrounding alike a factory interior and Hagen was looking at Gunther and Gutrune. Magnifying panels stood around and it became a spying exercise. Later Hagen showed more interested in knowing about the ring than the brotherhood ceremony between Siegfried and Gunther. Though the dullness in dramaturgy continued with Hagen sat motionless than displaying the darkness of his cunning plan to retrieve the ring. Siegfried's deception to take the ring from Brünnhilde by force was symbolic than an actual fight. Only the light and sound effects as Waltraute rode to meet Brünnhilde, and the magic fire sensing the approach of Siegfried had the dramatic intention.
A solemn and chilling surrounding alike a war assembly decorated the wedding scene of act two. Gibichungs had their spears and torches in full viewing, and there was nothing joyous about and Siegfried was confused by Brünnhilde's accusation. The stage was also near in total darkness to suggest the killing scene of Siegfried was expected. By act three it further confirmed that the murder of Siegfried was planned ahead at the knowledge of the whole hunting party than a sole assassination by Hagen. Huntsmen were not surprised by the killing but instead of forming a funeral procession, they covered themselves in black gowns. They joined the crowd later to witness the transformation of immolation scene from darkness to light, but being a spectator of the epic saga than involving within. The rhinemaidens covered the stage with a large rainbow coloured sheet and Hagen disappeared along without drawing much attention. White hooded figures from the beginning of Rheingold reappeared and marked the return to the beginning.
Interestingly, singers in this cycle made the impression that Wotan was the prime focus. It was rightly so since the ring was substantially about his attempt to save his legacy by all means but eventually led to the ultimate destruction. The three singers ably showed how the complex character evolved over the three instalments. Derek Welton portrayed a rather stern looking and cool Wotan in Rheingold, who also avoided from getting his hands dirty and commanded Loge to set the trap on Alberich. The set back on giving up the ring after Erda's warning felt alike a daunting lost, which his plan after power and dominion did not work accordingly. One felt Wotan's pride and authority by his rich vocal projection and bodied timbre. His diction was clear and phrased the line for a dramatic rendition. In contrast, Iain Paterson approached the role more poetically and saw Wotan became an emotional and human figure in Walküre. Being cornered by Fricka to kill Siegmund and Sieglinde, he threw chairs around in frustration. Later Wotan's monologue in telling Brünnhilde of the tangled web he faced was increasingly dramatic. It became violent when Wotan commanded Brünnhilde to kill the Wälsung by threat, and later when she fled with Sieglinde at the death of Siegmund. All these culminated to a climatic moment when Wotan raged over the plead of valkyries not to punish Brünnhilde, which Paterson displayed an angry character in full. Later he was able to realise the bitterness when Wotan had to punish Brünnhilde and also the dilemma they both experienced. It left the room for Wotan's farewell to be emotionally moving, and sublime by the beautiful and tender singing. A heartbreaking moment when Wotan fell on his knees, shaking and trembling after putting Brünnhilde into sleep. In Siegfried, Samuel Youn portrayed Wotan as a fearless character that being more aggressive than before. His dark timbre with a ringing bass tone made a terrifying wanderer, who was overconfident by his plan to undo the rules that bound his power and moral responsibilities. There was not much sentiment being brought forward from Walküre, but the arrogance and pride aimed to intimidate the others like Mime. Though all these self confidence were ignored by Erda and Siegfried. When Wotan's spear was destroyed, it left a power vacuum as the lead player of this saga lost the control on the game. Compare to Welton and Paterson, Youn's phrasing did not consistently sustain the interest of the sung text and sometimes sounded bland.
With such strong characterisation and confident singing from all three singers in the role of Wotan, rest of the cast would have to match the game but mixed results instead. Stefan Vinke had more warmth in his singing when he carried the vocal energy at Siegfried's forging of Notung. He showed the flexibility in switch his vocal colours to realise the changing emotions. A powerful introduction marked Siegfried's first entrance on the roof of Mime, then being sentimental when Mime recalled the past of his birth and Sieglinde's fate, and later heroically announced his adventure into the forest. Vinke's phrasing flowed more naturally in the tender and lyrical passages of the second act. After killing Fafner and Mime, Vinke was able to capture the mixed emotions that Siegfried felt. It was followed by more legato singing in the fantasy like passage as the woodbird called him to reach Brünnhilde's rock. The awakening scene of Brünnhilde was probably the most beautiful I had experienced in live so far. Besides Vinke phrased his singing poetically, Ricarda Merbeth vocally flexible and smooth at the vocal climbs between wide intervals. Her tessitura sat very comfortably in the vocal range and sustained the tenderness with ease. The lyrical and highly romantic passages was very beautifully rendered by the enchanted and clean singing. Both also realised the emotion transition as Brünnhilde first shocked by the loss of her power, but eventually embraced Siegfried's affection over the ecstasy of love. Vinke was lesser impressive at the beginning of Götterdämmerung which his timbre lacked the warmth and projection. It was not until the third act when Siegfried teased by the rhinemaidens then Vinke regained more legato vocally. Siegfried's final recall of his affection for Brünnhilde also carried smoothness throughout the romantically expressive singing.
Evelyn Herlitzius, as Brünnhilde in Walküre and Götterdämmerung, vocally not consistent with mixed impression in her characterisation. Her Hojotoho lacked body in Walküre and vibrato heavy on higher vocal register. Her singing sounded rough in the lyrical expressive passage that recalled the vocal condition of an aged woman. Intonation during the duet at the sunrise scene of Götterdämmerung was flat and did not produce the excitement of rapturous joy. Her lower register in the immolation scene was often underweight and only the ascend in vocal range then her singing was more audible. Due to sickness, Stuart Skelton was not at his best vocal condition either in the first act of Walküre. His voice strained by reaching wintersturme despite a confident start with a rich projection. He redeemed himself in the second act by carrying the lyrical tenderness when Siegmund vowed to protect Sieglinde and refused Brünnhilde's advice. His counterpart, Eva-Maria Westbroek, in contrast made a magnificent Sieglinde with a rich mezzo timbre, powerful projection and phrased her singing beautifully. Her vocal highlight was in the second act by exhibiting the nightmare horror and nervous outburst of Sieglinde's meltdown in the forest. She made an emotional plead to the valkyries for protection with endless vocal energy, a contrast from Herlitzius's muddled singing.
Vocally singers in the roles of villain were more consistent but characterisation not always effective. Werner Van Mechelen saw Alberich more than a greedy torturer, but as a naive figure that easily tricked by the rhinemaidens and fooled himself by his arrogance. When Wotan took the treasures from Alberich by force, the cursing of the ring was emotionally expressed for a poignant reminder of the perils followed. He possessed a rich voice with the depth in colour and clear in his diction. Burkhard Ulrich had the nasal timbre in mind for the role of Mime. His word painting was poetically phrase and gained the interest to listen to compare with Samuel Youn's rather blurry diction. Early on when he sang as Loge, his projection on higher notes sometimes lacked the support and experienced coordination problems with the orchestra. Though again like Mime, he phrased the words in the right flow and approached the expressive parts lyrically. In comparison, Albert Pesendorfer was too nice as Hagen that far from realising the cunning personality by his gentle and warm timbre. He seems to ponder around than an evil planner plotting against Siegfried and Gunther. Only as the music became more dramatic in act two and three, his singing was more able to convey the urgency, authority with vocal projection. He announced Siegfried's death devastatingly even he was the murderer. The quarrel with Gunther was tense and threatening even the immolation soon overshadowed his presence. Besides as Brünnhilde in Siegfried, Ricarda Merbeth also took on as Gutrune. She demonstrated her vocal flexibility by giving a fuller weight with the clarity in her singing. Even the role did not have much to sing, she made a memorable account of it by the sheer dramatic intensity and vocal excitement.
Among the minor roles, Daniela Sindram did not have a rich voice as Waltraute in Götterdämmerung. She sang her part beautifully and more heroic as reaching the immolation motive, but rather vertical looking than sustaining the forward momentum. Perhaps the characterisation or dramaturgy did not help to create the thinking when the sisters were more meditative on what would happen next. Tobias Kehrer's Hunding not only had the commanding outlook as a gang leader but also with a ringing bass tone. One could sense the heaviness in the air as Hunding sat across from Siegmund and forced him to reveal his identity. Ronnita Miller had a rich mezzo tone colour that suited the timbre of Erda very well. Her vowels were on the bright side for clarity in her diction and phrased the lines majestically. She successfully portrayed as mother of earth as a blind woman yet with wisdom in Rheingold, and later in dreamy state as she was indifferent to what Wotan bashing about his self confidence against fate. The Norns were more consistent in their singing than the trios for rhinemaidens, whose sang with more bell like tone colour at Götterdämmerung than the covered voices in Rheingold. Both singers for the giants had a good flow on articulating the sung text with a rich and again majesty singing.
Lastly, it was a marathon for the orchestra to sustain the stamina over four nights with only one day in between to rest. Though it did not begin confidently when the horns being uncertain with the tempo in the underwater motive. Later the brass played magnificently at the descend and ascend of Nibelheim by being bold and muscular. The full orchestra made a crushing sound when Alberich screamed at his slaves to bring the treasures to surface as ransom. The orchestral flourish was even more devastating after Alberich cursed the ring, yet the strings played beautifully at the transition when Freia was brought back by the giants. The orchestra hold back from not being too aggressive and crushing again when the giants had a tense exchange with Wotan on the ring. The brass was also realised the daunting sense effectively in its playing as Wotan hesitated on whether to give up the ring. They neither indulge too much in the tuneful motives and sustained the momentum forward in the triumphant march into Valhalla.
However, the orchestra had more problems in Walküre than other evenings. Dynamic contrast was observed attentively in the opening gallop but it felt like a restless beast. Solo cello played the sorrow theme beautifully with an emotional depth. Though the horns had trouble again in the syncopated rhythms and some slips occurred. Problems continued as the orchestra fell behind Stuart Skelton and the brass became very sluggish in their entries, even the music was gloriously blazing in colour. The orchestra managed to realise the violence and tense passages in act two when Wotan recalled the turbulent past emotionally. It also gave a majestic entrance upon Brünnhilde's entry in shimmering armours. However, there were coordination problems in being together with Evelyn Herlitzius and both seems unsure how to fit into each other by dragging the tempo along. Only at the tense and dramatic moments when Siegmund heroically declared his protection of Sieglinde then the orchestra found its way back with the brass playing wildly. The playing was more crisp and tidy during the ride of the Valkyries. It went bombastic and muscular as Valkyries pleaded to Wotan noisily. A highly moving coda when the magic fire motive was played and Wotan reconciled with Brünnhilde.
The orchestra flowed more fluidly in Siegfried with the urgency and direction to create the dramatic intensity of act one. It tried to stay away from portraying Mime's house overtly moody nor too violent as Siegfried entered excitingly with the bear. Brass again played boldly as Wotan told Mime about the giants and Nibelung in a daunting sense. A spirited orchestral transition was given when Wotan left Alberich after no success in awakening Fafner. The orchestra also played beautifully to produce the sweetness that Siegfried was enjoying as the woodbird told him about Brünnhilde's rock. Wotan's triumphant gallop at the beginning of act three was played brilliantly and gradually drove into another explosive climax. It sustained the excitement and momentum as Wotan was so eager to reveal his plan to Erda. The expressive love theme was gloriously played and later Siegfried's ascend to Brünnhilde's rock was so magnificently delivered. The sensual unison line was delicately rendered for a spellbinding effect by the tutti violins. Though sometimes the orchestra was slightly behind Stefan Vinke even woodwinds responded each other smoothly. The strings gave it all by being tense and expressive in the emotional outpours. It was increasingly romantic as the sensual feelings heightened and the brass played magnificently to capture the sense of wonderment when Brünnhilde saw Siegfried for the first time. Siegfried's idyll was tenderly played and the full orchestra made a glorious conclusion.
A rather swift opening to Götterdämmerung that kept the momentum flowing forward. It became increasingly unsettled as the Norns foretold the end they knew from the thread. Sunrise scene was gloriously played by the brass in a blazing tone colour and the orchestral playing drove more direction than the singing. The love theme was beautifully played before an exciting transition into Siegfried's journey to the Rhine. Again the orchestral playing had more urgency compared to the singers, but the horns slipped again. It played wildly when Siegfried and Gunther made the blood brotherhood, followed by an energetic gallop to drive the excitement forward. The daunting atmosphere and evil impression were too effectively produced. Both the chorus and orchestra delivered many walls of sound for the crushing dramatic effects of the second act. Horns were swift in tempo at the beginning of act three and made a devastating noise when Hagen killed Siegfried. Winds though were not tidy in their entries before the death march, and only then the brass played more brilliantly with the sheer impact by being muscular and heroic in sound. My seat was directly behind Donald Runnicles so could not tell if his conducting was the reason why the horns had troubles many times, though I suspected the players were not careful enough with their playing or due to tiredness. Now finally it is time to look forward to the new production by Stefan Herheim, and one expect he will have many interesting things to say.
(Photo credit: Deutsche Oper Berlin Facebook Page)
