Review - Siegfried (Wagner), Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, 19 Jan 2017 & 22 Jan 2017

Siegfried - Simon O'Neill
Wanderer - Matthias Goerne
Mime - David Cangelosi
Brünnhilde - Heidi Melton
Alberich - Werner van Mechelen
Erda - Deborah Humble
Woodbird - Valentina Farcas
Fafner - Falk Struckmann

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Jaap van Zweden (Conductor)

Siegfried, the scherzo of the monumental ring cycle, is often overlooked by its fairy tale outlook. Wagner spent fifteen years to complete the work, and the plot is more complex, challenging and progressive than Rheingold and Walküre. On surface a hero appears for an adventure, learning fear after meeting his opposite sex for the first time and eventually falls in love with her. Though arguably it is about Wotan being the master planner, who nearly succeeds in saving his legacy by all means but ultimately the consequence turns against his will. Whether Siegfried is an unconscious slave of fulfilling Wotan's objectives or a child of nature forging his own path is debatable. He learnt from the forest and befriended with animals as an orphan, instead of Mime who took him in at Sieglinde's request before she died. But later Siegfried destroyed Wotan's staff in half with the sword Notung, which released Wotan from all bindings and promises after a careful engineered sequence of events. The unorthodox affection between Siegfried as nephew in love with his aunt Brünnhilde, promises to bring change and free will that conventional relationship cannot not in Wagner's ideology. However, Siegfried fearless self-confidence set himself to trap later in Götterdämmerung. The ring never return to Wotan as planned and Brünnhilde, who promised to guide Siegfried to the goal, allows the free hero to seek his adventure further into the Rhineland. The high risk strategy, which Wotan adopted to save himself, runs offtrack and Brünnhilde's revenge on Siegfried's betrayal leads to the final destruction. Vocally it is also a demanding role for the protagonist, who has to be capable both dramatic and lyrical singing, maintaining the stamina for four hours long and ideally possess a pleasant timbre for the ears.

Surprisingly, it was Cangelosi's Mime who nearly stole the show for being so brilliantly sung with vivid characterisation. He had the right timbre for the role, clear diction and effective phrasing of the music and the text. His bright tone and more projected voice gave more colours and dramatic contrast to the lengthy dialogues. A poignant impression when Mime recalled the past, accused Siegfried being ungrateful of his care and vowed for revenge. Mime was also felt to cunning, intelligent and more greedy than Alberich in these performances. Their fierce argument over the sharing of treasures was dramatically intense, but more successfully realised at the Thursday performance. Mime was no longer a minor role and held the fate of events that triggered the course of actions. The downfall of Mime was his arrogance and covetous of power, than because of Siegfried learnt the true intention after covering in dragon's blood. The only moment Cangelosi could not penetrate through the thick orchestral texture was the crushing crescendo, when Wotan left Mime in horror with flickering flames growing in his hut. He seems also developed a cold and sometimes lacked the vocal weight in the Sunday performance.

Simon O'Neill should be credited for his professionalism in covering Mime's part briefly on Thursday. Cangelosi was visibly struggled with coughs at the ironic moment when Mime attempted to poison Siegfried. O'Neill seems more appreciative of the orchestra and tried very hard to portray the role. Though his timbre and vocal weight were not ideal for the role of Siegfried but better as Mime. In both performances one felt underwhelmed by his voice in the exuberant and masculine passage of the first act. The nasal tone was not appealing for the ears and sounded thin in body. Diction was often muffled and difficult to understand. It did not have the youthful energetic tone colour but the impression of an elderly man instead. The interruption and humiliation of Siegfried at Mime was tame and ineffective. Orchestra had to hold back the volume during the forging scene of Notung to accommodate the balance, which reduced the sheer brilliancy and excitement of the music. Although later his was more audibly detected over the leaner orchestral accompaniment of act two and three, the tone colour was bland and lacked any emotional intention. Siegfried's challenge to Wotan also fell short from the hostile intensity. Later the discovery of Brünnhilde was more a dreamy awakening scene, than the life changing sensation when Siegfried finally learnt fear at last. Even so, the lyric moments were more suited to his rather legato singing style. Projection improved at the call of entering Brünnhilde's rock, timbre was more pleasant and refined during the exchange of affection. Though the outcome still made an impression of Siegfried as a supporting character than on equal partnership, which was supposedly in reverse.

Matthias Goerne improved vocally with better characterisation of Wanderer/Wotan compare to Rheingold and Walküre previously, but still work in progress. Despite a better sense of phrasing, projection and vocal presence, he had a coordination problem with the orchestra at the first attempt. During Wotan's test on Mime regarding giants and gods, Goerne sang dangerously ahead of the orchestra. The problem was rectified in the second attempt with a more fluid progression. Though his rather covered way of singing style produced a cloudy sound than a ringing tone. Diction was often unclear, lacked the vocal richness nor the authoritative impression of Wotan as the master planner. Interestingly, Wotan's summon of Erda was his best moment I reckon. Brightening the vowels and opened up his voice helped the projection and injected more emotion to the singing. It was more attractive to listen to and a sense that he was in command of the situation.

Although Brünnhilde only appears in the later part of act three, it demands the soprano to meet the wide vocal range with limited space of time to warm up the voice. The best part of Heidi Melton's timbre was her rich and creamy mid range with warmth. Her voice filled the hall nicely with a ringing tone, and captured Brünnhilde's negotiations between doubt, fear of change and her affection for Siegfried effectively. Though problematic as her tessitura reaching the higher register and the reach to top notes were not always accurate. The first performance was often a forceful cry that hit and miss with tuning. She was more steady with the tempo in the Sunday performance and more successful at the climbs. Though the switch between registers lacked the smoothness and sounded rough sometimes.

Lesser roles further confirmed that villains had the upper hand with their singing than the goodies in these performances. Pleasant and refined singing from Werner van Mechelen as Alberich. Diction was clear and words were appropriately stressed to flow naturally with the music. The confrontation between Alberich and Wagner before waking Fafner was dramatically delivered. But I am convinced that Mechelen's voice is more suited to Wotan than being a villain, which requires the roughness in timbre than a noble colour. Falk Struckmann, who had recorded Wotan before, carried the depth and vocal weight in his ringing bass tone. The battle between Fafner and Siegfried was dramatically realised when he inserted mockery laughters and painful cries. Mixed results with Valentina Farcas's Woodbird though that her singing lacked the flexibility and direction. Tuning was flat the first time but rectified in the second performance. Beautiful legato singing from Deborah Humble with a rich mellow alto voice. Erda's heated exchange with Wotan was fierce that she was indifferent to his claims nor desires. Though to capture the dreamy state of Erda, a cool tone would have been more effective than passionate.

Jaap van Zweden continued to draw magnificent playing from the Philharmonic Orchestra, and lifted the performance level to a high standard that more than an achievement. Probably due to the performing hours and energy levels, tempo was swift on Thursday compare to Sunday. The bassoon and tuba opening in both occasions though sounded moody and tired than creating a haunting forest scene. Lower strings' built up with tutti brass would need more bites for the violent effect. Tuning among the horns were much better and more confident on Sunday. Strings were particularly alert and responsive to the ebbs and flows of emotions in act one. It would have been dramatically exciting and energetic at the forging scene of Notung if the orchestra did not have to sacrifice for the balance. The spooky and chilling introduction of act two was also more successfully produced on Sunday, particularly the ring motive that made a crushing and devastating effect. Cor anglais's mimic of birdsong was slightly too refined than the out of tune intention in mind. French horn solo of Siegfried's call was accurately rendered but the finishing diminuendo seems exaggerated than a natural recline. Polished woodwinds' playing to evoke the sweet and beautiful forest scene, which Siegfried was excited by the woodbird foretelling the prospect of meeting Brünnhilde finally.

The majesty and masculine introduction of the third act was magnificent rendered on Thursday, which the brass playing was wild in its fullness sense. Though signs of tiredness began to surface on Sunday when the concentration began to lose and drag with the tempo. In both performances the orchestra still managed to elevate the hostile exchange between Wotan and Erda with dramatic playing above the ebbs and flows of emotions, despite the singing lacked dramatic intensity. Later the lush upper strings' playing produced a magical sensation and wonderment at Siegfried's discovery of Brünnhilde. The music spoke for its beauty and tenderness when the idyll theme was played. A magnificent conclusion as the orchestra sent out the ecstatic state of affection in full. The naive hope of love and joy put smile on our face and the sheer thrilling excitement, even after wrongdoings and evil plans are ongoing in this epic tale.

Review - Symphonies Nos 1-9 (Beethoven), Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, 11, 18, 27 November & 4 December 2015

Symphonies Nos 1-9 (Beethoven)

Soprano - Zhou Yuqian
Mezzo Soprano - Deborah Humble
Tenor - Charles Reid
Bass - Kwangchul Youn

The Chorus of the National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing
Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor - Jaap van Zweden

The Hong Kong cycle of the Beethoven Symphonies in the past month was another landmark development of the Philharmonic Orchestra. The strings sections had improved in tone colour and body of sound since Jaap van Zweden took over the directorship since 2012. Though tiredness sunk in as the week progressed and the musicians' stamina were tested. The wind sections did not always maintain the same consistency and responsiveness in playing as the strings which resulted in some untidy corners. The phrasing of music was good generally and in style to the textures of each symphony. I was relieved that Zweden did not repeat the heavy handed execution of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 few months ago with controlled conducting style and employed overpowering dynamics. He knew the road map mostly well enough of navigating the band through the marathon. His conducting style certainly worked better with certain symphonies but not a solution for all.

The cycle first began with the eighth symphony followed by the third, which supposedly to mark the contrasting themes during the composer's midlife creative period. The orchestral playing in the eighth delivered the warmth and a lively pastoral image with an Italianate flair. The strength of Zweden's conducting was that he allowed the space for the music to sing and breath, but never drag and maintained the level of momentum with a rather brisk tempo. It was a satisfying start, but later using the same approach on the third symphony, I felt it ignored the underlying ideology. The playing was polished and fine but made no contrast made in the produced tone and tempo spacing. One wondered where was the image of Prometheus, the mystical hero expressed as resistance to tyranny, when the funeral match sounded ever so positive without the feeling of lament or suffering. A monumental creation of a hero with great sentiments was not necessary but the outlook and philosophy should not be in absence. Neither the conductor nor the orchestra seems to grasp the thinking but only to structure the work just like the rest they came across.

The same problem continued with the Pastoral symphony in the following week, which the drawing board for programmed symphonies happened to be the weak point for the conductor and the orchestra. The playing was neat but it lacked a direction. The absence of momentum resulted in sluggish dialogues between sections and as a whole failed to craft the structure, despite some beautiful passages from the flautist. When the heart was not in place, one could hear the produced tone colour from the strings sounded bland and dull. It was not disastrous but created a misconception among the audience that the symphony failed to make a strong impression as the seventh during interval. Neither should both works be compared easily since the Pastoral symphony stood on its own to emphasise the rare tranquillity and calm mental state of the composer, instead of the tempest and thunderstorm came under the conflictive inner emotions.

By contrast, the seventh symphony in the second half was a success and brilliant as always. The orchestra was at home here. Varied tone colours, energy, phrasing and musical direction were all in display. It created the sense of drama and excitement that marked the characters of this symphony. After the confident and highly spirited first movement, the band gradually built up the pace from the solemn match in the second movement before reaching the climatic exultation in the last movement, which one felt the composer wholeheartedly thrilled about. Zweden's conducting also transformed that he knew where to indicate the orchestra and achieved the desired effects. The only minor problem was the trumpets occasionally under the pitch and I wondered whether it was necessary to use the German rotary ones than the usual B flat type.

The next instalment brought the second, fourth and fifth symphonies together. Besides being a stamina test to play three works in the same evening, more importantly, the compositional progression that Beethoven linked his suffering from deafness with inner emotional struggles. Both the second and fourth had a mysterious sombre like introduction before the return of optimism. Not so much in the style of some late Haydn's symphonies, but signs of the composer's depression battled against the effects of hearing impairment were there. By the last movement of the fourth symphony, showers of semiquavers at break neck tempo seems to suggest the composer not in the best of psychological state. After years listening to various performances of the fifth symphony, it was the first time I felt the work was not a natural triumphant for the composer to overcome the problem of hearing loss, but instead a forceful personal statement to hold the vulnerable mind together with a desperate optimism. On the other hand, the composer eventually found his 'voice' in the symphonies from the struggles and sufferings.

On the performance side it was the evening that the Philharmonic Orchestra managed to maintain the same consistency throughout their playing despite the physical challenge, and Zweden knew the three works well enough to provide a clear guide with his conducting. The woodwind section was also at their best form in this cycle with many fine playings and the presence of an intimate musical dialogues that not often the case. It was not surprised that the first violins gradually showing signs of tiredness with one or two tutti moments being fractions behind from the rest. Otherwise, musically it was an inspiring evening and the tale centred around the composer being vividly realised.

The final instalment was on purpose a contrast between the early and late periods of the composer's compositional style, but both the first and the ninth symphonies were also revolutionary in musical form and language. The first was not so much different in characters from the eighth. The Italianate warmth and pastoral image at harvest time summed up a happier time for Beethoven at his youthful years. The traditional first movement structure was placed in the last movement instead whereas the bold passionate opening movement echoing the styles of Mozart's late symphonies. Just like the eighth, the musical texture and tone colours worked very well to the core produced sound of the orchestra. The playing was never aggressive or overpowering and retained the sense of elegance and beauty that fitted perfectly into the pastoral scene. The band seems natural of its musical dialogues and Zweden was visibly pleased with the result at the end of first half.

The ninth symphony often only remembered by rousing choral passages in the last movement but what made it differed from other symphonies were the harmonic texture and structural progression. The first movement no longer in the shadow of classical period that major and minor keys interwoven together. Scherzo formed the second movement followed by an expressive and tranquil Adagio in the third movement. The tempo Zweden took in the first two movements were rather robust and swift. He pushed the orchestra to produce the momentum alike mounting on a chariot, and there were corners I felt the orchestral playing being unsettled and even sounded angry. Despite a rich body of sound resulted from the darker tone on the strings, the playing of the first violins made a raw sound that lost some of the silkiness it produced before. The NCPA chorus was fine in vocal volume and intonation, but mostly only vowels could be heard and difficult to make sense of their diction. The soprano soloist Zhou Yuqian was a last minute replacement and just about to match her colleagues in the quartet. I would still prefer to hear Deborah Humble and Kwangchul Youn singing other pieces in slower tempo than the machine gun like vocal sections of this symphony. Zweden's energetic conducting also caused some uncertain entries that the soloists were not together with the orchestra. Here the stirring coda felt to be an earthy celebration of ideology Beethoven believed in since Eroica Symphony but not quite the culmination marking the groundbreaking expression of the musical form.

Overall, I felt very inspired by this Beethoven cycle and the orchestra should congratulate themselves how much it had progressed all this years to achieve the current standard. Though more works need to be done on the brass and woodwinds to match the quality and consistency among the strings if it aims to improve further.