Review - Götterdämmerung (Wagner), New National Theatre Tokyo, 4 October 2017

Siegfried - Stephen Gould
Brünnhilde - Petra Lang
Alberich - Shimamura Takeo
Gunther - Anton Keremidtchiev
Hagen - Albert Pesendorfer
Gutrune - Ando Fumiko
Waltraute - Waltraud Meier
Woglinde - Masuda Noriko
Wellgunde - Kanoh Etsuko
Flosshilde - Tamura Yukie
Erste Norn - Takemoto Setsuko
Zweite Norn - Ikeda Kaori
Dritte Norn - Hashizume Yuka

New National Theatre Chorus
Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra
Iimori Taijiro (Conductor)
Götz Friedrich (Director)

New National Theatre Tokyo chose to revive Götz Friedrich's production originally for the Finnish Opera, his third after the Deutsche Oper Berlin one, for its ongoing ring instalments. Instead of the tunnel set and mythical approach in dramaturgy, this stage set looked more contemporary and the conceptual idea provided more answers than the Berlin one. Opening scene saw the Norns weaving the long rope of destiny in red on a black triangular raised platform with a red moon in the backdrop. There were standing poles alike needles stood around the ground. This formation became the stage bases for the drama to unfold until the final destruction. Interestingly, Brünnhilde entered midway when the Norns recalled the magic fire that Wotan placed to protect her. At first she was puzzled by the trio disappeared in haste after the breaking of the thread. Though one suspect that she gained the vision that what happen next deter by her action even not knowing what would come after. At the sunrise scene, Siegfried entered by wielding Notung in his workman outfit before hugging Brünnhilde. The couple was more passionately about each other than the Berlin staging, and again Siegfried was shown to continue his adventure than staying alongside with Brünnhilde.

Siegfried's Rhine journey saw neon lights in long blue glass tubes moved vertically on stage, yet Hagen already observed Siegfried from the front. Friederich retained the magnifying glass panels for the hall of Gibichungs as he saw it was as a spying game between the characters. Günther and Gutrune still shared siblings' affection for each other, but this time the latter was easily subdued by Hagen even she was afraid of him. Siegfried again wielding Notung at his arrival which put off Günther but not Hagen, who was more approachable to receive hero as a naive warrior. Siegfried's face changed into white after consuming the love potion prepared by Gutrune, and the warm stage lights changed into an eerie setting. Though that did not dampen Siegfried's spirit when he cut deep of the arm for swearing blood brotherhood with Günther. Lightnings awoke Brünnhilde as Waltraute approached the rock to bag her by giving up with ring to save the gods. Each was eager to express the self condition but negotiation did not meet. Siegfried's disguise to steal the ring was rather symbolic but also demonstrating his will to command the ring was stronger than Brünnhilde. After all, he took the ring by force and Brünnhilde only received it as a gift.

An eerie set up inside Gibichungs hall started the second act, and saw Alberich as an elderly dwarf lurking around to persuade the dreamy Hagen to take the ring back from Siegfried. Spears lined up on sides that gave the militant outlook at the wedding scene, but less Teutonic in compare to the Berlin staging and without torches. Brünnhilde hugged Siegfried at first, but she was shocked when he did not recognise her and eventually raged when she saw he had the ring. Siegfried became the guilty party under accusations yet the Gibichungs, like Gutrune, were not shock by the misunderstanding. There were not much love towards their guests and probably a prey after all to everyone's knowledge. After Siegfried departed with the party, the remaining three gave a rather conventional declaration by facing at the audience to plot the murder of Siegfried. When the wedding ceremony finally took place, Brünnhilde again refused Siegfried's hand and gave a stern look at Hagen that hinting the motion was already in place.

Neon lights in blue glass tubes returned at the beginning of act three and saw the rhinemaidens in leather outfits. They attempted to subdue Siegfried with their erotic outlook by showing flash but to no result. Then Gibichungs hunting party used torches flashing at Siegfried prior to the murder, and the huntsmen all seems to know what would happen next as in the Berlin ring. Siegfried murdered by Hagen symbolically by the spear stabbed from behind, and Günther left the scene in dismay but no funeral possession was formed instead. Instead, the black triangular platform transformed into a funeral pyre, and Brünnhilde already saw the dead body before the scene returned to Gibichungs hall. The red thread was also shortened in length and symbolised what did not foretell by the Norns was fast approaching. Gutrune screamed as Hagen showed her Siegfried's dead body, but reacted hesitantly when Günther was murder in front of her, neither did the rest of Gibichungs. The weak leader was probably not love after all but Hagen himself that they turned to.

Siegfried's raised his right arm with the ring on when Brünnhilde reappeared for the immolation scene. Frederich still saw Hagen did not proceed to fight for the ring but looked from afar in stillness. Torches were brought in as the bodies of Siegfried and Günther were finally brought away. The background projection grew in red to signify the growing flame. Gibichungs panic as the hall columns collapsed and ground opened for a spectacular theatrical display of stage machinery. Here Frederich concluded the ring differently from Berlin with Hagen being dragged by the Rhinemaidens into ground. Brünnhilde reappeared after hiding under cloth to frighten Alberich away, who came to search for the ring again, and herself survived at the end. There were no Greek theatre by reconnecting to the start of Rheingold but a forward looking development that a new chapter had begun.

Casting for the four lead roles met equally on vocal technique and projection. Petra Lang was at her best as Brünnhilde during the visit of Waltraute and in the dramatic second act. The sheer emotions and vocal energy she delivered from time to time made an astounding impression. Though not often consistent by a sloppy start that her singing being under weight and a rather covered way in her diction. She couldn't sustain the line at the climax of the sunrise scene and lower notes often too soft to be heard. When singing in forte then she was more able to project more, and carried the momentum as she displayed Brünnhilde's revenge on Siegfried brilliantly. Her voice could be full and rich if she did not muddle the vowels for a dark tone colour. Stephen Gould made a confident start and secured his singing by nailing those high notes accurately. Diction was on the bright side and he could manage both dramatic and lyric singing style. Whether to do with tiredness or trying to save his voice for act three, vocally he was less energetic in act two and the singing faded a bit compare to his colleague. Nevertheless, he recovered for act three and able to switch from the heroic mode to a highly moving end as Siegfried recalled his tender affection for Brünnhilde for the last time.

Albert Pesendorfer had both the cunning appearance and timbre for Hagen. Yet he never aggressive neither go nasal in his singing. He had a rich and full vocal body that carried the command impression and phrased the words skilfully. Like Gould, he also switched his tone colours to be suitable for the scene atmospherically. His partner in crime, Anton Keremidtchiev, sang comfortably with the tessitura of Günther. He was the only singer that consistently had the vocal weight to penetrate through the thick orchestral accompaniment and very clear on his diction. His portrayal of Günther also realised the indecisive and self conflict character, who was afraid to take on the responsibility as a leader. Ando Fumiko was relatively thin in vocal body as Gutrune and took some time to warm up her voice. Her characterisation seems lacked a definite impression but a subordinate role. Her diction was also weak with vowels only could be heard but not the consonants.

Waltraud Meier continued to fade vocally that often not able to sustain the line neither had the weight. During the sisters' quarrel she was noticeably not able to match Petra Lang's response. Though at the least the tuning was still mainly in place and made a great crescendo before Waltraute left the scene in haste. The home grown Alberich, Shimamura Takeo, had the colour for the part but mixed results with his diction. He put the effort in articulating the consonants but some of the pronunciation did not sound German at all. Trio for Rhinemaidens blended more together than the Norns, though the latter had more exposed solo moments. Both diction and volume from the male chorus were impressive and gave the dramatic excitement by their singing. They helped the orchestra to coordinate the tempo transitions especially in act two that was more fluid in their playing.

The problem though lied on the elderly conductor Iimori Taijiro, who was not very clear with his conducting and sometimes even followed the orchestra than leading it. Some grand musical moments like Siegfried's death march and immolation scene being dragged to some unnecessary broad tempo. It gave a rather vertical reading of the music than generating the momentum to drive the music forward. Brass had some up and down moments that it could be magnificently by playing loudly, but uncertain when the dynamic was soft. The orchestra probably did not find Taijiro being helpful when he sometimes over conducted, and waving the baton to paint the movement than showing the rhythmic patterns. Winds' entries particularly were not always tidy and the orchestral playing from time to time sounded on auto mode. Prompter and back stage conductors should be credited for keeping the singers with the orchestra together. I should also mention that the hall acoustic of the national theatre was good with the warmth and balance, but the seat was not comfortable to sit for long duration.

(Photo credit: New National Theatre Tokyo Facebook page)

Review - Parsifal (Wagner), Dutch National Opera, 25 December 2016

Amfortas - Ryan McKinny

Titurel - Bjarni Thor Kristinsson

Gurnemanz - Günther Groissböck

Parsifal - Christopher Ventris

Klingsor - Bastiaan Everink

Kundry - Petra Lang
Grail knights - Marcel Reijans, Roger Smeets

Nieuw Amsterdams Kinderkoor

Koor van De Nationale Opera

Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest

Marc Albrecht (Conductor)

Pierre Audi (Director)

Like many other productions by Pierre Audi, visual attraction prevails than a particular conceptual approach in his staging of Parsifal. The production is not always a plain narration of the tale, Amfortas resembles Christ's outfit at crucifixion particularly , but the symbolism is unclear when religious representations are not address. Audi does not make gesture with a theory after an answer or interpretation, but rather aim to impress with an elegant artistic viewing. Despite effective stage light schemes and beautiful set, dramaturgy is static at times that not always drawing out the inner emotions nor elevate an understanding of implicit messages. The casting of singers were well chosen and some minor roles exceeded expectation. The orchestra gradually improved its coordination and more balanced as the performance went.

Albrecht took a broad tempo for the prelude but too slow at times and not musically phrased in mind. On stage red lips shaped meteorite appeared on the screen of a night sky. One could not determine whether it had to do with the dripping blood later at the grail scene or an unfortunate sign of bloodshed in the sky. As the curtain went up, red lights flooded on the giant rocks and saw a dark figure covered in long hairs, assuming that was Kundry. A man in armour appeared at the grail theme and later recognised as Gurnemanz. He gazed sadly at the crosses on the debris in the ground when the orchestra reached the erotic theme of the prelude. Kundry reappeared from the rock and strolled around the stage, but collapsed after looking into the small flame on stage. Then the knights entered and monitored the squires whose producing crosses with scrap woods. Up to this point a mysterious impression was given but the connection between actions were unclear of intentions. Despite Groissböck probably suffering from a cold, he soldiered on and made a confident entry with a ringing tone in his singing and placed the words poetically. The fight between Kundry and the two knights were rather soft like a dance instead. Lang's lower vocal register had the projection and audible.

For the bath Amfortas appeared half naked but pushed to the ground when he tried to cling on Kundry. McKinny as a baritone had a bright timbre with good projection. The squires comprised of higher voices did not produce a rich sound compared to the knights, whose vocally had a fuller bodied tone and more dramatic in their singing. Gurnemanz's narration of the past, especially the mention of Amfortas being seduced, saw him starring at Kundry like a predator looking at his prey. Groissböck increased in dynamics to fill the hall with his vocal presence. He emphasised grail and spear especially to give more shape of the narration. However, the orchestra was sluggish that behind him sometimes and a prolong negotiation in momentum. The mention of grail saw squires hold up religious objects and the stage flooded in red again. Later they turned despaired when Amfortas was mentioned being wounded by Klingsor that triggered the downfall. The colour symbolism of stage lights seems more a functional reflection for the eyes than to realise the devastating consequence.

A crowd appeared when the swan shot by Parsifal dropped onto the stage. Their arrival would have been less sudden if accompany Amfortas to the bath earlier. The protagonist himself carried a staff than a bow, and sat on a rock when telling Gurnemanz of his past. Ventris carried a good projection in his singing but the voice did not possess the desired warmth. Lang was vocally underwhelming that lacking the weight and not dramatically done when Kundry mocked Parsifal of his past. He hesitated in killing her with a log and told her to return to sleep. The stage curtain returned at the transition of the grail revealing moment but lacked relation between scene changes. Orchestral playing would need to drive the momentum more for emotional impact, and parts lacked dialogue in their playing. In contrast, the offstage brass were more confident and accurate in their entries.

At the grail scene, quarry like structure erected at the back of the rocks with a bigger crowd congregated. The male chorus blended well together in a more homogeneous sound and minimal vibrato. Several elderly voices were noticeably stick out among the altos and covered voices employed by the sopranos. They watched Amfortas reluctantly to climb the steps for the ritual but stayed motionless. Titurel was a voice in the head instead and sang from off stage. The agony made Amfortas begged to be relieved of the pain at the centre stage, while Parsifal watched from the scaffolding above. Eventually the ritual was performed and Amfortas hold a long piece of white paper with blood dripping in the middle. Artistically it was a beautiful execution of the scene, also McKinny's nice body shape for eye candy, but not reflecting of Amfortas's agony from the ceremony. The men posed as repent and holding crosses in front while female voice parts sang steadily. A magnificent choral moment when the men sang of receiving courage from bread and wine majestically, but tuning in the sopranos' top notes were shaky. The scene change back to the rock setting lacked dramatic continuity when the stage curtain came down briefly. It was unclear whether the ceremony was an imagination or reflection when Parsifal and Gurnemanz were shown in the same spot as before the transition. The capture of moment received the attention than an ongoing relation to unfold the tale.

By comparison, staging of the second act was the highlight of the evening and probably one of the best I have experienced so far. The effects of lightning, smoke and soldiers alike Greek hoplites in Phalanx formation vividly realised the violent orchestral opening. The soldiers collapsed upon the entrance of Klingsor, who was carrying the spear. Vocally Everink delivered crystal clear diction and a rich voice that filled the hall with presence. His phrasing made the singing more dramatically engaged and intense, especially marking the pain of castration that Klingsor experienced. Then a circular metal mirror descended to create the colourful illusion. The flower maidens entered with covered face to mourn their fallen 'husbands' in the battle before revealing themselves with colourful outfits. The orchestral playing flowed better with momentum than sluggish along in the first act. Though one felt Albrecht hurried the tempo too much that dangerously lost coordination with the ensemble of flower maidens. They struggled to breathe and the built up was chaotic, even tuning was fine. There was also a strange acoustic moment in amplifying the singing when singers stood in front of the mirror.

The maidens disappeared when Kundry entered. Orchestra became more relaxing with the tempo in the tender and romantic passage. A small flame descended when Kundry revealed his past to Parsifal and reflected beautifully by its golden colour. It became an illusion between dream and reality to seduce his mind. Ventris was more comfortable in the lower vocal register with better phrasing and projection, but more wobble as he ascended the range. Lang portrayed Kundry as a seductive erotic figure even when she was recalling the motherly love to Parsifal. She was more legato in the lower vocal range even with her singing style was more covered. Tuning became less accurate as she ascended the vocal range and struggled to sustain the top notes.

Stage lights turned red when the two kissed, followed by a lone light reflecting on the mirror that Parsifal suddenly realised the temptation and rectified himself. Ventris sang passionately at the emotional outburst but the timbre lacked the warmth. Though the vibrato in tone reflected the vulnerability when Parsifal looked himself into the mirror. The salvation passage further exposed Ventri's timbre not at the best demonstration for being hard edged in colour. Lang was more secured in the high vocal register this time and brightened up the vowels more. She made a poignant reminder of Amfortas past, gradually built up the madness and furious for being rejected at the vocal climb. Top notes were shouted out and not all pleasant for the ears. Even so, she sustained the vocal energy up to calling for revenge when Klingsor appeared with the spears. A dramatic ending with the stage smoke returned and the mirror sunk into the mist. Klingsor collapsed after the spear broke into half and Parsifal disappeared opposite of Kundry.

In terms of stage set, third act was the least elaborate and close to a plain narration in the first half. Dimmed stage with dark blue colour and Gurnemanz appeared in a long white gown while Kundry lied on the ground. A large hanging white panel at the rear with a hole in the middle. It seems more as a visual representation than resembling the female sexual organ since no erotic gesture was given. The orchestral introduction did not flow naturally, and not able to make the devastating impact in depicting the struggle of redemption. Parsifal reappeared from the side of the panel with helmet and spear. Gurnemanz only recognised him when Parsifal took them off and left on the ground. He prayed at the holy objects and gave an emotional telling of the decaying organisation. Ventris sang with more legato and in a relaxing tone, but the hard edged vocal colour was still noticeable. Groissböck was coughing a lot, but he carried on to phrase the singing poetically and brought out the emotions. A water spring appeared and Parsifal was visibly moved when Gurnemanz acknowledged him as king. Both Kundry and Gurnemanz drank from the spring, but the symbols of cleansing and purification were not dealt with than a ritual. The orchestra played the tender meadow theme beautifully and one felt very moved by the music when Gurnemanz told the joy of redemption. The hole changed to green colour when the grace would be felt by all was sung while the panel slowly shifted to the centre.

As the bell tolled, Amfortas led the men to congregate before the darkened stage for Titurel's funeral. The choral singing became the voice in head and they demanded the ritual to be performed by pointing at Amfortas. The hole turned black as Amfortas blamed himself but the crowd was more fearful when he refused to do anymore. When Parsifal touched him with the spear he collapsed and the mirror reappeared like a shining white plate. Strangely the crowd also fell to ground except Gurnemanz and the smoke mist made a mysterious ending. Audi seems perceived not only Klingsor the evil one, but also Titurel and the knights demanded for bloody and torturing ritual. The mirror became the object of morality. Though the development was rather sudden than a gradual development leading to the outcome. Musically the male chorus gave a muscular and projected wall of sound for a devastating lamentation, but sopranos remained vibrato heavy in the supposedly heavenly conclusion. Only the orchestra produced an enchanting Good Friday music to round off the enigmatic end.

(Photo credit: The website of Dutch National Opera)

Review - Die Walküre (Wagner), Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall, 23 January 2016

Siegmund - Stuart Skelton
Sieglinde - Heidi Melton
Hunding - Falk Struckmann
Wotan - Matthias Goerne
Brünnhilde - Petra Lang
Fricka - Michelle DeYoung
Die Walküren - Sarah Castle, Karen Foster, Katherine Broderick, Anna Burford, Elaine McKrill, Okka von der Damerau, Laura Nykänen

Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra
Jaap van Zweden (Conductor)

In contrast to Das Rheingold, which highlights the broad issues of greed, power thirsting, hatred and race supremacy, Die Walküre focuses on the dilemma and consequences that Wotan meets in attempt to protect the legacy of gods from the inevitable downfall. While the head of authority bears the duty to defend oaths, upholding laws and honouring promises, the moral dimension of siblings falling in love for each other, breeding offsprings with other women than the lawful partner, and distance manipulation of own children to achieve personal goals all became a tangled web.

Albeit my rather naive understanding of the work philosophy, I gradually believe that the main underlying message is not only a mirror reflection of the composer own struggles, but also how oneself negotiates with life when it evolves rather different from expectations and the plan. The composer's answer to the question by love/humanity/forgiveness is not straight forward and with a price: Siegmund was killed indirectly by Wotan through Hunding, forcing his daughter Sieglinde into hiding at dangerous area and punished the loyal Brünnhilde with the loss of immortality. The underlying message is that no one could avoid the difficult corners in life even with power, might and wisdom. On the other hand, Wotan’s tolerance of sibling’s passionate love and freewill to live as a liberal being were a progressive stance even for modern world. 

The philosophical complexity of the work also posed a challenge to the audience when this performance was presented as a concert version without the visual theatrical presentation. Unless one studied the plot thoroughly, this time the music language not necessarily painting the landscape and surroundings alike in Das Rheingold, but expressions of atmosphere, senses and inner emotions instead. Moments like Wotan killing Hunding at rage and ride of the Valkyries would be easier to visualise by physical actions than realising through the words. That also would help the singers to build their characterisation than standing still on stage. The acoustic between a concert hall and an auditorium of a theatre also made a different audio experience. It allowed musicians the space to make a bigger contrast in dynamic difference and the space for the music to sing more its beauty. Also without the obligation to maintain the theatrical momentum on stage, a broader tempo could be adopted to phrase the music but not dragging. The end result was more refined musical texture and a better sense of intimacy.

As a whole, the performance had exceeded my expectation and maintained the exact standard set as previously in Das Rheingold. Radiant singing from Stuart Skelton’s Siegmund that the tessitura sat comfortably within his vocal range, also an attractive timbre with the desired warmth, smoothness and vocal projection. Interestingly, he and Heidi Melton both took a rather broad tempo for act one, and each word was steadily phrased for a clear diction purpose. A poetic reading was the description, but for my waste it was slightly careful and they could have pushed the tempo slightly from Winterstürme towards the passionate climatic end. Melton was rich in mid range though silvery on the top, which I felt her timbre more suitable for Chrysothemis in Elektra than the more mezzo soprano orientated Sieglinde. Falk Struckmann as Hunding filled the hall with a rich body bass tone and I reckon he would be a better Wotan than Matthias Goerne. Petra Lang sang the Hojotoho of act two beginning rather brilliantly and produced that youthful fearless spirit of Brünnhilde. High vocal range fared better for her but some degree of unnaturalness of her singing style in mid range. Diction was often not too clear at that level and sometimes sliding one notes to another diminished the beauty in tone. The lower range was also audibly soft but the acoustic still helped to maintain the vocal presence. Michelle DeYoung made a fearsome Fricka with a sheer body of vocal volume and captured the essence of an angry wife vividly. The timbre of Walküren complimented each other effectively and one could detect several future potentials as lead Wagnerian singers for future. 

However, like last year, Matthias Goerne’s Wotan continued to be a let down from rest of the cast. I would not be too critical if it was not recorded for commercial release and understood it was a starting point for the role in future. Though it did not help when Goerne continued to dive in the score while singing and lacked visual communications with his colleagues. He was still far from identifying the structure to phrase the text and music in act two that virtually lacked any sense of characterisation while the role of Wotan was so important in this work. His rather dense texture in timbre also made the singing sounded a murmur and lacking difference in vocal colour. He was better in act three which the music seems more familiar to him and at least he would look up and sing to the audience. Still I wonder how he would eventually make an impressive debut in future at an actual production performance if there was not much of an improvement from last year outing.

The Philharmonic Orchestra was reinforced by a number of overseas players, particularly in the brass. It was an impressive sight to see six harps on the stage and at a concert performance one could have a better sense how the ensemble functioned together than at an opera house pit. I felt the orchestra was more well prepared in act two and three than the first. The roadmap was there and Zweden kept a good sense of flow that neither rushing or too slow, which accommodated the singers comfortably with the highly disciplined orchestral accompaniment. The band produced many beautiful moments especially in the emotional Wotan’s farewell and magic fire music. Again the rather Italianate warm tone somehow slightly too positive for the bleak setting of act one in hunding’s house. Though I really enjoyed rest of it that the leaner body of sound was refreshing and even had a sense of hope despite all the woes on the way. I am looking forward to the next instalment in a year’s time and hopefully a competent tenor will be sourced for the role of Siegfried.