In Gotterdammerung, the final night of Wagner's epic
music drama Der Ring des Nibelungen, events reach their inevitable,
devastating conclusion. Culminating in
a sense of completion and renewal, the same can be said for the last
installment of Robert Lepage's complete cycle for the Metropolitan Opera,
screened recently around the world in HD broadcasts on the big screen.
The scale and depth of Lepage's vision has been much
discussed, even derided, but in my mind his concept of this most powerful,
tragic and ultimately human of the Ring operas was by and large a resounding
success.
The opera opens with the three Norns, those weavers of the
threads of destiny and the complexities of past, present and future. In a spiritual sense it is impossible to
have one without the other two, a theme that musically Wagner knows only too
well and portrays beautifully here. The
forward motion of time and eternity are nicely wrought in this scene, but this
to me was the weakest moment of Lepage's and indeed of conductor Fabio Luisi's
concept for the work as a whole. In
what was a very literal enactment of events, complete with some rather
unconvincing costumes by Francois St-Aubin (rope print fabric? What on earth?),
singers Maria Radner, Elizabeth Bishop and Heidi Melton portrayed Maiden, Wife
and Crone beautifully, their voices making a fabulous tapestry of harmony. My criticism of this scene is twofold. A lack of tension and pacing musically, the
breaking of the thread didn't seem to reach a climax, as well as the feeling that
Lepage didn't really know what to do with this scene dramatically. With some seemingly pointless rearranging of
the ropes suspended to look like branches of a tree (the World-Ash tree as
mentioned by the Norns themselves perhaps, that very tree that they themselves
described as being destroyed by Wotan) the scene seemed to go nowhere and the
sense of impending finality went for nothing.
The transformation into the most joyous moment in the opera
was very well handled with it's use of projections of forest and river, though
I found the entrance of Siegfried and Brunnhilde from each side of the stage
unconvincing. This is the only scene of
pure joy and happiness that the two lovers get to experience in the entire
opera, and the chemistry between Deborah Voigt as Brunnhilde and Jay Hunter
Morris' Siegfried was hard to resist. A
reluctance to hold onto the final note by Voigt aside, this scene was
beautifully handled, the eroticism of the moments preceding Siegfried's
departure exquisite.
Siegfried's Journey Down the Rhine is one of the
orchestral highlights of the entire Ring Cycle. Lepage certainly did not disappoint. Here we are introduced to Grane, Brunnhilde's faithful steed she
gives as a parting gift to Siegfried. I
loved Grane, the concept of a sort of ghost horse, invisible except for it's
armour, striking and very effective.
His interaction with Siegfried on the skiff was beautiful and intimate,
giving the impression of a living being through it's natural movement,
expressing perfectly the bond between man and tamed beast.
Leading seemlessly into the Hall of the Gibichung, the abode
of the gormless Gunther and his timid sister Gutrune, Lepage's staging
effortlessly transformed into the first view we have of Mankind as
'civilised'. Scenically this was a
simple, yet effective use of wood grain to portray, in simple terms, man's
dominance over nature and his ability to subject it to his will. Larger than life statues of Wotan, Fricka
and Froh were placed in niches, reminding us that the Gods, while still
present, were merely given lip service in this new age of man, a fact
highlighted by Wagner himself when he describes the offerings due to each when
it is time for the impending nuptials later in the work.
As Gunther, Iain Paterson gave a vocally impressive and
convincing characterisation.
Effectively showing the character's growth from insipid half-brother to
the overbearing brute that is Hagen, here played by the larger than life
Hans-Peter Konig, to the leader of men who realises he has been cruelly
manipulated by his evil sibling.
Wendy Bryn-Harmer, in her third character appearance in this
cycle, was an alluring Gutrune, both vocally and physically. I liked her portrayal immensely, the subtext
here being that she was not necessarily an unwitting accomplice, as with her
brother Gunther, in the plot to bring down the greatest hero the world has yet
seen.
Hans-Peter Konig proves as Hagen why he is unparalleled as
the Wagnerian bass of this generation.
His sepulchral vocal colour perfect for the scheming son of Alberich,
matched by his superb acting skills and the way he uses his physical presence
to dominate each scene as appropriate to the score. This was a towering achievement, his previous experience in this
role evident in the depth he gave Hagen in the underlying violence simmering
beneath his barely controlled public veneer of civility.
I have always found the Gibichung scenes difficult to like,
but that is testament to Wagner's brilliant insight into human psychology more
than anything. To me it portrays the
ugly side of humanity in all of it's subtleties, it's varying shades of
grey. This trio of protagonists is a
fitting tribute to Wagner's purest intentions.
The arrival of Siegfried on his skiff with Grane was
beautifully staged, the projections of a pebbled shore gently buffeted by waves
as the hero and steed sailed into view, superbly realised. The potion scene was nicely done, as was the
oath and I loved the continuing allusion for the rest of the opera that
Siegfried was fighting an inner turmoil resulting from the potion's effect on
his memory and therefore the resulting outcome of events to unfold. As Siegfried and Gunther sailed off on their
conquest of Brunnhilde, Hans-Peter Konig's Hagen relished in his moment alone
guarding the palace, the depth of his wicked plan coloured perfectly by his
wonderous bass.
Transported back to a Brunnhilde waiting somewhat
impatiently for the return of her hero-husband, the visual transformations by
Video Image Artist Lionel Arnould, including the requisite lightning effects on
the approach of her Valkyrie sister Waltraute, were striking. In what is a very brief role in the scheme
of things, Waltraud Meier gave a star turn as the sister bent on defying her
father's orders in order to warn Brunnhilde of their father's decline and
acceptance of the end of the God's dominance on earth. She is a consummate artist, at the very
height of her career, possessing the rare gift of being able on inhabit every
facet of her characterisation, physically, vocally and histrionically, her
ability to convey that even Waltraute herself was not immune to the possessive
power of the ring was subtle but telling.
Deborah Voigt worked very well with Meier in this scene, and
even managed a respectable trill in their early exchange. Her voice is perfect for Brunnhilde at this
stage of her career, having the necessary weight coupled with a beautiful
timbre, she is convincing as an actress and the ensuing confusion resulting
from the Siegfried/Gunther deception wholly believable. Through her conviction here it is easy to
understand the concept of Woman as a prize of conquest, an object to be won and
the fact that we are talking about rape here, even though the text puts it in
rather quaint and sexist nineteenth century wording.
In Act 2 Alberich makes his final appearance of the cycle,
albeit as a vision dreamt by his son, Hagen, thereby reminding him, and the
audience, of the reason why he was fathered upon his mother in the first
place. Eric Owens, as the only protagonist
to appear in all four operas, was the epitomy of the evil dwarf, driven by lust
for the Rheingold and of the ring itself.
It is another very short appearance, but pivotal in it's reminder of his
original intent and very convincingly done.
The ensuing scene with appearance of the vanquished
Brunnhilde on the arm of Gunther and it's resulting conflicts was handled by
Lepage with great style. Voigt was
impeccable in her anguish and confusion at seeing Siegfried with Gutrune on his
arm and the ensuing confusion skillfully staged. The Metropolitan Opera Chorus, under the direction of Donald
Palumbo, in their first appearance in the entire Ring Cycle were enthusiastic,
particularly the men. The women were
especially sympathetic as is called for, notable in Act 3, however I found some
of the costuming for them particularly strange, I seem to recall seeing what
looked like a lime green pleated mini skirt in there somewhere, not one of
St-Aubin’s finest creations.
I loved the staging of the oath scene, Hagen a menacing
presence as he should be, towering over Brunnhilde and even Siegfried. Design-wise I thought the varying interiors
and exteriors of Act 2 most interesting, providing some visual variation to what
can be a somewhat static act and the final scene where Brunnhilde conspires
with Hagen and eventually Gunther, to bring about the death of our Hero was as
bitter as it should be.
Voigt’s high notes here were beautiful, pitch perfect. In all honesty it is refreshing to hear
Brunnhilde’s music sung with a steady voice, with nowhere near as much above
the stave pitchless warbling that seems to have afflicted sopranos in this
repertoire over the past decade or so.
She has been under intense scrutiny vocally in the last few years, many
critics complaining about a loss of tonal beauty and clarity of line and
admittedly she was in much better voice here than in Die Walkure. The Gotterdammerung Brunnhilde seems
to suit her voice better than the other two operas, she herself admitting in
the intermission that the Siegfried Brunnhilde lies rather high for
her. There were one or two swallowed
consonants in order to cope with the tessitura, however blame for this could be
squarely placed at the feet of Fabio Luisi’s rather fast and unyielding tempos,
especially in the conclusion of the love duet from the prologue and the
conclusion of Act 2.
Act 3 sees the return of the enticing Rhinemaidens,
deliciously flirty with Siegfried, the look on his face when he first
encounters them was priceless. As a
trio, Tamara Mumford as Flosshilde, Jennifer Johnson Cano as Wellgunde and Erin
Morley as Woglinde were exquisite, their voices a perfect blend of harmony and
their onstage antics beautifully staged, especially with their constant
movement on the severely raked stage, making much use of the projections of
rocks and waterfall.
The hunting party scene moved along briskly, the unfolding
drama helped by conductor Luisi’s pace in this case. Siegfried’s telling of his early days was rather poignant,
especially after a little narcotic assistance from Hagen’s potion of
remembrance. I found here that a little
bit of a slower pace would have helped in the evocation of the Waldweben
from Siegfried, and for the first time Jay Hunter Morris seemed to tire
slightly. He made up for this with some
very convincing acting, he is an impressive Siegfried, both physically and
vocally. His delivery of Brunnhilde,
Heilige Braut was heartbreaking and the following funeral march gorgeously
staged, paced here beautifully by both Lepage and Luisi. It was here that emotion overwhelmed me and
I have to admit I spent the rest of the opera in tears. Gunther washing his hands of Siegfried’s blood
in the Rhine was a masterstroke, especially in the visuals that followed,
somewhat literal but profoundly fitting and incredibly moving.
I have heard many differing views on Lepage’s staging of the
final moments, Brunnhilde’s great Immolation Scene. Personally I found it worked exceptionally
well, faithfull to the score and to Wagner’s intentions. It was great to see Grane return for his
final ride into mythology, any Immolation scene without him is seriously
missing something in my mind, considering Brunnhilde spends a good deal of time
singing to him. Deborah Voigt was
incredible in this scene, delivering a vocally triumphant reading of this
demanding 18 minutes. As she rode Grane
into the flames every hair on my body stood on end and the tears just kept on
coming.
The destruction of the statues of the God’s to symbolise the
fall of Valhalla and the true beginning of the Age of Man managed to avoid
cliche as well as direct comparison to the final moments of the Otto Schenk
production, which I find somewhat overblown.
This was a beautiful conclusion to Robert Lepage’s entire vision for the
cycle, and the return to the state of the stage at the opening bars of Das
Rheingold’s prelude perfectly encapsulated the theme of never ending cycles
of birth, death and renewal, that the slate has been wiped clean in order for
the entire process to begin anew.
All in all I thought this was one of the strongest in the
cycle, with Lepage concentrating more on character development and plot rather
than a dependence on designer Carl Fillion’s Machine and it’s ‘wow
factor’. The possibilities with this
production are endless and I think with time the concept will deepen even
further. This is a vision of Der
Ring des Nibelungen that stays with you long after the curtain has fallen
and the theatre, or in my case the cinema, is empty. Congratulations to the Met in staying true to their promise of
giving us a Ring for the 21st Century, balanced with Wagner’s original vision.
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