Sunday, October 7, 2012

At least there are no rats in this one – Jonas Kaufmann & Anja Harteros in Lohengrin


In her blog, Likely ImpossibilitiesZerbinetta noted that Richard Jones' Lohengrin "...features an absolutely exquisite musical performance with compelling lead singers." She went on to add that the production "…is an interesting failure with a few too many nifty ideas that never really develop." At Opera Ramblings, John felt more positive about it, commenting, “The Personenregie seems almost obsessively detailed and…the acting is first class."

The duet from the final act apparently features the most "traditional" costuming. The singing here is magnificent. I have not seen the entire production yet, but I have read many not-so-positive reviews. It would be an interesting research project to see which production people hated the most: this one or Hans Neuenfels' (the one with the rats mice) version at Bayreuth.

On another note, given Anja Hartero’s low ratio of appearances to engagements, the audience was fortunate that she showed up to sing. We are fortunate too, as she and Jonas Kaufmann sound marvelous! Here, in two sections, is a large chunk of Lohengrin and Elsa's Act 3 duet:

Part 1: Das süße Lied verhallt 



Part 2: Atmest du nicht?


Jonas Kaufmann sings Im Fernen Land.



(Corrected 10/13/2012 – Those are mice at Bayreuth–black, white, & pink mice–not rats.)

Update: 12/15/2012 - I just watched it again. I think they really are rats. Everyone, including JK, refers to them as rats.


1 comment:

  1. This is a personal favorite which I watch over and over.

    ReplyDelete

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