The La Scala Lohengrin – I think I may be in love with Annette Dasch (Sort of an Actual Review)

Watching Annette Dasch's Milan Elsa—similarly bewildered as her Bayrueth Elsa but more girlish—I thought, “I really love this girl.” Elsa von Bayreuth is already set up as a martyr, and one feels distanced from her. But Elsa di Milano is more of a dreamy, innocent girl; she seriously doesn’t know what she’s getting in to. Elsa's fascination is not romantic love at all to me. She's intrigued. She's attracted. It's like she just found a puppy (a really, really cute puppy). When it dawns on her that Lohengrin might really be Gottfried, (and egged on by Ortrud) she just has to find out. 

Sometimes I wonder how Ortrud gets into Elsa’s head so quickly (well, she is a sorceress, but…) Here, she’s clearly already had influence over Elsa for some time. Usually when I watch Lohengrin, I hope that this time, Elsa will back off, learn to trust Lohengrin, and live happily ever after (I am an eternal optimist, and I suspend disbelief willingly and quickly). In this production I am not sure Lohengrin even exists outside Elsa’s mind—if he does, it seems he and Gottfried cannot coexist. Apparently Elsa can’t either. In some ways this opera is so tragic, and in other ways, I think “Well, that’s stupid!” 

Anyway, I am still not 100% sure about the (typically – and twitchily – Guthian) weirdness of this production, but this performance is so well-sung and excitingly conducted (and the singers are all so nice to look at) that I keep going back to it. Even the scene in the marsh doesn’t seem that out of place, when one thinks of Lohengrin as a untamed Animal—oh, I don't know—a swan, maybe?

Both Lohengrin and Elsa are more child-like than I have seen in other productions (other than the rather creepy Konwitschny production.)  JK is extra-appealing when he acts shy and tentative (Ariadne auf Naxos). Lohengrin is cat-like and cautious, unaccustomed to the world he has just fallen in to. Because Elsa already suspects from the start that Lohengrin really is Gottfried, she just has to confirm it. You can see the love, curiosity, fear, insecurity—her every emotion—in her face and in her body language. Their bridal chamber scene is so awkward and so believable. Neither of them is quite sure what to do but his instincts are clearly leading him on. Great job, Annette, singing so sweetly with JK on top of you! 

Telramund and Lohengrin battle.

Jonas Kaufmann just sings better and better (I want to just close my eyes and wallow in his tenor-osity; but then again, watching is nice too.) Annette Dasch is vocally at one with Elsa these days; and she really conveys Elsa’s youthful uncertainty. (When is her Eva in Meistersinger…or a sexy young Marschallin?) Rene Pape is considered luxury casting here, and he is a stern, solemn, royal, yet paternal King. Evelyn Herlitzius gets mixed reviews, but I really like her Ortrud a lot—a total b-tch with lung power. And for a change, we have a Telramund who sings more than he barks: the apparently indisposed Tómas Tómasson. (He has a few scary notes, but then again Telramund is a scary dude.) Daniel Barenboim brings bite and energy to the podium, and it feels like he is always right there with the singers. I have become a big fan of his Wagner, and of Wagner in general. I hope my office mates and flat mate don’t get tired of Lohengrin very  soon.

This video is no longer (as of 1/11/13) available on YouTube, but as I mentioned over the weekend, it is in a limited cinema release. Fingers crossed for the DVD, and I am sure it will reappear somewhere on the Net in the meantime. (The Ariadne video got pulled, too. Such is the lifespan of copyrighted material on YT.)

See? I barely mentioned JK at all! 

Related Links: 

Herr Kaufmann's Lohengrin Interview

Some reviews of the La Scala Lohengrin

Complete Lohengrin from La Scala

Jonas Kaufmann is Lohengrin – Coming Soon to a Theater Near You

Impressions from the Cinema

Gratuitous Friday – Jonas Kaufmann is Lohengrin