The Rush to Judgement – A Reflection Sparked by 2018 Bayreuth

An excerpt from the latest Bayreuth Lohengrin provoked critical comments from opera fans. We know there are many who are willing to criticize a production sight-unseen. Others will reserve judgement till they at least see photos or maybe a 5-minute video.

My readers know by now that I will argue that it’s not fair to pass judgement on a performance without seeing/hearing/experiencing the whole thing.

With most "non-traditional" stagings, it's very hard to grasp a production from excerpts. (Granted, this Lohengrin bit is a nice long excerpt.) Neuenfels' Lohengrin just seems gimmicky if you only see one scene, aria, or chorus; but it made sense (to me) once I watched it through. Decker's Traviata (like it or not) makes a lot more sense when you see it from start to finish, rather than just the Brindisi. And, (one of my unsung—so to speak—favorites) Richard Jones' Boheme from Bregenz (2002) kind of weirded me out until I saw the whole thing.

All we are saying is, “Give (the) Piece a Chance.”

P.S. At this moment, while writing about Lohengrin, I'm listening to a stream of Die Meistersinger, and experiencing what my granddaughter would call "cognitive dissonance" (even though I am pretty certain she's not quite sure what cognitive dissonance means!)

Tristan und Isolde in HD – I love you so much I could die!

Stuart Skelton and Nina Stemme as Tristan und Isolde

This post/review of the Met in HD performance of Tristan und Isolde is a slightly expanded (and better proof-read) version of a comment I posted at The Earworm's review of last Monday night's performance. 

I enjoyed the Met broadcast on Saturday. I have to confess it’s my first time sitting straight through Tristan und Isolde; and I found myself drifting a bit during Act 3. That said, I confirmed my conviction that you really just need to “give in” to Wagner’s pace; let time stand still, as it were; and the piece doesn’t seem quite as long as it really is.

All of the singing was glorious; but I wished for better acting from Tristan and Kurwenal (and less barkiness from K). I find I have a tendency to close my eyes during these broadcasts, not because I don't want to see the scenery or the singer but because it allows me to wallow in the sheer sound of both voice and orchestra! Nina Stemme...well, she's awesome; I do need to open my eyes when she sings, because she also is an engaging actor. Stewart Skelton and Ekaterina Gubanova also sang beautifully; and of course René Pape is in a class of his own as King Marke. Really, everyone sang well. 

I was not bothered by the updated setting, though the set was nothing if not dreary. For me, the cargo ship setting enhanced the feeling of Isolde being kidnapped. The sailors menacing the women was creepy but appropriate. A little part of me wanted Isolde to be a bit dressier; but, her dress and demeanor accentuated the “captive” aspect.

Gratuitous Mattias Goerne Tannhäuser Clip

Sigh!  That's all.  Just: Sigh!

OK, you know me. I do have more to say. I initially purchased this album only because Dorothea Röschmann sings on three tracks (I posted two of them a while back). It's good go back and rediscover these gems! Overall I am not thrilled with the conducting on the Mozart, but when I skipped over to the Wagner...well, this is what a friend of mine would call schmalzando, especially the playout (after MG, sadly, stops singing).

Please enjoy this bit of Tuesday Tannhäuser (even though it's probably already Wednesday for most of my readers!)

Gratuitous Friday – JK to Appear in Meistersinger (but not till 2016)

Wow! Talk about antici-    pation!

Here's a preview of the new Meistersinger starring Jonas Kaufmann (and probably some other singers, too...) at the Bayerische Staatsoper. The new production will debut in May 2016. At least the interviews are thoughtfully subtitled auf English! I am sure we'll have a Staatsoper.tv opportunity to see this from afar, but they haven't (as far as I know) published the 2015/2016 broadcast schedule yet. 

Meanwhile we do still have the (apparently quite bizarre, but it's hard to beat the singing) Manon Lescaut to look forward to this summer:

July 31, 2015, 7.30 p.m. (C.E.T.)
Giacomo Puccini: Manon Lescaut

Gratuitous Friday – Matthias Goerne Sings Wotan's Farewell

In my never-ending search for more recordings of Matthias Goerne, I came across this (audio only) excerpt from a 2013 concert with the San Francisco Symphony. While I'm not sure Christoph Eschenbach is my Wagner conductor of choice, I have no complaints about Herr Goerne’ gorgeous singing!

Gratuitous Friday – Peter Mattei is Wolfram

Happy Friday!

Gratis Lohengrins for Gratuitous Friday (In Case You're too Cheap...)

...to pay for the Wiener Staatsoper webcast today, here are a few other complete Lohengrins to keep you busy over the weekend:

One from Munich:

The recent Guth version from La Scala:

An earlier Wiener Staatsoper production:

...and a (literally) dark production from Paris:

Live Lohengrin aus Wien am Freitag

Live this Friday from Vienna:

It's a new production of Lohengrin; it's pay per view; and it's available in prime time—no matter where you live. (I think I just sprained my brain). 

Actually, it's live in Vienna at 5 PM, making it live in New York at around 11 AM (if I am calculating my Daylight Savings Time correctly). However, you can arrange see a delayed transmission in any time zone you want. Those innovative Austrians! 

Here is the link to the Wiener Staatsoper's website. And here's who we have to thank for this new production:

Günther Groissböck | Heinrich der Vogler

Klaus-Florian Vogt | Lohengrin

Camilla Nylund | Elsa von Brabant

Wolfgang Koch | Friedrich von Telramund

Michaela Martens | Ortrud

Detlef Roth | Heerrufer

Mikko Franck | Conductor

Andreas Homoki | Director

Wolfgang Gussmann | Stage and costume design

Franck Evin | Light Design

Werner Hintze | Dramaturgie

Thomas Bruner | Bühnenbildmitarbeit

Carl-Christian Andreasen | Kostümmitarbeit

Popular Demand? Wagner and Schubert from Ö1

Two of my more obscurer posts seem to have attracted a lot of attention, most likely due to some spamming a few weeks ago. But attention breeds attention, so these two posts have jumped to the top of my "most viewed" list. See over there to your right?

Well, those Ö1 posts are pretty time-sensitive. They're only held in archive for a week. But sometimes, some enterprising music fan captures these broadcasts. Just sayin'...

So...here, in order of popularity, are those two broadcasts:

Three Hours of the 2013 Bayreuth Ring on Ö1 Radio

Die Schöne Mullerin Sing-off – Nine Tenors in 90 Minutes

Happy Listening!

Three Hours of the 2013 Bayreuth Ring on Ö1 Radio

Catherine Foster as Brünnhilde @Bayreuth

Last Saturday, Ö1 Radio presented about three hours' worth of substantial chunks from the latest Bayreuth Ring Cycle. (The complete operas were/are available here and there from previous complete broadcasts.)

(For an archived recording of this broadcast, click here.) 

The performances feature Catherine Foster as Brünnhilde, Johan Botha as Siegmund,  Wolfgang Koch as Wotan/Wanderer, Lance Ryan as Siegfried, and Anja Kampe as Sieglinde, and others.

Of course, we'd love to see it, but while we wait (maybe in vain) for the videos, this might tide us over. Ö1 archived this program in its 7 Tage Ö1 archive, which means we have just a few more days to listen. (I was in such a hurry to post this, I forgot to add the link, so here it is again, just to be sure!)

The Otterphile – AsvO Sings the Wesendoncks (Encore)

This is Anne Sofie von Otter's performance of Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder with Marc Minkowski from last spring. I originally posted about this concert back then. It's no longer available at medici.tv, but some kind soul posted it for us at the Toob, so we can enjoy it all over again. This clip even includes her encore of the final song, Träume. 

And as a bonus, here is an even more recent performance of the Wesendoncks with Paavo Järvi and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, recorded in June 2013. I think this Träume may be even better than the two above!

Bad News/Good News from Washington National Opera

Dear WNO patron,

Deborah Voigt, originally scheduled to perform the role of Isolde in Tristan and Isolde September 15–27, has regrettably withdrawn from the production.

Internationally renowned Swedish soprano Iréne Theorin will sing the performances on September 15, 18, 21, and 24. Acclaimed British soprano Alwyn Mellor will sing the final performance on September 27.

So. I am bummed about not seeing Deborah Voigt live and in person (even if only from the cheap seats); but somehow, I just had a feeling she might withdraw (or maybe I heard a rumor). And I am thrilled to get to see and hear Iréne Theorin! 

Below is Theorin's Liebestod from Bayreuth.

EZ-Pass to Herheim's Meistersinger

If, like me, you are having a difficult time (particularly in the U.S) accessing this performance of Die Meistersinger at 3sat.de TV (and/or keeping it from freezing), some enterprising soul posted it You-Know-Where. Thanks to La Cieca for the tip. 

It's rumored that this production soon will be coming to the Metropolitan Opera. This announcement, in connection with the name Stefan Herheim, has already ruffled the delicate sensibilities of some regie-0-phobes. Not surprisingly, the outrage exploded before anyone has heard much about the actual production, much less actually seen and heard it. What I’ve seen so far doesn’t look nearly as freaky as, say, Herheim’s Parsifal or La Boheme; in general, I find Herheim's Personenregie thorough and convincing; so far so good, here. 

Act 1

Sunday Brunch – Christian Gerhaher is Wolfram

William R. Braun recently wrote in his review of the Marek Janowski Tannhäuser in Opera News: 

Gerhaher must be tired of constant comparison to the impeccable performances of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, but the way he has apparently thought about every vowel sound he sings in the entire opera, and his ability to sing the three notes of a major triad perfectly in tune, make this point of reference unavoidable. 

Incidentally, the MP3 download at Amazon.com of this Tannhäuser is a great deal – $9.49 for the entire opera. Robert Dean Smith and Nina Stemme also star. Here is Herr Gerhaher (say that out loud – it's fun) singing the famous "Evening Star" aria from this recording:

Tiny Tidbits of Troubling Tannhäuser – News Clips of the Cancelled Opera

Finally! A glimpse of the terrifying, troubling Tannhäuser from Dusseldorf; unfortunately these are really, really brief TV-news items (less than a minute each.) Still, it's better than nothing! At least we get to see a tiny bit of what was so shocking to the Germans. But I still think it's wrong to condemn it before seeing a bit more of the production!

Plácido Domingo (und Freundinnen) auf der Freilichtbühne Loreley

Last night at the Freilichtbühne Loreley in Germany, Plácido Domingo held forth for a pleasant evening concert of opera excerpts, mostly Verdi and Wagner (I wonder how they came up with that program idea?) 

With him were two young up-and-coming American sopranos, whose careers he has been championing lately. The program kicks off with a rough-n-ready Meistersinger Prelude. You can see it for a few months on Arte LiveWeb.

Gratuitous Friday – Kaufmann Sings Wagner (what? again!?)

A few weeks ago I published a notice about the radio broadcast of the Wagner birthday concert in Dresden. At the end of the post I wrote: 

There's also a video at liveweb.arte.de ...I'm sure [someone] will get it out to a broader audience soon.

Of course, it was actually already there on YT. Here are the three Jonas Kaufmann excerpts from that concert: 

Allmächt'ger Vater, blick' herab! (Rienzi)

Gratuitous Anja Kampe Post – Der Fliegende Holländer in Amsterdam

Anja Kampe really is Senta these days (and Seglinde now and then.) BBC Radio 3 broadcast her 2009 Holländer from the ROH last week. And the Bayrische Staatsoper featured her in their video webcast last month. 

This Fliegende Holländer is a concert version from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam on Sunday May 26, broadcast on hr2-kultur Radio. Andris Nelsons led soloists, choruses, and the Concertgebouw Orchestra. 

I managed to catch Acts 2 & 3 of the broadcast, and here is Senta's Ballad—dramatic, tender, haunted, manic, beautiful. The full concert is available at Radio 4, Netherlands. Below the clip is the full cast list. 

Wagner Birthday Concert with Kaufmann, Thielemann, and the Dresden Staatskapelle

From 27 May to 2 June 2013, MDR FIGARO in concert is looping a Wagner 200^th Birthday concert from the Dresden Frauenkirche. 

"On the eve of Wagner's birthday, Christian Thielemann conducted overtures and great tenor scenes from Wagner's operas. He was joined by Jonas Kaufmann, “one of the most sought after Wagner tenors of our time.” [ed. - That's putting it mildly!] In memoriam Hans Werne Henze, the Staatskapelle performed Henze's Fraternité – Air pour l'orchester."

Wagner 200: The Flying Dutchman @ BBC Radio 3 – Anja Kampe and Bryn Terfel

Wagner 200: The Flying Dutchman

BBC Radio 3 recently broadcast the 2009 Royal Opera House production of The Flying Dutchman, starring Bryn Terfel as the ghostly sea captain and Anja Kampe as Senta (both shown at left). 

Andrew Clements of The Guardian said Terfel's ...performance is mesmerising – hauntingly well-sung..." and Fiona Maddocks (also at The Guardian) noted, "Anja Kampe's Senta— nervy, intense, powerful in high fortissimo passages, tenderly inflected and sinuously acted—was outstanding."

The recording is available for about 3 more days.

Wagner: Derfliegende Höllander (The Flying Dutchman)

The Dutchman ..... Bryn Terfel (baritone)
Senta ..... Anja Kampe (soprano)
Daland ..... Hans-Peter Konig (bass)
Erik ..... Torsten Kerl (tenor)
Steersman ..... John Tessier (tenor)
Mary ..... Clare Shearer (soprano)
Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Marc Albrecht, conductor