Reviewing Wagner’s Gotterdammerung, conducted by James Levine at the 1997 Bayreuth Festival, with Deborah Polaski as Brunnhilde, Wolfgang Schmidt as Siegfried, Eric Halfvarson as Hagen, and Hanna Schwartz as Waltraute. Staged by Alfred Kirchner, with sets and costume design by Rosalie. On DVD. Watch a video preview of the Immolation scene.
For a 90-minute bicycle ride, I chose Pietro Mascagni’s 1890 opera, Cavalleria Rusticana to provide the right sort of distraction to accompany a boring, but regrettably necessary task. To my chagrin, some Mascagni lunatics got wind of my less than flattering perception of this hoary score, and requested the “right of rebuttal”; I quote this odious phrase, as an example of their impenetrable legalese.
There are at least two moments of indisputable greatness in Wagner’s Tannhauser: The act 2 intervention by Elizabeth to save Tannhauser’s life from the likes of Biterolf and his cruel and cowardly cohorts, and Tannhauser’s act 1 epiphany in the valley of the Wartburg, with the unforgettable, immortal counterpoint of the shepherd boy’s lovely melody, fresh as May: “Der Mai! Der Mai!”
Updated on Thu, Aug 23, 2007 at 08:30 by
John Gibbons
A delightful development in the world of opera dvds has occurred. Two (!) versions of Paul Hindemith’s 1926 opus, Cardillac have recently appeared. I make the assumption that even serious opera fans may not be acquainted with this fascinating piece, except in Germany. Maybe there are old records of Hans Rosbaud or Otto Klemperer conducting it, I haven’t looked. I assume there are cds of the work… Arkiv probably has some.
The various plights of Bizet’s Micaela, Puccini’s Liu, any of Verdi’s Leonoras or Gildas (but emphatically not his greatest heroine, Violetta), and (for those unintimidated by the awesomeness of Wagner’s Parsifal), Kundry, inspire something less than intense emotional engagement. Now take a look at the baddies. Carmen, Turandot, Princess Eboli, Azucena, Amneris…each and everyone of these characters (give or take an aria or two, allowing for listener’s differing musical taste) has better music and is more human than the heroines.
Puccini is relatively immune to the phenomenon of Regietheatre because his scene settings are irresistable. Roman dawns, Seine twilights, and miner’s cabins in the mountains (complete with sterotypical indians) are good enough for anybody, it appears.
Updated on Thu, Mar 6, 2008 at 05:54 by
John Gibbons
According to the NY Times for Tuesday, July 31, Katharina Wagner’s new production of Die Meistersinger for the Bayreuth Festival featured topless dancers, complete male nudity, plastic phalluses, and “a bizzare auto da-fe” In the third act. My wife related to me a production (this one?) that had Hans Sachs made up as Hitler. One doesn’t have to have seen the particular production to comment. We’ve all seen eurotrash productions. For years I’ve vacillated back and forth about the validity of such productions. I’ve been reluctant to condemn this sort of thing outright out of cowardice (just like many, many critics), a reluctance to appear to be a close-minded reactionary. But enough is enough. Some operas may potentially benefit from deconstructionst treatment, and some you should leave strictly alone. Here’s a partial list.
