I attended this last Wednesday at English National Opera.
I had to, really, seeing that I had previously attended The Rhinegold, The Valkyrie and Siegfried.
I am not entirely sure what to write. The synopsis is available at the comprehensive but-with-unreliable-availability Met Opera site. This opera is generally known as Götterdämmerung, but because ENO performs everything in English, they also translate the titles of the operas, except for those with Proper Names eg Siegfried.
I had a fundamental problem in that I know this opera slightly, especially its best bleeding chunks. If I see an entirely unfamiliar opera, I can reflect a gut instinct reaction from first principles. If I know it reasonably or very well, I can make intelligent comments about the interpretation, musical, singing and staging. But knowing it slightly is actually a handicap that I'm working on. As I write I am listening to the version I got for my birthday - the "Solti Ring". By the time I see it at the Royal Opera this time next year I also expect to have got the Met DVD in the "A Season of Opera on DVD" series that is making my shelves increasingly groan.
There is another problem is that I go to operas, concerts, films etc primarily to enjoy myself. So I could write review that says "I enjoyed myself." But I see little point in that. As people become more experienced they are able - and want - to see more and more faults. Part of me thinks this an affected attitude and intellectual snobbery, but another part acknowledges anybody's right to search for perfection and express disappointment when, inevitably, they don't find it.
Less of the meta-ness, what was the goddamm opera like?
Patchy, I think is the best way to describe it.
Overall, the music as written contains some of the most glorious music that Wagner wrote, and, actually, Ride of the Valkyries apart, two of the most famous - Siegfried's Rhine Journey and Siegfried's Funeral, both of which have been known to appear on Compilation albums. Throughout, I felt comfortable with the orchestra - always at least adequate, often good and as it reached its conclusion, deeply impressive, under the baton of Paul Daniel.
I found the Prologue hard work, with the Norns just sitting there and
narrating something entirely unintelligible. It didn't seem to bear any relationship to how we'd seen them in Act 3 of Siegfried, in the old folks' home, replete with fire extinguishers. In fact, there was a definite lack of fire extinguishers. Obviously symbolic, but I would have actually liked fire extinguishers.
This is where Opera in English falls down. In German, as it will be at ROH, we would have got surtitles. For a narration, it is actually quite important to know what's being said. Some of this may be down generally to poor diction, but I think there is an inherent inevitability of it.
We are shown a scene of Siegfried and Brunnhilde in domestic bliss, in a cute Wild West setting, which had a similar problem, diction, and, despite the nice setting, a distinct lack of action. Then Siegfried set off on his Rhine Journey. I really liked the idea of this staging, against a video backdrop. I thought it made sense, but, I have to say, being a little bit of a fan of 3-D IMAX-type simulation of movement and speed, I thought the idea could have been developed a bit more. I thought that Richard Berkeley Steele thought he looked a bit of a prat, hence he looked a bit of a prat.
I found that I got a bit bored in Act I in Gibichung Hall, indeed, I even managed to do a bit of catching up with my sleep. The staging was dull, and, on the whole, the words were unintelligible. Things bucked up a bit when Waltraute, hot foot from Valhalla visits Brunnhilde on her rock. I thought this was wonderful - Waltraute, like the other Valkyries, dressed like Siouxsie Sioux, incredibly sexy, and poor old downtrodden Brunnhilde in her pinny.
After two hours we lurched blinking into the sunlight, for a forty minute interval, after which the house got a lot fuller as people came in from work. I felt a 4pm start was way too early.
Act 2 featured a wedding scene. This is really quite glorious, especially when the vassals are summoned. The music is great - I have a theory that some of Wagner's choruses, especially this and the Pilgrims' Chorus from Tannhauser are deeply influenced by the Welsh Male Voice Choir. they arrived all in black, together with an arsenal of Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles. Not sure why, but it was awe-inspiring.
The wedding feast was brightly coloured and enjoyable, and then, after another interval, a bit shorter, we were set for the denouement of the entire Ring.
Act 3 opened, with the hunting party which led to the death of Siegfried - Wagner had originally written an opera called Siegfried's Death, but realised that there was so much backstory he ended up writing three more in order to explain it.
I felt from this moment of, a patchy evening turned into something special. Throughout, I had noticed the music rather than the orchestra (don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing or merely a thing), but from then on I really noticed the different elements of the band - timpani in particular - and thought that musically that final section was as good as anything I've heard at ENO.
I'd read a lot about the suicide bomber symbolism, and, wisely, decided to reserve judgement until I saw it. Zoe Williams in the Guardian wrote that "but the explosive scene has been considered
blundering and insensitive." Not that she had actually seen it, and I regard that as a very good example of why people should not attempt a
critique - and get paid for it, for god's sake - without actually seeing what they're criticising. It worked. It wasn't crass, or blundering, or insensitive. It was a fairly logical explanation of how one can destroy oneself and take the world with one - although as someone pointed out to me after I posted that comment elsewhere, it wasn't the world she was destroying, but Valhalla.
I loved the way that the stage just transformed itself with quivering strands of material. Theatrically, possibly the very best bit of the entire ENO Ring, along with the Pole Dancing Rhinemaidens, who made their return in this, and the Siegfried Love Duet and the Ride of the Valkyries.
But I thought in Rheingold and again in this that it was somewhat marred by one of the Rhinemaidens simply not having the elegance and poise of the other two and actually struggling with some of the leg movements. I know that singers should be cast for their ability to sing, but I would have thought that for a slightly-dancing part, an ability to slightly-dance would be a definite requirement.
The reappearance of the flashing paparazzi also made sense, alluding
back to the scene as they crossed to Valhalla which reminded me of
Eviction Night on Big Brother. But I think some earlier references were overlooked. The use of the orange boiler suits in Rheingold, and a veiled Sieglinde all had a link to Brunnhilde the Suicide Bomber, but I just wonder whether this could have been made more coherent.
There has been criticism of the kitchen sink nature of this Ring. I
guess it illustrated very well the 'human nature' aspect. I suppose
people would argue that the fantasy element acts as an allegory to the human nature aspect. I've never been into 'fantasy' of that nature - whether in fiction, or gaming, or films or whatever, so a more humanistic version makes it more enjoyable for (accessible to?) me.
The musical highlight of the evening was the Funeral March and the absolute finale. As the last notes died away, the audience held a spellbound, breathtaking hush. None of this childishly attention-seeking "look at me, I'm the first to applaud..."
When, if, they do a Cycle, I'm definitely going to be up for it. Of the four, I thought The Valkyrie the weakest, although I was really not well when I saw it. And I could do without Robert Hayward as Wotan/Wanderer.
I think the productions used the stage brilliantly; the orchestra
generally seemed to take a while to warm up. But on the whole,
enjoyable. I like to go and enjoy myself in a really shallow wallowy
way, and I did.
Singing wise, Gidon Saks was outstanding as Hagen. Kathleen Broderick was lovely as Brunnhilde. To be honest, her words are barely intelligible but I'm prepared to forgive her this because of every other aspect of her performance, especially her elfin-like vulnerability and I would love to see her in a German-with-surtitles production. Richard Berkeley-Steele had been very impressive in Siegfried, less so, but good enough in this.
It finished at half past nine, which I thought was ridiculously early, although the chap sitting next to me prefers an early finish because he has to get back to the sticks. The previous week he had been at Lulu and had just missed a train and didn't get home until quarter to two.
Conclusion - Wagner takes a bloody long time to tell a bloody good story. Much of the music is fabulous - great tunes, lush orchestration. He uses leitmotifs a lot - a phrase that represents something eg the ring, or Valhalla, or Nothung, or Love, and over a hundred other things or concepts. It's nice to hear them repeat, and serious Ringophiles know each leitmotif and what it represents. I wouldn't recommend sitting down and learning that in isolation, because I'm beginning to learn that by osmosis.
The moral of the story - greed destroys. It's love that matters. Unfortunately, those that also love are also destroyed.
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