13895 Wagner News 174 - Wagner Society of England

DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN AT NEW YORK METROPOLITAN OPERA
5th -12th May 2012
Richard Miles
This is a stunning production. The singing was uniformly superb, the only doubt for me
being whether Deborah Voigt really has the vocal heft of a true Brünnhilde. Katarina
Dalayman (who stood in for her in Siegfried) sang with less beauty but more drama and
audibility, particularly in the lower notes. Bryn Terfel was excellent – perhaps a little
reined in in Rheingold but powerful and angry in Walküre and Siegfried. He may not quite
have the dramatic stage presence of some of his predecessors, but he is an excellent
Wotan overall. Stuart Skelton (who had sung Erik in The Flying Dutchman at ENO two
days before) was a more than adequate stand-in for Jonas Kaufmann. Stephanie Blythe
(Fricka) was imperious and magnificent. Hans-Peter König was superb as Fafner,
Hunding and, in particular, Hagen.
Providing a very effective set, the much talked-about ’Machine’ is a 45 ton panel
occupying the full width and height of the stage, divided into 24 vertical sections, flat on
the front & shallowly pitched at the back, like the roof of a Swiss chalet. The whole thing
can be raised and lowered, and rotated (collectively or section by section) to the
horizontal, or through the full 360 degrees. With very effective lighting and projected
images, this can deliver a wall (with or without a doorway), a roof; a floor; a forest; a
mountain; the Rhine (which Gunther stains red washing his hands after Siegfried's
murder), the gorge descending into Nibelheim, any other settings required. The scenes
change naturally with the music, sometimes providing the odd creak in competition. It is
hard to imagine a more effective and economical way of delivering Wagner’s stage
directions. Only occasionally was this overdone, as when Siegmund’s narrative was
enacted by shadow figures projected on to the scenery above him. Combined with
excellent acting this staging clearly illuminated the protagonists' dilemmas and states of
mind. As a result the subtleties of motivation and plot were unusually easy to follow.
The only negative for me was that certain key points lacked drama, such as the
fight between Siegmund and Hunding (which admittedly has too much going on in too
little time to be easy to stage effectively), and the killing of Fafner – a friendly monster
from a children's TV programme rather than the terrifying supernatural beast suggested
by the music. The fire around the sleeping Brünnhilde was rather less effective than real
flames and the final fall of the Gods at the end was (visually at least) an anticlimax.
More disturbing were some horrible school-orchestra-style missed notes in the
brass section, which ruined musical highlights such as the illumination of Nothung in
Walküre, and the climax of Siegfried and Brünnhilde's duet at the beginning of
Götterdämmerung. Just how integral the music (and indeed a few notes played on one
instrument) is to Wagner's drama is clearly revealed when something goes as wrong as
this. Really inexcusable, especially as it was not an isolated lapse.
It was surprising that the Met was unable to secure the services of a single
conductor for all four operas (Fabio Luisi for Rheingold and Walküre; Derrick Inouye for
Siegfried; John Keenan for Götterdämmerung). Although there was nothing wrong with
their conducting, this gave a disjointed feel to the whole Cycle. Despite the niggles, this
is a great and triumphant Ring which everyone who gets the chance to do so should see.
You can read the full version of this review at www.wagnersociety.org
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