Bayreuth Festival Theater. Left Parkette. (Seat 15-8, 301 euros.)
Selfie inside the Theater.
Conductor - Simone Young. Wotan - Tomasz Konieczny, Donner - Nicholas Brownlee, Froh - Mirko Roschkowski, Loge - John Daszak, Fricka - Christa Mayer, Freia - Christine Nilsson, Erda - Okka von der Damerau, Alberich - Olafur Sigurdarson, Mime - Ya-Chung Huang, Fasolt - Jens-Erik Aasba, Fafner - Tobias Kehrer, Woglinde - Evelin Novak, Wellgunde - Natalia Skrycka, Flosshilde - Marie Henriette Reinhold.
I don't remember how long I have known about this summer festival at Bayreuth dedicated to Wagner's operas. It was never on my radar screen as there was this waiting list that one had to get on for up to 10 years before one could buy tickets. During our 2022 visit to this area of Germany, we did take the train in from Nuremberg and visited the Theater - theater grounds, actually.
The COVID pandemic changed many things. Last year there was this article about how many (classical) music festivals were suffering, including Bayreuth which would offer tickets to those not on the waiting list. The process - which I never noted down and is thus reconstructed from memory - was there was a day after which people could apply for the tickets by filling an application form, those not successful could try in real-time on a later date. My first application wasn't successful, and on the real-time sale date I was first put in a "waiting room" after I logged in, and after 30 minutes or so let into the digital box office.
We had decided earlier on that the only tickets we would want would be for one of two Ring cycles on offer this year. Long story short, I succeeded in snagging two seats for Ring II, at 295 euros per ticket, plus a processing fee of 6 euros each. The seats are quite good from looking at the seating plan. (Having sit in the actual seats, I must say some small part of the stage is blocked. So far - after seeing three performances - not a lot happen in that space.)
Then I read the reviews of prior years' ring cycles with the same production. From what I can tell the storyline was completely different, and the reviewers reported considerable booing afterwards, with most of the displeasure directed at Valentin Schwarz, the new director. Also, the Festival is for Wagner traditionalists who are supposed to know the music so well that no surtitles are necessary - not even in German.
In earlier posting I had recorded getting a Metopera subscription, and sitting through the two Ring cycles at that website. That may help with following the overall plot as the operas progress, but not much can be done about the new storyline. As there would not be any changes to the music, one wonders how that would work. Instead of Valkyries gathering up dead heroes, we have women comparing notes after plastic surgeries with gestures but singing about fallen heroes. How well would that work?
I am finalizing this review after having seen three of the operas already, so some of the observations in this blog were made afterwards, and probably will put in more changes as the cycle progresses. Perhaps one could write an overall blog entry after the Ring completion; but that's highly unlikely.
First, a bit about the story. What I knew from reading the reporting and reviews on this production is that it's about a dysfunctional family, and instead of gold we have a baby (that's how I remembered it). With that in mind, I could follow most of the opera. It would be difficult not to bring back the scenes as Wagner envisioned them, though. (Also true during subsequent operas.)
During the orchestral introduction, twin fetuses were projected on the screen, with one attacking the other. I assume the victim died as blood came out of the umbilical cord, and attributed this to German productions' tendency to program unnecessarily hard-edged elements into their productions. The Program Book (which I bought at Bayreuth and didn't open until after the first opera) describes Wotan and Alberich as twins that fought before they were born, and that sibling jealousy would fuel much of the animosity in the series. No more gods and Nibelungs. Not to mention how this would mess up many other relationships, which are improbable to start with.
The scenes in the opera are described as Scene 1: Dawn - "Revenge of the Second One;" Scene 2: Early morning - "Quid Pro Quo;" Scene 3: Lunchtime in the nursery - "Illusions;" Scene 4: Back in the atrium - "To Protect Property or Propriety." Perhaps out of principle I am not going to give the new story more space than necessary, but I do want to mention that the gold is replaced by a boy (not baby) in this version (and he may well be Hagen in Gotterdammerung, we shall see).
I have a few major problems with this sort of retelling. Most fundamental one is the music and lyrics remain the same. So the word "Rheingold" was used often, and we didn't see any gold! Why would the architects Fafner and Fasolt ever take a boy as payment instead of the Freia? (One could think very dark thoughts with this.) The Program explains the boy as a possible successor of the architects. Not only is that incredible, it is not even supported by the words being sung. I wonder how easy it is to say something while doing something else: a question that is always in the back of my mind.
Another problems is the highlights and climaxes we look forward to disappear, and more often than not are not replaced by new ones in the new story. The tarhelm/snake/toad scene always brings a chuckle to the audience, here Wotan and Loge simply trick Alberich to let go of his machine gun. The piling of the gold to cover Freia is suspenseful, here the giants simply noticed the fake boy (it should have been obvious as it was a girl as the fake). Perhaps okay if we are trading up in story line, but hard to justify as the new story is even less compelling, with a plot full of gaps. The Ring comes full circle in the original story, I wonder how that would work here.
Some reviewers praise the technique of having characters already embedded in the story before they reveal themselves. Erda worked as a maid in the Wotan household - head maid, perhaps, as her uniform is different. She reveals herself by dropping a tray of glasses. Certainly as dramatic as some ghost rising from the earth. I say it also explains why she gives birth to these nine valkyries, with Wotan the father. A master having an affair with the help is quite believable.
I have said before great operas begin with great music. That's what saved the day. From the very beginning I sensed something magical would happen in that area, and I was correct. I don't know if that's the acoustics, or the musicians. In this case I will embrace the power of "and." One can find references in the web on how Wagner designed the theater in such a way that the orchestra's location pushes the sound of the voices forward, and that the orchestra pit is so deep that it is out of sight completely. Orchestra musicians are from the best German orchestras (and there are many). The original scheduled conductor was Philip Jordan; we had seen one Metopera Ring he conducted. He withdrew, and Simone Young was appointed. Today's performance certainly sounded better than all my prior live Das Rheingold experiences (it would hold true for Die Walkure as well). As far as I know, there is no voice enhancement system in use. How do all the voices sound so clear? Wotan was particularly impressive; all the other characters did well too.
As to the opera house acoustics: if that was possible with a design over 100 years ago, why aren't more opera venues designed with the same philosophy?
I could get a photo of the set when the curtain reopened after the performance was over. In the front are (from the left) Rheinmaidens, Mime, Loge, Alberich, Fricka, Fasolt, Fafner, Erda, Freia, Donner, and Froh.
Simone Young joined in the curtain call.
I had worried that I would find the series difficult to sit through, but was still looking forward to the "suffering" for the experience. That worry is now gone (confirmed by having also seen Die Walkure and Siegried). I had no trouble keeping awake, even after a rather eventful journey from NJ, and the time zone difference.
The performance started (promptly) at 6 pm, and lasted till around 8:30 pm. We had eaten some sushi bought from ALDI at around 2 pm, and made some wraps to eat after we got back to the hotel.
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