Bayreuth Festival Theater. Parkett Links (Seat 13-7, 301 euros).
End of performance. From left: Elsa in orange dress, Thielemann, Chorus master, Lohengrin, Ortrud, Telramund. The green man on the right is Gottfried.
Conductor - Christian Thielemann. Heinrich der Vogler - Mika Kares, Lohengrin - Piotr Beczala, Elsa von Brabant - Elza van den Heever, Friedrich von Telramund - Olafur Sigurdarson, Ortrud - Miina-Liisa Varela, Der Heerrufer des Konigs - Michael Kupfer-Radecky.
Compared to Meistersinger, Lohengrin is an action-packed opera. One has a damsel in distress (if one can still say that after Meistersinger), a hero brought in by a swan, and a sword fight where the winner spares the life of the loser. All that in a 60-minute Act 1. My first impression after Act 1, however, was that things were unfolding rather slowly - a view not shared by Anne, for the record. The synopsis for this opera from the Met Opera's website is not even one page long.
The second impression was this had a good dose of comedy written in it, which I am sure wasn't what the production team intended (or at least I hope not). How else would you explain this mock-up of a power station, or why they tried to kill Elsa by burning her while tied to a couple of insulators, with the firewood being lit by an electric blue torch? One would think electrocution would be more appropriate in such a setting (it's a comedy, so I am not being macabre). With the exception of Lohengrin, everyone has a pair of wings, to represent a crowd's tendency to swarm as a group (somewhere I read). A boxing ring was set up for the fight between Lohengrin and Telramund, which was clever. As the crowd began to gather, they completely blocked the view of the ring. Just as I was wondering how we could see the fight, the two (doubles no doubt) were brought in while suspended and fought; that was even more clever. The fight was over when Lohengrin broke off one of Telramund's wings. Anne thought it was funny, I thought it was comical. Lohengrin became one of "them" when they put a pair of wings on him. The long wings made him more a cicada, though.
In Act 2 Scene 1 the staging was mostly shadows projected onto a screen, with Elsa peeking out of a tower window during her dialog with Ortrud. As in this production the two women are the only two survivors at the end, I was sure they became lovers at the end of the Scene. Jumping to the end of the opera, they were indeed the ones that survived, but there were no hints they were in love. The Program Notes has an article, worthy of a high school honors paper, written by two authors that attempts to analyze the opera's characters with a "poststructuralist lens." (Yes, it took two authors.) They believe it's possible Ortrud is the mother of Elsa and Gottfried, and Ortrud casts the spell on Gottfried because he is too belligerent. Their case is bolstered by the fact that after Gottfried comes back, he immediately leads a military campaign against the Hungarians.
Fanfare announcing the start of Act 2.
Curtain call end of Act 2. Lohengrin's costume borders on ridiculous.
In the wedding scene at the end of Act 2 flower petals were being strewn on the bridal path. All the women had their hands tied, and many were pushed around by the male attendants. Another depiction of women as chattel? Come to think of it, Elsa was tied up multiple times, including Act 3 Scene 1. She did manage to rid herself of these bondages, though. In a later scene some lighted wings were brought onto the stage - they definitely looked like flies to me.
Such puzzling aspects abound in the opera. I am sure the sharp observer (or someone who reads up on the production) understands or even appreciates many of them. However, I must say that no rational explanation can be given for the ending scene: Lohengrin disappears, Ortrud and Elsa standing - apart, and all the other folks die after being struck by lightning (or something similarly catastrophic, I can't tell). A case of writers don't quite know how to finish their story - I will stand corrected if I find out otherwise.
This production is often called the "blue Lohengrin" because that's the predominant color used in the sets and costumes. The notable exceptions are Lohengrin and Elsa in Act 3 with orange being the color. Elsa's stays orange for the rest of the opera, Lohengrin reverts to blue. And then Gottfried is green; go figure. (Well, some important person in the production team sees Gottfried as green, so that must be so.)
Is it the production teams intention to put all these questions in the audience's mind? To the extent I spend time on them, they surely have succeeded. The downside is the drama is mostly gone, the story turns into a comedy of sorts.
And worst of all, it takes away one's appreciation of the brilliant singing and music. And they did do so brilliantly.
Some screen shots from Bayreuth website. The setting is a power station.
This production was premiered in the 2018 season, and Beczala stepped in as Roberto Alagna's replacement, to great acclaim. I imagine he has an appreciation of how this opera has helped him become the international star he is today. We saw him at the Met in this role. The setting and story were more traditional; he did well there also. And we could follow the story, both the libretto (English translation provided) and the story.
Lohengrin is relatively short by Wagner standards at about 3 1/2 hours. In addition to the great music, the story was also reasonably straightforward - despite the attempts at confusion by the production. As a result I managed to stay focused for most the opera.
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