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The Valencia Ring – Wagner, Siegfried: Orquesta de la Comunitat Valenciana, Conductor: Zubin Mehta. Palau de les Arts de Valencia. 18.6.2009 (JMI)

Production Palau de les Arts de Valencia and Maggio Musicale Florentino.

Director: La Fura dels Baus. Carlus Padrissa.
Sets: Roland Olbeter.
Costumes: Chu Uroz.
Lighting: Peter Van Praet.
Videos: Franc Aleu.

Cast:

Siegfried: Lance Ryan.
Brünnhilde: Jennifer Wilson.
Wanderer: Juha Uusitalo.
Mime: Niklas Björling Rygert
Fafner: Matti Salminen.
Alberich: Franz-Josef Kapelmann.
Erda: Daniela Denschlag.
Forest Bird: Marina Zyatkova.

Lance Ryan as Siegfried

Last year this production of Siegfried was premiered in Valencia and I wrote about it then (see review). There is nothing much that I can add to what I said then, except to refer again to the great beauty of Franc Aleu’s videos on Act III.

Last year Zubin Mehta’s reading seemed to me below what we might expect from him, which does not mean to imply that he was in any way mediocre. But this time, his reading was much more dynamic than last year and it was probably the change of casting for Siegfried that allowed him to conduct much more freely. Mehta was excellent in Act I, including the forging scene, in Act II he was outstanding during the first two scenes, while in the second part he seemed somehow flatter. In Act III though, Mehta was again very energetic, especially in the two first scenes. In the final scene he was again brighter than last year, although emotion did not spark fully. In Overall though, this was an excellent musical performance, magnificently served by the outstanding Comunitat Valenciana orchestra.

As for Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, once again we had very good vocal casting, to my taste the best one of those that have been provides lately in the Rings at Vienna, Zürich and New York and certainly remarkably superior to what seems to be offered nowadays at Bayreuth. The Canadian Lance Ryan was the new Siegfried and his performance was simply excellent. This young tenor surmounts the difficulties of the score with ease, he does not shy away at any moment and he always sings, unlike some other colleagues/ rivals. He is a very good actor too, and brings with him the extra bonus of cutting an extremely credible figure on stage. His voice is not truly dramatic, but the rest of his qualities compensates for thos completely: to sing this role as he did was truly heroic and these days, only Ben Heppner at full power can do better.

Jennifer Wilson as Brünnhilde

Jennifer Wilson was again an outstanding Brünnhilde, full of power and intensity, except for a few too metallic high notes. To my mind, she could be the Brünnhilde of our times.  Juha Uusitalo offered his most complete interpretation so far in this Ring. The part of Der Wanderer seems to suit him better than his earlier versions of Wotan and his performance was excellent. Rather like something from Rossini, his performances have been a kind of sustained crescendo during this cycle.

To deal with the memories left by Gerhard Siegel last year as Mime could not  be easy for anyone singing the part, but if the Swede Niklas Björling Rygert left a positive impression in Rheingold , he confirmed it totally in Siegfried. His Mime was more than good from beginning to end.  Daniela Denschlag was a accurate Erda, somewhat below the standard that I expected after her Rheingold and she is not a true contralto. Franz-Josef Kapelmann was again a wonderful Alberich and Matti Salminen, a more than luxurious as Fafner. Sadly the Russian Marina Zyatkova left few positive memories as the Wood Bird.

Another full house in the Palau de les Arts, with many in the audience having travelled from far away. The cheered the singers mightily, particularly Lance Ryan and Jennifer Wilson. Zubin Mehta and the Orchestra were awarded a huge success.

The Götterdämmerung that I saw as recently as May 30^th (see review) completes the Tetralogy this week and marks it out as a very special event in Spain.

José M Irurzun

Pictures courtesy of the Palau de les Arts, Valencia

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