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Wagner,  Tannhäuser: Soloists, Orquesta y Coro de la Sinfónica de Madrid, Conductor: Jesús López Cobos, Teatro Real de Madrid. 21 & 23. 3.2009 (JMI)

Production from Los Angeles Opera.

Direction: Ian Judge.
Sets and Costumes: Gottfried Pilz.
Lighting: Mark Doubleday.

Cast:

Tannhäuser: Peter Seiffert/Robert Gambill.
Elizabeth: Petra Maria Schnitzer/Edith Haller.
Wolfram: Christian Gerhaher/Roman Trekel.
Landgrave: Günther Groissböck.
Venus: Lioba Braun/Anna-Katherina Behnke.
Walther: Stephan Rügamer.
Biterolf: Felipe Bou.
Heinrich: Joan Cabero.
Reinmar: Johann Tilli.
Shepherd: Sonia de Munck.

These performances of Tannhäuser at the Teatro Real have received an unusual response from the media due to the fact that the production included numerous naked extras during the bacchanal scene. Apparently, this is the only aspect of the opera that held any interest for the media, which was at pains to make it seem as if we were going to witness a great scandal on the stage of the Teatro Real. Poor Wagner! He occupied the front pages not as a composer, but as a vehicle for strippers.

This production by Ian Judge was premiered in Los Angeles two years ago, but did not much impress conservative American society. The action was transferred to the last century, which does not matter much since we are dealing with legend or myth and these, independently of historical origins, are timeless. Mr Judge’s production told the story well enough, although it seemed to me to be a pretentious work and rather superficial. Of course, in the famous bacchanal Mr Judge stays totally on the surface of things. It is certain that a bacchanal is not normally a religious function and, therefore, there is nothing particularly strange about using it to show an orgy on stage (in fact we have seen this sort of thing time and again).

Some readers will be aware of the scandal in Paris at the premiere of this opera in 1861, where the scandal was not due to use of the term ‘bacchanal’,  nor for the presence of naked bodies (there were none) but by the location of the ballet in the first act. Let me emphasize the word ballet, because the bacchanal is exactly that - a ballet, although you don’t need to dance it while wearing tutus. A ballet is a physical means of expression, while an exhibition of the sort we were presented with is something entirely different. In this production Ian Judge simply eliminates any ballet, and instead has extras stripping on stage. This might be pleasant to look at, but it is not what Wagner intended.

From then on the production worked as a pure game of colours. Act II is staged in simple black and white, which from my point of view lost a great deal of intensity, and the direction of the chorus on stage was poor. For the last act, the dominant colour changed to green, with the exception of Venus and her beautiful cohort of naked bodies. The sets consisted of two independent turning modules with a profusion of doors.

A modern production these days seems as though it  must offer some “originality”, at all costs, even if it is purely gratuitous. In this case Mr Judge brings Venus back to the stage at the end of the opera to take Wolfram to the Venusberg. About this, I will make no comment.

Jesus Lopez Cobos has been unusually prominent lately in the newspapers due to his public comments about his disagreements with the board of Teatro Real and his negative view of the musical direction that Mortier intends to repeat here (following his time in Paris). Apart from making these press statements he took up his baton and conducted this Tannhäuser and, once again Lopez Cobos has been faithful to himself. Everything was under control, there were no surprises and the reading was efficient but short of life and inspiration. After a bland overture and a lifeless Venusberg, things improved throughout the performance, the third act being best. The Orchestra gave a good performance in line with what we are used to in this theatre, although the gentleman seated next to me came from Prague and he found the orchestra rather poor. The Chorus has also been in the media, this time due to labour disputes. They were very warmly applauded, although I thought they were not outstanding. Again, it all depends on what you are used to.

Peter Seiffert continues to be one of the best interpreters of Tannhäuser around. His voice has not lost any brightness and he retains all his familiar expressiveness, besides to be able to cope perfectly with the tessitura of the character. His biggest problem is that signs of fatigue in the top register are becoming too evident and the wide vibrato starts to get annoying. In the second cast we had the American Robert Gambill, who is also in worrying vocal shape. Singing the very heavy Wagner roles over the past few years has taken a big toll on his voice and today he is just a shadow of what he once was. The unsteadiness of his voice is too great for a tenor at 59.

Over the past few years Petra Maria Schnitzer has made astonishing progress in vocal terms. When she first began to play the lighter Wagner roles I found her too light a soprano, but this is not the case any more. Last year she was a good Elizabeth at the Barcelona Liceu and now she has again given a performance confirming this positive trend. Today she is an outstanding Elizabeth, with only the Prayer falling short of the usual excellence. In the second cast we had the young Tyrol-Italian soprano Edith Haller, who gave an interpretation in line with what we heard from Ms Schnitzer. Ms Haller is more than just a promising soprano and she was at her best at the end of Act II while, again, the Prayer was the weakest point.

To sing Wolfram is a gift for any baritone. Wagner gave this character some of the most beautiful pages he ever composed. What is needed is a great singer with a real feeling for lieder, who knows how to express emotions with controlled and perfectly internalised singing and the casting of Christian Gerhaher in the role was a total success.  Gerhaher was a sublime and superb Wolfram. That Ian Judge chose to punish him with the Venusberg instead of promoting him to heaven is more than just a contradiction. Mr Antonio Moral has offered to us a true dream Wolfram and congratulations are due to both of them. Roman Trekel has been specialising in this beautiful role recently and he continues to be a great Wolfram, particularly in the Song to the Star - but who could forget what Gerhaher had given us the day before?

As in Barcelona last year, Günther Groissböck was perfectly suited to the role of the Landgrave. Lioba Braun was a good Venus, but Anna-Katherina Behnke had problems in her upper registers, despite her age. Stephan Rügamer sang well as Walther, as did Felipe Bou as  Biterolf. Act II was given, as usual, in the Dresden version.

There was a full house for both performances. There were cheers for Gerhaher, Seiffert and Schnitzer in the first cast, and for Haller and Trekel in the second. López Cobos was much better received after the second performance.

José M Irurzun

Pictures © Javier del Real

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