I
am not an avid fan of Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s Wagner productions
as a rule, but he always stirs up enough interest that I pay
attention to what he’s up to. He is now one of the “grand old
men” among opera directors and he is never less than intellectually
challenging at this stage of his career. This filmed Lohengrin,
from the 2006 Baden-Baden Festival, strikes me as being a triumph,
for a conceptualized production, a genre that I have grown to
dread in recent years with the advent of things like kitchen
chairs hanging from walls, televised Flower Maidens, Grails
in bank vaults, gods in raincoats carrying lucite suitcases
and the like. Lehnhoff’s Lohengrin does not regale us with any
of that nonsense, the closest he gets being the reverse piano
on which Lohengrin composes bits from Act 3 as the music rises
out of the pit. It works, just, because Klaus Florian Vogt actually
appears to be playing the piano and seems to have some facility
and certainly familiarity with the instrument, unlike screen
actors who try to fake playing musical instruments to disastrously
risible effect. The minimalist set comprises a large two-piece
moveable bank of stadium seating, conjuring up mental pictures
of the Nürnberg Rallies of the 1930s, which has given some reviewers
the idea that this production is Lehnhoff’s re-creation of Hitler’s
Third Reich. It isn’t. As Lehnhoff states very clearly in the
terrific documentary Never Shalt Thou Ask of Me on the
third disc, his vision is a more generalized view of militarism
that crosses all national boundaries. There isn’t a swastika
or right-handed salute in sight in this production and the uniforms
worn by the Brabantines could just as easily be equated with
the military might of any nation. I strongly recommend that
you watch the documentary before the opera.
The
huge two-piece set swings around elegantly and is beautifully
lit in such a way as to suggest great bodies of water, in the
Act 3 transition between scenes, and the castle walls in Act
2. The opening of Act 1 slowly illuminates the tiers of seating
in such a way that the chorus, sitting quite still, suggests
a forest of trees until they are called into action to sing.
Lehnhoff allows, indeed requires, the viewer to exercise his
imagination rather than smack one in the face with the obvious,
as is so often the case. Neither is he so obtuse as to flummox
one completely by some “pop” esoteric artsiness - note Christoph
Schlingensief’s current production of Parsifal at Bayreuth.
The lighting is wonderful, varying from dark and mysterious
in Act 2, for Ortrud’s and Telramund’s dark sayings, to brilliantly
awash in the large set-pieces with the chorus in the bleachers.
Lohengrin himself often appears to glow in his own circle of
brilliant white light. Which leads me to the central character
in this show.
Klaus
Florian Vogt is unquestionably the most unusual-sounding tenor
I’ve yet encountered as any Wagner hero. His voice is quite
a beautiful lyric tenor and possesses enough weight to carry
well. Every time he opened his mouth I was taken aback and often
questioned the wisdom of his taking on this or any other Wagner
heldentenor role. But by the end of the performance I was completely
convinced by his portrayal. I never did quite get used to his
sound in a Wagner role but his is the most ethereal, mystical,
angelic and convincing Lohengrin I’ve ever seen or heard. He
has none of the baritonal undertones of what we normally encounter
in this part. He doesn’t bawl or shout or strain for the high
notes. His singing seems effortless and he never pushes to be
heard. Lehnhoff, ever the stage micro-manager, has found the
perfect singer for this production. Vogt’s stiff-kneed walk
in Act 1 is indicative of his inhuman-ness and discomfort in
a solid body. Vogt also possesses the perfect physique du rôle,
being tall, blonde, blue-eyed and quite good-looking, with a
sort-of androgynous allure about him that fascinates. All the
Brabantines are agog at him, he is their charismatic leader,
a creature that we human beings seem perpetually to seek in
our lives. He seems too good to be true as well. His cool aloofness
towards his beautiful new wife has a sinister element to it
that caused me to dislike him in Act 3. I kept muttering to
myself “Jumped up little egomaniacal puritan!” as he sat there
at his stupid piano, totally self-absorbed, while his wife unties
her negligée and attempts to lure him to the nuptial bed. There
is no bed in this production by the way. Of course Lohengrin
at the piano is probably supposed to be ‘Our Richard’ at work
on the score but this doesn’t grate too much as the interaction
and acting of the principals is so fascinating that it is easy
to ignore the piano and all that it implies.
Vogt’s
idiosyncratic but highly successful Lohengrin aside, the vocal
honors, in the more traditional ‘Wagnerian Sense’, go to Hans-Peter
König’s splendid König Heinrich and Waltraud Meier’s dark dark
dark Ortrud. I’ve always thought Ortrud to be Meier’s greatest
Wagner role but was never satisfied with her recorded performances,
finding her a tad acid-sounding on top and juddery in the middle
register. But in this live filmed event she sounds magnificent.
The extra space around her voice allows it to ring out freely
on top with a full and refulgent middle voice. Meier is one
of the greatest actors among all opera singers, at every moment
her face and body register a myriad of responses of a mind-boggling
subtlety. A great performance. And Meier’s Ortrud is also something
of a clothes horse. Her costumes plus her great physical beauty
add colourful, indeed flamboyant, interest to a largely utilitarian
setting. Hans-Peter König is a newish bass from Germany. He
is the current Hagen and Fafner at Bayreuth and seems destined
to take over the mantle of Kurt Moll. His voice is beautiful,
powerful and wide-ranging, and he too can act, though not with
as much confidence, as yet, as Waltraud Meier. König keeps glancing
at the pit during his close-ups but with experience and added
confidence I think he will be at the top of the bass pile before
too long.
Solveig
Kringelborn has some very beautiful moments but her voice is
not intrinsically lovely, so don’t expect an Elisabeth Grümmer.
That notwithstanding hers is another fascinating performance.
She is deeply musical, intelligent and beautiful and makes Elsa
more than just a cipher. Indeed Lehnhoff has made Elsa the pivotal
character, keeping her on stage at all times, sitting on a chair
near the lip, perhaps dreaming the whole thing; shades of Harry
Kupfer’s Senta at Bayreuth in that famous production from the
1970s. This concept works very well and stimulates thought rather
than just annoying the viewer with a misguided directorial conceit.
Kringelborn’s is only the partial ninny that Elsa usually appears
to be. Rather, she is naďve, strange, intelligent and a bit
bossy, making her aggressive questioning of Lohengrin in Act
3 a natural aspect of her personality. Tom Fox is a very good
Telramund, over-acting a bit - perhaps at Lehnhoff’s instigation
- but sings with power and authority. I look forward to his
some day, perhaps, taking on Alberich at Baden-Baden with Kent
Nagano.
Nagano
possesses the ‘Wagner Gene’ as the saying goes. I wouldn’t have
thought it of him years ago but he has shown, with the previous
film of Lehnhoff’s Parsifal also from Baden-Baden in
2004 [OA 0915 D] and now this Lohengrin, that he has
the measure of these masterpieces and doesn’t falter once. This
is a very touchy score with all those high, pianissimo string
chordings all over the place and sudden transitions from serenity
to bumptious militarism. Nagano makes these gear-changes effortless
and his orchestra is superb. The Deutsche Sinfonie-Orchester
Berlin is turning into one of the great European orchestras.
Their fine performances and recordings of Mahler and Bruckner
have prepared them well for their foray into the Wagner pit
at Baden-Baden. His chorus is a combination of singers from
the Lyon Opéra, his former stomping ground, and the EuropaChor
Akademie Mainz. They sing with power, precision and perfect
intonation, and not a wobbler in sight - Metropolitan Opera
take note! The choristers are encouraged to be individuals.
Dressed in modernish clothing, somewhere in the mid-20th century
it seems, they manage to create a diverse crowd of citizens
without being attention-grabbing or intrusive, though one had
to wonder at the guy with the rastafarian locks.
I
hesitated buying this film for a couple of months and then it
went on sale at Arkiv and I succumbed. I’m very glad I did and
I will watch it again, probably many times. Very highly recommended
for those not allergic to updated Wagner.
Jeffrey Sarver
see also Reviews
by Anne Ozorio and Colin
Clarke
[279:00]
