Global Wagner – From Bayreuth to the World
A film by Axel Brüggemann
rec. 2019-21 (?)
NTSC 16:9, PCM stereo and DTS 5.1, Region 0, DVD 9
Subtitles: German, English, Japanese, Korean
NAXOS 2.110708 DVD [97 mins]
First, a declaration: I’m not a Wagner aficionado. I have attended two of his operas (The Flying Dutchman & Tannhäuser), and certainly enjoy the recordings of orchestral extracts in my collection. However, the chance of me attending a Ring cycle is zero, so I requested this documentary to review because I was interested in knowing more about the Wagner phenomenon – what makes some people spend their lives attending as many Ring cycles as possible. And why Wagner specifically, and not Mozart, Bach or Beethoven?
It is made clear on the DVD case insert that this is not a biographical documentary, and that is certainly the case. The intention is to show how Wagner’s influence has spread around the world, and to do so, we are taken to Venice, Baltimore, Riga, Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv, Tokyo and of course, Bayreuth.
The film opens in Venice, which seemed an odd choice, but it is quickly established that it was Wagner’s favourite city, and where he died. Here we drop in on a glittering dinner meeting of the Wagner Society. Unfortunately, it isn’t a promising start. It is littered with odd and distracting directorial choices. One scene at the dinner is filmed through the coiled hose of a fire extinguisher, while interviews with the guests are done with the camera seemingly at floor level looking up; their passion is very obvious, but I felt that the strange camera angle was almost lampooning them. As one interviewee talks about his love for Wagner, we cut away from the speaker to an empty lane in Venice, where there is a sudden gush of water from a downpipe (if there is a symbolic intention here, I don’t wish to think about it).
Then suddenly we are taken to a butcher shop, and meet Georg and Ulrike Rauch, who it transpires, have lived and worked in Bayreuth for a long while (perhaps all their lives). Though they aren’t Wagnerphiles, they have attended rehearsals, have observed the Festival close up for many years, and have hosted Festival staff and performers in their house over many seasons. They become one of the lynchpins of the narrative, as we return to their recollections a number of times. Another is prominent American author and journalist Alex Ross, who provides the learned view on various aspects of Wagner. Katharina Wagner, great-granddaughter of the composer and current Director of the Festival, is also an ongoing presence.
To be honest, had I not been watching this for the purpose of writing a review, I might not have lasted more than the opening half hour. However, things did begin to improve. Perhaps it was a matter of getting used to the style, though I think it is more likely to be that the strange camera angles etc ceased.
The examination of Wagner’s anti-Semitism, and the consequent debate about performing his music, especially in this era of “cancel culture” is very interesting. Jewish stage director Barrie Kosky talks eloquently about this, at the time of his Bayreuth production of Die Meistersinger, which includes a Nuremberg trial scene. Jonathan Livny, Chairman of the Israel Wagner Society, speaks of his father, who left Germany in the 1930s, and his ability to separate the “heavenly music” from the “horrible man”. Similarly, the Nazi connection, especially the interview with the proprietor of a Bayreuth hotel patronised by the High Command in the 1930s, and a conductor’s view – in this case, Christian Thielemann – of the demands of the Bayreuth orchestra pit were well done.
This is a “modern”-style documentary in that there is no voiceover narration. This puts the onus on the director and editor to create a logical storyline through the words of those interviewed. I am an avid documentary watcher, and have seen some brilliant examples of this genre, and some where the storyline jumps around and is not easy to follow. Sadly, Global Wagner is in the latter category. There isn’t really a narrative flow, rather a group of stories, loosely connected by the “introductions” from Ross and the Rauchs. In endeavouring to show the worldwide nature of the Wagner phenomenon, we are presented with too many brief encounters with people whose main contribution is “I really like Wagner’s music”. There is a potentially interesting episode in Tokyo, where an abridged version of Parsifal is performed for children, but we find out little or nothing about its success, or otherwise.
Rather unfortunately for the makers of the film, two of the big names of the musical world who feature are currently personae non gratae (for different reasons): Plácido Domingo and Valery Gergiev.
On the technical side, the captions relating to the interviewees are very poorly implemented. The names are legible, being a reasonable size and bold yellow, but the text underneath which describes the person’s role is very small, and white on a frequently pale background – almost unreadable much of the time.
It will be clear by now that this was somewhat of a struggle, and I certainly don’t feel that I have any more understanding of some people’s obsession with Wagner. There is definitely an interesting story here somewhere, trying hard to get out, but ultimately not succeeding.
David Barker
