Wagner - Die Walküre (Zurich, 2024)

Richard Wagner - Die Walküre (Zurich, 2024)

Opernhaus Zürich, 2024

Gianandrea Noseda, Andreas Homoki, Eric Cutler, Christof Fischesser, Tomasz Konieczny, Daniela Köhler, Claudia Mahnke, Camilla Nylund, Sarah Cambidge, Ann-Kathrin Niemczyk, Barbara Senator, Anna Werle, Simone McIntosh, Siena Licht Miller, Michal Doron, Noa Beinart

Zurich Opera Ring für alle - 20th May 2024

Sometimes - not often but sometimes - you get the impression that as critical as the Siegfried and Sieglinde story is to Die Walküre and the impact it is to have down the line in Der Ring des Nibelungen, that it isn't always accorded the same attention or gifted with the quality of principal singers as is necessary for the undoubtedly important and rather more dramatic Wotan, Fricke and Brünnhilde conflict and the Ride of the Valkyrie centerpiece to come. Well, the opening of the 2024 Zurich Die Walküre confirms that the superb balance and attention that was paid to all areas in the preliminary evening opera (which itself is no lesser opera) carries through to the First Day of the Ring, and it pays dividends here.

It seems that the reason they are able to do this is in large part by stripping the work down to its essence, yet managing to do so without losing any of the epic mythological quality of the work. There are no indulgences, or none that are excessive or distracting, but the attention to detail is directed to the places where it should be. From those opening moments of Die Walküre, the whole production takes place in the same high white panelled walls of a mansion, where an invisible to the world Wotan is still seen to be playing an important part in the arranging and direction of events, his spear striking lightning bolts, leading the Wölfing to shelter unwittingly at the home of his sister and his enemy Hunding.

The set revolves to show the huge tree dominating the room where Hunding and his men have entered the house. Within the walls of the room, there is no other decoration of the set, yet everything that is needed (except the sword) is there and it still looks impressive, but it is the singers who are the vital element here in getting across the import of the scene. Eric Cutler and Daniela Köhler are so good here that the screen director is happy to draw in for close-ups to show how well they can carry this scene. Director Andreas Homoki is also brave enough to show the depth of the attraction between Siegmund and Sieglinde a little earlier and more intensely than usual, and it develops to close to Tristan und Isolde levels here. Both Cutler and Köhler are simply outstanding and more than capable of living up to that comparison. 

Another promising development is how Sieglinde relates the story of the sword in the tree as it plays out in the scene, the Wanderer’s presence felt again, placing the sword there at the moment of most need, and you can feel that need now. It's also promising because it suggests that the subsequent Act is not going to be as dry as it often can be, but from what we've seen so far, I think we knew that already. That is borne out fairly quickly with the way that Homoki depicts the arrival of Brünnhilde and all the Valkyrie to the gold table conference room style Valhalla, where Wotan is soon to have that long unwinnable dispute with Fricka. It fits perfectly with the aesthetic elsewhere, the Valkyrie wearing horse head helmets, both warriors and horses.

Again, rather than overwork the scene Homoki chooses to use only what is needed and with good direction of the performers and fine singers that is more than enough to deliver the necessary impact and import of the encounter between Fricka and Wotan. Fricka does not laugh or glory in the outcome, despite Brünnhilde's reading of what has occurred between her and Wotan. She knows she has struck a hard bargain and almost sympathises with her distraught husband. Little details like this count for a lot. There is restraint also in Wotan’s account of the origin of his woes to Brünnhilde needing little more than a rotation of the rooms to reveal Erda as her mother. I perhaps expected a little more from this pivotal scene, but can't fault what is presented here, and it seems a wise choice not to throw in too much and risk upstaging the action to come in Act III or indeed the subsequent scenes 3 to 5 in Act II.

In the brief interlude, the rotating set permitting quick scene changes, the room is occupied with a scene of snow flecked trees in dimmed light as Siegmund and Sieglinde reach the end of their flight. The remainder of the Act could hardly be more intense, the set hardly more beautifully decorated and lit (all credit to set designers Christian Schmidt, Florian Schaaf and lighting designer Franck Evin), as Sieglinde collapses and Wagner's stunning music introduces Brünnhilde, arriving to alert Siegmund to his terrible fate. This for me is the most moving scene in this production of the opera, testifying to the validity of the choices made in the stage direction, the overall approach taken and the build up to this scene. A split-screen effect is achieved by a semi-rotation between the cool blue of the dark forest to the gold conference room of Valhalla. It's in the Valhalla realm that Wotan's intervention in the heat of battle strikes his son the Walsüng down. It's devastatingly brilliant musical drama.

The subsequent Ride of the Valkyrie then is everything it ought to be. The voices of the Valkyrie are phenomenal, creating a formidable force as they herd the rightly terrified fallen heroes like sheep. Yet again the production continues to increase the intensity up to the next level. Act III doesn't need much in the way of set decoration either. Brünnhilde and Wotan’s confrontation takes place against the backdrop of the huge rock that will become Brünnhilde’s prison. Again, it's minimal to need, the direction leaving room for the music and the intensity of the scene to exert everything that is essential, and it's immensely powerful. The singing is fantastic, the direction perfect, the sets and lighting effective, the all-important musical drive under the direction of Gianandrea Noseda of the highest Romantic tragedy.

Camilla Nylund might not be one of the most forceful Brünnhildes, but her delivery is clear and lyrical. She comes into her own in Act III, fleeing Warfather and justifying her defiance of his will. Again, I can't fault Tomasz Konieczny’s performance as Wotan. It's sung with drive, passion and is technically impressive, but still not to my personal taste. Like Nylund, he really called on all reserves for the final scene of Act II and for Act III. We got another superb performance from Claudia Mahnke as Fricka and, as noted earlier, an impressive Siegmund and Sieglinde in Eric Cutler and Daniela Köhler. This is a superb follow up to everything promised in Das Rhinegold and it sets the scene for what will now be a highly anticipated Siegfried.

External links: Opernhaus Zürich, Ring für alle Video on Demand

Photos - Monika Rittershaus

Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier (Munich, 2021)

Richard Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier

Bayerische Staatsoper, Munich - 2021

Vladimir Jurowski, Barrie Kosky, Marlis Petersen, Christof Fischesser, Samantha Hankey, Johannes Martin Kränzle, Katharina Konradi, Daniela Köhler, Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke, Ursula Hesse von den Steinen, Martin Snell, Manuel Günther, Caspar Singh, Christian Rieger, Galeano Salas

Staatsoper Live - 21 March 2021

It wouldn't be like director Barrie Kosky to miss out on playing up any obvious sexual references, but he shows rather more subtlety than Richard Strauss during the opening exertions of Der Rosenkavalier in this production at the Bavarian State Opera. When it comes to highlighting the obvious however, he doesn't miss pointing out the thematic references to time by having Marschallin and Octavian carry on their business inside a spinning grandfather clock. In the unlikely event that you miss the implications, the boy servant Mohammed here is a Cupid as Old Father Time who sprinkles magic dust on their union, and the chiming of a clock is heard at the start of each of the three Acts.

But then it's not as if Strauss and Hofmannsthal were adverse to a bit of show-off cleverness either. Der Rosenkavalier one of opera's most extravagant works in terms of plotting, layering and referencing, delighting in combining farce with high art, comedy with contemplation. The opera captures the melancholy of being between one age and the next, the incompatibility of the old with the young, the old ways with the new ways, tradition with the modern age. There's a gradual acceptance of time and the pain it causes when the realisation hits of necessity to let go and let the world move on without you having as significant a role in it.

Wrapped up on a farce and aspiring to Mozart, Der Rosenkavalier doesn't miss the mark, even as far as realising that Mozart is of a past age and ideas need to be reconsidered for the modern era. It's a magnificent work, a work of true beauty and accomplishment, and there's a certain irony in the fact that we can look back at this end-of-an-era work with some regret that it belongs to a past age of opera that can never be recaptured, and undoubtedly there's some cleverness or self-awareness on the part of the creators themselves.

The sensible director then will avoid over-complicating the delicate equilibrium that the creators have established, and while few would normally apply that description to Barrie Kosky, he does indeed usually know when to intervene and when to step back in his role as Artistic Director at the Komische in Berlin. Aside from a little bit of highlighting here and there, he appears to slip into the background and let the glory of Der Rosenkavalier speak for itself, providing sumptuous but superficial surroundings and judging the mood perfectly throughout. Despite appearances, that does not come about by accident.

Kosky's touch of vulgarity for example is well-employed in the middle class aspirations of the Faninals, swept away with the notion of a forthcoming marriage into old money and nobility. Octavian as the Rosenkavalier obliges their notions coming not just with a silver rose, but replete with silver carriage and horses. It's unsurprising then that Sophie's head is turned with the romance of it all. It is a quite stunning coup de théâtre. Old age Cupid again sprinkles the magic dust of Strauss's beautiful music on Sophie and Octavian, while the Baron's satyrs chase the Faninal nymphs around the household. With classical paintings of similar scenes decorating the walls, and the old guard sprouting horns of their own, Kosky captures the essential mood and character of the scene perfectly, even with the classical allusions that Strauss and Hoffmansthal reference.

The singing and musical performances are also just about perfect: not just in interpretation of the score, but with performances that enhance the varied tones and intent of the opera. Marlis Petersen is an ideal Marschallin, with the necessary ability and experience (having once also been a Sophie in her time, the work again showing its relevance, meaning and cleverness), and she truly does the role justice. I haven't come across Samantha Hankey before but the US mezzo-soprano only appears to have been on the scene since 2017 and she makes a tremendous impression here as Octavian; nimble and playful also in the dual role as Mariandl. Christof Fischesser is excellent as the boorish Ochs Von Lerchenau, Johannes Martin Kränzle is luxury casting as Faninal and Katharina Konradi is a fine Sophie. With Vladimir Jurowski conducting the glorious sweep of it all, there's no danger of Act II or the concluding Act III failing to hit its targets and it doesn't need any heavy-handed signposting either, or at least no more than the spirit of Strauss and Hofmannsthal dictates.

So when Petersen's Marschallin utters the words "Don't you realise it's all over?", it really hits home. Privilege, class, a whole era is gone or has turned - in the eyes of the young and the modern - into nothing more than a farce. As such Kosky can be forgiven for falling back on the old theatrical trick of turning the audience around and onto the stage, all the more so since there isn't an actual audience present in Munich during the Covid lockdown. Essentially it's what Strauss and Hofmannsthal do, opening up the theatricality of opera and drama as a device, as a trick, as a way of showing the truth. The Viennese farce can reveal something real truths and Der Rosenkavalier cuts to the quick when the Marschallin takes to the stage in Act III. The concluding scenes of this opera are devastating, tying everything up, bringing her curtain down on the old, opening up the way for the new.

There's no better recommendation that you can give for a production than that it brings out everything that is wonderful about an opera, and in Der Rosenkavalier it's even more important to get the tone and the singing right. The Bayerische Staatsoper, Kosky, Jurowski and Petersen at the head of a strong cast do that superbly. The humour feels weighted and balanced with the seriousness, the originality of the composition is perfectly set alongside the references to older works. It's brought out to perfection and to devastating impact here in a wonderfully played performance and deeply felt production that brought a little tear to the eye and a 'Bravo!' from this viewer.

Links: Bayerische Staatsoper, Staatsoper TV