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The cinematic Ring at La Scala continues... Milano
Teatro alla Scala
02/05/2025 - & February 9, 12, 15, 20, 23, 2025
Richard Wagner: Die Walküre
Camilla Nylund (Brünnhilde), Klaus Florian Vogt (Siegmund), Elza van den Heever (Sieglinde), Günther Groissböck (Hunding), Michael Volle (Wotan), Okka von der Damerau (Fricka), Caroline Wenborne (Gerhilde), Olga Bezsmertna (Ortlinde), Stephanie Houtzeel (Waltraute), Freya Appfelstaedt (Schwertleite), Kathleen O’Mara (Helmwige), Virginie Verrez (Siegrune), Eglè Wyss (Grimgerde), Eva Vogel (Rossweisse)
Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Simone Young*/Alexander Soddy (conductor)
David McVicar (Stage Director, Sets), Hannah Postlethwaite (Sets), Emma Kingsbury (Costumes), David Finn (Lighting), Katy Tucker (Videography), Gareth Mole (Choreography), David Greeves (Martial arts, Circus performance)
K. F. Vogt, E. van den Heever (© Brescia & Amisano/Teatro alla Scala)
Following last October’s successful production of Das Rheingold, La Scala’s Ring cycle continues with Die Walküre, the tetralogy’s most popular title. That first opera elicited praise and appealed to most. Though non‑conventional, McVicar’s vision of the Ring avoids bizarre takes on Wagner’s Norse mythology-inspired quartet of operas, the most colossal opus in the operatic repertoire. David McVicar is not an iconoclastic director, though nor is he a traditionalist. He manages to create visually appealing, straightforward, uncluttered productions that are also innovative. This suits the majority of opera goers who’ve recently had to endure a global-warming-inspired Parsifal; an octopus replacing a mermaid in Rusalka; Salome set in a brothel; or La bohème in outer space.
As with Das Rheingold, adventure films in exotic locations (such as the Indiana Jones franchise) seem to have inspired the sets. A high degree of exoticism marked Das Rheingold’s production: native tribal imagery with sets and costumes informed by Africa, Asia and South America (rather than Europe). This is in keeping with today’s less Eurocentric worldview, even for the Norse-mythology-inspired Der Ring des Nibelungen. It’s a legitimate viewpoint that all fairy tale traditions are interrelated. Renewed visuals inspired by various cultures are welcome.
The first act of Die Walküre opens onto a typically Norse set. This could easily be a scene in the six‑season popular series Vikings (2013‑2019). The strikingly authentic sets and costumes appealed to many, but I overheard some complaining that the whole production (and this act in particular) were too dark. Personally, I can’t see the drama of this act taking place in a bright setting, given the bleakness of Sieglinde’s life as Hunding’s bounty bride and Siegmund’s plight from his enemies. Once Siegmund is able to withdraw the sword “Nothung” from the ash tree and Siegmund and Sieglinde give in to their passion, David Finn’s lighting brightens to shades of blue and green, alluding to the regenerative power of spring.
In Act II, Brünnhilde appears on stage with her horse Grane to meet her father Wotan who instructs her to protect Siegmund. The contraption conceived by the production team for the Valkyrie’s horse is among the most ingenious and appealing that I’ve ever seen: a man wearing a metallic horse head on aerodynamically designed stilts that enable smooth jumping and leaping. This was followed by Fricka, the Norse equivalent of Juno, who demands retribution on Sieglinde and Siegmund for incest, and for Sieglinde having broken her marriage vows (albeit a forced marriage). Fricka appears in a costume faithfully reflective of Norse imagery. She’s transported by two horned rams, men with elaborate ram’s heads, with impressive horns. The fight between Siegmund and Hunding is brilliantly staged, with Hunding’s kinsmen standing on the periphery watching like wolves in a pack. Wotan breaks Nothung, rendering Siegmund defenceless. Once Hunding strikes Siegmund, the angry god kills him and his kinsmen with merely a glance. The demise of the kinsmen was beautifully staged.
In Act III, Brünnhilde seeks help from her sisters, the other eight Valkyries. The space where they congregate resembles Easter Island, with statues of huge heads sprouting from the ground. Here, McVicar and set designer Hannah Postlethwaite return to inspiration from native cultures as they did for Das Rheingold. Brünnhilde and her eight sisters are accompanied by their horses, men on stilts with metallic horse heads. The commotion of the agitated Valkyries and their horses is an unforgettable, enduring image. There was a problem with a couple of the men incarnating the horses, for they tripped, given how crowded the stage was, but they recovered quickly and professionally.
The final scene, the duet between Wotan and Brünnhilde, takes place in another setting inspired by exotic cultures, possibly Khmer (Cambodia). The huge head of a Buddha from a fallen state is at centre stage. When Brünnhilde convinces Wotan to mitigate her punishment by surrounding her with a circle of fire that only the bravest of heroes may cross, Wotan breaks the Buddha’s with his spear. As in Das Rheingold, four bare chested Buddhist monks were the executors of manual labour. Two on each side of the head pulled, creating an alcove that became Brünnhilde’s resting place. Again, the imagery was dazzling and memorable. This was one of the most visually pleasing productions of Die Walküre I’ve experienced.
Even more impressive than McVicar’s excellent production were the singers chosen for the Die Walküre, the Gotha of today’s Wagnerian singing. Finnish dramatic soprano Camilla Nylund was an ideal Brünnhilde, with the requisite voice and upper register facility. Moreover, she possesses a magnetic stage presence and an enviable agility. Endowed with clear diction, one understood her every word, and her compassion towards Sieglinde was palpable. She was nuanced in her scenes with Wotan, conveying this singular Valkyrie’s formidable strength of character.
South African lirico spinto soprano Elza van den Heever was an appropriately feminine Sieglinde, despite her austere dress and hair. She managed to convey Sieglinde’s misery even before she sang. Her bright soprano is sensual, capable of conveying her rapture in her Act I duet with Siegmund. Her voice contrasted beautifully with Nylund’s in their scenes together.
German mezzo Okka von der Damerau, endowed with a dark, velvety mezzo, was a majestic Fricka, thanks to her powerful voice and imposing stage presence. Austrian bass Günther Groissböck was a remarkable Hunding, thanks to his dominant voice and ability to convey authority through his voice, diction and posture. He was recently heard as Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier at La Scala.
German baritone Michael Volle, recently heard as the Dutchman in Dresden and in Düsseldorf, is possibly today’s leading Wagnerian baritone. Endowed with a warm yet virile instrument, he is also an exquisite interpreter. His clear diction brought his Wotan to life, and his outstanding acting managed to convey the burden of power in his exchange with Brünnhilde in Act III. His farewell to Brünnhilde, “Leb wohl, du kühnes, herrliches Kind,” was among the most touching I have ever heard. It’s to be noted that Volle, Nylund and von der Damerau sang together in La Scala’s dazzling Gurrelieder a few months ago.
The singer that impressed me most was German tenor Klaus Florian Vogt. For once, the voice interpreting Siegmund had le physique du role. Moreover, here is a Wagnerian tenor whose voice can easily reach the highest gallery at La Scala and yet he never forces. His German elocution was a masterclass in itself; one felt he was singing Schubert lieder, so clear was his diction. To sing Wagner so beautifully and with such apparent ease is nothing short of miraculous.
Throughout the performance, Australian conductor Simone Young ensured the orchestra did not obscure her singers, but gave them free reign in the orchestral passages. She masterfully revealed textures and colours in Wagner’s music heretofore inevident. The orchestra was most impressive in the opera’s final scene, Wotan’s farewell. While McVicar’s staging does not yet enjoy universal approval, the superlative singing and acting has subjugated the most difficult of opera lovers. As with Das Rheingold in October, after experiencing this Walküre, I impatiently await the next installments of McVicar’s Ring.
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