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A Musical Tapestry: Part Three New York
Metropolitan Opera
04/18/2009 - & April 30, May 7, 2009
Richard Wagner: Siegfried
Christian Franz (Siegfried), Irène Theorin (Brünnhilde), James Morris (Wanderer), Richard Brubaker (Mime), Lisette Oropesa (Woodbird), Wendy White (Erda), John Tomlinson (Fafner), Richard Paul Fink (Alberich)
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, James Levine (Conductor)
Otto Schenk (Production), Günther Schneider-Siemssen (Set and Production Designer), Rolf Langenfass (Costume Designer), Gil Wechsler (Lighting Designer)
C. Franz and R. Brubaker (© Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera)
Siegfried poses extraordinary vocal challenges for its eponymous hero. And it is also an endurance test. Christian Franz, in an impressive Met debut, endured. But he did better than that, particularly in his long scene with Brünnhilde. Once again, the Met fielded a very strong cast for this last go-round of Otto Schenk’s production of The Ring. That being said, three singers stand out – Sir John Tomlinson as Fafner, Richard Paul Fink as Alberich, and James Morris, giving what was by far his best performance in the Ring to date, as the Wanderer.
Without ever appearing on stage, Tomlinson, as Fafner, the giant who had become a dragon, stole the show in a performance that can only be described as a vocal and dramatic tour-de-force. The evocative apparition on stage, which incidentally looked rather more like a massive lobster than a dragon, was, of course, great fun. And Wagner wrote wonderful music for this scene. But it was down to the singer to bring it off and he did, solely through the power of his magnificent voice, filled with foreboding and then with great pathos.
The Ring’s universe is a starkly Manichean one and the outcome of the epic struggle depends on the victor in the quest for the ring itself. As Alberich tells Wotan, if he should get it, his troops will storm Valhalla and rule the world. The only hope of averting total disaster hinges upon Siegfried emerging triumphant and, through most of the opera, this hardly seems a reassuring prospect. Or a very likely one. Fafner, the greedy giant who killed his brother, Fasolt, so that he could possess all of the gold, is a mere bit player in the battle between good and evil. So Wagner allows him a softer side. After Siegfried stabs him, as Mime had conspired to have him do, Fafner warns Siegfried that the one who made Siegfried kill him intends to kill Siegfried. Tomlinson infused his sonorous and gleaming voice with great feeling and regret -- an intimation of guilt for killing Fasolt. His legato line was simply stunning. How I look forward to hearing Tomlinson as Hagen in Götterdämmerung!
Fink as Alberich was extraordinary – the very embodiment of frustrated evil and vengefulness. Once again, he used both his deep, dark voice and his physical dexterity to great dramatic effect. Morris was in much better voice than he had been in the first two operas. There was some dryness but, more often, he sang with resonance as well as power. His physical being, aided by a robed costume that reminded me of one of Michelangelo’s prophets from the Sistine Chapel, enhanced his grandeur and dignity. Dispensing wisdom in his seated pose, garbed in a beautifully draped robe, he seemed to have jumped down from the chapel ceiling and straight onto the Met stage.
Siegfried is a naïf. He is not exactly Rousseau’s noble savage, given his nasty and ungrateful attitude toward Mime, the dwarf who raised him. After all, initially at least, Siegfried does not know what we know -- that Mime’s motives are far from altruistic. Siegfried is simpleminded. Franz conveyed this very well, and he had the audience chuckling. But after he meets the forest bird, Siegfried changes both in knowledge and temperament. He changes from a lout who is annoyingly simple into to a man who is endearingly so. The bird also tells him that with the ring he can rule the world. But he has to get it away from Fafner. Siegfried is keen but he is also very lonely. He asks the bird to help him find a friend. The bird tells him about the sleeping Brünnhilde, on her mountain, surrounded by fire. His destiny is to rescue her. And Siegfried is transformed musically. Wagner gives him lyrical lines and Franz sang them with a voice filled with yearning and a ringing tone. His voice effortlessly floated over the orchestra.
Siegfried climbs the mountain and finds the sleeping Brünnhilde. While he does have a bird for a friend, he does not have much knowledge about the birds and the bees. Entranced as he is, he really does not know what to do. One assumes that Brünnhilde will provide for his further education. As the Wanderer tells Erda, Brünnhilde’s mother, Siegfried can win the ring because he is free of hate, joyous and loving, and thus free of Alberich’s curse. But it is Brünnhilde who will do what she has to do to redeem the world. She soon wakes, singing with a powerful resonant voice her greeting to the sun. Theorin was excellent here, giving her best performance yet. Vocally and dramatically, she projected feelings that Brünnhilde could have never known as a goddess -- a mortal’s fears and vulnerability. Her portrayal was poignant and she sang with unforced power and a beautiful tone.
In Mime, Wagner gives us a fabulous almost Dickensian character – sleazy and malevolent, yet pitiable. He is so solicitous of Siegfried, all for his own hidden nefarious purposes. His consistent and consistently hilarious refrain that this ungrateful child should repay him with kindness for his unselfish devotion could have come straight out of Woody Allen film. Siegfried having tasted the dragon’s blood, is able to read Mime’s mind. The result was high comedy. Richard Brubaker performed admirably, filling in for Gerhard Siegel who had been taken ill.
Wendy White was compelling as Erda and Lisa Oropesa was a lovely forest bird. The brilliant Met orchestra, under the baton of James Levine, was magnificent, delivering a performance that was richly textured and nuanced, yet always powerful.
Arlene Judith Klotzko
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