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Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Act 2) - Bayreuth Festival 2017 - Stephen Gould, Petra Lang (Photo Bayreuther Festspiele/Enrico Narwath) |
Reviewed by Tony Cooper on Aug 20 2017 Star rating:
A revival of Katharina Wagner's powerful production at the Bayreuth Festival
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Stephen Gould, Petra Lang (Photo Bayreuther Festspiele/Enrico Narwath) |
Widely considered to be one of the greatest works ever written to pure erotic love echoing the legendary days of King Arthur, Tristan - which Wagner rated as one of his ‘favourites’ - is an emotional work to say the least. And Katharina Wagner - artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival, daughter of Wolfgang Wagner and great-granddaughter of Richard Wagner - tapped into the opera’s emotional strength delivering a brilliant, powerful and compelling production that drifted at times from its traditional staging especially at the end. However, Wagner doesn’t seem to mind taking chances of finding new ideas in which to explore the works of her great-grandfather whom, I’m sure, would approve!
The first act is highly impressive not just musically speaking but visually, too. When we meet Tristan and Isolde they are already deeply in love and frantically searching for each other against all the odds with Kurwenal and Brangäne struggling to keep them apart but to no avail, of course. When they eventually meet it proved a powerful and emotive scene. They simply gazed longingly and lovingly at each other in total silence while the love potion that Brangäne prepared for Isolde is immediately discarded by her. The couple’s love for each other was sealed right from the start.
But what makes this act so highly impressive and engaging is Frank Philipp Schlößmann and Matthias Lippert’s brilliantly-designed set comprising a three-dimensional labyrinth of stairs evaporating into thin air an influence, perhaps, of Giovanni Piranesi or MC Escher. But it was Piranesi’s engraving Il ponte levatoio: Le Carceri d’Invenzione (The drawbridge: the Imaginary Prison) cited in the programme.
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Christa Mayer, Petra Lang (Photo Bayreuther Festspiele/Enrico Narwath) |
The scenario of act two (in striking contrast to act one’s detailed set) was played out in a prison exercise yard with more than a hint of DDR political interference in evidence as Stasi-styled guards (King Marke’s henchmen) look down upon the lovers forced into a tiny cell. They’re constantly kept under surveillance with piercing-bright searchlights trained upon them. Eventually, Tristan’s blindfolded and stabbed in the back by Melot, notably sung by Raimund Nolte, who played the part with a slight hint of nervousness. But was he carrying out King Marke’s orders or secretly jealous of Tristan’s intense relationship with Isolde?
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Rene Pape (Photo Bayreuther Festspiele/ Enrico Narwath) |
American heldentenor, Stephen Gould, sang Tristan cutting through the score like a knife through butter. Surely, the role belongs to him! What a voice! But Dresden-born bass, René Pape (a ‘favourite’ of the Green Hill and the world over) equally matched it with a commanding and confident performance as King Marke while Petra Lang - a former mezzo but now hitting the soprano range with consummate ease - delivered a brilliant reading of Isolde.
Handpicked and coached for the part by Bayreuth’s music director, Christian Thielemann, Ms Lang didn’t let him down. Her performance, especially in the Liebestod, was stunning (and dramatic) to say the least and it more than stamped her authority on what is one of the most demanding of all Wagnerian female roles. Ms Lang, however, is no stranger to Bayreuth. She sang Brangäne in Tristan in 2005 and 2006 and her interpretation of Ortrud in Hans Neuenfels’ production of Lohengrin was memorable and a performance to chalk up.
The pairing of Scottish bass-baritone, Iain Paterson, as Kurwenal and German mezzo-soprano, Christa Mayer, Brangäne, hit the mark. And so did the orchestra which plays such a dominant role in this opera commenting on every psychological and dramatic development through a series of leitmotivs and the endless melodising that Wagner substituted for arias and duets.
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Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (Closing scene) - Bayreuth Festival 2017 Christa Mayer, Stephen Gould, Rene Pape, Petra Lang (Photo Bayreuther Festspiele/Enrico Narwath) |
Reviewed by Tony Cooper
Elsewhere on this blog:
The 2015 performances of this production is available on DVD, with Stephen Gould, Evelyn Herlitzius, conducted Christian Thielemann, available from Amazon.
Read our conversation with the distinguished Wagner soprano Dame Anne Evans and soprano Claire Rutter who has recently moved into Wagnerian roles, Singing Wagner.
Read our conversation with the distinguished Wagner soprano Dame Anne Evans and soprano Claire Rutter who has recently moved into Wagnerian roles, Singing Wagner.
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