Long anticipated. High expectations. We finally took our seats at the Melbourne Arts Centre at a Melbourne Ring cycle last night. On Melbourne’s hottest November night in a hundred years. Das Rheingold. Our seats were up high – very high – which gives this personal review a particular edge. Suffice to say they weren’t the best seats in the house and gave us only a partial view of some scenes. We didn’t experience the production depicted in the photographs seen here.
Which I suspect mattered more with this production than with my previous two Ring cycles; both seen in Adelaide and both enjoyed very much. My theory is your first Ring becomes a benchmark against which all others are judged. Hence my predilection for minimalist productions. I loved the sparseness of the Pierre Stosser directed, Theatre Du Chatelet production presented in Adelaide in 1998. Of which I can find no trace at all on the internet. It was controversially minimalist with audiences booing the Director at performances all over the world.
I also liked the second, very modern, cycle performed in Adelaide which is described in full here here. Produced by the very talented Elke Neidhart, who died on the 25th of November and to whom the Melbourne performance of Das Rheingold was dedicated, nearly 15 years since her ground breaking first home- grown Ring, adding poignancy to the night. She was a fearless Director and hers was an exciting vision brilliantly realised on the stage.
My journey to the glories of the Ring replicates, insofar far as he talks about Australian performances, the journey described here by Peter Rose at an event organised by the Wheeler Centre as part of Melbourne’s Ring Festival. I’m hoping to replicate the international Rings at some point in the future.
My history includes the Chereaux, Bayreuth version that was shown on television here in the 1980’s in one hour episodes. Seen on a very small television with very poor reception. But thereafter I was hooked and prepared to travel anywhere in Australia to see a performance of any part of the Ring – both staged and concert versions. And to do the requisite reading of Deryck Cooke et al. And by now I have the Chereaux DVD, the Solti CD set and have seen various performances at the Nova, most recently the latest, incredible MET production with it’s amazing set.
This is the baggage I bring with me to the Melbourne Ring. All of which is relevant. How can a mere mortal Director compete with all that? And the memory of his own brilliant production of Tristan and Isolde?
First, the positives. The singing. Uniformly good which is surprising in a Ring opera. Warwick Fyfe was wonderful in the role of Alberich. From start to finish. First as repulsed would-be lover of the Rheinmaidens then as corporate overlord of the Nibelung. He looked the part – even in the suit (more of which later). His curse of the ring was a highlight – both singing and staging. I hated his wrestling Wotan to the ground but understood the point being made. Warwick was Fasolt in my first Ring and I had loved him then – especially his beautiful love song to Freia. Loge is important in this opera and Richard Berkely-Steele, looking like a spry John Clarke (yes the comedian) with his bald head and lithe limbs was perfect in the part. His shiny suit was also appropriate, suggesting quicksilver thinking and sharp dealing. Which he proceeded to demonstrate admirably. Wotan’s accomplice and saviour, but careful to keep his name out of it!
Fricka was also beautifully sung and portrayed by Jacqueline Dark. Her role as a moral counterpoint to Wotan came through loud and clear. The singing from Donner and Froh was also clear and their separate roles in the drama came through – despite their suits – more anon. Beautiful performances from the Rhinemaidens both in singing and sinuousness. Mime was good in the little we saw of him – not screechy which is an occupational hazard – which augurs well for Seigfried.
I thought the weakest singing was from the giants – perhaps due in part to my view from the gods which meant I only saw their feet for a while (not conducive to perceptions of giants!). But also, I’m sure, in part due to their costumes – more suits! The lovely lament for Freia from Fasolt (Daniel Sumegi – who I loved as Hagen in my first Ring!) somehow got lost. I didn’t think there was enough differentiation between the two brothers either. I felt Freia (Hyeseoung Kwon)was too slight – in voice as well as size. Though the slight size was handy when they built the hoard completely around her.
I am not sure about Wotan. He has big shoes to fill. I loved John Wegner in the role in my first Ring and can’t understand why he now favours the role of Alberich. He was a great Wotan. Up with all of the greats. Not matched by John Brocheler in the second Adelaide Ring. Last night Terje Stensvold looked the part, with his long coat and stave, but his singing was relatively flat. I hope he’s saving his voice for the next two operas.
A strength of the production was the clarity of the idea that Wotan and Alberich are two sides of the same coin. Maybe because of the relevant strength of the two performances. It is evident whenever the two are on stage together, most obviously in their tussle over the ring. And then when Alberich is cursing the ring. Wagner wanted us all to identify a little bit with Wotan. I’m not sure that is happening here. And losing the magisterial authoritativeness comes at a cost. His fall is not from a high enough point. I await the full story.
So now to the setting. First, what I liked. The Busby Berkely bits. The flamboyant costumes on the Rhinemaidens, the feathered rainbow bridge, the Tarnhelm cabinet were inventive and fun. But not sure how they fit into an overall picture yet – we’ll wait and see. I liked the Nibelungs looking like Apple or Amazon employees in their blue jackets and hairnets. And it should fit an overall picture of the Ring as a morality play protesting the take over of the world by untrammeled capital.
As did presenting the giants as corporate gangsters. But now we move onto misgivings. Trouble is the giants are meant to be simple minded, hoary handed sons of toil. Now I’m happy to see corporate Australia as simpletons (especially given their shortsighted opposition to action on climate) but it just didn’t work for me to see our two giants looking like Alphonse Gangitano. Would have been better to have them with their hard hats on, straight off the building site. The cranes worked – even if we didn’t get the effect in the gods. At least the giants had smart suits. Poor old Donner and Froh looked like complete spivs. Cheap and nasty. Now that might be a theme but it didn’t fit Fricka’s outfit that exuded a bourgeois sensibility. Nor did they fit with Freia’s ‘in character’ party girl in glistening gold. I would have liked a unifying theme – 19th century bourgeoise in the Chatelet or decadent, slothful celebrities as in the Neidhart production. Or explicable separate looks. I’ve been trying to think what – Donner the muscled up gangster type might have worked. Froh as arty farty type. Dullards in shiny suits didn’t work for me. As for Donner’s hammer being a pistol the less said the better. A rifle would at least have explained the stuffed animals. And would have avoided the risible slap against the wall representing the hammerblow.
I loved Deborah Humble’s singing of the wise words of Erda. Beautiful and magisterial as it should be. And I was pleased to see she was spared the indignity of my previous wise women – bag- lady and bare chested, mud smeared wild woman. I didn’t mind the seeing eye cane. But sliding in through the back door in a suit that bore an uncanny resemblance to the one worn by the Governor General who was in the audience was a bit underwhelming. And suggestive of some muddled thinking I think. Perhaps we will understand better when we next see Erda.
Finally I didn’t like the beach scene at the start. I’ve seen all the interpretations: the writhing current, the birth of humanity. Whatever. I felt it distracted from the Rhinemaidens and their interaction with Alberich. And felt we entirely missed what should have been Wellgunde’s magisterial pronouncement, accompanied by the ring motif, of the power of the Ring. I didn’t even like the gold pom poms though the people I was with did. But as I said – I like minimal.
I don’t think there was a single unforgettable, spine tingling, memorable moment or visionary act of interpretation, in this opera – an unforgettable dragon, a family of red heads. A stage entirely of water (Armfield’s Tristan and Isolde). Remembering this is the scene setting part of the whole cycle, I await expectantly to see whether it will come in one of the remaining three.
So there you go, I am now a fully paid up member of the curmudgeonly Ring cycle devotees – the cult of Wagner. But that’s what makes the cycle such a work of art. Endless interpretations and debates about performances. Ad infinitum.
At least I haven’t started booing – yet.
PostScript Here are a range of published reviews helpfully collected by the Daily Review. Terrific to have in one place.
–
Leave a Reply