Hans Neuenfels would be disappointed to discover that, instead of feeling provoked by his staging of Wagner’s Lohengrin (as he says to fear in the program), the audience in Bayreuth would welcome it effusively. It is also true that the enthusiasm gave the impression of a statement: I wouldn’t say that everyone in the theater was delighted by what they have just seen, but it seems that it was important to show approval for a production of a clearly more professional level than that of those of Meistersinger and Tannhäuser performed in the previous days. I myself have seen more thought-provoking and more consistent Lohengrins than this one, but I too found it important to acknowledge that Neuenfels’s satisfies (or rather more than satisfies) the expected standard of quality expected from the Bayreuth Festival. Some may call it a bourgeois demand from a paying audience, I would call it the necessary requirement of talent in order to deal with the work of a great genius.
The first thing one notices about Bayreuth’s 2010 production of Lohengrin is its elegant, cold stage design: some sort of tomography lab aesthetics which are in the core of the concept here developed. Having to deal with a world where we are nothing but laboratory rats of a random, pointless experiment, we choose to believe in some sort of fiction – love, religion etc – to give it some sense of consequence and order. This consciousness – this understanding of nothingness and the choice of an imaginary sense to frame it – is what tells man from animal. Elsa produces a vision of a swan knight and provokes a collective religious experience that inspires people around her to a development into order through belief. But Lohengrin too indulges into the self-delusion of having found unconditional love in Elsa and agrees to abandon the glory of the knights of the Grail. Ortrud is some sort of skeptical soul who does not content with the shadows and would rather see objects themselves, even if this means disrupting any attempt of order. Her Erfahrt wie sich die Götter rächen has the effect of a pragmatic conclusion to an experiment: if you want to seek the ultimate truth, be ready to find chaos as an answer.
The question is how literal it is to portray the chorus in rat costumes in order to depict the concept above. I tend to believe that this was an easy choice – and I frankly dislike the little “mouse-comedy” numbers in orchestral interludes. Neuenfels could have suggested the “lab rat” impression in subtler ways, but he has a point that Lohengrin is some sort of fairy-tale, an aesthetic environment in which men and animal naturally interact. It is not the first staging either to show the evolutionary process set about by the arrival of Lohengrin. In Stefan Herheim’s Lindenoper production, Lohengrin leads the whole society to a Rousseaunian state-of-nature that would dissolve with the revelation that Lohengrin is nothing but a puppet; in Richard Jones’s Munich production, society organizes into some sort of Lohengrinic religion that endorses Elsa’s edificial project. Here, rats gradually become people as they embrace Lohengrin’s command. Curiously, if you abstract the rodent costumes, the production is quite coherent and well-conceived, in the sense that symbols are added to rather than replace the original storyline, making it richer by association and more fantastic by the unusual twist. In any case, the beauty of costumes and sets, the meticulous direction of actors and choristers, the mathematically calculated light-effects, the visually striking scenes – this all pleases the eyes in a way that even a nay-sayer would let himself be seduced by the approach.
It is also curious that the original reviews stressed Andris Nelsons’ conducting as impressive and revelatory. Maybe he was not inspired this evening, but I am at a loss of words to define my neutral impression. The orchestral sound didn’t persuade you either for richness or for clarity, but other than this there was nothing particularly bothering or pleasing going on. If I have to make an effort of finding a distinctive trait in him this evening, it would be his attention to his singers, particularly knowing how loud he could be in every moment (in what regards giving his cast enough time to breath in tricky moments, Nelsons wasn’t always very friendly though). The chorus sang heartily and acted keenly, but the otherworldly effect in passages such as Lohengrin’s first arrival was not really achieved.
Although I am surprised by Annette Dasch’s ability to spin jugendlich dramatisch top notes when you least expected it, her soprano remains limited in terms of volume and color in this repertoire. She has sense of style and sings sensitively, but one is constantly left wanted – especially in comparison with the more properly Wagnerian voices of her colleagues. I am not a fan of Petra Lang – overmetallic and rasping are words that come to my mind – but her absolute control of dramatic top notes is really very impressive. Even if she failed in contrast, variety and subtlety, her Entweihte Götter (act II) and Fahr heim, du stolzer Helde (act III) correspond to everyone’s fantasy: she pierced through the loud orchestra with impressive power and security, often making very high notes even longer in admirable abandon. Lohengrin is Klaus Florian Vogt’s signature role, his uncanny boyish yet forcerful sound is the aural picture of the role and this alone makes for the occasional deficit in legato. Moreover, at moments, he is now even more sensitive and elegant in his high mezza voce than before. No wonder he received a standing ovation such as I have rarely witnessed in an opera house. Tómas Tómasson seems to have the right voice for Telramund, but evidently fell victim to a vocal glitch by the middle of act I that robbed him of any possibility of singing full out in his high register, being obliged therefore to resort to falsetto and transposition whenever he could. I know it is a difficult role, but it was rather insensitive of the Festival administration to let him carry on under those circumstances. Last but not least, Georg Zeppenfeld offered an immaculate performance as King Henry, as much as Samuel Youn was an exemplary Herald.
I HEAR VOICES 
No question that Lohengrin is Vogt’s signature role and he has been acclaimed elsewhere, including the Met. In fact there was extensive discussion on Parterre Box as to why he is not singing at the Met, given his triumph there as Lohengrin.
However, my impression is that the Richard Wagner Festivalgoers are eager to acclaim any production that truly pleases them and given the nature of the productions being offered, it’s understandable they were so enthusiastic about Vogt.
Those of us who haven’t seen this production will have to wait until it is released on DVD, so I can’t comment on the production qualities. Based on the audio stream of the first performance at this summer’s festival, Nelsons’ conducting and Vogt’s singing are the keepers in this staging. Petra Lang reminded me of a Gabriele Schnaut gone off a cliff. Lang’s scream at the end of the opera was jarring. She needs to listen to some of Leonie Rysanek’s recordings to see how an artist can scream effectively. Lang sounded like a tomcat in heat.
P.S. Kudos to RML for these lengthy, informative, perceptive reports from Bayreuth and for also explaining the philosophical underpinnings (when they are coherent) that underlie these productions.
A work you obviously are very familiar with. I didn’t see the video broadcast, but from your writ I can understand how the ‘rats’ wouldn’t interfere much with the apparently excellent staging.
— Good to read that the audience again gave K.F. Vogt an enthusiastic standing ovation.
— This is Vogt’s greatest role, so much more so in comparison to the perenially miscast Elsa of Annette Dasch. Re: her ‘ability to spin jugendlich dramatisch top notes when you least expected it’: One may least expect it but it appears to be the only way for Dasch to overcome the natural limitations of her volume. Even more disappointing is her monochromatic tone and inability to modulate. She lacks even a faked pianissimo, let alone a true one, or even an effort to achieve one in her ‘soll meine Liebe stehn!’ at the finale of Act 2, Can she actually soften her tone anywere in the region near her passagio? Maybe I missed something.
— As you imply, Petra Lang’s hexe at least did not break the cardinal rule of being vocally boring, as Annette Dasch’s Elsa did. Lang seemed to be on her own turf, taking charge of the conducting duties (willingly given up by Andriss Nelsons) for her role in the most unmusical fashion. You talk about ‘intonation problems’ other singers have, Lang defines the term with her blasted top notes held much longer than the tempi values, like a fireworks display that keeps going further up into the sky. In addition, was all that growling and barking an attempt to masquerade her intermittent success searching for the pitch in her paunchy lower register?
— I’m glad you enjoyed it. As annoying as those 2 ‘leading’ ladies sounded to my ears, I personally would have preferred either of them as Kundry (in lieu of Mac) in the opening night broadcast of Parsifal, which I assume you have or will enjoy again.
— Enjoy! We enjoy your blog!
Hi, Loki, hi, Jerold!
Dasch – I was indeed surprised that she could get away with the most exposed high notes. She has rather successfully (judging from the video) sung Donna Anna and must have easy top notes, but I have seen bigger-voiced lyric Elsas struggle with them less adeptly than Dasch. That is why I thought it important to concede her that. She does try to sing softer – generally her method is to drain the voice of vibrato for three seconds and then call it a pianissimo, but again one can see that she _knows_ how it should be sung, even if she cannot. Out of miscasting and inappropriate technique (her voice is too often unfocused – and one notices her trying to make it brighter by making it more nasal at moments) she will never belong in this role or in this repertoire. I have seen a couple of lighter Elsas – Dorothea Röschmann’s warmly sung performance in Berlin and Soile Isokoski’s exquisite, bright-toned, effortless in Vienna. Dasch, in spite of her serious effort, does not compare to both these singers.
Lang – Yes, she has intonation problems, generally in her middle register. The low notes are generally ill-placed too and sometimes off-pitch – but above a high f, she is generally very precise if she is singing everything above forte. I really cannot abuse her – although she might be quite frustrating everywhere else, in these tricky moments in which almost everyone fails to deliver she did it very excitingly. I agree that the conductor should have been more strict and not let her make it a diva-thing, but I guess everybody in Bayreuth wanted a diva thing after a diet of lackadaisical female singers. And, Loki, I know you’ll NEVER agree with that, but I believe that, in the short period in which she was in top form, Gabriele Schnaut was a far more consistent singer (but alas a very poor actress).
Actually, Schnaut was a terrific Ortrud, at least on the video with Studer, et al. I would love to have seen her in this role. Elisabeth Connell was the most satisfying Bayreuth Ortrud and I would rank her up with Polaski at the Met, even though Polaski was not in the freshest of voice. I saw Rysanek in one of her “down” periods but watching the video, she’s better than I remembered. Lang I would never want to see. Her timbre and delivery are grating. The acutti are from hell (which maybe what she was trying to evoke).
@RML, Loki
Polaski pretty much blew away Schnaut (heard as Ortrud at Bayreuth) dramatically and fresh or not was in much better voice (both as Ortrud and Brunni) in New York in the late 90s.
Ortrud, can, of course (in the right hands), be an echt Diva role and for my money and in my experience neither of these ladies could touch Meier. Vocally she is well past her best but even last month (in Munich – where she did not receive unanimous critical acclaim) she was an amazing Ortrud.
RML is right to note the difficulty of the role and one need look no farther than the excellent Herlitzius difficulties at Bayreuth last year.
No arguments about Waltraud Meier as Ortrud. She is incredible in the video of the Baden-Baden production. Just hope that she and have a chance to perform together when the Bayerische Staatsoper visits Japan.
Polaski is a singer one has to hear live – she is the most perfect example of unrecordable voice in my experience. I have never seen her Ortrud live – and her Barenboim studio recording left me cold. I’ve heard her Brünnhilde last year: she is not in top form anymore, but sang with tremendous musicianship and sensitivity – and the voice is huge as always. As for Schnaut, my memory of her Brünnhilde at the Met in 1997 is really very positive, but she was never subtle as Polaski.
As for Meier, there is no doubt that her Ortrud is far superior in characterization and technical finish – but the problem is that the exposed dramatic moments are precisely what she cannot handle anymore. At least not the last two times I saw her – conductors had to keep the orchestra on leash (precisely what you don’t need there) and she was either thin, or strained or off-pitch. Although I do prefer a more musically and theatrically sophisticated performance, in these key moments she no longer responds to the requirements, I am afraid. In 1999, when I first saw her in this role, it was a totally different story. Then she was just perfect and comparable only to the very great Ortruds in the discography, such as Christa Ludwig.
To be fair, I believe Polaski only sang Die Walkure and in that I do think she was quite superior vocally to Schnaut. The Walkure Brunhilde was also, I think the weakest sung of Schnaut’s performances, her Gotterdmerung the strongest and actually rather decent even in 2004.
As I imply above Meier is well past but I still found her Ortrud quite compelling. She was however quite shockingly good in Vienna in 2000.
As for Polaski and recordings I was very disappointed with her recorded Ortrud after the Met performances but as I recall Pape (also, unsurprisingly, I guess, the Heinrich in New York in Vienna) wasn’t at his best either.
Watching yesterday’s Turn of the Screw video stream from Glyndebourne, I couldn’t help but think how well-suited Vogt’s voice is for Miles. ; ))
As for Lang, I just listened to her final scream and wow this is a great form of rat control. Any rodent having to endure that shriek would scurry at least as far as Coburg.