Geoffroy Schied
The Bayerische Staatsoper’s summer season pageant ended on an unimaginable excessive word with the primary installment of its eagerly anticipated new Ring cycle. With lofty expectations within the metropolis had been Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold had its 1869 premiere, Tobias Kratzer’s new manufacturing from October 2024 definitely delivered.
Whereas a no-nonsense Ring might be exhilarating, too — demonstrated by the continuing Dresden Musikfestpiele historically-informed The Wagner Cycles; Die Walküre and Siegfried had been reviewed right here)—Tobias Kratzer’s strategy unashamedly embraces oft-derided “Euro Trash” aesthetics at its absolute best. Rainer Sellmaier’s costumes function the standard winged helmets and pseudo-medieval garb of the gods, however they’re handled paradoxically alongside the remainder of the solid’s trendy costume.
It is a Rheingold for the post-secular age. The Norse gods are the brand new religion, a Golden Calf that seduces many. Magic is actual right here, too. The Stranger Issues-like Rhinemaidens can solid spells, Loge can begin fires, the Tarnhelm can shape-shift its proprietor right into a dragon, and Erda can prophesy.
The manufacturing is so rife with refined references, sensible Personenregie, and old-school stage results {that a} complete abstract could be far too lengthy. A dwell goat, fireworks, movies depicting Wotan and Loge’s comical travels to Niebelheim as they attempt to get a toad via airport safety, and a grotesque serpent harking back to John Carpenter’s The Factor that eats Mime’s labrador (maybe a future supply of sibling rivalry) are simply a few of the many placing particulars.
Within the prelude, Alberich contemplates suicide and graffities a dilapidated church with Friedrich Nietzsche’s (a son of a Lutheran pastor) well-known “God is useless.” Inspired by the black-clad nihilistic demigod Loge to steals the gold, he makes use of his gun to shoot one of many Rhinemaidens. But regardless of Alberich’s efforts, the brand new gods reign supreme by the tip of the opera, the primary of Wagner’s four-part Ring collection. By the tip of this prologue, Valhalla the refurbished cathedral, now has a powerful stained-glass depicting the tree of life and its golden altarpiece (implied to include repurposed Rhine gold) each paganizes and transforms Christian symbols into new, mass-appealing objects—spiritually and aesthetically. Nevertheless, glimpses of an apocalyptic future are already obvious. The brand new church burns within the background when Erda, dressed as a veiled pious churchgoer, predicts the ring’s curse.
The manufacturing can be wealthy with refined ideological evaluation. The dwarves, gods, and giants are aligned of their quest for energy and wealth. Every ring-seeking faction signify variants of harmful ideology, and every see faith as a robust power. Alberich is an incel-turned-hacker, instructing by way of video name his hoard of dwarves to burn church buildings, thus providing new that means to his line, “All over the place over you he waits and watches.”
Geoffroy Schied
The gods appear initially weak and aimless, however their use of fine promotional materials and promoting, mixed with Alberich’s ransomed treasure of money and weapons, present them a platform to unfold their populist new faith. The gods in Kratzer’s manufacturing are typically unsympathetic, apart from Freia, who’s suspended from the church scaffolding and solely saved as soon as luggage of cash are laid beneath her toes.
Within the new church, ageing statues of Jesus are changed with these of Wotan. Fasolt and Fafner provide the brand new materials — “Your Valhalla, your Wotan,” a cheesy poster reads. The giants, performed impressively by Matthew Rose and Timo Riihonen, are opportunistic and predatory clergymen, maybe defectors from the outdated, worn-out Christianity.
Having beforehand performed in Munich the nefarious Fr. Barré in Penderecki’s The Devils of Loudun, Martin Winkler as Alberich continued to show his means to play true villains. Winkler was fairly unlyrical; his retorts to the mocking Rhinemaidens or Wotan and Loge had been delivered in quasi-Sprechgesang. His performing was very good too, notably within the scene the place he’s excruciatingly humiliated by Loge and Wotan, tied stark bare to a church pew in a perverse pseudo-Ecce Homo. Wotan proceeds to bloodily lower off his finger to take the ring. In flip, the untied Alberich urinates on a church pillar as he curses them and leaves; this graphic imagery flashes as he says, “Thus greets you then this, my freedom’s foremost phrase!”
Nicholas Brownlee was a revelation as Wotan. Because the comparatively younger chief of the gods, Brownlee has a wealthy, full decrease register and spectacular projection. Having debuted the position solely in 2023 on the Dallas Opera, Brownlee will certainly be a Wotan in demand within the coming years.
Geoffroy Schied
Sean Panikkar continues his meteoric rise as Loge. His mild voice and performing weren’t overly sarcastic and cartoonish. As an alternative, Panikkar supplied a severe tackle the trickster demigod. For instance, he virtually yelled the suggestion to steal the gold from Alberich: “durch Raub!”, adopted by a dramatic pause, reinforcing his character’s cynical, even legal conduct.
The supporting solid was well-balanced too. Wiebke Lehmkuhl gave Erda actual depth and heat as seemingly the one smart in the entire story. Ekaterina Gubanova’s Fricka generally lacked vocal management in her higher register, however aptly confirmed how Wotan’s spouse appears skeptical of Valhalla’s re-branding. Freia was sympathetically portrayed by Mirjam Mesak, who had the difficult activity of singing whereas suspended within the air. The Rhinemaidens Sarah Brady, Verity Wingate, and Yajie Zhang may have projected extra however blended properly. Milan Siljanov and Ian Koziara rounded out the gods as Donner and Froh respectively.
Vladimir Jurowski (who simply introduced a contract extension as Music Director) led the orchestra with a no-nonsense, smooth rendition of Wagner’s music. The large rating requires so many devices that the 6 harpists performed from the packing containers on the edges above the pit, whereas the 11 anvil percussionists performed on an underground stage such that audio system amplified the sound to envelop the viewers with the sounds of the Niebelung’s hammers. The prelude’s primordial E-flat pedal tone from the double basses started in a very darkish theater — not even the pit was illuminated — for a suspenseful begin. Jurowski took the prelude and interludes at brisk tempo; the Rhine flowed nervously, fairly than gloriously. Conversely, the narrative moments had been held again, maybe even considerably slowed down, however however the motion pulsed ahead.
One wonders what Kratzer’s subsequent installments will appear like in upcoming seasons. Will Siegfried be a charismatic cult chief? Will Hagen and Alberich hack and vandalize the brand new church buildings? As Bayreuth concurrently introduced a revival of Valentin Schwarz’s convoluted manufacturing and gears up for a brand new model subsequent summer season, supposedly with some type of AI content material, Kratzer’s imaginative and prescient in Munich is among the smartest directorial efforts lately on the Bayerische Staatsoper.
