Götterdämmerung (Opera North, Leeds Town Hall and
touring)
When Richard Farnes turned around last night, at around ten pm, to look at the audience in Leeds Town Hall, he did so with the look of a man who knew his exhaustion was occasioned by a
job well done. Had he been in any doubt, the audience would have removed any
element of uncertainty. The audience
scrambled to their feet with a rapidity I can’t recall elsewhere. The only
disappointment of the evening was that the cast wouldn’t come back on stage.
After four years, Opera North’s Ring had reached its end. A serious undertaking for any opera
company; to have reached such heights of perfection is
no mean feat. The terse ruminations of the Norns at the start are startling: so
many musicians but astonishingly quiet music-making. First Norn, Fiona Kimm, took
a while to get going. Against great expectations, momentarily my heart sank:
Opera North were going to fall at the last hurdle; but Kimm warmed up quickly.
Farnes had, at all times, the orchestra and choirs sprawling over the stage,
under precise and immaculate control. Never was it too loud, or too quiet. The
pace was exact. This could be the idealtype to show others, in order that they
imitate it. The Trauerzug, perhaps the most thrilling moment in the saga (or
even all opera), was done so well it bordered on overwhelming. Where a fairly
young orchestra might have been tempted to leap in to this with excessive
enthusiasm, tight control exerted maximum thrill from this without being
bombastic.
Familiar voices from the Ring
and some other excursions of mine returned. The End is all about the
leading lady, and Alwyn Mellor pulled off the trick of being both fearsome and
tender at once. Her Minnie delighted in La
Fanciulla del West in March. In the face of scorn, both righteous and
forgiving, this was a Brunnhilde for whom we all felt. Mati Turi was the
perfect, amiable Siegfried that modern audiences need – the old kind of
unfeeling hero won’t hold water. Turi made him amiable too: the humorous wooing
of the Rhinemaidens was well-judged without veering towards the pantomimic. This
wonderful pair held together the drama.
Of course villains are needed. And Eric Greene’s Gunther –
an ambitious monarch even one with a conscience, and Mats Almgren’s Hagen did
this with much success. Almgren was positively menacing and shone throughout. In
his immaculate suit Greene looked grasping and aloof – which did echo his role
in Khovanschina (Birmingham Opera
Company) in this way. Jo Pohlheim returned as Alberich with much success.
The Rhinemaidens: I can only ever think of Anna Russell’s
description of them as ‘a sort of aquatic Andrews sister’; and even if their
movement flowed less smoothly than the Rhine, their singing was as clear as its
waters. Characterization appropriate – they seemed thrilled to have their gold
again – but then that is rather the purpose of the thing.
The semi-staging Peter Mumford has developed for Opera North
has been an undoubted success. The background images functioned to enhance the
piece and increased its coherence considerably, and it would be worth revisiting
the earlier episodes in 2016 before the complete Rings. The costumes actively added - Turi as an almost
happy-go-lucky fellow in crumpled shirt and open waistcoat; sharply-sinister
suits for Gibichungs; glittering blue jewels for the Rhinemaidens. These are in
no way to be described as concert performances; they are almost-staged. And not
having a ring probably makes sense: what would it need to look like to convey
its meaning?
There is a moral imperative for the recordings made and
broadcast on radio three to be released on disc. This is a skilful
interpretation. The
Arts Desk review suggested that the (albeit clear) semi-staging gives the
singers freedom to concentrate on singing whilst contextualizing. The orchestra, choir and singers soar, as if
propelled by magic fire. I had booked to see it again; I wonder if twice will
be enough.
Overall: the audience was privileged to have experienced
this; it knew it. Nothing less than a thundering achievement.
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