Das Rheingold: ROH

[Belgrove]

Covent Garden’s new Ring cycle kicks off with the first instalment in September, to be built up over the next four years. Barrie Kosky, fresh from success at Glyndebourne, is directing and has deliberately chosen debutants for the big parts. Thus Christopher Maltman assumes the role of Wotan, which is an intriguing and exciting prospect. Christopher Purves is Alberich, and is less left-field, but again imaginative and a casting choice to relish. Although the incoming Music Director Jacob Hrůša is to conduct the first full cycle in festival conditions sometime in 2027/28 (a rather daunting ‘big bang’), the departing Music Director Antonio Pappano is to conduct the first outings of the works. This strikes me as odd (possibly indulgent) - a last attempt at these works where, to my mind, he has failed previously to convince, delivering nothing exceptional or even especially noteworthy in Wagner performances. This is, for me, his only blemish in a distinguished time at the ROH. Let’s hope it’s third time lucky for him, and us.

Tickets are still available, but you may need to remortgage. There’s a cinema relay on 20/9/23 however. Anyone going?

[LHC]

I'm going on 26 September, despite what I think are grossly inflated prices for this production.

I'm not really surprised that there are large numbers of tickets still unsold, particularly in the £300+ category in the stalls. Kosky wouldn't be my first choice as director and I can imagine that the more conservative elements of Covent Garden's audience may have been put off by his involvement. When you add that to a less than stellar cast and eye-watering ticket prices, the offer looks a lot less enticing. I think the Opera House were relying on the Ring factor to sell this, but they may have miscalculated and simply charged far too much.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I'm going on 26 September, despite what I think are grossly inflated prices for this production.

I'm not really surprised that there are large numbers of tickets still unsold, particularly in the £300+ category in the stalls. Kosky wouldn't be my first choice as director and I can imagine that the more conservative elements of Covent Garden's audience may have been put off by his involvement. When you add that to a less than stellar cast and eye-watering ticket prices, the offer looks a lot less enticing. I think the Opera House were relying on the Ring factor to sell this, but they may have miscalculated and simply charged far too much.

I think you’ve hit the nail on the head - though Christopher Maltman’s Wotan has been very well reviewed. My usual extreme side stall seats are £250 which is a bit on the high side to say the least and you take the risk they’ve put Wagner horns in a side box . As a general rule though it’s often better with Wagner being a way away (balcony or amphitheater) to take in the whole sound and visual perspective. As a more specific rule it’s often best with certain directors to target the lower or upper slips where you can’t see much of the production. I think a lot of people are waiting for the reviews , word of mouth , and indeed this forum to see if it’s any good. Don Carlos sold very heavily post review. Just shows how canny and last minute people are now.

[kernelbogey]

Going on 23/9 - Amphi. Looking forward to Walkuere, assuming it'll appear in 2024.

[alywin]

I'm going on 26 September, despite what I think are grossly inflated prices for this production.

I'm not really surprised that there are large numbers of tickets still unsold, particularly in the £300+ category in the stalls. Kosky wouldn't be my first choice as director and I can imagine that the more conservative elements of Covent Garden's audience may have been put off by his involvement. When you add that to a less than stellar cast and eye-watering ticket prices, the offer looks a lot less enticing. I think the Opera House were relying on the Ring factor to sell this, but they may have miscalculated and simply charged far too much.

They seem to be doing that throughout now - have you seen the ballet prices? Now at the sort of levels where I gave up being able to purchase a seat in the amphitheatre for opera a decade or so ago. And some of the restricted view tickets (in the Stalls Circle) are more expensive than for opera, whereas you need an unrestricted view for ballet rather more than for opera.

[LHC]

They seem to be doing that throughout now - have you seen the ballet prices? Now at the sort of levels where I gave up being able to purchase a seat in the amphitheatre for opera a decade or so ago. And some of the restricted view tickets (in the Stalls Circle) are more expensive than for opera, whereas you need an unrestricted view for ballet rather more than for opera.

I don't go to the Ballet very often so can't comment on how the prices have increased since last season, but looking at the Autumn Booking period prices most of the ballet performance appear to be somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3 of the average price for operas.

The point about Rheingold is the huge increase in price for this one opera alone. The highest price tickets for any other opera in the Autumn is £245, which is in line with the top prices charged for the 'premium' operas last season (ie the best known operas with the most expensive singers). The top price for Rheingold is £325. That equates to about a 30% hike in what was previously considered the 'premium' price.

[gurnemanz]

I'm not really surprised that there are large numbers of tickets still unsold, particularly in the £300+ category in the stalls. Kosky wouldn't be my first choice as director

We might have been considering this Ring if we hadn't been to the ROH cycle in 2018 (quite recent on our opera-going time scale), which was a good show overall. (We were due one since our only previous complete staged cycle had been Joachim Herz in Leipzig mid-70s.) Kosky is unpredictable but wouldn't necessarily have put us off. We know what sort of thing to expect, having seen his Shostakovich Nose a few years ago and I watched his Bayreuth Meistersinger on video, unusual but still quite compelling.

I kept my 2018 ROH tickets with the programme and just checked; the seat was Amphitheatre D44 for £89 (as far as I can tell, that seat would be £113 this time). We had the same seat and price for the four evenings - £712 for the two of us for the whole show. We had a good view but I wouldn't have wanted to be much further back. We got these decent seats thanks to our daughter who is a ballet fan and has priority booking. We were pleased that she and her partner decided to join us. We were able to enjoy some meals together and they live in London so we could stay the night with them

[Belgrove]

First, let me allay any fears that this Ring is populated by hermaphrodite aliens from Planet Zog. Barrie Kosky’s conception is utterly respectful and faithful to the entire concept, but adopts a fresh and refreshing take. It delves deep into the rich mythic past that forms the cycle’s foundation even before the action commences. Thus, Earth Goddess Erda is on stage throughout, a wizened naked old lady; we witness what she has created in her dreams, her creatures and their actions being realised through her memories. The set is dominated by the felled World Ash Tree that Wotan marred by carving out his Spear of authority. This trunk contains many hidey-holes, through which the Rhinemaidens frolic and tease Alberich. It is also the source of the liquid gold, which pours from its hollows. In the Nibelheim scene, the tree has been transformed into a monstrous industrial nightmare, where Erda is appallingly exploited, a truly horrible image. This could be the key to how the entire cycle will develop, pointing to how nature is despoiled despite attempts to put it back to rights. As ever, The Ring speaks to our present times and its cares.

The Gods are not very noble, rather a bunch of vain ninnys. Prior to entering their newly erected des-res, they are picnicking, dressed in jodhpurs and riding boots with polo mallets scattered about (why else would Donner have a hammer?) The Giants are a pair of wide-boy builders, not afraid to dispense a quick punch in the face or pull out revolvers when things get touchy over payment disputes. All this works rather well (but Friea enters the fray too early, before her panicky music pursued by Giants, my only carp). Donner’s hammer blow is coupled with a real coup de théâtre, achieved purely through lighting.

In my experience the staging of the God’s entry into Valhalla across the rainbow bridge has never matched the imposing grandeur of the music that accompanies it. But here it is truly dazzling - so simple but utterly spectacular. It’s designed to make the audience gasp, just as Wagner intended.

Das Rheingold is very much an ensemble work, with no stand-out arias, more a series of conversational exchanges that often descend into bickering and conflict. There are no vocal weak links, everyone sings, looks and acts the part. Biggest cheer of the night went to Sean Panikkar’s Loge, in a role which is a bit of a scene stealer anyway. But I found him perhaps a little too eager to draw attention to himself with his manic laughter and cavorting around. The only decent and sympathetic character is Fasolt, with his puppy-eyed infatuation for Friea, here lyrically portrayed by Insung Sim. Christopher Maltman’s Wotan stamps authority with ease, no bully boy hectoring, just understated gestures that nevertheless show that he’s the boss, he commands attention. He looks rather elegant and patrician in his smart-casual riding gear. But be in no doubt, he’s a nasty, ruthless piece of work. His development will be fascinating to see. The best acting/singing was from Christopher Purves’ Alberich. He starts off seeking a bit of fun with the Rhinemaidens, clumsy and awkward like being on a first date, but they only want to humiliate him, and succeed (it’s rather funny, in a cruel way) whereupon his ardour sours into malice. By the Nibelheim scene he has become a despotic, rapacious and cruel tyrant, but nevertheless over confident in navigating around Loge’s snares. His cursing of the ring is magnificently malevolent - we look on aghast, appalled at what has been unleashed on the world.

The entire orchestra is in the pit, no overspill into the side boxes - it’s a tight squeeze and, on the hottest night of the year, the orchestra members must have been concerned about staying in tune, not that it showed. I’ve been critical of Pappano’s Wagner in the past, but this was magnificent, from the legato in the magical prelude to the imposing climax, it was fleet and lithe throughout with gorgeous lyrical detail in the woodwinds and full throttle in the brass, burnished through to baleful when needs be. The strings provide that saturated Wagnerian impasto of sound without cloying. Unusually for nowadays, the curtain dropped during the scene changes, which gave some in the audience the opportunity to have a quick natter and check their phones rather than relish the spectacular music being played before them - ah well…

So this cycle is off to an auspicious start. Kosky’s vision is engrossing, thought-provoking, lucid and exciting. I’m already eager to know how this is going to develop. I suspect that Erda (played by octogenarian Rose Knox-Peebles but sung by Weibke Lehmkuhl) is going to be on stage for the whole 15 hours of the cycle, transmuting her dreams into our reality, and seeing her imaginings becoming systematically debased. (Her later encounter with Wotan in Siegfried should be gripping.) It gets ever darker from now on.

I attended the rehearsal from a perch up in the Amphitheatre, but will be going again later in the run, having a better view of the stage vista, which is very deep. But most of the action occurs towards the front of the stage and will be seen from most seats. There’s a cinema relay on 20/9. This is a thrilling production that should not be missed however you choose to see it.

[underthecountertenor]

Thanks for this great and detailed review, Belgrove. I had planned to be there on Saturday, but in the end had an irresistible offer to escape the London heat for Snowdonia. But I have front row amphitheatre tickets for later in the run, and your commentary will certainly help me get a handle on the production, to which I am looking forward even more now.

[Darkbloom]

Christopher Maltman’s Wotan stamps authority with ease, no bully boy hectoring, just understated gestures that nevertheless show that he’s the boss, he commands attention. He looks rather elegant and patrician in his smart-casual riding gear. But be in no doubt, he’s a nasty, ruthless piece of work. His development will be fascinating to see.

Can you see him having the heft for the rest of the role? I haven't heard him for a while but he always struck me as a good baritone but not a particularly large voice and I was surprised to see he was tackling Wotan. Is it one of those voices that can cut through the orchestra without necessarily being that powerful?

[Belgrove]

Can you see him having the heft for the rest of the role? I haven't heard him for a while but he always struck me as a good baritone but not a particularly large voice and I was surprised to see he was tackling Wotan. Is it one of those voices that can cut through the orchestra without necessarily being that powerful?

His voice has darkened since I last saw him, and he had no problems being heard over the orchestra on Saturday night (the diction of the entire cast was exemplary). He acted in an understated way but nevertheless had a magnetic presence. He has another year to deepen his interpretation for the greater challenges in Die Walküre. I think it’s a prospect to relish.

[kernelbogey]

Looking forward to going on Saturday. I dug out my old William Mann libretto: it rather creaks now...! I think WM tried for a sort of singing version, matching word and syllable counts to the music; and the two columns per page (Deutsch & English) wrecks the poetry.

Any suggestions for a more fluent translation?

[smittims]

My favourite has always been Peggie Cochrane's translation which was issued with the Lp version of the Solti Ring. I still dig out my 12" square booklets. I was sorry to see that in the fat little black book (or should it be the little fat black book?) they issued with the Blu-Ray version a different, and in my view inferior, translation was used.

[Opinionated Knowall]

Any suggestions for a more fluent translation?

The Stewart Spencer translation is excellent: literal, accurate and readable. I always liked the Andrew Porter, a singing translation done for ENO. The new John Deathridge is best avoided, it reads like a first draft, with identical phrases in the German translated in different ways, and attempts to keep the German word order making it very clunky and hard to follow. Plus some really horrid modern phrases.

[kernelbogey]

The Stewart Spencer translation is excellent: literal, accurate and readable. I always liked the Andrew Porter, a singing translation done for ENO. The new John Deathridge is best avoided, it reads like a first draft, with identical phrases in the German translated in different ways, and attempts to keep the German word order making it very clunky and hard to follow. Plus some really horrid modern phrases.