Opera North: Ring

[Simon B]

From various comments above I'd say that it seems that this is another example of the frequent phenomenon where imperfections apparent from relays are either artefacts of the recording process or not noticeable in the moment when present.

The orchestra sounds glorious and ideally balanced in the Sage acoustic. Particularly so, bass extension (the double basses are felt as well as heard), without compromising clarity.

Having been to the individual operas over the years, mostly in Birmingham or Leeds, I could have opted for most of the venues for the full cycle, all of which except Gateshead are just about within day trip reach. However, on the basis of the superior Sage acoustic (Birmingham not being visited by the 2016 cycles) I opted for the Sage and consider it a good call on the basis of what I've heard so far.

The only audible concern noted above I have been aware of so far was Kelly Cae Hogan sounding under pressure in Siegfried - wide vibrato always being much less troubling live than via close miking, but still noticeable. Here's hoping that so many cycles together (Alwyn Mellor was originally due to take over in London and Gateshead but had to withdraw) haven't taken a toll.

[Bert Coules]

I've just listened to most of act two and the whole of act three of Siegfried on the iPlayer: splendid stuff indeed, with the odd and entirely acceptable slip here and there which one expects in a live performance. Lars Cleveman impressed me both with his stamina and his commitment, and I enjoyed Kelly Cae Hogan's Brünnhilde a good deal more than I was expecting to after reading some of the comments here. And there were no weak links in the rest of the cast.

Something which did surprise me was Richard Farnes' notably slow tempo for some of the final duet: it's a long passage and can drag, especially in the central section - it didn't here, but it also didn't pick up speed and gain momentum towards the end, which mirrors the characters' emotions and can be enormously effective.

On to Götterdämmerung - which is indeed on the air (but not on my radio) as I type this.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Something which did surprise me was Richard Farnes' notably slow tempo for some of the final duet: it's a long passage and can drag, especially in the central section - it didn't here, but it also didn't pick up speed and gain momentum towards the end, which mirrors the characters' emotions and can be enormously effective.

The tempi didn't seem at all "notably slow" to me, Bert - at 11mins 28secs, Farnes is around the same speed as Solti (11mins 27secs); faster than Furtwangler (11mins 54secs in La Scala), Neuhold (12mins 11secs), and Sawallisch (12mins 25secs).

Slower than Böhm (10mins 53secs) or Janowski (10mins 33secs) though. Farnes does what the score tells him to do, and - in the Theatre and over the airwaves - I found it to be precisely "enormously effective".

[Bert Coules]

A fair point, though personally I wouldn't judge the impression of speed or lack of it by reference to overall timings. I think that what I was reacting to wasn't a general tempo so much as the lack of an increase of speed for the final section. It perhaps doesn't help that I chanced recently to hear a vintage recording which was positively supersonic: that might well have been in the back of my mind.

Dramatically, once Brünnhilde finally sheds her doubts and her inhibitions and gets carried along with Siegfried's passion, the show is effectively over and I like the curtain to fall as soon as possible.

[DracoM]

Gosh, just finished listening to Act 1 Gotterdammerung, and am I finding Mats Almgren's Hagen difficult to cope with or what.
The voice! I live in sheep country, and it's like a ram in pain.
Susan Bickley's Waltraute was FANTASTIC!

[Bert Coules]

Oh dear, that's a bit of a shame. Hagen needs to be rock-solid in every sense, a firmly-set anchor point that the Gibichung scenes revolve around. The great ENO Rings of the seventies definitely lost something when Clifford Grant retired from the stage so prematurely and so unfortunately.

[DracoM]

Totally agree, Bert.
Hagen needs to be the blackest, least moved voice on view, making Alberich seem like a flapping traffic warden by comparison.
Sorry, this Hagen is nothing like that for me.

Band still stars of the show for me.

[Bert Coules]

I just had a quick dip in to act two. Oh boy, you're right about the Hagen: what a pity. It's curious though: he hits some notes with real focus and attack then immediately goes all woolly again. He does look the part, though. I just found this, from a review by Michael Tanner: Mats Almgren is a Boris Karloff lookalike, with an uncentred voice but a great presence.

By contrast, I thought the new Siegfried, Mati Turi, impressive: he seems on this short hearing to be a tad subtler than Mr Cleveman, doing more with the text and employing more light and shade. Mr Tanner, who saw as well as heard him, doesn't agree: Siegfried was competently taken by Mati Turi, but apart from his indefatigably cheerful expression he had little in the way of interpretation to offer.

Andrew Foster-Williams strikes me as a quite superb Gunther.

[Flosshilde]

Gosh, just finished listening to Act 1 Gotterdammerung, and am I finding Mats Almgren's Hagen difficult to cope with or what.

Yes - very unfortunate. I'm not familiar with rams in pain, but to me he sounded more like a querulous old man.

I feel that Wagner's dramatic instincts deserted him in Act 1 - too long, & zipping about all over the place. After the superb opening with the Norns, it quickly goes into jolly off-to-new-adventures stuff. Siegfried's departure rather reminds me of Mrs Beeton's advice to a wife - stand at the front door as husband goes to the office, hand him his hat & glance at his umbrella.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Yes Hagen doesn't sound evil enough but despite the reservations voiced over some of the soloists I have to say that the conducting, choral singing and orchestral performance tonight is of Goodall - like intensity and commitment . Some one earlier has mentioned Furtwangler . I don't think that's over the top ....

[Bert Coules]

...it quickly goes into jolly off-to-new-adventures stuff. Siegfried's departure rather reminds me of Mrs Beeton's advice to a wife...

And yet that scene includes one of the most vital, pivotal incidents in the whole of the drama, as Siegfried becomes the first person to willingly give up the Ring.

[DracoM]

Now, THAT is what Radio 3 is for.

A truly memorable week, live, immaculately presented by Donald Macleod, and so exhilarating that a British company can mount so brilliant a production, nay, take it on a mega-tour and excite audiences all over the country. Logistics on a colossal scale.

Heartfelt thanks to all.

[ARBurton]

Now, THAT is what Radio 3 is for.

A truly memorable week, live, immaculately presented by Donald Macleod, and so exhilarating that a British company can mount so brilliant a production, nay, take it on a mega-tour and excite audiences all over the country. Logistics on a colossal scale.

Heartfelt thanks to all.

Well said, DracoM. Couldn`t agree more. Fantastic job by Radio 3 and without a trace of dumbing down. Hurrah. And, as you say, heartfelt thanks to all in front of and behind the microphones.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Now, THAT is what Radio 3 is for.

A truly memorable week, live, immaculately presented by Donald Macleod, and so exhilarating that a British company can mount so brilliant a production, nay, take it on a mega-tour and excite audiences all over the country. Logistics on a colossal scale.

Heartfelt thanks to all.

[Bert Coules]

Agreed, of course. Whatever minor carps and criticisms might have been made, to mount the Ring at all is a tremendous feat, and to do it so triumphantly is a magnificent accomplishment.