[spoiler alert for those planning to go to future WNO performances of this work]
On Thursday I went to Cardiff's Millennium Centre to see WNO's new production of Frank Martin's Le Vin Herbé - or, to give it its title for this performance in English, The Poisoned Chalice. It's certainly one of the strangest experiences I have had in an opera house, perhaps in part because the work was not conceived as an opera but as a "secular oratorio", but also because none of the conventional operatic elements was present. Instead of an orchestra, Martin used a small chamber ensemble of 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, double-bass and piano. There were no arias, and the two principal characters Tristan and Iseult were silent for long periods. The chorus was the most active protagonist, but was not in any sense a homogenous body but was split into three separate groups any one or more of which could be singing (and in some cases soloists from each group). The action, and reflections on the action, were mostly described by this inchoate chorus. In this production the whole stage was used with few props other than a raised level towards the back of the stage, and the musicians were on stage the whole time, with chorus and soloists moving around in front and behind them.
I had no prior experience of this work and very little of Martin's music, so I attended the pre-performance talk given by one of the musicians, the translator of the libretto and a WNO dramaturg who gave an overview of the origins of the work and its structure. Martin used a libretto based on the novel Tristan et Iseult by Joseph Bédier who distilled the various Tristan legends, but essentially used the Béroul version rather than that of Gottfried von Strasbourg as used by Wagner. Martin divided the work into three parts - in this production played continuously without an interval - with several tableaux in each (a total of 22 tableaux). Each tableau was not necessarily a change of scene but a different perspective on the action, for instance a reflection on it by another character or the chorus. Martin sought to strip the legend of its romantic accretions and instead of presenting a work in which the action and the feelings of the principals were described mainly through their own music, it is the chorus that mainly does this, a chorus that - like the Greek chorus of an ancient tragedy - is simultaneously involved and detached.
Martin's supreme inspiration as a composer was Bach, and there is a sense in which this work is a kind of secular Passion, with the chorus taking over the roles of Evangelist and chorus. Some of the music was dodecaphonic but the work as a whole does not abandon tonality. The small ensemble produced powerful effects at times, notably during the tempest scenes in the first and third parts, but was also capable of lyrical eloquence with solos from violin, viola and cello. I was not sure why WNO chose to use the full chorus of 36 (even though split into three separate groups) rather than just the 12-voice chorus specified in the score; it's possible that this disturbed the balance of chorus, soloists and small ensemble. Martin's music is hard to characterise, as the thread in the Composers sub-forum suggests, but there's no doubt here that he wanted to compel the attention of the audience with a contemporary work that completely rethinks the Tristan story from the huge legacy left by Wagner. Although much of the work is dissonant, it ends with a resolution into the major, first with Tristan's dying words and then with the final tableau presenting the tombs of the dead lovers with a bramble that persistently grows from Tristan's to Iseult's tomb. This is a moment of catharsis appropriate to the ancient dramatic form that Martin returned to for this work.
All in all, this was an intense experience demanding concentrated attention for the near 2 hours of the continuous performance, with committed performances from the musicians, the soloists and above all the chorus who had to learn difficult music and complicated choreography. I noticed the presence of recording microphones and what looked like a radio presenter in a side balcony, so this may well turn up on R3 at some stage. But if you have a chance, go and see the WNO production which is on at Milton Keynes, Bristol, Llandudno, Plymouth and Southampton over the next few weeks.
Here is the director of the production giving her view of the work and what she was trying to do:
On Thursday I went to Cardiff's Millennium Centre to see WNO's new production of Frank Martin's Le Vin Herbé - or, to give it its title for this performance in English, The Poisoned Chalice. It's certainly one of the strangest experiences I have had in an opera house, perhaps in part because the work was not conceived as an opera but as a "secular oratorio", but also because none of the conventional operatic elements was present. Instead of an orchestra, Martin used a small chamber ensemble of 2 violins, 2 violas, 2 cellos, double-bass and piano. There were no arias, and the two principal characters Tristan and Iseult were silent for long periods. The chorus was the most active protagonist, but was not in any sense a homogenous body but was split into three separate groups any one or more of which could be singing (and in some cases soloists from each group). The action, and reflections on the action, were mostly described by this inchoate chorus. In this production the whole stage was used with few props other than a raised level towards the back of the stage, and the musicians were on stage the whole time, with chorus and soloists moving around in front and behind them.
I had no prior experience of this work and very little of Martin's music, so I attended the pre-performance talk given by one of the musicians, the translator of the libretto and a WNO dramaturg who gave an overview of the origins of the work and its structure. Martin used a libretto based on the novel Tristan et Iseult by Joseph Bédier who distilled the various Tristan legends, but essentially used the Béroul version rather than that of Gottfried von Strasbourg as used by Wagner. Martin divided the work into three parts - in this production played continuously without an interval - with several tableaux in each (a total of 22 tableaux). Each tableau was not necessarily a change of scene but a different perspective on the action, for instance a reflection on it by another character or the chorus. Martin sought to strip the legend of its romantic accretions and instead of presenting a work in which the action and the feelings of the principals were described mainly through their own music, it is the chorus that mainly does this, a chorus that - like the Greek chorus of an ancient tragedy - is simultaneously involved and detached.
Martin's supreme inspiration as a composer was Bach, and there is a sense in which this work is a kind of secular Passion, with the chorus taking over the roles of Evangelist and chorus. Some of the music was dodecaphonic but the work as a whole does not abandon tonality. The small ensemble produced powerful effects at times, notably during the tempest scenes in the first and third parts, but was also capable of lyrical eloquence with solos from violin, viola and cello. I was not sure why WNO chose to use the full chorus of 36 (even though split into three separate groups) rather than just the 12-voice chorus specified in the score; it's possible that this disturbed the balance of chorus, soloists and small ensemble. Martin's music is hard to characterise, as the thread in the Composers sub-forum suggests, but there's no doubt here that he wanted to compel the attention of the audience with a contemporary work that completely rethinks the Tristan story from the huge legacy left by Wagner. Although much of the work is dissonant, it ends with a resolution into the major, first with Tristan's dying words and then with the final tableau presenting the tombs of the dead lovers with a bramble that persistently grows from Tristan's to Iseult's tomb. This is a moment of catharsis appropriate to the ancient dramatic form that Martin returned to for this work.
All in all, this was an intense experience demanding concentrated attention for the near 2 hours of the continuous performance, with committed performances from the musicians, the soloists and above all the chorus who had to learn difficult music and complicated choreography. I noticed the presence of recording microphones and what looked like a radio presenter in a side balcony, so this may well turn up on R3 at some stage. But if you have a chance, go and see the WNO production which is on at Milton Keynes, Bristol, Llandudno, Plymouth and Southampton over the next few weeks.
Here is the director of the production giving her view of the work and what she was trying to do:
. I may print off your review and consult further with them.
I now find, on looking, that I have a very battered copy of that same book - given to me by my old prof, as he was getting rid of a load of, erm, old things:
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