Met 20.4. 12 Siegfried

[DracoM]

Terfel sounds totally out of his depth - a real and not nice surprise. Sounds really struggling. Is it just my hearing?

[mercia]

not a very metallic sound in The Forging Song
is he patting butter?

[gradus]

Poor old Siegfried sounds like he can't wait to get off stage, I think he must be holding back for the last act singfest with Brunnhilde. pretty underwhelming.

[Anna]

And to think, this time normally, I happily listen to Jazz Record Requests ........... Six hours of Opera - what a way to lose listeners!

[Bert Coules]

And to think, this time normally gives us Jazz Record Requests ... Six hours of Wagner - what a way to gain listeners!

I'm enjoying Siegfried but everything does seem just a notch down compared to the superb premiere broadcast. A worthwhile reminder that these performers aren't the unvarying automata that some critics seem to want them to be. "Siegfried can't wait to get off"? That certainly wasn't my impression: I think he's doing a fantastic job. I've heard and seen far more feted Siegfrieds who came nowhere near this level.

I do agree that Terfel's rather lightweight Wotan is perhaps less than my ideal, but the same applies: my word, I've encountered examples who were far less impressive.

One thing is quite beyond the pale: those appalling backstage interviews. Good grief, why do they do that?

Bert

[DracoM]

And, good grief, is that Deborah Voigt wobbling / sliding her way up and down the clef? But she'll get a standing ovation - the Met wears rose-tinted specs and audience loves its favourites.

[Bert Coules]

I don't mind Voigt that much, especially given that the temperature has really risen for act three. The Wotan/Erda and Wotan/Siegfried scenes were quite electric, I thought. Morris is such an intelligent Siegfried: he does some wonderful things with the text.

Bert

[Old Grumpy]

And to think, this time normally, I happily listen to Jazz Record Requests ........... Six hours of Opera - what a way to lose listeners!

Six hours of opera and Wagner to boot (who else eh?).

Never mind - JRR in less than 30 minutes!

[Belgrove]

This is the one I'd missed previously in broadcasts and cinema relays. It's the most difficult of the cycle to bring off. The overall impression is very positive.

I was sniffy about Luisi in Gotterdammerung but was impressed by this, despite some catastrophic cues, was the (truly fabulous) orchestra playing in spite of his direction? The orchestra was exquisite in evoking Wagner's conflation of the rarefied and sublime in the preamble to the final scene. It presages Parsifal in a way I had not previously registered.

Hunter-Morris must receive the palm, he's fearless and tireless. Voigt produced the goods. Terfel was pretty wobbly until the Erda scene, when he managed to pull the irons from the fire. He still has the makings of a great Wotan, because he sings rather than declaims, but will he ultimately achieve it?

The ROH will be be very hard pressed to match this in the autumn. I wish them luck.

[ARBurton]

Well the backstage interviews are utterly dreadful, yes, and I really don`t like Juntwait and Siff, but at least they didn`t talk over the music unlike the numpty of an announcer on Danish Radio who were carrying Parsifal from Malmo at the same time!

[Mr Pee]

And to think, this time normally, Jazz Record Requests ........... what a way to lose listeners!

[DracoM]

Well, it's another Wagner, Die Walkure from the Met next Sat!!