Met Opera Die Walkure 28.4.12

[Tom Adustus]

Jonas Kaufmann is out of this performance through illness, so Siegmund will be sung by Frank van Aken (Mr Westbroek), making his Met debut.

I listened to about 30 minutes of Act 1 and was not impressed.

[gurnemanz]

Some comments from the New York Times here. Apparently, Wotan's spear nearly impaled an orchestra member.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/arts/music/when-tenor-falls-ill-the-met-calls-on-a-replacement-in-town-to-see-his-wife-sing.html

[kernelbogey]

[...]Apparently, Wotan's spear nearly impaled an orchestra member.[....]

Wer mein Speeres Spitze fuerchtet, durchschreite das Orchester nie!

[DracoM]

Terfel OK in Lebe Wohl. Dalayman.........well, bit shouty even in the tenderest moments. Suppose that's what the Met does to you?

People are being very generous in saying 'Siegmund aside etc ' Siegmund IS two thirds of this opera. I really do appreciate the Met's problem over Kaufmann's illness and finding a sub, but the man simply could not / did not do it, or was not in training for it. And that IMO had a knock-on effect on the cast. They would have been listening / sitting around knowing that onstage was a tense tight-rope walk. I was fully prepared to think that at the end of Act 1, the SM would be out front to say that Mr X cannot go on with the performance. Sielglinde must have been deeply troubled onstage watching him struggle, and wondering if they were going to get to the end at all. Siegmund is a big sing, and his refusal to abandon Sieglinde has to be one of the great nodal points of the entire cycle.

OK, I suppose under the circs, the rest did pretty well, but given that it was also being broadcast round the world cannot have helped nerves. In the pit too, I felt that Luisi must have had his heart in his mouth as well, wondering when the guy was going to walk off, and while the band played very professionally, nevertheless, there seemed to be less sweep and intensity than one comes to expect from the Met. Act 3 better - hated the Valkyries - just a loud, wobbly mess for me.

After what I thought a stodgy Act 1 [ bit early in the day for him?], Terfel's final sequence was better - memory lapses apart. Still think he does not have the vocal range for it.

[Resurrection Man]

And we can, of course, naturally rely on the audience to totally trash the moment by applauding before the closing bars have even finished. Are US audiences so totally clueless as to when applause is appropriate. I've really had it with these Met broadcasts.

BTW Love the reference to Pinky and Perky !

nat

[DracoM]

The set got applause for the Ride of the Valkyries - at least it sounded like it. Standard Met reaction.

[Pegleg]

If it's worth anything, here's the view of someone who is mostly ignorant of whatever turns folk into Wagnerian apostles.

Putting the Siegmund stand-in aside, this performance just didn't seem very musical to me. Caterwauling, squally, shouty, it seemed all of those things, and as I dipped in and out of the three acts it never seemed to get any better to me. I just couldn't be bothered to listen to this. I wonder how many casual Wagner listeners were similarly put off?

I recorded this for later listening, but the bits I heard showed the usual Met sound balance which really isn`t to my taste. I was also recording, courtesy of Austrian Radio`s website, Thielemann conducting the same opera in Vienna which struck me as a much more natural sound. (For those interested, Austrian radio has a listen again facility too whereas the BBC`s doesn`t include their Met broadcasts.)

Well, I found the url for this: http://oe1.orf.at/programm/301414

And I'm still listening, quite a contrast. Finally, gesamtkunstwerk is beginning to make little more sense to me, but I don't think I'll ever be a fan.

P.S. Freitag's "Rhiengold" can be found here :http://oe1.orf.at/programm/301345 and Samstag
05. Mai 2012 19:05 "Götterdämmerung" http://oe1.orf.at/programm/302012

[Chris Newman]

The problem with covering a part like Siegmund unprepared after a sixteen month gap is that the role is not fully worked into the voice (having become unravelled). He would not have had a proper rehearsal for fear of losing his voice. His memories of the role will be how he did it at La Scala. His autopilot will want to sing at the tempi he sang at La Scala. That Met set is on the move all the time. He must have been terrified of being crushed.

I once resurrected a role after nearly a year to help out without rehearsal and any chance to practice and I was fading fast by the last scene and had laryngitis for a week afterwards.

[DracoM]

Yes, and I suppose, Chris, that with a deal like 'that set' and Wagner and internatinal radio obligations etc, cancellation, even of a matinee, would be very difficult at 24 hrs notice.

BBC could have played us some other version of course, but it would not have been 'live'.

So, brave of Mr van A, but was it worth it? Hmm.

[DracoM]

Just listening now to the Wiener Staatsoper 'Die Walkure'. Totally different experience in every way.
Ventris / Siegmund, Meier/Sieglinde / VSO / Thielemann.
Balance between orch / singers pretty near ideal. And that wonderful band playing out of their skin.

Ah, now that's Bisto!

[DracoM]

Honestly, people, DO listen to pegleg's link. The singing / playing is truly wonderful. Now THAT's Sieglinde and Wotan at work.

[underthecountertenor]

DracoM: let's hope for a commercial release of Thielemann's Ring, eh? From what you (and others) are saying, it could be the finest modern Ring on record.
Re the Met broadcast: I dipped into it in Act 2 (at Brunnhilde's appearance to Siegmund), unaware that Kaufmann had withdrawn, and was shocked by what I heard: switched off PDQ. I then came here to see what was being said, and was mightily relieved to discover that it wasn't Kaufmann after all. But was there any explanation of why they had to resort to van Aken, who was so painfully obviously unprepared and not up to the role? Why can't the Met of all places devote a fraction of its enormous resources to having an understudy on contract for such a role who knows the production and can make a decent fist of the singing (which van Aken clearly couldn't - though I really felt for him)? If I'd paid Met prices for what was clearly intended to be a major season highlight, I'd have been pretty cross.

[underthecountertenor]

PS I suppose I might be going a bit far in saying 'finest modern Ring on record' - or am I? What do you all think?

[LHC]

DracoM: let's hope for a commercial release of Thielemann's Ring, eh? From what you (and others) are saying, it could be the finest modern Ring on record.

There is already a Thielemann conducted Ring cycle available:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Nibelungen-Recorded-Bayreuth-Festival/dp/B002QEXC7G/ref=sr_1_20?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1335785708&sr=1-20

The playing of the Bayreuth Orchestra is very good, but there are several weak links in the cast which probably rule it out as library choice. It does, however, make it unlikely that there will be another commercial release of a cycle under his direction any time soon.

[underthecountertenor]

I'd forgotten that, LHC. What a pity.