Thursday April 23, 2009 - Gods, giants, dwarves, Rhinemaidens...yes, another RHEINGOLD at the Met. This was the second of two stand-alone performances of the opera with just a couple of cast changes from my earlier RHEINGOLD. And thankfully no one in my immediate vicinity was sucking Altoids tonight. James Morris and Yvonne Naef, above, retained their roles as Wotan and Fricka. Of course the big news was that John Keenan took over the baton from Maestro Levine, reportedly at the very last minute. The result was one of the most thrilling evenings I've spent at the Met in many a moon.
The whole performance simply crackled with vitality and everyone onstage and in the pit seemed focused on making every note and nuance count. (Read the article below this one on the blog). Maestro Keenan's left-hand man was the inimitable David Chan who twice in the evening sent chills up my spine with his brief solo moments, the shining tone wafting off his strings. We are so lucky to have David in the concertmaster's seat for the RING operas this year.
The Rhinemaidens (above, from left: Kate Lindsey, Lisette Oropesa and Tamara Mumford) watch aghast as Alberich - Richard Paul Fink - steals the gold. We have been fortunate this season to have such a mellifluous-sounding and visually appealing trio of young singers as the Rhine daughters and the girls sang with rapturous clarity tonight, blending gorgeously. That they are all very attractive young women certainly adds to the pleasure. I must say Tamara sounded even more incredibly lustrous than usual tonight; in the passage where Flosshilde lures Alberich with false promises, Tamara's voice had a glamorous seductive sheen. (Lucky Glimmerglass patrons will hear Ms. Mumford as Purcell's Dido this summer!)
Richard Paul Fink has been such a grandly cantankerous and disturbingly passionate Alberich in the RING operas this season. His snarlingly pointed diction and creepy tonal colourings are always on the mark and he is a tireless physical actor, throwing himself into the action with gusto. A capital villain and one who is capable - when rejected by the Rhinemaidens and later when the ring is taken from him - of winning our sympathies with his pathetic, lamenting phrases.
Kudos too for the excellent Mime of Dennis Peterson who took many a convincing pratfall as he suffered the beatings of his invisible brother. Peterson sang strongly also.
Yvonne Naef followed up her grand performance as Waltraute in yesterday's GOTTERDAMMERUNG dress rehearsal with a finely-wrought Fricka today. Ms. Naef's performances have been among the most enjoyable aspects of the RING operas this season. From her first line tonight, calling on her slumbering husband to awaken and reflect, Ms. Naef sang her music with beauty of sound and with great power aligned to a deeply feminine mystique. She wove into the vocal fabric some mesmerizing piano effects. I found her performance especially moving, and the staging subtly presaged her impending marital problems as she stood softly spotlit while her husband fell under Erda's spell. Yelling 'brava!' for her at the end seemed pallid thanks for her wonderful performances in the RING thus far.
Also repeating their roles were James Morris (Wotan), Kim Begley (Loge), Garrett Sorenson (Froh), Charles Taylor (Donner), Wendy Bryn Harmer (Freia) and Sir John Tomlinson (Fafner).
My hat is off to James Morris; before the RING operas started this year I was wishing for any other Wotan. But he proved me wrong and himself right: he's still the Wotan for our time. No, he does not have the resplendent ringing vocal grandeur of his past performances but he knows the music inside out and just delivers it with one vocal and verbal masterstroke after another. Grey patches here and there hardly seemed to matter. Listening to his greeting of Valhalla tonight as the opera draws to a close - probably the last I'll hear of his Wotan in the House - made me realize how fortunate I have been to have had James Morris in my RING operas all these years.
I've come to enjoy Kim Begley's Loge more and more with each performance; an initial over-playing of some rather cute mannerisms has toned down considerably and of course the fact that he's strapped with an uninspired costume is not the singer's fault. He sang with clarity and a nice sense of the ironic.
As the siblings, Garrett Sorenson was a lyrical Froh and Charles Taylor a vocal knock-out as Donner: his big, steady tones were hurled into the House with effortless and thrilling power. A future Wotan? Wendy Bryn Harmer sang gloriously and looked lovely as Freia; my friend Adi who attended with me loves to hear a big voice come zooming out into the darkened theatre and so he really got a physical jolt when Wendy deployed her upper notes. This is a voice of great promise.
Sir John Tomlinson has been the busiest RING guy of all: Fafner (in both RHEINGOLD and SIEGFRIED), Hunding and Hagen - he owns them all. Tonight as the cranky, murderous giant was yet another vocally super-sized performance from this grand Wagnerian. Bravo, Sir John!
Rene Pape joined the cast tonight as Fasolt. This was just plain old thrilling, magnificent vocalism. To sing so powerfully is one thing: add to it the sheer beauty and poetry (yes, Fasolt is the 'poetic' giant) which Pape has at his command and the result is a pure revelation. Listening to him was a transporting experience; both he and Sir John basked in a roar of approval when they stepped out for a curtain call.
Wendy White has shown us as Erda (and as the 1st Norn) that she is much more than a good house singer. Her vocalism has power, warmth and an intense emotional edge, spanning the range and register-shifts of the music with authority and with the steadiness of tone which many more 'famous' singers might envy. I think we often take singers like Wendy for granted; her RING performances have been thoroughly satisfying and highly enjoyable.
The entry of the gods into Valhalla: perfect ending for my Met season. This was a grand night. Bravi tutti!
Rene Pape is one of my favorite singers of all time. I will never forget hearing him in Tristan and Isolde. Fantastic, thrilling voice, magnetism on stage and a force of nature.
I think that here in LA we have the next great Wotan of his time -- Vitalij Kowaljow. Even though he had food poisoning during Wednesday's performance, he still sang with fierce passion, color and tenderness. What a voice and what an artist.
Posted by: Erika | April 24, 2009 at 03:18 PM
I really hope Vitalij will be one of the Wotans in the new Cycle here. I've heard him a few times, it's a very impressive voice.
Rene Pape was incredible as Fasolt last night - of course everyone wants to hear him sing the Wotans but I think he has ample time to get around to that very demanding role.
Who is Vitalij's cover in LA? John Fanning was covering it here, I think.
Posted by: Philip | April 24, 2009 at 04:09 PM
You won't believe this, but...they don't have a cover for Vitalij here. That's just asking for trouble...but, even though he was ill on Wednesday he gave a thrilling performance.
Posted by: Erika | April 24, 2009 at 04:22 PM
It's very risky for a major Company not to have a cover for such a huge role. You can't just get on the phone and ask someone to fly in...Wotans are hard to find!
Posted by: Philip | April 24, 2009 at 04:56 PM
Yes, especially if you are flying that cover (considering you could find one) all the way to Los Angeles. Very risky.
Posted by: Erika | April 24, 2009 at 10:05 PM
I also hope someone like Kowaljow is given the chance to sing Wotan at the Met when the new cycle rolls around! But that new cycle seems to have a lot of IFs attached to it at the moment!
Posted by: Dmitry | April 25, 2009 at 03:05 AM
I'm just dying to see what kind of RING Cycle $19 million buys...and I bet it will run over budget, too.
Posted by: Philip | April 25, 2009 at 07:32 AM
Been reading this blog for a while without posting, but I couldn't help jumping on the Kowaljow bandwagon. I too heard him as Wotan, on April 8, and found him absolutely fantastic. The MET should give the Wotans to him instead of Bryn Terfel, I just feel a true bass's vocal weight suits the character better.
Posted by: MexBass | April 25, 2009 at 12:49 PM
Yes, that would be nice. Oh, of course you'll go over budget...you'll be surprised at how many extras come with these "new" productions...
Posted by: Erika | April 25, 2009 at 02:20 PM
Last I heard, Terfel had decided not to do the Wotans at the Met.
Posted by: Philip | April 25, 2009 at 05:25 PM
Hi, MexBass! I agree wholeheartedly with you. I was just at the closing night of LA Opera's Walkuere...have heard every performance and Vitalij is consistently phenomenal every night, even when he had food poisoning! In addition, he is a great person and wonderful colleague. The MET should give him all of the Wotans.
Posted by: Erika | April 26, 2009 at 12:22 AM