Saturday April 13th, 2013 matinee - Opera was meant to be experienced in the opera house, and the fact that the Metropolitan Opera now have a very ugly and boring production of Wagner's RING Cycle on their hands is not going to stop me from hearing these operas, which are among my great favorites, in the theatre. I have purchased score desks for all four operas (though not in order) plus an extra WALKURE (we have two new Wotans and I must hear both of them); today's matinee marked the start of my 2013 RING experience.
I have to confess I was hoping for a cast change or two this afternoon, and when Peter Gelb stepped before the curtain prior to the start of the opera my hopes were raised. However, his announcement was not about the change I was hoping for: instead, he explained (with an inappropriate touch of humor) that Simon O'Neill had awakened this morning with severe allergies but would go on anyway. I always feel it's a bit unfair when a singer who feels unwell enough to need an announcement decides to perform anyway. Many in the audience have paid (in this case, especially) top dollar and they deserve to hear singers who are at their best. Also, the performance was an international broadcast, so why subject yourself to that kind of exposure when you're below par?
Be that as it may, Simon got thru about half the act sounding in reduced circumstances of power and with a few throaty notes along the way; before the Sword monolog he walked offtage and another tenor, Andrew Sritheran, walked onstage for his Met debut. I certainly hope Simon is back onstage for my second WALKURE (May 6th).
Nervousness about Simon's condition precluded my full enjoyment of Act I. Of course I could not see the cast change happening, but realized that I was hearing a different voice as Siegmund. Mr. Sritheran's sound is clear and pleasing but perhaps a bit shy in volume to be a truly satisfying Siegmund in such a big House. His finest moments came in Act II as he bade farewell to the sleeping Sieglinde, just before he met his death at Hunding's spear point. He absolutely saved the performance and deserves our gratitude for doing so.
As Sieglinde, Siegmund's "schwester und braut", soprano Martina Serafin made her Met debut this afternoon. She has a clear and well-projected lyric voice, delivering many felicitous phrases and with nicely-coloured diction. She tends to lean a bit on her lower notes, and possibly that accounts for a lack of bloom on the top; her highest notes sounded somewhat uncomfortable to me: a trace of harshness and some wavering cropped up. I wondered if a role somewhat lighter in vocal scope - especially in the big House - might show her off better: something like Desdemona or Contessa Almaviva. Ms. Serafin was a great favorite with the crowd, winning an enthusiastic ovation.
In the afternoon's most compelling and sonically thrilling performance, basso Hans-Peter König as Hunding delivered vocalism of effortless power and dark, rotund richness. This is what a Wagner voice should sound like.
It's sad to note the continuing decline of Deborah Voigt's voice; her singing today was pretty much insufferable. Stephanie Blythe was more in her element as Fricka today than earlier this season as Azucena where she took certain lines down an octave to avoid exposing the weaknesses of her higher notes. Still, her Fricka was simply loud and not very interesting in terms of verbal expressiveness.
Mark Delavan, a fabulous Flying Dutchman at New York City Opera a dozen years ago, has recently tackled the Wotans and in today's performance he progressed from an uneven second act to an impressive third act. Never a singer known for subtlety, and not an adept colorist, Delavan delivered a perfectly respectable but not terribly imaginative rendering of Wotan's long monolog. He seemed to be pacing himself (understandably) and there was some swallowing of notes and an overall feeling of guardedness; for all that, there were also some fine phrases; and his explosive final "Geh!" to Hunding after Siegmund's death was stunning.
Act III found Delavan more in his element, with long paragraphs of extroverted, emotional singing and opportunities for unfettered display of vocal power. His singing took on a grander feeling, with more ring to the tone and more godlike expansiveness. His entire scene from Wotan's "Leb' wohl" to the end of the afternoon was very exciting, and he sustained the opera's final note with great amplitiude and assurance.
The audience twice interrupted the Ride of the Valkyries with applause and cheers; the eight sisters were a boisterous lot, singing with gusto. Wendy Bryn Harmer stood out for amplitude and warmth; how I wish she had sung Sieglinde. Among the lower voices, Jennifer Johnson Cano and Eve Gigliotti made strong individual impressions.
Fabio Luisi's conducting continues to seem very 'factual' to me; everything is there and it's not bad in any way, but it somehow feels more dutiful that passionate. His Act I seemed on the slow side - though this allowed us to savor the expressive cello solo - and a bit lacking in tension. In Act II, Luisi could have perhaps found ways to enhance Mr. Delavan's long narrative; but when the baritone reached Wotan's farewell in the final act, Mr. Luisi seemed seized by the moment and singer and orchestra gave us a strong ending to this immortal score.
Metropolitan Opera HouseApril 13, 2013 Matinee
DIE WALKÜRE
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Richard Wagner
Brünnhilde..............Deborah Voigt
Siegmund................Simon O'Neill/Andrew Sritheran (debut)
Sieglinde...............Martina Serafin [Debut]
Wotan...................Mark Delavan
Fricka..................Stephanie Blythe
Hunding.................Hans-Peter König
Gerhilde................Deborah Mayer [Debut]
Grimgerde...............Mary Ann McCormick
Helmwige................Molly Fillmore
Ortlinde................Wendy Bryn Harmer
Rossweisse..............Rebecca Ringle [Debut]
Schwertleite............Mary Phillips
Siegrune................Eve Gigliotti
Waltraute...............Jennifer Johnson Cano
Conductor...............Fabio Luisi
It's been reliably reported that the planned revival of this terrible production of the RING Cycle scheduled for 2016 has been scrapped. Who knows? These performances in the next few weeks could well be my last opportunities to experience these operas live in the House.