Above: Waltraute seeks out the banished Brunnhilde
Thursday May 2, 2013 - This evening's performance of GOTTERDAMMERUNG at The Met proved distressing in one regard: Katarina Dalayman as Brunnhilde showed a marked decline in her upper register since her February 2012 performance of this same opera which was so thrilling. A steady diet of the heaviest Wagnerian roles - the Brunnhildes, Isolde and Kundry - is bound to affect any voice and tonight the soprano's discomfort above the staff was sadly evident.
Her performance was marked by beauty of tone and expressiveness in the middle and lower ranges, but everything above G was managed by sheer will-power. This made for a nerve-wracking listening experience and in fact I was tempted to leave after Act II but was resolved to hear this great opera to the end, especially in view of the fact that we have no assurance of hearing the RING again at The Met in the immediate future.
This season's RING operas at The Met are shared by two Brunnhildes with unreliable upper ranges. It's not that high notes are everything, it's simply a case of so much of the vocal writing finding its appeal in soaring upward thrusts. Neither Ms. Dalayman nor Ms. Voigt now have the desired security to do the music full justice. Meanwhile, possible viable Brunnhilde-candidates like Christine Goerke and Lise Lindstrom seem to be having success in the roles elsewhere; as is so often the case, The Met lags behind in casting.
The evening's Siegfried, Jay Hunter Morris, did his best singing in the opera's final act. The crowd loves his appearance and stage presence in ths role; at my score desk, without the visual element, he makes a good effort and manages the role well enough but vocal will-power seems a factor here as well. By Act III he seemed at his best. Siegfrieds are even harder to come by than Brunnhildes, and Mr. Morris surely is a viable choice.
The most authentic Wagner singing tonight came from Hans-Peter Konig as Hagen; from a vocal standpoint, he has been the crowning glory of the RING operas at The Met this season. His cries of "Hoi! Ho!" were thrilling. Wendy Bryn Harmer (Gutrune) and Iain Paterson (Gunther) make a strong Gibichung pair - and at the curtain calls, Wendy looks quite glamorous. Hopefully we'll have her Sieglinde some day.
For me, the unexpected pleasure in this season's RING performance has been the conducting of Fabio Luisi. Either he is 'improving' or I am subconsciously more open to his interpretations. Tonight he and mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill gave a particularly impressive reading of Waltraute's long narrative: the whole scene was crafted in gradations of piano/pianissimo singing with the maestro providing chamber-music intimacy from the pit. It was really intriguing.
Eric Owens was a very subtle Alberich, with ghostly, whispered queries as he addressed his sleeping son. In this scene - with Mr. Konig - the conductor again was keenly supportive of the dramatic elements in the singing.
The evening started off with a superb reading of the Norn scene, always a favorite passage in the RING for me. Elizabeth DeShong, Michaela Martens and Heidi Melton all sang impressively, conveying the mystery of the scene with its paradoxical atmosphere of doom and urgency. In Act III, Disella Larusdottir, Jennifer Johnson Cano and Renee Tatum sang with playful lyricism as the Rhinemaidens; when their words turn darker, Siegfried's jesting dismissal of their warning sets the finale of the opera in motion.
Empty seats at a RING Cycle? This was once unheard-of, but the cumbersome and ultimately not-very-stimulating production does not lure repeat viewers nor make opera-lovers want to travel to Gotham from Europe or Japan. Also I feel that The Met is now making itself too readily accessible in movie theaters and via Sirius, and increasing numbers of people get their operatic experiences away from the opera house. But nothing compares with being there.
Metropolitan Opera House
May 2, 2013
GOTTERDAMMERUNG
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Richard Wagner
Brunnhilde..............Katarina Dalayman
Siegfried...............Jay Hunter Morris
Gunther.................Iain Paterson
Gutrune.................Wendy Bryn Harmer
Hagen...................Hans-Peter Konig
Waltraute...............Karen Cargill
Alberich................Eric Owens
First Norn..............Elizabeth DeShong
Second Norn.............Michaela Martens
Third Norn..............Heidi Melton
Woglinde................DísellaLàrusdóttir Wellgunde...............Jennifer Johnson Cano
Flosshilde..............Renee Tatum