Argentina is the most wagnerian country in South America. The Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, one of the most important operatic venues in the world, has seen in its stage most of the greatest Wagner opera singers in history, as the preserved historical broadcasts from the 30s to 60s witness. Today, the country is still a field for interesting opera productions. On the other hand, since Covid-19 has forced most of the humanity to be locked at their homes, many creative streaming productions have flourished on the internet, as an alternative to closed theatres.
Under these conditions, Lírica Libre, an independent Argentinian opera company in Mar del Plata, had an original idea: a miniseries on a free adaptation from Richard Wagner's romantic opera Lohengrin, with a triple temporal set, with the following plot, proposed by the director Pablo González Aguilar: In the 2020 Argentina, a little opera company, locked in their respective homes, try to perform a story about a company in the 1940 Belgium, invaded by the Nazis. At the same time, that Belgian company is representing Wagner's Lohengrin. In addition, the director proposes an incestuous relationship between Elsa and her brother Gottfried, who one day disappears misteriously. Time later, Lohengrin, who appears to save her from the accusation from Ortrud and Telramund, is none other than Gottfried. Lohengrin is a tragedy, where death and distrust are present. In the Middle Ages, death came from East, from the invading troups. In the 1940s Belgium, death came from air, also from East, the Nazi Germany. In 2020, Death also comes from air, but now invisible, in the shape of a Coronavirus. Never before a miniseries on Wagner's Lohengrin have been done, so this adaptation becomes interesting for its new format.
The series are divided in the following 8 Episodes, all of them of free access in Youtube:
- Episode 1: The guilt.
- Episode 2: The innocence.
- Episode 3: The Forbidden.
- Episode 4: The disgrace.
- Episode 5: The poison.
- Episode 6: The Hope.
- Episode 7: The impossible.
- Episode 8: The whole truth.
The series cross images of the Pandemic impact, the World War II, modern cities empty, specially Buenos Aires and the nazi troops, with the original story. We see all those images with another ones from the company singing, both in 1940s and modern clothes. All beautifully filmed by Mariano García, the cinematographer. Since the artists couldn't leave their homes during the lockdown, they have been filmed alone, so their character's psychological profiles and conflicts are more visible, like their souls were shown naked to the spectator. Singing in front of white, black backdrops, appearing in close-ups, they appear more powerful than ever, going beyond the limited possibilities of a theatre stage. Among the examples, Ortrud's close-up lip-synching Telramund's aria narrating the accusation, or the black background in Episode 5, showing Ortrud, Telramund and Elsa`s feelings and intensifying the plot, or in Episode 7 showing the close-ups of Lohengrin and Elsa in the bridal bed, as if they were making love while they sing the first part of the duo, the most beautiful and sweet lines. Another brilliant moment was when Ortrud seeds untrust in Elsa, from her mouth emerges a smoke with images of the virus. Covid as a poison on the air, destined to destroy health and trust. The costumes by Belén Rivero, Adriana Padra and Florencia Ponzo faithfully reproduce the medieval ambiance, with a beautiful armor for Lohengrin, with a swan in his helmet, Ortrud's rich gowns or the white of purety in the case of Elsa, the great victim of this story.
González Aguilar wonders how dangerous music could be. Specially when used as propaganda for war and hate. Music has a narcotic power on people, specially when it comes from an ideologic device perfectly organised from the state. It happened in recent times in Rwanda, and happened very closely in Nazi Germany. Wagner's music, was used by the nazis for their ideological purposes. Lohengrin was Hitler's favourite opera alongside Rienzi, and its martial music fit into the nazi love for the war. Apart from the musical arrangement, González Aguilar uses great historical recordings of this opera to ambiance several moments. The Kubelik version of Act II prelude to accompaign images of the pandemic: empty cities, full hospitals, as well as Hitler and the nazis at Bayreuth appearing with the Wagner Family. Also the hopeful interlude from Act II depicting sunrise, to accompaign images from vaccines and vaccinations worldwide, or the famous Act III interlude from Solti's version to put music to the images of the nazis on parade, with the popular acclaim from Germans and also from Hitler (Such an irony, using a Jewish conductor's version to accompaign the Wehrmacht triumphal parades). Episode 8 could be unsettling because it treats the similarities between Wagner's and Hitler's nationalism, showing some declarations from Friedelind Wagner stating how suffocating would Wagner have found the Nazi regime. And them, a puppet of Wagner saying: "Really, Mausi? All this scares me... I am scared of myself". Wagner wouldn't have approved Holocaust but, would have him felt somehow comfortable in this regime, which exalted his 19th Century nationalism and raised him to the highest grades of perversion?
The musical part is an arrangement for piano, clarinet and four soloist voices. Jonas Ickert is the pianist and musical director, and Gonzalo Borgognoni is the clarinetist. Both have the task to replace chorus and orchestra, and they succeed. Ickert's piano is sublime during the In Fernem Land and the clarinet plays beautifully the choral sections and its own solo passages. The four voices are Lohengrin, Elsa, Ortrud and Telramund. The King and the Herald are cut, however their lines appear sometimes as silent film intertitles. The four soloist singers are professional and completely devoted to the production, as well as skilled actors.
The protagonist and vocal leader of the cast is the soprano Georgina Espósito with his superb Elsa. She has a beautiful lyric-dramatical soprano voice, with a velvet, rather dark than light tone, with a delightful singing. Her rendition in the second video is really unforgettable, with one of the most beautiful versions of Einsam in trüben tagen I have heard in recent years. She has beautiful pianissimi in her promise scene when Lohengrin forbids her to ask about his identity. During the rest of the work she maintains her great level, with a pretty version of Euch lüften, die mein klagen. As actress she conveys the most sensitive side of Elsa, a fragile but not ingenuous woman, but still the great loser in this story.
Fermín Prieto sings Lohengrin. Like Espósito, his first act is remarkable. His Lohengrin is more lyrical than dramatic, in Italian style, and with a great skill to sing in piano voice. That is how he succeeds at singing Mein Lieber schwan in his entry and the beautiful line "Elsa, ich liebe dich", in a tender, charming pianissimo. The heroic tessitura of the role could be difficult to him, but he goes ahead with his sense of theatre, singing a moving rendition of In Fernem Land, in which he conveys the celestial aura of the character. Again in his farewell, his pristine singing, full of lyricism returns. He portrays a mysterious Lohengrin, totally defeated when he has to reveal his name.
Marina Biasotti is Ortrud. If Georgina Espósito is the most accomplished at singing, Biasotti is here the leading actress, of an already accomplished cast. Biasotti is an amazing actress, adapting her reactions to her colleagues' ones when interacting. Her Ortrud is crafty, and her peaceful appearance hids a bitterness, rancourous personality, with an ability for scheme. Not a scary witch, but an intelligent mature woman waiting patiently for the revenge. Vocally, she uses her theatrical gift for singing. Her dramatic voice reminds me sometimes Leonie Rysanek in this role, with a dark, desperate, powerful tone and volume, with big high notes. Her diction is also fits in the moods of her character, singing a whispered, but also evil "Sie ist es" when she sees Elsa in her balcony in Act 2, or laughing maliciously at the end of Entweihte Götter, giving her Ortrud a witchy touch.
Mauro Espósito is Telramund. This baritone has a nice voice, but not heavy as we would expect in some renditions of this role, but fits in this knight fallen in disgrace. He portrays the scorn towards Elsa in an exquisitely sung aria in first act. He also can convey the nobilty and also scheming, easy to manipulate, personality of the character, like in the maliciously sung line "So zieht das Unheil in dies Haus!" celebrating the triumph of his evil wife on Elsa. Espósito and Biasotti are married in real life, so they show a logical great chemistry on screen, like the lustful, tongued kiss Ortrud gives Telramund at the end of Episode 4 (as they are the only performers to appear in stage together) ,or the affliction shown by Ortrud at the end, mourning Telramund's dead body, also regretting their enterprise is lost.
The series ends with Lohengrin's departure, an epilogue narrating the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Covid still hitting mankind, specially the poor, and Elsa's final suicide after her hero and brother has left her, and she finally drowns herself in the sea. After the final credits we can see the singers closing their music sheets, the staff keeping their instruments, in a moving moment, in total silence. One can get a lump in the throat seeing the tenor closing his sheet and sighing relieved after the great task, or the director keeping Wagner's puppet in a luggage. Then , the word "Fin" (The End) appears on the screen.
Lírica Libre has innovated in a historical moment when creativity has flourished, in a world in which, locked up at home to avoid the virus, we resist to stop creating and producing. Art is able to arise and thrive in the most adverse circumstances. Now that the world is struggling to leave this pandemic behind, and operatic activity discerns its return, this Argentinian miniseries have become one of the most important Wagnerian events of this year. Wagner's work is still alive and valid for any time, this proves it. Don't miss it!
My reviews are not professional and express only my opinions. As a non English native speaker I apologise for any mistake.
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