Emociones Líricas
sábado, 5 de abril de 2025
ESP/ENG Presintiendo la tragedia: Inolvidable Sexta Sinfonía de Mahler por la ONE en el Auditorio Nacional.
domingo, 30 de marzo de 2025
The only 2025 Wagner operatic concert in Madrid: Michael Volle and Gabriela Scherer make their debut at the Teatro Real.
Madrid, March 29, 2025.
One of the most acclaimed wagnerian singers today, German baritone Michael Volle sings frequently in most major operatic houses, such as Bayreuth, the Met, la Scala, Berlin, Munich or Vienna. However, he has come to Spain few times: three recitals, and just two opera productions, Walküre in Seville and Arabella in Barcelona (Mandryka, just three performances). That is a reason that his debut in Madrid in a Wagner and Strauss recital, has become a must not only for fans of major opera voices, but also for Wagnerians, as this is the only performance this season at the Teatro Real devoted to Wagner's music. Alongside him, his wife Gabriela Scherer is a raising soprano, specially in German-speaking opera houses: Zurich, Berlin, Bayreuth, among others, singing mainly Wagner, Verdi, Puccini or Strauss. She is also making her debut in Madrid. They are accompanied by the Teatro Real Orchestra, conducted by Gustavo Gimeno, from next season the principal conductor at the theatre, who conducted an amazing Wagner recital with Nina Stemme last year. This was the program:
PART ONE
RICHARD WAGNER (1813 – 1883)
Der fliegende Holländer:
- Overture
- “Die Frist ist um”
- “Wie aus der Ferne”
PARTE TWO
RICHARD WAGNER
Tannhäuser:
- Prelude to Act III
- “Wohl wusst ich hier”
- “Allmächt’ge Jungfrau”
- “Wie Todesahnung... O du mein holder Abendstern”
RICHARD STRAUSS (1864-1949)
Arabella:
- Final duet: “Sie gibt mir keinen Blick” ... “Das war sehr gut” ...“Dann aber, wie ich Sie gespürt hab hier im Finstern”
Just by appearing on stage, displaying his imposing presence, Volle, who turned 65 yesterday, made clear that this was going to be a special gala. This was the case in the first part. His voice has a certain amount of low voice, enough to recognise a virtue rare in several Wagner baritones today. In the Monologue from Holländer , from the breathtaking phrase "Ha, du stolzer Ozean," delivered with enormous force, a voice that, the higher it rises, is heard throughout the hall and surpasses the orchestra. In fact, one thinks that had the orchestra been in the pit, his voice would have flowed better. His middle voice perhaps sounds a little more wavering, a bit higher-pitched. In the duet from the same opera, he maintained the same imposing level. He sounded sharper in the two arias from Tannhäuser, but having recently seen Markus Eiche and Olafur Sigurdarson, two contemporary Wagnerian baritones, with lighter voices singing important roles, one cannot help but appreciate the deeper, more lieder-like interpretation of a voice with personality like Volle's. In the Arabella duet, however, he was not at his previous level and was sometimes overwhelmed by the enormous orchestra.
Scherer, having began her career as a mezzo-soprano, has a voice with a warm, fleshy-like tone, tending toward the dramatic, which made her more suitable for Senta. In the duet from The Flying Dutchman, she responded to Volle at one point with a prolonged high note. But her voice also tends to vibrate a lot in the high notes. In the second part, during Elisabeth's prayer, that dark tone didn't play much in her favor. As for the duet with Arabella, however, while not ideal for her, her voice had acceptable moments, even surpassing Volle's.
As a unique encore, both performers sang the finale of the duet from the second act of the same Arabella, the beautiful Und du wirst mein Gebieter sein, with both soloists singing very well, especially Scherer, who sang exquisitely.
As for the orchestra, Gimeno's conducting gave a powerful and spectacular rendition, especially from the strings, which sounded powerful in the Holländer overture, although the brass suffered from a bit of harshness. The wind instruments were brilliant in the second half, both in the prelude to the third act of Tannhäuser and the beautiful, heavenly interlude between Elisabeth's prayer and Wolfram's Star Song, where oboes, flutes, and clarinets conveyed the melancholy of the score. As for Strauss's music, in the excerpts from Arabella, the orchestra dominated the voices in the final duet, but in the encore, they were pampered, and the strings in particular sounded very well.
The hall wasn't full, despite the quality of the program, although there was a significant presence of local Wagnerians and regular opera goers. But the only Wagnerian event of the year in Madrid wasn't to be missed. It's a pity that Volle didn't come here at his prime, although he could still provide a good night of opera if he came with a complete Wagner.
Cita ineludible wagneriana en Madrid: debut de Michael Volle y Gabriela Scherer en el Teatro Real.
Madrid, 29 de marzo de 2025.
Las fotografías y vídeos no son de mi autoría, si alguien se muestra disconforme con la publicación de cualquiera de ellas en este blog le pido que me lo haga saber inmediatamente. Cualquier reproducción de este texto necesita mi permiso.
lunes, 24 de marzo de 2025
Teen Mozart, what a passionate soul: Mitridate, re di Ponto, at the Teatro Real.
Madrid, March 23, 2025.
In 1770, Mozart (then aged 14) was known as a child prodigy. During his childhood, he toured with his father throughout Europe. While touring Italy, at the age of 14, he set to music a story by Jean Racine, Mitridate, in the Italian translation by Giuseppe Parini. When it was premiered on December 26, 1770 in Milan, it was a huge success, running for 21 performances. No one expected that a teenager could compose an opera like this: a tragic struggle for power and love amidst a royal family in the Classical era, with such powerful music and such a difficult coloratura, demanding virtuoso singers, in the style of the most typical opera seria.
At the Teatro Real, this opera was performed in concert version by Mark Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre in 2005. Twenty years later, this opera returns in a stage version. It does in a new staging directed by Claus Guth, regularly invited to stage direct in Madrid, who sets the work in more modern times than the original, which took place in Anatolia in the 1st century BC. Mr. Guth's house mark is a rotating set, in this case a mansion from the 1950s, 60s, or 70s, on one side, where the plot takes place, and on the other, an almost empty stage, dominated only by an enormous wall with multiple holes, in which the internal conflicts of the characters take place, apart from the action taking place in the house, in which avatars of the characters of Aspasia, Mitridate, and Sifare intervene, as well as characters completely dressed in black, shadows, and spirits that stalk these characters. As in a very rich family, there is a butler who is almost omnipresent. In this approach, it seems that Mitridate is the patriarch, possibly a mafioso who owns a commercial empire, that Farnace is a braggart, an alpha male, while Sifare is a young, lovelorn, geek teenager, looking like a fool but with more temper than he seems. Mitridate and Farnace are violent characters, eager for power and revenge, and it is Sifare and Aspasia who bear the consequences. At the end of the opera Mitridate advances to the center of stage, mortally wounded, and the other characters walk with difficulty around the wall, as if drawn by the protagonist's fate.
I still remember the first time I saw Ivor Bolton , who is in his last season as Teatro Real's principal conductor. It was in the Glück's controversial Alceste 2014 staginf, directed by Warlikowski, during the final days of Gerard Mortier's life. For a decade, Mr. Bolton has given us memorable performances of Britten's operas, and some good and other more average interpretations of Baroque operas and Mozart. On this occasion, Mr. Bolton conducted the Teatro Real Orchestra in a rather slow and average version. There was little brilliance, except for the hornist Jorge Monte de Fez , who accompanied Sifare's great aria in the second act.
Juan Francisco Gatell , who sang in the legendary Così fan Tutte conducted by Michael Haneke a decade ago, sings the title role, in a correct rendition, although he has some problems with the high notes. In fact, I wondered, given my ignorance of this repertoire, if Juan Sancho , in the brief role of Marzio, of whose aria he gave an excellent interpretation, would have sung the role of Mitridate better. The famous Argentinian countertenor Franco Fagioli , can command the devilish coloratura of the role of Farnace, with his contralto voice, with impressive low notes, but also capable of moving with prolonged high notes as in his great aria Già dagli occhi, with which he delighted the audience. The countertenor Franko Klisovic sang Arbate with a powerful voice.
However, it was the female voices that led the show. Sara Blanch sang the role of Aspasia, with impressive command of coloratura from her very first aria. Elsa Dreisig, an acclaimed soprano in the Mozart repertoire, sang the role of the Sifare with a beautiful voice and also mastered coloratura. Marina Monzó , highly acclaimed in Spain, sang the role of Ismene, replacing the star Pretty Yende. Monzó is a very good soprano, and she sang the arias of this character beautifully and with perfect vocals.
Being the premiere, the presence of papparazzis and TV cameras signaled the presence of celebrities, as the premieres at the Teatro Real are among the most important social events for the local jet set. But beyond that, the audience gave the singers, especially the women, ovations, and there were no particular boos for the stage crew.
El Mozart adolescente, puro fuego: Mitridate en el Teatro Real.
Madrid, 23 de marzo de 2025.
En 1770, el joven Mozart era conocido como un niño prodigio. Durante su infancia, viajó con su padre por todas las cortes principales de Europa. Durante una gira por Italia, a sus 14 años, puso música a una historia de Jean Racine, Mitridate, en la traducción italiana de Giuseppe Parini. Cuando se estrenó, el 26 de diciembre de ese año en Milán, tuvo éxito, con 21 representaciones. Nadie esperaba que un adolescente pudiese componer una ópera como esta: una trágica pugna por el poder y el amor en medio de una familia real en la época clásica, con una música tan potente y una coloratura endemoniada para todos los personajes, al estilo de la más típica opera seria.
En el año 2005, esta ópera se vio en el Teatro Real, en una única función a cargo de Mark Minkowski y Les Musiciens du Louvre. Veinte años después, vuelve esta ópera en una versión escénica. Lo hace en una nueva producción a cargo de Claus Guth, director de escena habitual de la casa, quien ambienta la obra en tiempos más modernos que el original que transcurría en la Anatolia del siglo I a.C. Marca de la casa del señor Guth es un decorado giratorio, en este caso una mansión de los años 50, 60 o 70 del siglo pasado, en un lado, donde transcurre la trama y en el otro un escenario casi vacío, solo presidido por una enorme pared con múltiples agujeros, en la que tienen lugar los conflictos internos de los personajes, al margen de la acción que transcurre en la casa, en la que intervienen avatares de los personajes de Aspasia, Mitridate y Sifare, además de personajes totalmente vestidos de negro, sombras, espíritus que acechan a estos personajes. Como en toda gran familia, hay un mayordomo que está casi omnipresente. En este planteamiento, parece que Mitridate es el patriarca, posiblemente mafioso, que posee un emporio comercial, que Farnace es un fanfarrón, un macho alfa, mientras que Sifare es un joven adolescente enamorado, con gafas de pasta, aparentemente un tonto pero con más temperamento del que parece. Mitridate y Farnace son personajes violentos, ávidos de poder y venganza, y son Sifare y Aspasia los que pagan las consecuencias. Al final de la obra, Mitridate avanza hacia el centro del escenario, herido de muerte, y los demás personajes caminan con dificultad alrededor de la pared agujereada, como atraídos por la fatalidad del protagonista.
Aún recuerdo la primera vez que vi a Ivor Bolton, quien este año se despide como director orquestal principal del Teatro Real. Fue en el polémico Alceste de Glück que dirigió Warlikowski, en los últimos días de la vida de Gerard Mortier. Durante una década el señor Bolton nos ha regalado interpretaciones memorables de óperas de Britten, y algunas buenas y otras más regulares interpretaciones de óperas barrocas y de Mozart. En esta ocasión, el señor Bolton ha dirigido a la Orquesta Titular del Teatro Real en una versión más bien lenta y regular. Poco brillo, excepto para el trompa Jorge Monte de Fez, quien acompañó a la gran aria de Sifare en el segundo acto.
Juan Francisco Gatell, quien hace una década cantó en el mítico Così fan Tutte dirigido por Michael Haneke, canta el rol principal homónimo, en una interpretación correcta, aunque tiene algún problema con el agudo. De hecho, me preguntaba, dada mi ignorancia en este repertorio, si Juan Sancho, en el breve rol de Marzio, de cuya aria hizo una excelente interpretación, hubiera cantado mejor el rol de Mitridate. El famoso contratenor argentino Franco Fagioli, puede con la endemoniada coloratura del rol de Farnace, con su voz de contralto, con graves impresionantes, pero también capaz de emocionar con prolongados agudos como en su gran aria Già dagli occhi, con la que emocionó al público. El contratenor Franko Klisovic interpretó a Arbate con una voz potente.
Sin embargo, fueron las voces femeninas las que protagonizaron la función. Sara Blanch interpretó a Aspasia, de una difícil tesitura, con dominio impresionante de la coloratura ya desde su primer aria. Elsa Dreisig, una de las sopranos que suenan con más fuerza en el repertorio mozartiano, cantó con una hermosa voz y también dominando la coloratura, el rol del enamorado Sifare. Marina Monzó, muy aplaudida en España, interpreta el rol de Ismene, sustituyendo a la estrella Pretty Yende. Monzó es una soprano bastante buena, y cantó bellamente y con la voz en su sitio, las arias de este personaje.
Siendo la función de estreno, la presencia de cámaras de fotos y de televisión advertían de la presencia de famosos, ya que los estrenos del Real son de los eventos sociales más importantes de la jet set local. Pero más allá de eso, el público dio ovaciones a los cantantes, especialmente a las mujeres, y no hubo especialmente abucheos para el equipo escénico.
Las fotografías y vídeos no son de mi autoría, si alguien se muestra disconforme con la publicación de cualquiera de ellas en este blog le pido que me lo haga saber inmediatamente. Cualquier reproducción de este texto necesita mi permiso.
viernes, 21 de marzo de 2025
Lohengrin, pure evil: Katharina Wagner changes radically the plot in Barcelona.
Barcelona, March 19, 2025.
Barcelona is the Spanish capital for Wagnerism. Since the late 19th century, Catalan high culture embraced Wagnerism as one of its musical and cultural landmarks, while Catalonia was living a cultural golden age. Great Wagnerian artists such as Francisco Viñas, Hans Knappertsbusch, Joseph Keilberth, Astrid Varnay, Kirsten Flagstad, Max Lorenz, and Gertrud Grob-Prandl, among many others, have delighted the Barcelona opera-goers with their performances at the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Furthermore, Barcelona is one of the few major cities where the Bayreuth Festival has toured: in 1955, with the historic visit of three Wieland Wagner productions, and legendary singers such as Hans Hotter, Hermann Uhde, Martha Mödl, and Wolfgang Windgassen; and in 2012, when the orchestra, choir, and cast members of that year's festival performed three operas in concert, including Lohengrin, the last time this opera was performed in the Catalan capital. Although the last time it was staged, happened in 2006, in the Peter Konwitschny's controversial staging, which set the action in a school, with the orchestra beautifully conducted by Sebastian Weigle.
The return of this opera to the Liceu, was scheduled for March 2020, but had to be canceled at the last minute due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is a highly anticipated event. The staging has been entrusted to Katharina Wagner, the composer's great-granddaughter and current director of the Bayreuth Festival. Productions directed by her are very rare, so these performances are, for better or worse, a true operatic event.
"Would you trust someone who won't let you ask where is he from, and who tells you not to ask his name?"
This is what Mrs. Wagner wonders in an interview published last week in the newspaper La Vanguardia. Lohengrin is a Grail Knight who, by divine mission, rescues the helpless Elsa from an unfair accusation: killing her younger brother, Gottfried. In return, she cannot ask him his name. The doubts that the evil Ortrud arouses in her lead her to break the oath on their wedding night, unleashing the final tragedy. For Mrs. Wagner, however, this mystery on true identity is suspicious in the 21st century. So, she poses a 360-degree turn in the story's plot, contradictory to the play's libretto: in this staging, Lohengrin is the villain and Ortrud, the real hero, the one who seeks the truth. Elsa does not seem enthusiastic about joining Lohengrin; in fact, she is forced into marriage by King Heinrich, a clear ally of the hero.
A beautiful, dark forest, created by set designer Marc Löhrer, with a pond in the middle, is present throughout the show. During the prelude, Elsa and Gottfried are seen playing innocently, and then they fall asleep. Lohengrin suddenly appears and convinces Gottfried to play in the pond. He then enters and kills him, drowning him and hiding the body. The entire action has been witnessed by a black swan. This black swan moves its wings and head: it is a robot. In the first act, the King, the herald, and the chorus appear, wearing red, military uniforms. Around them, huge boxes are stacked up to execute Elsa by hanging. Elsa is not summoned here; she is awakened, and is unaware of her brother's disappearance until that moment. They are about to execute her when Lohengrin appears, having hidden the black swan in one of the boxes. Ortrud tries to open it without success, as Lohengrin prevents her.
The second act takes place in the same forest: Ortrud and Telramund are dozing, taking the place of Elsa and Gottfried in the first act. From the pond, Ortrud draws a crown and a toy sword that belonged to Gottfried. At Elsa's entrance, three cubicles descend onto the stage, each one is a modern and simple room. Each character sings within each of them, though moving from one to the other. These rooms seem to represent the characters' conflicts and intrigues. At the end of the second act, Ortrud approaches the black swan, which has presided over the scene, while looking defiantly everyone.
Up to this point, the production bears some resemblance to the original action. But it is in the third act that the production goes too far and loses any connection with the text. The chorus is not seen on stage in the first scene. Lohengrin and Elsa sing their passionate duet in separate rooms, while Ortrud and Telramund wait silently in another one. During the duet, the doors of Lohengrin's cabinet open and the black swan appears, while in the mirror Lohengrin sees the ghost of Gottfried projected. When Telramund enters, he enters with Ortrud, and after a struggle, Lohengrin kills him with a knife, but then Ortrud grabs him and threatens Lohengrin. During the beautiful interlude, the chorus enters the stage and stands in military formation. Lohengrin appears with Ortrud pointing a knife at him. When he reveals his origins, he is left alone, and the chorus and Elsa sing offstage. Thus, his famous aria "In Fernem Land," in which he originally speaks of his sacred lineage, is here a revelation of his sinister nature: several ghosts of Gottfried appear in the background, and two women whom Lohengrin kills but later resurrect. At the end of his farewell aria, Lohengrin commits suicide by cutting his wrists. Then Ortrud pulls Gottfried's corpse from the pond and when Lohengrin says "there is the Duke of Brabant," it is in fact a confession of his crime, after which he dies. While Elsa embraces her brother's corpse, Ortrud and the King stare at each other, and the curtain falls.
Josep Pons , a regular Wagner conductor at the Liceu, has shown his affinity for this repertoire and his enormous effort, taking from the Liceu Symphony Orchestra a spectacular sound, with slow tempos that allow for a sense of delight in the details. Thus, the strings seem in a state of grace, as does the spectacular percussion. The strings sounded wonderful during the prelude, and in the duet scene between Ortrud and Telrramund, together with the woodwind section, they recreated the tense and sinister atmosphere of the conspiracy by these villains. In the prelude to the second act, the beautiful bassoon solo playing the motif of doubt sounded slow and beautiful. The interlude in the third act sounded spectacular. Overall, the level was quite remarkable. The Liceu Choir also gave its all, especially in the second act and at its best, in the brief "Heil König Heinrich" in the third act.
The cast for these performances is top for Wagner operas, they all have performed at the prestigious Bayreuth Festival. In fact, four of the six principal soloists sang in the Tannhäuser I saw last summer there: Lohengrin, Elsa, Telramund, and the King Heinrich.
Klaus Florian Vogt is the most acclaimed Lohengrin today, after twenty years singing the role, albeit with controversial results for several wagnerians. On the one hand, it must be acknowledged that his beautiful and light voice fits well into his entrance in the first act, and throughout the third, when the character has its musically best and most dramatically intense performances. But on the other hand, a more heroic tone is missed in his voice, despite the fact that Vogt sings with all the strength and volume possible, and manages to carry the performance with his stage experience.
But the best one from the cast was Elisabeth Teige 's Elsa : well sung, with a beautiful and seductive, rather dramatic tome, with a well projected voice.
Olafur Sigurdarson was a well-performed Telramund within his possibilities, with a voice that needed deeper low voice, but which strives for a convincing performance.
The role of Ortrud is scheduled for Swedish soprano Iréne Theorin, highly acclaimed in Barcelona. However, she is experiencing many problems. First, an apparently tense relationship with Katharina Wagner due to Theorin's rude gesture toward the Bayreuth audience for booing her, which led to another soprano, Miina Liisa Värelä, to sing at the premiere. But now, a vocal infection has compounded the problem, so for thia performance, she was replaced by Okka von der Damerau. This German mezzo-soprano has a more higher than lower voice. She was still able to pull off the performance, as her Ortrud was very well sung, although she came off rather gracefully in the high notes of the famous, brief curse in the second act. She performed even better in the finale. As an actress, with her imposing stage presence, she recreated an arrogant Ortrud, ready to do anything to stop this evil Lohengrin.
Bass Günther Groissböck played King Heinrich, successfully completing his arduous task. His voice is good, and the low voice is present, but he struggles a bit to achieve the desired projection.
Unfortunately, little good can be said about the Herald played by veteran baritone Roman Trekel. His voice is very worn, wobbling, and his tone sounds unpleasant. At least he impresses on stage, as he is in good physical shape.
The Brabant Noblemen are notable, among whom is the Spanish regular in Bayreuth, tenor Jorge Rodríguez-Norton , and the women who played the young pages.
The expectations raised by this performance run is so high that tickets are mostly sold out for all performances. In fact, yesterday the theatre was almost full. There was great enthusiasm for the cast and the orchestra and chorus, but none for the production. In fact, the stage director, who is no longer in Spain, was highly booed at the premiere. The performance was greeted with thunderous applause and many standing ovations, an example to the city's enthusiasm for Wagner and the Wagnerian spirit of the Liceu audience. To sum up, a great operatic evening.
Héroe criminal, villana justiciera: Katharina Wagner replantea el Lohengrin en el Gran Teatre del Liceu.
Barcelona, 19 de marzo de 2025.
La pasión en España por la música de Richard Wagner tiene su epicentro en Barcelona, desde finales del siglo XIX, cuando coincidiendo con una época dorada, la alta cultura catalana tomó al wagnerismo como uno de sus estandartes musicales y culturales. Grandes artistas wagnerianos como Francisco Viñas, Victoria de los Ángeles, Hans Knappertsbusch, Joseph Keilberth, Astrid Varnay, Kirsten Flagstad, Max Lorenz, y Gertrud Grob-Prandl, entre muchos otros más, han deleitado a los barceloneses con sus inmortales interpretaciones en el Gran Teatre del Liceu. Además, Barcelona es de las pocas grandes ciudades donde el Festival de Bayreuth ha estado de gira: en 1955, con la histórica visita de tres producciones de Wieland Wagner, y míticos solistas como Hans Hotter, Hermann Uhde, Martha Mödl y Wolfgang Windgassen; y en 2012 cuando la orquesta, el coro y los elencos del festival de ese año interpretaron tres óperas en concierto, entre ellas Lohengrin, siendo aquella la última vez que esta ópera se interpretó en la capital catalana. Aunque para retrotraerse a la última (ahora penúltima) vez que se escenificó, hemos de retroceder hasta 2006, cuando se presentó con el polémico montaje de Peter Konwitschny, que ambientaba la obra en un colegio, y con la orquesta dirigida por un inspiradísimo Sebastian Weigle.
El regreso de esta ópera al Liceu, que estaba previsto para marzo de 2020 pero tuvo que cancelarse a última hora debido a la pandemia del Covid-19, es un evento esperadísimo y la prensa se ha volcado mucho con él. La puesta en escena se ha encargado ni más ni menos que a Katharina Wagner, bisnieta del compositor, actual directora del Festival de Bayreuth. Poco habituales son las puestas en escena dirigidas por ella, y más aún fuera de Bayreuth, por lo que estas funciones son, para bien o para mal, un acontecimiento.
"Bien, ¿confiarías en alguien que no te deja preguntarle de dónde viene, y que además, te dice que no le preguntes su nombre?"
Es lo que la señora Wagner se pregunta en una entrevista publicada la semana pasada en el periódico La Vanguardia. Lohengrin es un caballero del Grial que por misión divina, socorre a la desvalida Elsa de una acusación injusta: matar a su hermano pequeño, Gottfried. A cambio, ella no puede preguntarle su nombre. Las dudas que la malvada Ortrud despierta en ella, le llevan a romper el juramento en plena noche de bodas, desatando la tragedia final. Para Doña Katharina, sin embargo, este misterio sobre la identidad es sospechoso en pleno siglo XXI. De este modo, plantea un giro de 360 grados al argumento de la historia, contradictorio con el libreto de la obra: en esta puesta en escena, Lohengrin es el malvado y Ortrud, la buena, la que busca la verdad. Elsa no parece entusiasmada por unirse a Lohengrin, de hecho es forzada a casarse por el Rey Enrique, un claro aliado del héroe.
Un precioso y oscuro bosque, creado por el escenógrafo Marc Löhrer, con un estanque en el medio, preside la obra. Durante el preludio, se ve a Elsa y Gottfried inocentemente, para luego dormirse. Lohengrin aparece de repente y convence a Gottfried de jugar en el río. Acto seguido entra allí y lo mata, ahogándolo y escondiendo el cadáver. Toda la acción ha sido vista por un cisne negro. Este cisne negro mueve las alas y la cabeza: se trata de un pequeño robot. En el primer acto, aparecen el Rey, el heraldo y el coro, con uniformes rojos, de apariencia militar. En torno a ellos, unas cajas enormes que apilan para ejecutar a Elsa en la horca. A Elsa no la traen, la despiertan y no es consciente de la desaparición de su hermano hasta ese momento. A punto están de ejecutarla cuando aparece Lohengrin, quien ha escondido al cisne negro en una de esas cajas. Ortrud intenta abrirla sin éxito ya que Lohengrin lo impide.
El segundo acto tiene lugar en el mismo bosque: Ortrud y Telramund dormitan, ocupando el lugar de Elsa y Gottfried en el primer acto. Del estanque, Ortrud extrae una corona y una espada de juguete que pertenecían a Gottfried. En la entrada de Elsa, descienden al escenario tres cubículos, cada uno una moderna y sencilla habitación. Cada personaje canta dentro de cada una de ellas, aunque pasando de una a otra. Esas habitaciones representan los conflictos e intrigas de los personajes. Al final del segundo acto, Ortrud se acerca al cisne negro, que ha presidido la escena, mientras mira desafiante a los demás.