The cancellation of the 2020 Bayreuth Festival came as a terrible blow for the wagnerians worldwide. The Coronavirus has deprived us from a new Ring production at the green hill. Among the alternatives (concerts at Bayreuth, the Wagner Festival at Mikulov to name some of them), the world-famed Wagner tenor Stefan Vinke (who was scheduled to sing Loge at Bayreuth) and his wife Sabine have had a wonderful and brave idea: to set a Wagner festival at their own home garden, in the small town of Hargesheim. A charming and friendly place, surrounded by nature, where there will be held recitals of selections of Wagner's operas until mid-september.
On July 25, the same date of the Festival opening performance (if it had taken place), this festival has begun with the complete Act 1 from Die Walküre. The event has been telecasted and streamed by Klassik Radio, and presented by Alex Brüggemann, who had already presented the 2016 Bayreuth Ring telecast on sky. After an opening address by Mrs. Vinke, the pianist Wolfram Kolosseus entered to start the concert. While the powerful Act One prelude began, a little film of the streets of Hargesheim from a driving car was shown, as if Siegmund himself were running across its streets to find shelter on the Vinkes' house. Kolosseus gave an interesting accompaniment despite the difficulty to play the prelude on a single piano and recreate the stormy, escaping ambiance, but Wagner's music is still haunting in this conditions.
Stefan Vinke sang Siegmund with an heroic voice, sounding very good, as the superstar of the event. During his rendition of Friedmund darf ich nicht heissen he gave an elegiac performance, and he was in perfect vocal shape from Ein schwert verhiess mir der vater, when the Wälse! were spectacularly sung. In the rest of the performance he maintained his accomplished singing, and at the final line so blühe der wälsungen blut! he gave a great high note.
Sabine Vinke was Sieglinde, and gave a convincing portrait of a tender, fragile woman but corageous at the same time. She sang so melancholic the line So bleibe hier when she says Siegmund that disgrace dwells at her home. The peak of her performance was the aria Der männer sippe, singing it very well, fitting into the dramatic monologue, revealing how vulnerable Sieglinde became.
Sung Ha, bass of the Mannheim Opera, was Hunding. His expressions were menacing, as his character demands. Despite the voice has a good bass tone, it sounded a bit light, for sure due to the sound engineering.
The audience wants to see Wagner music live again. That could be perceived among the applauses. Among the audience, some people surely have seen the tenor at the Festspielhaus. All the credit to Stefan and Sabine Vinke for having brought some of the Bayreuth magic to an audience eager to see Wagner's gesamtkunstwerken live again, and to the rest of the world via this streaming.
My reviews are not professional and express only my opinions. As a non English native speaker I apologise for any mistake.
Most of the photographs are from the internet and belong to its authors. My use of them is only cultural. If someone is uncomfortable with their use, just notify it to me.
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