Wagner's works are among the most difficult to stage. After the Covid-19 pandemics, many wagnerians wondered, and they still do, how could those demanding works to be staged with the new safety measures. After some comebacks in complete scale in Mikulov (Tristan und Isolde, Holländer), recently in Saint Petersburg (Ring) or reduced ones like a 90-minute Rheingold in the Deutsche Oper parking or the Maynor's all-African American cast in Newark, the Staatsoper Berlin started a new production of Lohengrin. Amidst a critical increase of the pandemic in Europe, with Germany as one of the most stricken countries in this new wave, the scheduled performances had been cancelled, but a performance was filmed to be streamed the day of the premiere. In such circumstances, the orchestra had been reduced to around 50 musicians, and the demanding chorus to 74 members.
The Spanish director Calixto Bieito sets the action in our days, in a context not precisely unknown for us: the judgement we are subject to because of gossip, social networks or fake news. In just one minute we could pass from blaming to be blamed. The attention is focused now in Elsa, the great victim of this story. Accused of having murdered her brother, after the arrival of the hero who solves her problems as well as the ones concerning the people, her lack of confidence for not knowing nothing about her beloved knight consumes her until her final perdition. Again, the universality of Wagner's plots and characters. Alongside the set designer Rebecca Ringst, Bieito recreates an athmosphere of fear, a roulette of blames and accusations. After an overture showing Gottfried drowning, the action is set in the first act in a court, in which the King Henry is the judge. Elsa appears in a cage, like in some present trials, symbol of her accusation. However, most of the characters would be caged in any moment during the action. The Herald appears with an extravagant look, like the host of a gossip, tabloid TV program. At the end of Act 1 he puts make up like Joker, a reference to the film. Lohengrin is more an expectator than a hero, entering not with a swan but with an origami. Act 2 begins with darkness, and the court is remplaced by grades, in which there are lots of baby dolls, and sit there, Ortrud begins to conspire for her revenge. At the end of that act, Ortrud and Telramund, have gone through the cage. However, the ideas held by Bieito doesn't have the same level of understanding and intensity as in Act One, until the last scene, in which we can see Elsa totally defeated, and at the end Lohengrin, who wears the jacket in which she wrote the word "Liebe"(Love) as a prove of her fidelity, leaves the scene, after defeating a ranting Ortrud. In his place appears a boy, totally wet, which is Gottfried, who takes the sword left by Lohengrin, while Elsa and Ortrud sit completely in despair.
Matthias Pintscher conducts the orchestra at an accomplished level. The Staatskapelle Berlin has a glorious sound, with shining strings in the Prelude, spectacular brass in the tutti parts (even when reduction makes the orchestra to sound like a band sometimes) and an elegiac oboe in the Prelude to Act 2. Pintscher's rendition has dramatical tension, but in some occasions it surpasses the singer's volume, maybe due to the sound equipment. The chorus sound still spectacular even shortened, and their amazing voices and skilled acting remain untouch: beautiful renditions in Act 2.
After a failed attempt to debut in Bayreuth, French tenor Roberto Alagna makes his debut as Lohengrin at last, even under such circumstances. Now 57, his voice sounds still quite lyrical, despite its maturity, but not fitting perfectly in the heroic side of the role. Even when he is an undisputed figure in italian and french repertoire, and despite being Lohengrin the "most italian Wagner opera", the Grail Knight is another field. The high tessitura is not always available, sounding sometimes unsure and high notes opened. He reserved himself for the In Fernem Land aria, which he sang beautifully and now with a heroic, solemn tone. However, the Finale didn't held the same level. To sing well the famous aria doesn't mean to sing marvellously the complete role.
The star of the night was Vida Miknevičiūtė as a beautiful, well sung Elsa. Replacing Sonya Yoncheva, Mrs. Miknevičiūtė has a lyrical voice at the beginning, but turning into a dramatic tone in the third act, conveying the inner conflict of the role. As actress, she portrayed accomplishedly Elsa's tragedy and suffering.
René Pape sang a wonderful King Henry, with his warm, dramatic, sometimes fragile tone, and excellent diction, revealing the true side of King: noble, reflective but not as powerful as Lohengrin.
Martin Gantner was a high-pitched Telramund, sometimes trying to remember Zoltan Kélémen, but lacking his impressive low register. This kind of voice fitted into the scheming characterization that Bieito makes of the role. In his first scene in Act 2 he regained the necessary low register to show Telramund's dishonour. Ekaterina Gubanova has the voice, beautiful high notes for Ortrud, but sometimes a tigress temperament is missed here. However, in the Finale her rendition reached its peak, with her singing expressing her role's hartred and fury. Adam Kutny was a good Herald, both sung and acted, as a result one of the big surprises of the night.
At the end of the piece, the artists greeted in silence, due to the lack of audience, like in the Japanese Götterdammerung at the Biwako Hall in early March, only with the applause of the chorus. For sure, maybe Mr. Bieito had never received such an unanimous ovation, from all the musical and stage team. This Lohengrin with ups and downs has been performed in a challenging moment for Europe, even when vaccination against Covid has already started in some countries and is scheduled to start soon in another ones like Germany. Let's hope vaccine could restore as soon as possible the authenticity of applauses, boos, bows and ovations from the audience.
My reviews are not professional and express only my opinions. As a non English native speaker I apologise for any spelling 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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