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.

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