Opera reviews quite often only mention the orchestra briefly – certainly compared to the space and detail given to singers and production. I am often guilty of this and to try and compensate with this review I am going to start off with the orchestra. It’s a truism (but therefore true) that the orchestra is of central importance, musically and dramatically in Wagner – perhaps more so than with any other composer given how much of the drama is referenced/developed/contradicted/referenced in past and future events for the duration of his post-Lohengrin works.
The orchestra @opera.hu has been for quite some time, a superb instrument and this was magnificently displayed in the performance of Walkure (and Rheingold in the preceding week). There is a rounded warmness to all sections and even when in their highest registers, the strings are wonderfully sweet and smooth. The brass were invariably finely rounded too but with an edge at the necessary moments that cut through the orchestra at the key climaxes and the woodwind were never shrill. All this is of great credit to, obviously, the musicians but also the conductor Balazs Koscar who conveyed the scale of the works in a masterly manner – not just act by act but as one realized at the end, throughout the whole work.
In Act 1 of Walkure, the Siegmund (Istvan Kovacshazi) made an immediate impact on entry with a marvelously sweet and powerful tone with effective word colouring which was superbly sustained throughout the entire opera. It was also impressive that, in the first part of Act 1, he was able to convey the trauma that he had undergone in a relatively subtle, and certainly musical manner. I have too frequently found that Siegmunds, in order the establish the character right from the start, can come across as somewhat wild and uncontrolled, both in their acting and, at times, in their vocal production. Even with the cries of ‘Walse, Walse’ the tone did not suffer but the agony came through very well with animal-like bellowing.
Eszter Sumego (so fine in Die Frau…last season) was as controlled and impassioned as the part demands, giving the impression of ease at the climaxes but still making them powerfully emotional. Both of them communicated the growing feelings between their characters with a degree more subtlety than is often the case. Wagner’s stage directions are almost neurotically detailed in places in terms of what the performers should do and exactly when but here there seemed to be a more realistic degree of spontaneity that nevertheless was in perfect accord with the music.
Hunding (Geza Gabor) was very fine, portrayed, in modern dress, as a coldy understated gangster with two sinister henchmen in tow. His voice, particularly the lower register was marvelously sonorous and I feel that he could be a very fine Hagen.
The production team (Producer Geza Toth, Set Designer Gergely Zoldy and Costumier Ibolya Bardos along with the crucial visuals by the Tuesday Visual Workshop) The use of the projections to evoke a world was effectively done and the use of a large image of Nothung, as well as a physical one, was dynamic and effective. The projections were almost all abstract and made use of what I would call ‘cosmic space’ imagery. These were sometimes coloured, sometimes in plain black and white and they helped to give if not a full sense of transcendence, then certainly an effective indication of it at times. These were well matched to and followed the music. As Act 1 developed the more realistic setting of Hunding’s hut faded and greater reliance was placed on the ima es, sometimes layered on two or more screens) which again well and effectively followed the music. The bursting of spring light into the hut, while not as stunning as some productions I have seen, diArgirisd essentially match the glory of the music at that point. During the Act 1 narrations, the events were acted out on a rear-raised part of the stage, which helped clarification of the events but did not distract musically. The virulently-coloured sheets on the bed though – that was another matter. It was unclear why these were so strikingly different from the surrounding colour palette although they did stand out effectively. Perhaps a reminder of the fact that the events are taking place on earth and not in the heavens or Nibeheim. It will be interesting to see if this is in any way picked up later in the cycle. I suppose there might be a connection to the materialistic, candy-coloured commercial world that we saw at the very end of Rheingold.
In Act 2 Aris Argiris, a last-minute ‘sub’, as Wotan, impressively, made the two explicatory scenes between him and Fricka and subsequently, between him and Brunnhilde very dramatically gripping – which at times they cannot be, I have found. His voice met all the demands of the role and frequently his word-painting was subtly effective. His voice met all the demands of the role, in terms of a wide range comfortably produced and only when it was dramatically necessary was there a sense of ‘strain’ – although that is not exactly the right word. His stage presence too was quietly effective – in fact, overall, there was a fine degree of understatement to the whole performance, both in this and the subsequent act. His relationship with Fricka (both visually striking in white and gold)(a fine Erika Gal who was refreshingly non-shrew-like in this scene but rather perfectly reasonable and justifiable with her remarks).And I liked the way that the edgy relationship between Fricka and Brunnhilde was subtly established when they passed each other as Fricka left. It was also effective too that as in Rheingold, Fricka held the spear at certain moments. Subtly effective.
Szilvia Ralik was an excellent Brunnhilde – far better vocally than many other ‘bigger’ names who are still singing the role (mentioning no names…). Her voice had crystalline power with warmth when needed and she very well conveyed the special bond between her and Wotan in their interactions. The ‘look’ was good too. I was puzzled by the writhing black-leather and harness-clad young men who were with Brunnhilde on her arrival. Their role and function was however made clear in Act 3 (they represented the Valkyries’ horses) but this did not make dramatic sense when it was only Brunnhilde in the second act. The staging of the ending of Act 2 was very effective – no screens or videos, just the bare stage with Wotan and Hunding’s body. It somehow drew attention to the significant of this moment in the drama and the lack of technology meant that we had to focus on the characters and their situation. But it must be added that the technology hardly ever detracted from the drama but did, rightly, enhance and focus it.
In Act 3 the role of the black leather and harness boys was logically apparent as the Valkyries’ horses. I liked this idea and it did mean that in the ‘Ride’ the movements could be evoked by the dancers and the singers focus on the singing. However, of the range of moves that the ‘horses’ had, some were very much more effective than others were and there were some moments of ridiculousness to be honest. But the stage was very effectively filled and the style and scale of what we say marvelously matched the music. I have seen too many versions of this scene with videos of scudding storm clouds and Valkyries slightly awkwardly moving up and down to (unconvincingly) represent the horse-borne warrior maidens!
Argiris in this scene was very fine indeed, musically and dramatically and his understated acting made the agony all the more effective. And the staging of the Farwell was just right in terms of when he and Brunnhilde finally had physical contact. In fact it was noticeable that they gradually, drew nearer and nearer to each oter as the scene progressed and so the climax was the true musical and emotional climax of the act (and opera). Te representation of the fire used the ‘cosmic space’ imagery that we had previously seen nd while I was momentarily disappointed not to see leaping flames on the stage, it rapidly became much more effective and in perfect emotional accord with the music.
But one crucial detail; those ‘Karen’ wigs for the Valkyries (thankfully not Brunnhilde) surely must be re-though. The associations they conjured up were NOT right!
And on to Siegfried!