I need to start these comments by focusing on the Siegfried, Zoltan Nyari. This was an exceptional performance in every way. His voice was everything that the role, unreasonably, demanded. His tone and power at the top of his range was rounded and not coarsely or forcefully bellowed. It had a sweetness of tone in places that is quite unusual to hear in this role and his power and vocal resilience seemed limitless; he was more than the match for Brunnhilde in the final duet. This was a very decent Tilde Szaboki, who was effectively expressive in the quieter moments but with an occasionally squally top, particularly in the final climactic high C at the end of the duet.
Oher than his vocal talents, his stage presence was first-rate. Unlike many in the role, he really did physically embody the ideal look of a Siegfried, being tall, well proportioned (no barrel on legs here) and with a marvellously expressive face. In fact, with his long hair, he bore more than a passing resemblance to Orland Bloom. He was highly entertaining in his attempts in Act 2 to re-create the Woodbird’s song. Indeed his skill as an often-subtle actor was another of his great strengths. He always seemed to fully inhabit the role and did so all the time he was on stage. Too often performers in opera give the appearance of ‘switching off’ and not being fully engaged in the role all the time they are on stage and not just when they are actively singing or moving.
He also managed to avoid making Siegfried seem like a boyish thug with no charm or charisma. His treatment of Mime, while showing where necessary his annoyance and frustration, avoided making him seem a pettily malicious bully and I could see him as a genuinely heroic and almost admirable hero. He did at times show affection and gratitude towards Mime. And the forging scene at the end of Act 1 was superbly done. It was staged accurately and convincingly and Nyari’s depiction of the actual forging (and pumping the bellows of the furnace) was 100% plausible. The ‘splitting of the anvil’ did not really happen – rather the dragon-like maw, which was a central feature of the cave, slowly closed. In addition, his actual beating of the sword while forging (very rhythmically complex, it seems to me) was superbly and exclusively done by him – and while singing too.
But there were mamy other aspects of the production that all helped and supported nyari. The orchestra under Balazs Kocsar was a superb as ever, unfazed by the technical demands of the parts. The violins in the cruelly exposed lines that bring us to the top of the mountain were wonderfully good while the brass retained the characteristic warm roundness of tone along with the necessary power in places.
The set (Gergely Zoldy) and costumes (Ibolya Bardosi) very well maintained a consistent and effective vision and the cave with the looming forest in the background was very well evoked by a combination of some visual film imagery on the (many) screens. It was well combined with an assertively solid monolith of black with details embedded in it that recalled some of the abstract shapes seen in the video imagery. The greater reliance on the physical presence of the set and not just the imagery on the screens was an effective reminder that we are here on the earth with human figures and not in the more cosmic realm of the gods.
But now to the other characters. As Mime, Tivadar Kiss was a stronger representation than we sometimes get. Too often, I feel, Mime is simply a very whiny irritant but here he had rather more depth and his maliciousness was darker than it sometimes is allowed to seem. In this performance, it was helped by the fact that Kiss’s voice was somewhat darker and heavier than the sort of nasal tone that is often the prerogative of this part. I can understand why this might be a way of approaching the part and it can be effective but it was refreshing to hear a different sort of voice which gave a different picture of the character.
As the Wanderer, Istvan Racz, while more than meeting the vocal demands of the role in terms of power and evenness of range, also had a marvelous stillness when on stage – particularly effective when in dialogue with Mime in Act 1 and Alberich (a slightly underpowered performance, both vocally and dramatically I thought) in Act 2. However, when with Erda in Act 3 (Atala Schock, perfectly fine) he was much more physically agitated which was wholly appropriate as he knows the end is approaching for him and his encounter with Siegfried confirms this.
The Woodbird (a crystalline-voiced Zita Szemeri) was only mildly irritating in her fluttering movements, which often approached campness, and her vivid flame-coloured costume was a rare splash in this production. Wotan’s blue trousers and faintly edged top garment was perhaps a reminder of the Rhine and the source of all the subsequent which followed the stealing of the gold.
The final duet was very well staged with, as ever, first-rate and often subtly expressive acting from Nyari who managed to make everything c0nvincing, even the revelation of Brunnhilde being a woman.
However – and this is a BIG fault – this glorious scene was severely compromised by the grotesquely prancing ‘furries’ at the start and very end of the duet. I cannot understand why these absurd creations are here. The give nothing, are a massive distraction from the music and of zero dramatic relevance. Conceivably they might be trying to represent nature/growth/love etc etc – but these are reflected (of course) in the music) and in the screen imagery of the production. In this final scene there was a very smart change from the initial screen images being of massive, dead-looking roots and thick branches gradually changing to thinner budding branches covered with vivid green leaves – a super way to convey Brunnhilde and Siegfried’s love and, as occurring on the screens, wholly in keeping with the style and concept of the production.
But, furry criticism aside, this was a wonderful performance. On to Gotterdammerung!