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Tannhäuser at Royal Opera

It still took me a while to get used to the set by Michael Levine - with that weird mock Royal Opera stage, and that bombed out derelict landscape. And no, I didn't like gun-holding singers. Jasmin Vardimon's choreography of the opening bacchanal scene was dynamic and creative.

Peter Seiffert (like Johan Botha before him in the previous production) looked out of place among the svelte and dynamic dancers. His voice was uneven - it had a good tenorial ring most of the time, but from time to time it was a little strained. Emma Bell's Elizabeth was earthy and noble. Sophie Koch's Venus was definitely alluring. The real star of the show was Christian Gerhaher's Wolfram von Eschinbach - delivering a robust and noble voice for the character, yet sang the songs like lieder (O du mein holder Abendstern). He outshone the rest of the cast, and the applause at the end confirmed it.




Hartmut Haenchen's choice of tempi were good - had momentum and not sentimental. The band (plus the extra brass) and chorus really gave the performance that umph. Fab.
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