Skip to main content

Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Royal Opera





It was an epic journey. Having seen the complete Ring a few times now, I still found myself completely immersed in the experience. Here were some memorable moments (good and bad):
  • Sarah Connolly as Fricka was a surprise. Having seen her mainly in trouser roles, she was a convincing Wagnerian mezzo!
  • Bryn Terfel as a less bombastic and more pensive Wotan. His best yet. 
  • The ring of fire had a hiccup  at the end if Die Walküre - but the fire came on eventually so all as well.
  • Simon O’Neill was super as Siegmund, and well matched by Eva-Maria Westbroek as Sieglinde - their duet at the end of Act I was exhilirating.
  • It took me a long time to get used to Stefan Vinke as Siegfried - there is something odd in the way he shaped the beginning of the words. Then again, you can't beat him for the stamina he'd demonstrated throughout Siegfried.
  • Woops,  Wotan's spear was shattered before Siegfried got there ... there was this collective gasp in the audience! 
  • Susan Bullock was fab as Brünhilde - so much poise, so much emotion in this enormous role. 
  • Sir John Tomlinson's Hagen was pretty evil. Just what the plot needed.
  • The orchestra was by and large very good. Needless to say, Pappano held everything together. Though the brass section (and in particular horns) could be better - not sure whether it was the heat or the playing but the sound lacked sonority.
  • As a whole it was still a wonderful experience to see the complete Ring.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Hearing the Berlin Philharmonic at the Philharmonie

Those of us London-centric folks easily forget there are great concert halls in other parts of the world. I remember as a young kid buying DG LPs with von Karajan on the front cover conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. So as my first visit to the city, a visit to the Philharmonie to listen to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra was a must. Ivan Fisher started the evening's concert with Haydn Symphony 88. A light and delightful work. As I'd expected, the acoustic of the hall was amazing - probably a good 2.5 second of reverberation - and much more generous than the Royal Festival Hall in London. The strings sounded sweet and the timpani came through clearly with definition. The audience was then treated to Béla Bartók's Seven Pieces for Choir and Chamber Orchestra: the Berlin Phil reduced in size occupying only half of the stage while the Netherlands Youth Choir took the other half. These young performers (all female) sang in Hungarian from memory - not easy at all - and rea...

Will the swish looking Princi become the hottest thing on Wardour St?

This site on Wardour Street in Soho had seen many bars and restaurants come and go. The latest occupant is Princi, an up market Italian bakery brought to London by Alan Yau (of Hakkasan, Yauatcha fame). Natural stones, polished brass and water reflections dominate. The long communal tables ( de rigeur for any Soho eatery), leather upholstered chairs and perfect lighting make this a stylish choice for a slice of cake (made from organic "00" flour) and a caffé machiato from the Italian barista (yes he is, I talked to him in Italian). They seem to have an alcohol licence - so perfect for an early evening spritz , or a late evening caffé correto . The downside is that this is a self-service joint.  While everything is stylishly done, all eating implements are disposable. So never mind the side plate.

Fidelio at the Royal Opera

Fidelio comes around to the Royal Opera only once in a while. With Lise Davidsen as Leonore, there was much to look forward to. The overture sounded firm at the beginning, but there were minor ensemble issues - the strings just didn't sound tight enough. Lise Davidsen was phenomenal. From the "fake" flirting with Marzelline (sung by Amanda Forsythe), "man to man" talk with Meister Rocco (sung by Georg Zeppenfeld) to the true Leonore in emotional turmoil - whe tackled them all with gusto. Her stature and firm voice also added further conviction to the role, but never too forthright to be forced.  We were lured in the a sense of security with the naturalistic stage set reminicent of Figaro in Act I. That was all knocked back with Act II - Florestan was on a stone island surrounded by a non-descript chorus sitting down in front of a doorway - all starkly lit. The stage set bore no relation to the scenerary to Act I. Set and costume designer Rainer Sellmaier ...