Richard Wagner, Tristan und Isolde - Salzburger Festspiele

Concert Performance 22nd August

Once again the Wagner ban of the Salzburg Festival was overridden for a concert performance of the Tristan Vorspiel, the full second act and the famous Liebestod. This single evening Performance featured a cast that many opera houses dream of. Daniel Barenboim conducted the West Eastern Divan Orchestra very delicate with enough dramatic Feeling during the ecstatic outbreaks. The only big Problem was that the singers were situated behind the orchestra which is - especially for a Wagner Performance - quite suboptimal. Luckily enough the singers were powerful enough to sing over the orchestra most of the time. It could have been way more impressive if the singers were situated in front of the orchestra.
The small role of Kurwenal in the second act (originally casted with Domingo) was just cut out due to his health issues. The also quite small role of Melot was sung by Stepan Rügamer who has a very strong tenor voice with a very youthful timbre.
Ekaterina Gubanova sang a very beautiful Brangäne with a very strong dramatic voice. Unfortunately she has a very strong and annoying vibrato that made her "Habet Acht" calls quite unpleasent. It really is a pity that her vibrato is so strong because otherwise she would have been a really great Brangäne.
René Pape sang a very strong and touching Marke who understood to deliver the disappointment and dismay of this unlucky character. His powerful bass voice has a very noble timbre with a touch of depression.
Peter Seiffert was an enormously powerful and elegant Tristan. He had no Problems to be heard over the orchestra and his Interpretation was very delicate and elegant. His voice has a very hero-like dramatic timbre and he sings with great ease.
The evening's highlight was - of course - Waltraud Meier as Isolde. Her signature role still suits her voice phenomenally and she definitely still has her high c's. She Shows that Wagner singing is not just about big voice but about intellectual and dramatic interpretations. Interestingly enough she does not have any problems with the high tessitura even though she sings her mezzo roles at the same time. Her timbre, her tone and her dramatic interpretation are just an epitome of wagnerian drama.
Her Liebestod is a Musical adventure that is captivating from the first note to the very end with "höchste Lust". The whole Performance was just unbelievably exciting and I loved every single second of it. Only a few things were missing for the perfect Performance but anyway it was a great evening with finest singing.
I give the Project Tristan and Isolde 9 out of 10 stars.
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Festival talk with Krassimira Stoyanova

18th August

After my Rosenkavalier performance of the festival I took my chances at the signing session and asked the artists if they would be available for an interview for my blog and thankfully it worked out. So I am very pleased to present the first interview on my blog with the phenomenal new Marschallin from Salzburg's new Rosenkavalier production: Krassimira Stoyanova.
I really would like to thank her from the bottom of my heart for this great chance and the very interesting conversation. Other interviews will be following during the next weeks, so here the interview:

Sie singen ja sehr viel italienisches und französisches Repertoire, also etwa Verdi oder Puccini, und nehmen jetzt das deutsche Repertoire in Angriff.  Ariadne haben Sie bereits gesungen, nun die Feldmarschallin, kommen nun mehr deutsche Rollen?

Wenn ich ehrlich sein soll, ich hätte nie gedacht, dass ich genau in das deutsche Fach so stürmisch einsteigen werde. Es kommt für mich noch eine Eva aus den Meistersingern in Bayreuth 2017. Das ist auch für mich selbst eine Überraschung, aber wahrscheinlich schaffe ich das schon.

Nach der Salzburger Marschallin sollte das doch kein Problem sein.

 Naja, das war nicht leicht, speziell der Rosenkavalier, das ist ja sozusagen fast eine Visitenkarte für jede Sängerin meines Fachs. Aber ich bin wirklich überglücklich mit der Rolle. Ich habe sehr hart gearbeitet, obwohl die Zeit für mich sehr knapp und anstrengend war, aber ich habe mir gedacht es ist wirklich eine Frage von Stolz und Würde, also muss ich das jetzt machen. Gott sei dank habe ich das geschafft.  Es kommt noch ein weiteres Strauss-Projekt für mich, aber dazu möchte ich erst einmal noch nichts sagen.

Aber man darf sich also auf mehr Strauss freuen?

Ich weiß nicht wer sich freuen wird. Strauss, das Publikum oder ich? Oder alle gemeinsam? Hoffentlich! Deshalb möchte ich noch etwas abwarten. Die Partie ist sehr schwer und ich möchte mich wirklich gut darauf vorbereiten. Es wird sowieso bald veröffentlicht.

Gibt es für Sie einen Lieblingskomponisten oder eine Lieblingsrolle?

Wissen Sie, es ist schwer zu sagen, ob eine Rolle mir liegt, so als Lieblingsrolle. Alle meine Rollen sind für mich wie meine Kinder. Ich habe keine Kinder, aber ich habe soviele Rollen, die für mich wie Kinder sind. Und eigentlich singe ich ja viel Verdi. Demnächst werde ich meine 13. Verdi-Partie singen, das ist Aida. Das wird in Rom unter Maestro Muti sein und später auch in München. Wenn ich so überlege ist Verdi vielleicht der Komponist bei dem ich mich am meisten wohlfühle.

Worauf achten Sie wenn Sie eine neue Rolle angeboten bekommen bzw. studieren?

Das ist fast wie in der Athletik, denn es gibt ja Leichtathletik und schwerere Disziplinen, wie Gewichtheben etwa. Wenn ein Athlet nur 70 Kilo wiegt, darf er natürlich nicht 300 Kilo Gewichte stemmen. Das ist im Gesang auch so. Ich muss sehen, ob die Partie nicht so ein „Übergewicht“ für mich ist, sondern genau für meine Stimme, sozusagen nach meinem Maß, geschneidert ist.

Wie stehen Sie zur Gattung Lied? Strauss‘ vier letzte Lieder etwa haben Sie bereits gesungen. Dem Liedgesang wird ja oft eine der Stimme wohltuende Wirkung nachgesagt. Können Sie das bestätigen?

Ja, ich liebe Lieder. Wissen Sie, Lieder sind wie kleine Monologe. In diesen Monologen müssen wir eine ganze Welt zeigen, eine Geschichte erzählen und das ist nicht einfach. Es gibt kein Kostüm, keine Bühne, kein Dekor. Alles dreht sich nur um den Gesang und die Geschichte, die darin passiert. Es ist beinahe als wäre man nackt. Wenn ich eine längere Zeit an Liedern arbeite, dann fühlt sich die Stimme wie neu. Es ist wie in einem Labor, alles ist sauber und geputzt, fast wie eine Stimm-kur.

Wir haben bereits darüber geredet, dass Sie oft mit Verdi in Verbindung gebracht werden. Was denken Sie macht Verdis Musik so packend und spannend?

Diese semplicità, dieser einfache Kontakt. Verdi war so genial, bei ihm ist alles so einfach, direkt und extrem berührend. Gerade in diesem Moment läuft im Festspielhaus Trovatore, nehmen wir also dieses Beispiel. Da folgt ein Hit dem anderen, jede Arie ist so berührend, jede Chorszene ist so berührend, aber wieso eigentlich? Weil das so einfach Melodien sind, die aber so spontan  , von der Seele und von Gott gekommen mit diesen tollen Harmonien und natürlich ist die Musik auch so grandios mit dem Text verbunden. Und apropos, das finde ich bei jedem genialen Komponisten so interessant: die Verbindung Melodie und Text. Das macht eigentlich das Gesamte aus.

So wie Wagners Gesamtkunstwerk etwa.

Genau, ohne den Text wäre die Melodie so leer und ohne die Melodie wäre Text einfach sehr schwach.

Haben Sie ein sängerisches Vorbild?

Ich glaube jeder Sänger versucht einfach 100% von sich zu geben. In all seinen Vorbereitungen Kunst zu machen, was ja sehr schwer ist und viel Arbeit bedeutet. Ich denke für uns ist es heute sehr leicht ein Vorbild zu haben. Wir müssen nur auf einen Knopf eines Gerätes drücken oder im Internet schauen und schon haben wir Maria Callas, Mirella Freni, Maestro Muti…

Oder Krassimira Stoyanova.

(lacht) Dankeschön. Es ist so einfach diese Aufnahmen zu hören, aber das ist auch gefährlich. Ich frage mich, woher etwa eine Rosa Ponsell gewusst hat, wie sie Traviata oder Carmen singen soll. Das bedeutet also, dass wir sehr streng mit uns sein müssen und zwischen den Zeilen der Partitur lesen müssen. Es steht alles in der Musik, denn der Komponist oder Poet hat alles schon geschrieben, wir müssen es einfach nur lesen und ausarbeiten.

Was halten Sie beim Singen für wichtig? Damit wären wir ja auch schon wieder bei einem alten Thema: Prima la musica oder prime le parole?

Nun, für mich ist es wirklich sehr interessant diese Verbindung zwischen Musik und Wort zu sehen. Ich wiederhole mich vielleicht, aber es ist wirklich wahr. Die großen Komponisten haben ihre ganz besonderen Harmonien nur deshalb gefunden, weil das Wort auf Sie gewirkt hat. Wahrscheinlich ist also erst die Poesie – es steht ja auch in der Bibel: „Zuerst war das Wort“ – und diese Poesie bzw. das Wort hat eine sehr starke Energie. Ohne diese Energie könnten wir damit nichts anfangen. Selbst ohne das Wort  direkt auszusprechen haben wir diese Energie im Gehirn, nicht wahr?

Viele Leute meinen ja, dass die Anforderungen an junge Sänger heutzutage viel höher sind als früher. Wir haben bereits über das Problem der Aufnahmenvergleiche gesprochen. Wie sehen sie das, ist es heute wirklich schwerer?

Es gibt einfach soviele Sänger heute. Es sind tausend, abertausende und ich weiß nicht wie viele es früher waren, aber sicher weniger als heute. Für junge Sänger ist es auf jeden Fall sicher nicht leicht heute, aber man darf auch nicht vergessen, dass man zuallererst einmal Talent braucht. Talent und dann dieses Feuer von Innen – il fuoco – ohne welches es nicht schaffbar ist. Wir müssen ein bisschen verrückt sein, etwas krank aus Liebe zum Gesang. Diese noble Krankheit hilft allerdings auch sehr und ich denke jeder hat seine Chance, aber zuerst muss man natürlich auf diese vorbereitet sein.

Was denken Sie über das Gesangsstudium allgemein?

Das ist eine wichtige Sache, sehr wichtig sogar. Die Sänger müssen viel wissen und zwar nicht nur musikalisch, sondern ein breites Spektrum. Kunstgeschichte, Musikgeschichte, wenn sie möchten auch Chemie oder Physik, denn das tut gut. Dadurch kann man sich einfach viel erklären und davon kommt, meiner Meinung nach, auch die Weisheit. Wenn ein Sänger jung ist hat er viel Kraft und jugendlichen Eifer, was einfach toll ist, aber es gehört auch eine gewisse Reife dazu. Man kann ja auch jung UND reif sein. Viele Leute sterben ja, Verzeihung wenn ich das so sage, alt und unreif und das muss ja nicht sein. Ein weiser Mensch hat einmal gesagt: Wer aufhört sich zu entwickeln ist bereits tot.

Unterrichten Sie selbst? Finden Sie es wichtig beispielsweise Meisterklassen zu geben?

Ja, das macht mir erstens Spaß, weil ich gerne helfe und zweitens gefällt es mir zu verstehen, wo das Problem liegt. Ich habe gerne aktive intelligente Leute vor mir und mit ihnen zu arbeiten macht mir große Freunde und gibt mir viel Energie.

Ihr Terminkalender ist ja wirklich brechend voll, was kommt in Zukunft  neben Meistersingern und Aida noch auf Sie zu?

Ich werde auf jeden Fall keine Azucena singen (lacht). Nein, Spaß beiseite, es kommt wahrscheinlich noch eine weitere Verdi-Partie, eine Mathilde in Wilhelm Tell, Manon Lescaut wird kommen und noch viele andere unglaublich schöne Sachen.

Was verbinden Sie mit den Salzburger Festspielen?

Ach, ich habe 2003 hier zum ersten Mal gesungen als Antonia in Hofmannstals Erzählungen in der wunderschönen Inszenierung von David McVicar. Leider fand die Presse die Produktion so kitschig, dass die Wiederaufnahme zwei Jahre später nicht stattfand, was sehr schade war. Sonst verbinden mich mit Salzburg viele schöne Konzerte,  jetzt natürlich auch der neue Rosenkavalier und auch die neue Strauss-Serie in ein paar Jahren.

Auch in Salzburg?

Ja genau, aber das ist eben noch nicht ganz offiziell.

Der neue Rosenkavalier hier in Salzburg hat sowohl von der Presse als auch vom Publikum großes Lob und Anerkennung erhalten, nicht zuletzt wegen ihrem bahnbrechenden Debut als Marschallin. Wie erleben Sie diesen Jubiläums-Rosenkavalier?

Ich bin wirklich überglücklich, genau in diesem Jahr, dem Strauss-Jahr, als Bulgarin diese Rolle zu singen, die ja sozusagen ein Heiligtum für das deutschsprachige Publikum ist, welches am besten von einer österreichischen, deutschen oder vielleicht noch amerikanischen Sängerin gesungen wird. Umso mehr freut es mich, dass ich mit dieser Rolle vom Publikum so freundlich aufgenommen wurde. Auch weil es ja früher eine andere bulgarische Sängerin gegeben hat, die die Marschallin unter Karajan sehr erfolgreich gesungen hat: Anna Tomowa-Sintow. Und deshalb bin ich wirklich stolz, dass ich diesen Weg sozusagen weitergehe. Noch dazu ist es wirklich lustig, wenn die Leute mich auf der Straße fragen: „Sind Sie die Marschallin?“ und ich antworte „Ja, ich bin die Marschallin“. Es ist beinahe als hätte ich einen neuen Beruf, als Marschallin (lacht).

Wie sehen Sie die Figur der Marschallin und wie liegt Ihnen diese Rolle stimmlich?

Ach, stimmlich perfekt finde ich, obwohl sie schon sehr anstrengend ist. Viele Stellen liegen in der Mittellage, nicht in den schönen Registern der Sopranstimme, sondern etwas tiefer. Ich glaube das hat auch einen Sinn: er wollte keine zu blühenden Töne, sondern mehr Charakter. Einfach eine reife Frau ohne viele Allüren. Die Marschallin ist eine sehr interessante Figur, sehr klug, sehr intelligent. Wissen sie, die Marschallin ist eigentlich eine sehr moderne Frau. Wenn man denkt wer diese Frau ist. Sie kam aus dem Kloster und wurde verheiratet. Schrecklich, nicht wahr?  Aber ist sehr speziell und  diese Geschichte mit Octavian zeigt ja wie nobel und selbstlos sie ist.

Und zu guter letzt, Ihnen wurde ja mit Günther Groissböck ein ganz neuer Typ von Ochs zur Seite gestellt, was halten Sie von dieser Deutung?

Ja, ein Macho! Wunderschön eigentlich. Ich finde Günther macht daraus einen sehr interessanten Charakter. Nicht bloß einen alten, eindimensionalen, dicken Trottel, sondern einen frechen, gutaussehenden Macho mit viel Selbstbewusstsein. Das ist einfach schick und passt wirklich wunderbar.

Richard Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier - Salzburger Festspiele

Performance 11th August

I was waiting very long for this and on the 11th of August it was time. I got to see the new production of Der Rosenkavalier at the Salzburg Festival. This new production of Harry Kupfer (stage: Hans Schavernoch, costumes: Yan Tax) moves the plot into the last decades of the K&K monarchy with big impressive monumental pictures and elegant props. I really liked the beautiful staging and the noble costumes a lot. This production is worth to stand in a row with the old productions of the festival.
Franz Welser-Möst conducted the Wiener Philharmoniker very gently but not as good as I expected. The orchestra did not play as qualitative as one would expect from an ensemble like this(well, big names are not everything obviously). The standard was still quite high but in fact the orchestra and the conducting were a little bit disappointing.
Nevertheless the singers of the performance sang on a very high standard with a few exceptions. Silvana Dussmann for example sang Marianne Leitmetzerin and showed her very beautiful strong soprano voice. As far as I know she sings roles like Kaiserin in Frau ohne Schatten and other big Strauss heroines, so she was a little overqualified for such a small role, but anyway she sang it very well.
Wiebke Lehmkuhl sang Annina and showed her very warm velvet-like mezzo soprano which sounded very pleasingly. She gave this role a totally new dimension and showed a more sympathetic facet of this character. Valzacchi was sung by Rudolf Schasching who also gave a good performance although he had more like an acting role due to the few lines of singing he had to do.
Tobias Kehrer as Polizeikommisar sang, according to the role, very intimidating and imperious. Stefan Pop sang a very beautiful but not really strong Italian singer and Salzburg favorite Franz Supper performed a very dignified Haushofmeister (Feldmarschallin).
Adrian Eröd performed the role of Faninal which suits his voice very well. He has a very noble and elegant voice which is capable of showing the elegance and also the weakness of this character very properly. Eröd's acting supports this impression and rounds the overall impression off.
Günther Groissböck was one of the highlights of the performance with his debut as Baron von Ochs. At the beginning of the performance festival director Alexander Pereira came out to say that Groissböck is a little bit indisposed due to a cold but still sings the role (thank god). Even without the cold his performance would have been impressive but singing this difficult role like he did with this indisposition was just incredible. Even though he might not be as powerful as other singers in the deep register he managed to be heard over the orchestras (even during the very profound parts of this role). His acting was just as qualitative as his singing and made him the perfect singer for this role. Finally an Ochs who is not shown as an old pervert but as a young arrogant, self-confident, vain and surely dangerous middle-aged Don Juan (as Strauss and Hofmannsthal imagined him). After this high-quality performance Groissböck will surely be the main Ochs for the next few decades.
The role of Sophie was sung by Mojca Erdmann, who physically seems to be the perfect singer for this role. Vocally, although she sang really beautifully, her voice had some issues with the size of the Festspielhaus. She had some troubles to be heard over the orchestra, especially during the deeper parts of this role. Nevertheless during the important key moments she was still satisfying and did not disappoint.
Sophie Koch, as always, gave a great performance as Octavian and especially the Mariandl parts were just incredibly lovely and funny. She is one of the main Octavians of our time and she never fails to satisfy in that role. Even though she sings it very often she does not make the impression of boring practice.
The second big highlight was Krassimira Stoyanova's debut as Feldmarschallin. I knew she would not disappoint in this role but after getting to see her I was just really impressed. She sang the role with such finesse, elegance, grace and beauty that she does not have to fear the comparisons with names like Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Christa Ludwig or Renee Fleming. Her silver-velvet-like voice and the magnificent pianos she is able to sing make her the perfect singer for this role. Even her viennese accent sounded very authentic. She was able to maintain the ideal balance between powerful voice and delicate phrasing.
The Salzburg Rosenkavalier is maybe the best new production in years and features two new role models for the Marschallin and the Baron Ochs.
The performance gets well-deserved 9 stars.
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Richard Wagner, Lohengrin - Bayreuther Festspiele

Performance 9th August

This year I also had my Bayreuth debut with the Hans Neuenfels production of Lohengrin (set and costumes: Reinhard von der Thannen). Andris Nelsons conducted the Festspielorchester and the Festspielchor with great finesse and accuracy. The incredibly mystirious acustics of the Festspielhaus gave the orchestral sound an additional spheric dimension. Although you were not able to see him conducting Nelsons obviously did a very good job supporting the dramatic plot with the music and carrying the singers throughout the performance.
Wilhelm Schwinghammer was a very young König Heinrich but still gave a good performance. Only his deep notes could have been a little bit more profound and stronger. His acting was good although I did not like the idea of making Heinrich seem like a weak king. Anyway, Samuel Youn (who also sings the dutchman in Bayreuth) sang the king's herald and did a pretty good job aswell. Nevertheless I can not imagine him as a proper dutchman but of course I did not see him, so I cannot really judge on that.
Thomas J. Mayer gave a good performance as Friedrich von Telramund and showed a more dramatic side of himself than he did as Barak in Leipzig. I really liked that he is capable of singing Telramund very dramatic and strong while his Barak was very lyric and beautifully sung. This shows how versatile his voice is and also his acting was very satisfying.
Petra Lang was this evening's highlight with her unbelievably strong dramatic (mezzo-) soprano. Her voice has enormous power in every register and she surely knows how make a big impact and how to sing Wagner properly. The beginning of the second act was just mindblowing and her "Entweihte Götter" was a epitome of excitement and force. In my opinion she was the best performer of the evening although the average was very high in general.
Edith Haller, who jumped in for Annette Dasch, had to deal with high expectations because I was really looking forward to see Dasch as Elsa. But I have to say, she did not disappoint me with her very delicate but still very strong lyric dramatic soprano. Her voice sounds a little bit less dramatic than Dasch's rendition but also does not have the dramatic charisma of Dasch. Anyway she gave a great performance throughout the evening. Only the two high bs in the third act seemed to be a little bit forced and she was not able to keep them in the phrases.
Klaus Florian Vogt as Lohengrin was also incredible. He might not seem like a proper Wagner tenor but the role of Lohengrin clearly suits him quite well. He combines light delicate piano singing with a strong but still pure powerful sound in the dramatic scenes. Also optically he is a very appropriate Lohengrin and did not disappoint me at any point of the performance. He makes this role look very easy although he seemed a little bit more exhausted during the final act but still he sang very beautifully and did not fail to impress me.Well-deserved he got the most applause in the end.
Finally my first Bayreuth experience was really great and I hope to get there next year again.
The performance gets 9 stars.
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Orchesterkonzert, Philharmonia Orchestra - Christoph von Dohnányi - Salzburger Festspiele

Performance 7th August

My first concert of this year's festival had Strauss and Bruckner on its programm. The first half featured Camilla Tilling (jumping in for Eva Maria Westbroek who was sick) singing Strauss' four last songs. The second half was fully dedicated to Bruckner's 9th symphony in the fragmental (3 movements) form. The Philharmonia Orchestra played very delicatly, colorful and convincingly. Christoph von Dohnányi conducted very elegant and made me hear parts in the songs that I never heard before. Especially the last two songs (Beim Schlafengehen & Im Abendrot) were performed  very professional by the orchestra.
Camilla Tilling, who I already heard as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier in Munich, sang with very delicate and beautiful voice but had some problems to be heard over the orchestra (although I think they already played more quiet). Her voice just seemed to not have the power to exceed the orchestral part which was a pity because she really sang incredibly beautifully. Nevertheless it was very nice to hear someone who at least is able to sing the lines appropriate even though the stamina might not be the best for those songs.
During the second half the orchestra did not have to show consideration to anyone and that was perfect. The big outbreaks during the first two movements were played with enormous power but still not "just" loud. The themes very played very clearly and the dynamic bandwith was very impressive. Especially the Scherzo was really imposing with the almost brutal rhythmical passages. The final movement was played very delicate and was a appropriate compensation for the missing fourth movement.
All in all the performance might not have been perfect but was undoublty very good. I would give the concert 7 stars.
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Richard Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen - Götterdämmerung - Tiroler Festspiele Erl

Performance 3rd August (Part of the 24h-Ring)

The final performance of this opera marathon at 11:00 on the last day closed this amazing experience of the 24h-Ring in Erl. After around 7 hours of break since Siegfried (4 hours of sleep) Götterdämmerung started with the magnificent Nornen scene. The three norns (Rena Kleifeld, Svetlana Kotina and Anna Princeva) had very big voices with a warm and mystirious sound which was perfect for those roles. As the calmer pendant to the rhinemaidens they gave a short synopsis about the "plot" so far packed into the most amazing musical combination of motifs from all three operas we already heard. This is one of the reasons I really like this scene (except of the great vocal parts of the norns) because it is like a potpourri of the Leitmotifs. Directly after the disappearing of the norns we get to see the stars of the evening in the great duet of Brünnhilde and Siegfried. Gianluca Zampieri and Mona Somm both have very strong dramatic voices with great technique and enormous power. Zampieri's tenor combines sheer power with very clear diction and an effortless high register. Mona Somm is an almost perfect Brünnhilde and has a very strong deep register and effortless high notes. Her dramatic phrasing are very convincing and match perfect with the high dramatic vocal part of the Götterdämmerung-Brünnhilde. She is able to deliver Brünnhilde's pain and disappointment perfectly without giving the impression that she's too busy with the singing for acting properly. I was really very pleased with her and liked her Brünnhilde maybe the best.
The Gibichs Gunther, Gutrune and Hagen were played by Michael Kupfer, Susanne Geb and Andrea Silvestrelli. Michael Kupfer (who already sang the Rheingold-Wotan) once again gave a great performance as the not really hero-like Gunther. He still sounded very noble and elegant but at the same time he understood to deliver Gunther's anxiety and worries through his singing. Moreover his acting was really priceless and really impressed me a lot. Susanne Geb as Gutrune had a very beautiful voice and sang this very unthankful and almost boring role with much grace and acted very lovely. Unfortunately this role itself does nothing to me but I could imagine her as a good Sieglinde.
Andrea Silvestrelli also gave a magnificent performance as Hagen, this opera's main antagonist. Once again his incredibly dark voice matched perfectly with the evilness of this character and made us feel the malice and wickedness of Hagen. The duett with his father Alberich at the beginning of the second act was very impressive. Alberich, this time Thomas Gazheli again, also did a great job and showed again that he's also capable to play the evil part as good as the Wanderer in Siegfried.
Also very good was the Waltraute of Anne Schuldt who already sang this role in Die Walküre. This time you were able to hear her very dramatic voice which was perfect for the desperate Waltraute narration in the first act. Her final lines (Weh dir, Schwester. Walhalls Göttern, Weh!!) just gave me chills.
Finally the three rhinemaidens (as in Rheingold, Yukiko Aragaki, Michiko Watanabe and Misaki Ono) made the opening of the third act to one of the highlights of the opera. Their beautiful singing was a delightful contrast to the otherwise very dark opera. It was a pity that they didn't sing more with their strong, but still very delicate voices.
In the end I can say that this Ring performance was an incredible experience for me not least because of the great singing and the orchestra. The exhaustion afterwards was totally worth it and I'm looking forward to see many more operas in Erl. So Götterdämmerung gets 8 stars itself and also in total I would give the Ring cycle in Erl 8 stars out of 10.
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Total Ring performance:

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Richard Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen - Siegfried - Tiroler Festspiel Erl

Performance 2. / 3. August (Part of the 24h-Ring)

The third part of the cycle was maybe the most exhausting one although the performance itself was just amazing. Starting at 23:00 on the same day as Die Walküre, Siegfried went on until almost 4:00 in the morning of the following day. Still Gustav Kuhn and the Orchester der Tiroler Festspiele Erl did not show signs of exhaustion and still gave a great performance. The orchestra was playing very clearly and Kuhn's interpretation was very interesting and sophisticated.
Wolfram Wittekind as Mime openend the opera with a very strong and warm tenor voice. I normally expected a weaker voice, but I really liked the stronger approach to this role. He sounded way less shrill and grotesque than most other Mime singers I heard.
Mime's brother Alberich was performed by Oskar Hillebrandt who (although already quite old) still filled the auditorium with his dark bass voice. The timbre is very dark and seems perfect for this evil role. I was really impressed by the power that his voice still has.
Thomas Gazheli, who sang the Rheingold-Alberich, sang the role of the Wanderer this time and showed a totally different side of his voice. Instead of the evil-dark timbre he had as Alberich he sang the Wanderer with a very noble and superior voice. I was very surprised positively and really liked his singing a lot. It was really impressive how much he was able to change his voice and his singing according to the role.
Andrea Silvestrelli who, once again, sang Fafner the giant (this time as huge worm / dragon) was simply perfect for this role. His incredibly dark voice made everyone believe that he really IS a big monster. Together with the dragon on stage his performance made the dragon scene in the second act really exciting and less awkward than many other productions. I don't remember that I have ever heard a voice with such a black timbre.
The little role of the Waldvogel was sung by Bianca Tognocchi who has a very lovely soprano voice with a light and delicate timbre. Her angel-like voice geniuinely sounds like a bird and it was a pity that she didn't sing more. Anyway many people had the Waldvogel-music stuck in their head during the second intermission.
Also returning for a great performance was Elena Suvorova as Erda. Once again she did not fail to impress with her very beautiful profound contralto. Thankfully this time she came out from the door in the floor of the stage so we could see her beautiful costume as well. Her short scene in the beginning of the third act was one of my favorite scenes of this opera and showed a woman with great talent.
The role of Siegfried was performed by the tenor Michael Baba who I already knew from a Tristan performance in Salzburg some time ago. He was way more impressive as Siegfried in my opinion than he was as Tristan. He has a very strong and youthfull tenor voice with a very good high register which is quite important for this role. Especially the scenes with Mime were very delightful because of those two beautiful voices.
The last performer of the evening was Nancy Weißbach as Brünnhilde. The Siegfried-Brünnhilde is maybe the most lyrical one of the three different operas. Nancy Weißbach did a great job combining a beautiful lyric voice with strong sheer power and an amazing stamina. Her high c's were impressive and not as short as many other Brünnhilde performers sing them. All in all she gave an amazing performance (especially if you think of the time when she was singing - something between 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning!!).
Alltogether I would give Siegfried 7 stars.
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Richard Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen - Die Walküre - Tiroler Festspiele Erl

Peformance 2nd August ( Part of the 24h-Ring)

The second opera of the Ring, Die Walküre, started on the next day at 17:00 and was the highlight of the whole Ring for me. After a Walküre in Leipzig and Linz, this performance showed why Die Walküre is the most played one of the four operas.
Gustav Kuhn and his orchestra again gave a great performance with many interesting details in the orchestral part. The three singers of the first act, Andrew Sritheran, Marianna Szivkova and Raphael Sigling, made the first act to one of the great moments of the cycle. Andrew Sritheran sang a Siegmund that does not have to fear the comparisons of the big old recordings. His youthful appearance and his very lyric but strong Heldentenor is perfect for this role. Also his acting and his diction were very exemplary and he gave me goosebumps several times. His sister and bride, Sieglinde, was performed by Ukrainian soprano Marianna Szivkova and she did an amazing job here. The sheer power of her voice was combined with a very beautiful timbre and tone. Every word she sang was so clear and still so powerful that she really impressed me a lot. Weather in the deep register or in the high register, her voice always sounded very elegant and controlled. Her acting made the performance nearly perfect. Finally Raphael Sigling as Hunding stood a little bit in the shadow of the other two singers but still sang very satisfying. He interpreted the unrewarding role of the evil man very convincing and showed why this villain has to die as well in the second act.
This time's Wotan, Vladimir Baykov, did a acceptable job overall, although he had several intonation issues throughout the piece. Due to the fact that he has a very deep voice it did not appear too strong but still it was annoying on time. His wife Fricka, again the great Hermine Haselböck, gave a magnificent performance again and showed more of the dramatic side of Fricka this time. Her portrayal of the poor jealous woman once again was very impressive.
Soprano Bettine Kampp sang the role of Brünnhilde and did not really convince me until the third act. She was good before but the third act really changed my mind. With both, good top and good low notes, she delivered the dramatic content of the revolutionary valkyrie very lovely. Her disruption during the second and third act really very impressive and showed great acting skills. The whole finale between Wotan and her was very touching and did not seem too pathetic (as in many other productions).
The valkyries (Manuela Dumfart, Bernadette Flaitz, Leonora del Rio, Veronika Farkas, Aurora Faggioli, Anne Schuldt, Michaela Bregantin and Alena Sautier) were good, although some of them might have been too heavy for the roles they sang. Nevertheless the overall impression was very satisfying and the ride of the valkyries surely was one of the night's highlights.
This Walküre gets earned 8 stars.
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Richard Wagner, Der Ring des Nibelungen - Rheingold - Tiroler Festspiele Erl

Performance 1st August (Part of the 24h-Ring)

For the first time ever I visited the famous Festival in the tiny little village of Erl which is know for their exceptional Wagner performances. This year they played two Ring-cycles and one of them as the so called 24h-Ring. This means all four operas at one weekend and except of Rheingold all within 24 hours. So we had Rheingold on the 1st of August 19:00, Walküre on the 2nd at 17:00, Siegfried at 23:00 (until 4 in the morning) and finally on the 3rd of August Götterdämmerung at 11:00. This amazing opera marathon was a breathtaking once in a lifetime experience and worth every circumstance.
Gustav Kuhn leaded the festival's orchestra throughout all performances with great conducting and a very sophisticated interpretation. The incredible achievment of both, orchestra and conductor, made those performances to one of the best ones I ever saw. Kuhn, who was also responsible for the production, showed the ring cycle in a very puristic but understandable and coherent way. The simple set designs were enought to support the plot in an appropriate way. Due to the fact that the operas were performed so consecutive the big roles like Brünnhilde, Wotan, Alberich etc. were casted differently in every opera. So we heard many different singers of which most very enormously good.
The rhinemaidens (Yukiko Aragaki, Michiko Watanabe and Misaki Ono) gave a good performance and were lovely to watch and listen to. Only the top notes of Woglinde were a little flat sometimes, but it didn't really bother that much.
The main antagonist, Alberich, was performed by Thomas Gazhelli who brought a lot of darkness and evilness into the character. His Alberich was really good, both musically and dramatic, especially because of his rousing interpretation of the grumpy little evil nibelung.
His brother Mime was sung by Giorgio Valenta who also did a good job. Unfortunately there is not much to do for Mime in Rheingold, so there is not much more say about him. The giants Fasolt and Fafner were performed by Franz Hawlata and Andrea Silvestrelli. Both have a very profound bass voice although Silvestrelli's voice sounds way deeper and has a incredible dark timbre (which fits this role perfectly). Hawlata, who is known for his Baron Ochs also did a very good job and delivered the unilateral love to Freia very touchingly.
Frederik Baldus and Ferdinand von Bothmer played the gods Donner and Froh. Baldus gives Donner a very appropriate Portrait with a very lyric but still very strong baritone voice. Von Bothmer also sings a really convincing Froh and especially during the final scene he knows how to impress with his warm strong tenor voice. Joo-Anne Bitter as Freia sang this role with great finesse and a very elegant lyric dramatic soprano. Also optically she gives a quite convincing performance as the love godess. The role of Loge was performed by Johannes Chum, who gave a very cheaky portrait of this bold character.
One of the best performances of the evening was done by contralto Elena Suvorova as Erda. Her beautifully sounding deep voice made the mystical Erdascene to one of highlights of the performance. She has no problems with the deep notes of this profound part and also has a very delicate upper register.
The best female performer was the singer of Fricka: Hermine Haselböck. Her strong mezzosoprano voice (packed into a beautiful physique) characterizes the strict godess very well. She definitely knows how to deliver the dramatic content of her role and clearly knows how to fill the role with life. The contrast between the lyric and the dramatic parts of Wotan's wife was amazing and showed how many different layers can be showed by this role.
Maybe the best performance of the evening was given by the German baritone Michael Kupfer as god of the gods, Wotan. His elegant and noble singing fitted perfectly to the young Wotan who is not yet depressed by the happenings around the ring. His diction was exemplary and supported his noble appearance as well as his enormously convincing acting skills. Especially for the Rheingold-Wotan his voice seems to be predestined and one can only hope that he will sing this role in many productions in future.
For the first part of the Ring I give 8 stars.
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W.A. Mozart, Don Giovanni - Salzburger Festspiele

Orchestral Main Rehearsal (24th July) & TV Broadcast (3rd August)

The first opera performance at this year's Salzburg Festival for me was the new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni. It is the second part of Sven Erich Bechtolf's new Da Ponte cycle after last year's Cosi fan tutte, which had destroying reviews (both musically and the scenery). I have to say that I don't understand he bad comments about the production (except the musical part) for both operas. Bechtolf's Giovanni takes place in a hotel lobby in a dictatorship in the 20s of the last century in Spain. The staging (Rolf Glittenberg) is very elegant and classy and features a big symmetrical staircase in the middle and several doors on the first floor. The also very beautiful costumes of Marianne Glittenberg match to this set and create a very appealing atmosphere for Mozart's Casanova.
The main point of criticism concerns the conductor Christoph Eschenbach. He conducts very ungentle and rough without showing the beautiful parts of the magnificent score. This is probably the reason why next year's Le nozze di Figaro will be conducted by someone else.
Another big deficit is the female main protagonist: Lenneke Ruiten as Donna Anna. Originally Genia Kühmeier would have sung the role of Donna Anna, but had to cancel her performances due to family backgrounds. Lenneke Ruiten, who will be a part of the Stuttgart Opera Ensemble this autumn, is a very cheap and unsatisfactory replacement that does not even come close to the standards of the Festival. It is totally incomprehensible to me why she was casted for this role which calls for a strong lyric dramatic soprano. Her voice is very small, has an annoying shrill timbre and was covered by the orchestra very easily. She said herself in an interview that she is a very light lyric Donna Anna and she does not think that Mozart wanted a heavy soprano for the part (http://www.salzburg.com/nachrichten/spezial/festspiele/salzburger-festspiele/oper/sn/artikel/festspiele-kritik-an-don-giovanni-verstehe-ich-nicht-116296/ ). I personally think that this shows how totally miscasted she was / is for this role. It is a shame that someone who obviously does not have a clue of what she is doing is given the chance to sing at our dignified Festival.
Nevertheless the rest of the cast was very good. 28 years old Anett Fritsch gives a very touching debut as Donna Elvira which she masters with a very beautiful and strong voice that delivers the drama of this second female protagonist perfectly. Her "Mi tradi quest'alma ingrata" was incredibly beautiful. Moreover she has a very lovely physique and we can hope that she will be singing in Salzburg more often now.
The third lady of the cast was Valentina Nafornita as the young Zerlina. She sang a very strong but still delicate Zerlina with smooth coloraturas and innocent timbre. Also her physique is very appealing, elegant and delicate.
Alessio Arduini sang Zerlina's jealous Husband Masetto and did a very good job here. He has a very warm baritone voice and played the jealous Masetto very convincing. He is on a very good way to sing the main role by himself one day, maybe even at the Festival. The British Andrew Staples played Don Ottavio and was weather good nor bad. His timbre might not be the most beautiful one, but he sang the role without any serious issues. Sometimes he sounds very nasal and pressed, but his overall performance was okay. A very good performance was given by Tomasz Konieczny as Il Commendatore. His Wagner-proved bass is perfect for this role and gave me goosebumps during the cemetery scene.
Luca Pisaroni as Leporello was one my favorites due to his enormously funny acting. He performs the comic role with a very clumsy and awkward style that created many funny scenes. His singing also was very convincing and he was a really worthy companion to the main role.
Don Giovanni, the demonic Casanova, was performed by the Italian bass Ildebrando d'Arcangelo who did a very very good job. He performes the incorrigible womanizer with finesse and a big voice. His athletic physique supported his character as well as his charming but treacherous singing. He surely was the best performer of the production and showed why he is one of the top singers of the present.
I liked the performance a lot and although the production might not be a very sophisticated one it delivers the story quite well and is beautiful to watch. I give the production 7 stars.
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