The
previous instalments of the ENO ‘Ring’ left
a somewhat mixed impression. Fittingly, Twilight
of the Gods acted as the climax of the
cycle in terms of execution as well as closing
the tetralogy in titanically dramatic fashion.
In keeping
with this Barbican ‘Ring’, the performance
was semi-staged (by Michael Walling), two
bare benches acting as the only props. But
Walling made full use of the space available
to him: the chorus filled the aisles as well
as hovering around the stage; the Rhine maidens’
final appearance was through the ‘door’ half
way up the back wall of the auditorium.
The
Barbican Hall was packed to the rafters, a
heart-warming sight. How nice also to hear
a full, rich orchestral sound from this orchestra
as it launched into the opening. The portrayal
of the Norns as bag-ladies was an intriguing
one: did this suggest merely age, or perhaps
a wisdom the inhabitants of the Bullring (as
was) at Waterloo may have that eludes the
rest of us in day jobs? Whatever, it certainly
evoked an atmosphere of starting from nothing
as the Norns weaved the rope of destiny. Musically,
of course, Wagner’s juxtaposition of the voices
makes comparison easy for the reviewer: Liane
Keegan’s rich contralto (First Norn) was appropriate
to the omniscient nature of her character;
Leah-Marian Jones’ vibrato was disconcerting
at first, yet her voice had all the requisite
power (Second Norn); Franzita Whelan, making
her ENO debut as Third Norn, was initially
weak, but grew to a very dramatic portrayal
of the snapping of the cord of fate. As they
shuffled off, one became aware of a facet
of the performance that was to recur regularly.
Daniel’s tempo was good, uncontroversial,
all parts well-balanced, but one just did
not feel, structurally, that this was part
of something larger - much larger.
None
of the above could prepare one for Brünnhilde’s
entrance. Kathleen Broderick has almost made
this role her own. Entering dressed in black,
the only way to describe her voice is huge
(although almost straight away doubts crept
in about the stability of her lower register:
would this have been the case a couple of
years ago?). But she exuded class, and complete
identification with her role, all of which
in the event conspired against Richard Berkeley-Steele’s
Siegfried.
Berkeley-Steele
made his US debut at Seattle with this role
(he has not appeared at ENO for a decade –
Lohengrin in 1993 was the last time). Entering
dressed in casuals, the initial impression
was good: blond, young and powerful-looking.
But the acting ability remained on the ground
floor and never left for any other higher
level, making the Brünnhilde-Siegfried
exchanges uncomfortable. Broderick was completely
credible as she gave him her horse (not literally,
obviously), opening out vocally at, ‘Come,
holiest of holies’ and providing a thrilling
final ‘Hail’. Right from the start, then,
this was to be Broderick’s evening.
In the
first scene of the first act, Berkeley-Steele
just got away with his portrayal of innocence,
proving also that at times he is capable of
tenderness. Alas it soon became painfully
obvious that he ‘does’ stupidity (as opposed
to innocence) supremely well. This is Siegfried
the imbicile - part hero, part dolt (and it’s
not a 50-50 split, either). In addition there
was little sense of any growth in the character
(nor any wish to learn), so that despite his
creditable vocal agility and stamina, there
was the distinct impression of this being
less than a portrayal of a character.
The
fact is that Broderick’s excellence was only
truly matched at one point in the evening.
The exchange with Waltraute brought her in
proximity with former ENO principal, mezzo
Sara Fulgoni. Here is another large voice,
lovely in narration (just a touch more depth
would have made this a complete assumption)
yet capable of a piercing shriek when required
(as she warns Brünnhilde, ‘Sister, woe
betide you and Valhalla!’). Elsewhere, Broderick
was in a class of her own. Even when the translation
veered towards the clumsy, every word was
clearly audible. Perhaps the only moment that
did not work was the revelation in Act 2 of
Siegfried’s Achilles heel, and the fault lay
fairly and squarely with Daniel, who pushed
on most inappropriately. Fittingly (and no
chance event, this), the climax of Broderick’s
performance coincided with the Immolation
Scene. This veered between the most tender,
heart-rending questioning of life and gritty
determination as she imposingly commanded
the ravens to fly home and announced the end
of Valhalla. As she got carried away in the
ecstasy of it all (that virtual horse Grane
once more having its moment), Broderick was
little short of magnificent. Electrifying.
There
was another star of the evening. Not Siegfried,
as this review has already intimated – rather
it came from bass-baritone Gidon Saks’ Hagen.
Saks took the role of Nick Shadow in the ENO
2001/2 season of the Rake's
Progress
and similarly
impressed my colleague Melanie Eskenazi: I
note he also takes on, amongst others, Boris,
Philip II (Don Carlos), Pizarro (Fidelio)
and the Don. His voice can hold its own against
the combined ENO brass (no small feat), as
he resolutely demonstrated when greeting Siegfried
in the second scene of the opera proper. Later,
his call to the Gibichungs was mighty, a summons
from a massive voice that the excellent English
National Opera Chorus reacted lustily to.
He was in superb form describing the workings
of the Tarnhelm and throughout the evening
excelled. Not only that, he looked the part,
too, dark and imposing.
An ENO
favourite, baritone Andrew Shore took the
part of Alberich, and his scene with Hagen
at the beginning of Act 2 was one of the highlights
of the evening, aided and abetted by the orchestra’s
rich and deep tone. Shore fitted his role
as well - small, bald and eminently dwarf-like.
His acting was excellent, and not only in
his physical actions. Close your eyes, and
the personality came across strongly in the
vocal inflections. Robert Poulton’s Gunther
was, alas, somewhat nondescript. He failed
to make the most of what the role has to offer
and as a result the part came across somewhat
anonymously.
The
Norns were balanced by a similarly well-suited
trio of Rhinemaidens, Linda Richardson, Stephanie
Marshall and Ethna Robinson. Their statement
of the Wagnerian credo of fate (‘The Norns
have woven it in their rope/It is now eternal
truth’) brought home Wagner’s take on the
workings of life: that it is all pre-written,
and nothing we can do can change the inevitable.
And how affecting the final fall of Valhalla
was.
I can
only imagine the performance on Saturday (November
29th) is also sold out. Start queuing
for returns now, would be my advice.
Colin Clarke
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