Each Ring cycle
is unique, and needs appreciation on its own terms. This very
unusual production will rank as one of the more cereberal because
it frees the ideas so central to its meaning from extraneous
accretions. As my colleague Göran Forsling puts it so well,
it has a “quality of timelessness”, for it is a universal, ever
recreating itself in the psyche of thoughtful observers. Wagner’s
productions at Bayreuth were
state of the art for his time, but he knew there was much more
to be drawn from the saga “I would not want to experience
the current performance again”, he wrote to his patron King
Ludwig II, “at least not those while I am still alive”. Unthinking
banality was a travesty of his entire worldview, as any listener
understanding the Ring might notice. And so we proceed to Götterdämmerung,
whence the many themes of the Ring are drawn to conclusion.
Unlike the brutish
Nibelungs, the Gibichungs are, if anything, too effete. Their
status was inherited, not earned, and indeed, it’s not even
clear where it comes from – how did their mother come to have
a child by Alberich ? They don’t treat their followers badly.
Nonetheless, the followers are depicted as robots, marching
in strict formation, devoid of individual personality. Their
docility is mindless, or it is mindlessness that breeds conformity
?
The Gibichung/Nibelung
hybrid, Hagen is fascinating. In this production, Kurt Rydl plays
him as a deeply complex, conflicted personage. There’s nothing
of his crawling uncle Mime in him. Where his forbears thought
only of themselves, Hagen stands
guard for his siblings because his mother wanted him to do so.
To his father, he is obedient, rather than enthusiastic, though,
ultimately he serves his purpose. Rydl’s voice is mesmerising
and resonant, giving his characterisation great depth and complexity.
He sings his lines with dignity, infusing his words with sensitively
nuanced feeling. Strangely, in this production, where he exhibits
hero-like characteristics, he resembles Wotan, and indeed is
quite a convincing “schwarz Alberich”, just as Wotan is a multi
sided “weiss Alberich”. This Hagen thinks, even though he cannot fight his destiny. Siegfried, on the other
hand, despite his fearlessness and innocence, lives only for
the moment. Brünnhilde knows only too well that he must go
on to other adventures, rather than develop his relationship
with her. This Seigfried chases Gutrune more than she does
him, jumping on her with erotic intent, a reflection of Alberich
before he seized the gold. The music makes it explicit. This
Gutrune is a neurotic, buttoned up spinster, a change from the
current fashion for portraying her as an aggressor (which often
works). This approach brings out a deeper level to Siegfried’s
character. Simple mindedness, Wagner implies, is not evil,
but is easily led, and ultimately contributes to tragedy. Drawing
on the intriuging idea of a Wotan/Hagen parallel, I watched
the scene where Siegfried jokes with the Rhinemaidens, thinking
where a Siegfried/Alberich parallel might lead. I’m not at
all sure, but a production that makes you think, and reconsider
conventional wisdom, is one in tune with Wagner’s intellectual
method. When Kruse sings Siegfried’s dying salutation, “Heilige
Braut” with noble intensity, you realise just how good an actor
he is, having convinced us of a cruder Siegfried right until
the end.
Wagner’s real
hero is Brünnhilde, in the sense that only she understands fully
what the Ring has wrought and how the curse must be lifted.
The Wanderer has knowledge, but Brünnhilde has the integrity
to act, even when it’s not in her own interest. Understanding
is the way forward, implies Wagner, and breaking the cycle of
self-serving power games. It would be greedy to expect Jeaninne
Altmeyer’s Brünnhilde to be in the league of Clark’s Mime or Rydl’s Hagen, for exceptional performances
like theirs are not the norm. That Altmeyer carries off one
of the most difficult roles in the whole repertoire does her
credit, and she is good. She may give Hagen the information that will make Siegfried vulnerable,
but she redeems herself by sacrifice in a greater cause. When
she throws the Ring back where it belongs, she’s rejecting spiritual
meanness and troll like grasping for the sake of a higher goal.
She literally saves the world. In this production, our final
sight of the Rhinemaidens blends into the striking image of
the background lighting being raised to the level of the stage.
At one stroke, it symbolises the gold shining in the Rhine, and the
interrelationship between illusion and reality that is at the
heart of all drama. The stage effects that made this production
so remarkable are revealed as stars in their own right. It
is a stunning coup de théâtre.
Interestingly,
different orchestras have been used in this cycle. The Netherlands
Philharmonic acquits itself well, though it’s not as breathtakingly
brilliant as the Rotterdam Philharmonic whose exceptionally inspired
playing made Siegfried in this series so exceptional (see
review).
Anne Ozorio
BUY NOW
AmazonUK
Siegfried: Heinz Kruse
[
