Just what is any
potential first-time purchaser of Wagner’s epic Ring cycle,
in sound or video, to do? The choice facing them is daunting.
I can recall in
just the last two to three years, and in no special order: DVDs
conducted by Lothar Zagrosek, Bertrand de Billy, Daniel Barenboim
and Hartmut Haenchen, as well as CD issues of the Zagrosek (this
time on Naxos), Haenchen (confusingly though not the
same one as on DVD, but a set taken from the following season),
the legendary 1955 Bayreuth cycle under Josef Keilberth, another
reissue of a set by Hans Knappertsbusch, and last, and by no
means least, the unfolding cycle on Melba, here being considered
in its third instalment. What’s more this list is far from exhaustive.
Moreover this survey
takes no account of the cycles already in existence, directed
by such distinguished Wagnerians as Bodansky, Furtwängler, Krauss,
Moralt, Böhm, Solti, Karajan, Goodall (in English), Janowski,
Sawallisch, Levine and Haitink.
Let us assume that
despite this plethora of choice you have been seduced by the
attractive book-style packaging of the present Melba issue and
have taken the plunge. What exactly will be found within the
covers?
Well, I am bound
to say at the beginning that the choice will not have been a
bad one. This is a Siegfried which, taken as a whole,
measures up well against recent competition …. and that isn’t
damning with faint praise.
Firstly, perhaps
contrary to more usual practice, some words about the orchestral
contribution. Asher Fisch may not be an especially familiar
name to British audiences, unless you regularly tune in to the
Saturday matinee broadcasts from the New York Met, where he
has been employed conducting what one might term the “bread-and-butter”
operas. If memory serves, I last encountered him conducting
“Bohème”.
The Ring is
undoubtedly a step up from this repertoire and it’s a promotion
in general that he handles well. As the opera progressed the
comparison which kept coming to mind was with the work of Sir
Reginald Goodall. True, although he can be deliberate at times,
Fisch is normally not as expansive as his predecessor, but there
is nevertheless a similar warmth and care over detail that is
reminiscent of his older colleague. Listen for example to the
Act 2 prelude where he catches Fafner’s breathing so well in
the lower strings, or indeed how well he sets up the atmosphere
at the very opening of the opera. With beautifully graded and
articulated brass, lower strings and bassoons the orchestra
creates a real atmosphere of the dark, forbidding forest of
Mime’s cave. Into this he mixes a sense of the malevolent frustrated
brooding of the twisted dwarf, and his dreams of wresting power
from the awesome presence of the dragon Fafner. Yet in gentler
more reflective music, for example the Forest Murmurs in Act
2, he also makes his mark. These are quite beautifully done,
with some particularly attractive woodwind playing anticipating
the appearance of the Woodbird.
However whilst conductor
and orchestra are very important in Siegfried, it is
an opera after all and not just a gigantic instrumental tone
poem. So the question is begged … what about the singers?
The obvious inquiry
is: how does our eponymous hero fare? Well Gary Rideout is a
pretty decent singer although not always to my taste. His reproduction
is of a rather “covered” variety that to my ears can sound slightly
throttled under pressure … but … and it’s a big but …. he does
at least sing the role, and doesn’t bark or screech it.
And what’s more he doesn’t seem to tire appreciably; very welcome
when he’s pitted in Act 3 against a Brünnhilde who’s spent the
first two and a half to three hours in the dressing room!
True, from time
to time, I also had some doubts about the power and “reach”
of his voice. In the Act 1 forging scene, despite Fisch’s care
(as elsewhere) over balances, Rideout often seemed to be overwhelmed
by the orchestra …. albeit not an uncommon result in live performance.
However I have to report that this initial conclusion was drawn
listening to the discs on a conventional CD player. Switching
to a SACD compatible machine - albeit reproduced only in two
channels - the tenor seemed to ride the heavy orchestration
more clearly. Indeed there was now more depth of perspective
to the sound and a more palpable sense of involvement in a theatrical
performance. Conclusion … whilst it’s perfectly acceptable as
a CD, try if you can to hear the recording in SACD format (two
or multiple channels).
There are other
characters who dominate the first two acts. Mime, Siegfried’s
“father by default” is prominent as is his brother Alberich
whose enmity to Mime is marked; earlier in the cycle he foreswears
love to obtain the gold from which the Ring is forged. Wotan
- here styled as “The Wanderer” - leader of the gods who also
craves the Ring, has realised its corruptive powers, and has
put in train a series of events - including Siegfried’s birth
- to try to restore order.
Richard Greager
is a most effective Mime, characterising without caricature
….. not always a given with singers in this role. Moreover he
does sound sufficiently different from Rideout to prevent the
two roles from being confused. Again this is not always guaranteed;
in the Levine Ring (Deutsche Grammophon 429 407 2GH4) for instance
Rainer Goldberg’s hero really does sound like he could be Heinz
Zednik’s son!
Alberich meanwhile
is in the capable hands of John Wegner. I thought him a little
plain in his first exchanges with the Wanderer at the beginning
of Act Two, but he quickly gets into his stride. He is particularly
effective in his confrontation with Mime in the third scene
of Act 2. There the two argue over the gold and Siegfried’s
fate in front of the cavern of Niedhole and the dragon’s corpse.
Meanwhile Fafner, the slain reptile, is well sung by David Hibbard,
who sounds suitably menacing without - it appears - any obvious
electronic assistance to the voice.
The third and last
act of the opera, at least its final sections, inhabits an altogether
different sound-world. This is not just because the scene has
moved from the foothills and the world of men to the rarefied
air of the mountain-tops. As is well known Wagner broke off
more than once from the composition of Siegfried. Act
Three was completed after he had brought both Tristan und
Isolde and Die Meistersinger to fruition …. and it
shows. The harmonic invention evident in the hero’s journey
through the magic fire, his discovery of Brünnhilde, her awakening
and their subsequent love duet is demonstrably in advance of
the earlier part of The Ring. Fortunately, although there
are others who eclipse her, the experienced Lisa Gasteen does
not let the side down at this point. She proves to be a bride
worthy of Siegfried’s efforts. Comparing her performance with
her recent appearance on BBC television, as part of the Covent
Garden Ring, I felt there were minor pros and cons. Her
voice sounded a mite easier and more mellifluous in Australia,
whilst her characterisation was a fraction deeper in London
but to be honest there wasn’t much to choose between them.
Incidentally we
meet Brünnhilde (Heil dir Sonne, Heil dir Licht!) just after
the side breaks between discs three and four. Act 1 is complete
on the first disc, whilst act two occupies the second. Since
the timing for Act Three is around 84 minutes it precludes fitting
on to one CD. A sensible arrangement. Meanwhile the packaging,
as I’ve already suggested, is quite lavish. There’s a good synopsis
but there isn’t much background to the score. Whilst Mike Ashman’s
essay is interesting, it is aimed more at listeners already
familiar with the work. Although it’s welcome to have decent
information about the cast and conductor included, a little
more context would have helped, especially any impecunious newcomer.
The overall sense
of the project is one of deserved community and company pride
in an enterprise which can stand its ground with pretty much anything
elsewhere. I welcome the issue and look forward to encountering
Götterdämmerung!
Ian Bailey
see also Review
by Göran Forsling