Ring Cycle for the 21st Century – “Siegfried”

A waterfall flowing into a placid pool, leaves cascading onto a mountain clearing, birds swooping in and gliding over water – these are but a few of the images employed in the Met’s new, technologically innovative production of Siegfried. Here is a video which represents this use of technology:

I wanted to attend all four of Robert LePage’s ambitious productions of Wagner’s monumental work Der Ring des Nibelungen live in the opera house, but my schedule prevented me from seeing any performances of the third opera, Siegfried, at the Met (visit these links for my take on the first two operas: Das Rheingold and Die Walküre).  Instead, I attended the “Live in HD” presentation on November 5* at the Warner Theatre in Torrington, Connecticut.  As with the second opera in the cycle, Die Walküre, this installment improved upon its predecessors and was in many ways the best so far.

Jay Hunter Morris as Siegfried

In an operatic turn of events, the veteran heldentenor Gary Lehman was forced to withdraw because of illness and was hastily replaced by Jay Hunter Morris, a youthful tenor from Paris, Texas.  The role of Siegfried is acknowledged as one of the most difficult in the standard repertoire, and while Mr. Morris still has some growing to do in this part, his performance was balanced vocally and dramatically. His lyric tone was effective in this demanding role, and throughout the afternoon, Mr. Morris was very convincing as the rambunctious teenager. His performance could well be a milestone in the career of a promising young tenor.

Veteran tenor Gerhard Siegel displayed proficiency in the role of Mime, a part which he has sung dozens of times. His experience with the character was evident, as he delivered a unique and nuanced performance without compromising the integrity of Wagner’s music.

As the Wanderer (the god Wotan in disguise), Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel continued his tradition of delivering dramatic and compelling performances on the Met stage. While bearing a striking resemblance to Lucius Malfoy, Mr. Terfel delivered a commanding performance with his pure, lyrical sound.  Unfortunately, in some of the most dramatic moments of the opera, he sacrificed beauty for intensity, and tended toward shouting. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed watching Mr. Terfel develop a multi-faceted characterization of this role throughout the cycle.

Bryn Terfel as a mysterious Wanderer

In her first experience as Brünnhilde, soprano Deborah Voigt continued to come up just short of greatness.  To my ears, Ms. Voigt does not possess the clearest tone, and in this performance she seemed to stretch her voice to reach the top notes. She just barely touched her final high-C before cutting it off abruptly. However, what Ms. Voigt lacks in vocal beauty, she compensates for with committed and realistic characterizations. In her relatively short stage appearance, Ms. Voigt skillfully portrayed Brünnhilde’s wide range of emotions– from utter shock to deep despair and, finally, sensual bliss – and created wonderful chemistry with Mr.Morris. I await Ms. Voigt’s appearance in Götterdämmerung with some trepidation – then again, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by her performances in the past.

Deborah Voigt in a backstage interview

In his brief appearance as the scheming dwarf Alberich, bass-baritone Eric Owens sang with his characteristic sonority, which at times seemed too pleasant for such a diabolical character. Hans-Peter König, as the giant-turned-dragon Fafner, sang with a powerful, full-bodied bass, and mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon exuded mystery as the Earth goddess Erda with dark tone and mystical stage presence complemented by her otherworldly costume. Soprano Mojca Erdmann contributed nicely to the second act with a lovely offstage performance of the forest bird – represented onstage by an ingenious video projection.

The Metropolitan Opera orchestra is generally regarded as one of the world’s best, but under the baton of newly-appointed Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi, their playing was even more exquisite. They evoked a remarkable range of orchestral color – from aching beauty to grand lyricism to harsh anxiety.

A behind-the-scenes look at the Ring's "Machine"

As noted earlier, this installment of the Robert LePage Ring cycle presented a winning combination of innovative technology and traditional dramatization. The projections and images were constantly moving, breathing life into every scene.  Using captivating, three-dimensional imagery, the production capably depicted the opera’s connection with the natural world.  I am excited to see the final installment of the cycle later this season, for I am confident LePage’s team will continue to realize Wagner’s grand mythological vision with their unique interpretive skills.

I highly recommend that you explore this webpage for video excerpts and background information on the Robert LePage Ring Cycle. And the Met’s Ring Cycle minisite is also a must-see!

Wagner’s Siegfried will be presented later this season as part of the complete Ring Cycle. For more information, visit the Met’s website. And to see an extensive photo gallery of the production see this link.

A video of Jay Hunter Morris singing the Act 1 “Forging Song”:

*For those readers who haven’t heard of Met’s Live in High Definition program, the Met presents close to a dozen live broadcasts of Saturday matinée performances live into movie theaters in fifty-four nations worldwide. For more information on this series, click here.

With questions or comments, please email me at cbrowner@taftschool.org

Advertisement