Wozzeck: The Perfect Opera Movie

Okay, let's talk about Wozzeck and video (Berg's opera, not the play or its other adaptations). In the category of as good as it gets, allow me to put in a plug for a unique Wozzeck, which just may be the finest treatment of an opera committed to film:  Rolf Liebermann’s 1970 Wozzeck made for German television.  

Yes, ideally Wozzeck (and pretty much every other opera) is best experienced in the house, where its 3-dimensional brutality packs a visceral punch, Liebermann has populated his film with true singing actors (or vice versa) who live, breathe and become these characters down to their very marrow.  For this director, there is no separation of the music from its drama, nor any from its characters,not of the scenery or indeed, of any element of it whatsoever. Liebermann presents us with something truly extraordinary . . . as close to a complete embracing of the gesamtkunstwerk ideology as exists in film.  

Musically it’s in equally find hands in an almost outsized reading of Berg's score by the Hamburg Opera foces, led by Bruno Maderna. While clearly not film score music, Maderna matches Liebermann's vision through sound in a perfect wedding of both.  

Instead of a studio soundstage, Liebermann takes his cast and places them in and around an abandoned, ancient German castle or fortress (take your pick). It's yet another stroke of genius in creating a world both familiar and alien, and it works magnificently. 

Marie is performed by one of the most graceful interpreters of Strauss and Mozart of all time; Sena Jurinac.  Jurinac's Marie is sung with uncommon lusciousness and beauty of voice, which brought to mind the beautiful sounds of Eileen Farrell in the legendary Columbia recording with Mack Harrell, and Mitropoulos.  Jurinac takes the palm, however, both in musicianship (spot on) and in her sense of drama.  She looks lovely, and there is an incredible naturalness to her acting that one is actually able to feel her fear, and sense both her weary desperation and strained hope as she sings to her child. Jurinac lends a real you and me against the world  quality that, for my money has been matched only by Hildegard Behrens' take on the role .

With a perfect everyman hangdog quality about him, Toni Blankenheim quite simply is Wozzeck.  Through his interactions and reactions to the horrifying world around him and those in it, Blankenheim reveals a man whose pitiable sense of aloneness and repression feels like an open apology to the universe for his very existence.  He is a perfect Wozzeck and his is a performance both harrowing and heartbreaking. 

Liebermann  ingeniously uses Berg’s magnificent interludes as intended . . . stitching the entirety of the tale together, yet also bringing to its severe linear structure, something rather intangible but entirely profound (in the best sense). We become aware of art and beauty in an otherwise artless world. How they fit here with Maderna's pacing of the interludes provide us with moments to reflect on all we’ve just heard and seen, as its propulsive quality rushes, hurtling us forward to the inexorable, tragic conclusion.

I can’t think of a better made operatic film, nor one that offers the abundance of rewards as does this Wozzeck.  For those of us who enjoy filmed opera, it truly doesn’t come much better than this. And for those of you who don’t love it, well you just might be surprised by this one.

Christine Goerke's Elektra from London: The "WOW!" Factor

I just finished listening to the live broadcast from London's Royal Albert Hall of Strauss' Elektra (my second favorite opera . . . ever) and certainly hope others got to experience this performance. It may be the single most amazing Elektra I've experienced outside of the concert hall or opera house. I didn't think she could have been better in the role than her Chicago opening night last season or her Covent Garden performances, but with more experience in the role, La Goerke really, truly sank her teeth into the meat - and the heart of Elektra.

The audience went (pardon the term) Bat-Shit-Crazy right after the final note and when the soprano came out things got even crazier. A similar roar went up for Dame Felicity Palmer. Then, when Goerke came back out the electricity went up even a notch or two higher . . . one might call it frenzied or fevered.

It's rare when your Elektra has better, lighter, yet solid high notes than her baby sister, and, as good as Gun-Brit Barkmin was as Chrysothemis, when the gals were doing their sister act, it was difficult not to notice who was more secure up there.

Johan Reuter was mighty good as Orest, and the interaction between he and Ms. Goerke led up to a Recognition Scene that was as sumptuous and gorgeous as one is likely to hear.

Maestro Bychkov shaped the score in perhaps one of the most exciting readings I've ever heard of it. The quieter moments have never sounded as intimate as he made them here. He mentioned in an earlier interview that Royal Albert Hall's acoustics - for as vast a space as it is - allows one to do things with a score one might not chance in other houses, something like "everything is possible here." He was right.

Additionally the way he handled the music following the murders was nothing short of breathtaking, the waltz beginning slow and deliberate, not the hurried madness we usually get (and love), then building and building to a positively dizzying effect that threw one (or at least me) completely off balance. It was tremendous and as overwhelming a performance overall that I have experienced of this my second favorite opera.

I think the announcer just said the broadcast will be available for 23 more days. This is happy news, indeed and one would be mad not to seize the opportunity to take advantage of this most generous gift.

Elektrifying!

Lehnhoff's Beautiful Take on Parsifal

Where to start. I’ve had this DVD set for a few years now and keep coming back to it as my Parsifal of choice. First off, Matti Salminen is simply terrific as Gurnemanz. While the voice may be a hair less gorgeous than 20 years ago it is wanting for nothing. Salminen remains a formidable stage presence and his grasp of Gurnemanz is complete. Even a slight grandiosity and arrogance in Act I cannot diminish the role's sincerity. Even as he watches the Grail Ceremony this Gurnemanz gives off an aura of superiority - even over Amfortas and Titurel. His transformation in the third act - fervent, wise fervor and in his wisdom, possessor of a truly inspiring humility and sense of order. It is a miracle of a performance . . . just amazing from every aspect.

Christopher Ventris is the most remarkable Parsifal I've encountered and plays him exactly how I've always felt the role should be played. This Parsifal is a wild child/animal boy in the extreme and Ventris looks terrific in his amalgamation of skins, sticks, enormous leather breeches, face paint and thick-as-rope coils of dreadlocks. Initially I had reservations about his sound - light textured . . . almost boyish - but my, oh my how this singer captures this character in every nuance and gesture, facial expression and body language and movement. Indeed Ventris's rare physicality almost defines the role in its totality. Where most Parsifals in the Act I Grail ceremony are directed to remain still and out-of-the-way, this Parsifal is climbing over every surface of the stage, examining everything and everyone: entranced, amazed and full of awe at the wonderment of all he is experiencing. I can't imagine Ventris's Parsifal being bettered.

Later, following "The Kiss" we witness Parsifal's shock and Ventris makes it a palpable experience of shared epiphany. All is made clear and he knows what he must do and the direction life now takes him. This is, of course, all there in Wagner's score, but Ventris, almost more than any Parsifal I've heard or seen, gets this across and it's an emotional, cathartic moment.

I've always felt that after his feet have been washed in humility by Kunrdy, Parsifal must remain barefoot for the balance of the opera. Too many Parsifals (including the Met's) don him in kingly/priestly garb, and I find this the wrong direction for this character. I've always believed Parsifal should be almost bared at this point - bringing a true sense of humility and openess as the realm of the Grail moves into another dimension, another "being." That Ventris, stripped of armor, and barefoot enters the temple and performs the rites this way is EXACTLY right! (Siegfried Jerusalem's early Bayreuth Parsifal in the late 70's also remains barefoot for the ceremony).

Waltraud Meier knows Kundry better than any singer alive. It might even be called her signature role. While the very top of the voice can be a little wild - tight and constricted - it is only those notes - which she still can it. Actually the upper range of her voice works well and, as already stated, she knows what this character is all about.

A giant giant eggshell/cocoon apparatus comprises the first part of Kundry's costume which dominates and then transmogrifies throughout Act II. Next is an 18th century looking gown, which leaves her inert and unable to move - which is finally shedded revealing a simple (and sweat stained) shift laying Kundry down to her bare essence. Powerful, powerful imagery.

Tom Fox's Klingsor is creepy, larger than life - almost Kabuki in its intensity. Suspended - balanced in some bizarre glass circle above the stage it lends a really sinister air to the proceedings.

Thomas Hampson is just a touch light of voice for Amfortas - but for once, it doesn't matter a whit. He is inside this role and I couldn't keep from crying at the torture - this eternal night of woe this King must endure. Hampson brings a sense of tragic horror to the role that adds yet another layer to this complex character. His sense of wonder and release, finally able to die at peace, released from the curse of his wound is profoundly moving.

I found myself crying - as I have since my first Parsifal at 14 years old. But this time by the end I was sobbing out loud. I probably would have held it together seeing this in the theatre, or in the company of others, but I'm glad I got to watch this all by my self and fall apart just as this work demands of me.

Nagano leads such a magnificent performance with nuances and shading that are rare indeed, not just in Parsifal, but in any work. The responses from the chorus and orchestra - the differences between even pianos and pianissimos is astonishing and add a gauze like delicacy in sections that make the score all the more moving.
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I usually prefer my Kundry to die. I don't think it's a Victorian "judgment" call - it's what she wants. It's what she's waited for for centuries. Release and to sleep without waking.

I like the direction Lehnhoff takes this production. There is a sense of having to move on to keep the brotherhood of the Grail alive. We can sense the fetid stagnation of the present condition of the Knights. In the Act I ceremony the contrast between Parsifal - so youthful, so alive - with the Knights grey and stiff, could not be more vivid. Yet, the Grail sustains them still and the beauty of the ritual remains evident and enthralls Parsifal - even without his understanding.

Kundry does not die here, but rather leads Parsifal, and eventually we see the Knights, one-by-one following them down abandoned railroad tracks into the unknown, a procession into another realm, another order as Wagner's postlude offers promise, hope and redemption. An utterly beautiful ending which makes great dramatic and philosophical sense.

How special and rare it is to experience a production of so familiar a piece that continues to work on such a cathartic and profoundly emotional level - yet equally challenges and stimulates the mind as to its meanings.

This is easily one of the finest, best produced and most satisfying opera on DVD I possess.

Thomas Hampson IS Doktor Faust

Phew, what an exhausting, numbing, emotional experience this was. The production is not without problems, but Hampson’s performance more than compensates for anything that might hinder one’s enjoyment and appreciation for this reading. This may in fact be the finest work I’ve seen from him - and knowing his propensity for analyzing and reading between the lines, Busoni’s enigmatic, difficult task put out before him is precisely the type of challenge Hampson seems to revel in. He is intense, his world weary, exhausted of life beginning morphing into this superhuman persona that burns himself out trying to achieve Mephistophele’s challenge: “to make eternal the fulfillment of every wish and every suffering.” It’s exhausting just to think about! Busoni’s uncompleted opera shows everywhere a brilliant mind grappling with larger “Faustian” ideas - and a seeming frustration as how best to represent them in a piece conceived for a stage drama. The resulting work is, of course, episodic in nature without the clear linear direction and storyline we are accustomed to in “standard” opera.

Klaus Michael Grüber’s production for Zurich seems intent to maximize that episodic nature and the attempt to flow the acts together with a cinematic liquidity makes the “choppiness” (for lack of better word) of the work all the more noticeable. The enormous stage design seemed to me a blending of a hyper-realism mixed with the symbolic. To that end, watching this I was reminded (more than once) of the great silent movies, and the larger-than-life performances, odd costumings (for all but Faust and Mephistpheles) all enhance that feeling. At the same time, Grüber’s staging has a church pageant feel to it, almost enhancing the static qualities of the opera Mr. Hampson appears to be one of those always good looking fellows whose looks actually seem to only improve with age and here, even exhausted and greasyhaired, he looks terrific. The voice, always attractive is gorgeous in this incredibly difficult music and even when the music threatens to overwhelm him he is never less than compelling - giving everything he has. The last half hour of this piece is my favorite as it’s almost entirely Faust in this Wagnerian length soliloquy of ineffable beauty and power. Hampson is at his absolute zenith here - watching him grapple with all of the ideas presented him, the reality he alone cannot attain what he had set out to, the realization of his mortality - all set to Busoni’s stunning score - I was overwhelmed by it, completely undone.

I know many find this work difficult going, but I really believe even if one doesn’t care particularly for most of the opera, this scene alone is worth the price of the set. Hampson is THAT amazing here.

Gregory Kunde has the unenviable task of singing the other impossible role, Mephistopheles. The tessitura alone is a killer, but Kunde makes it all work and is often thrilling vocally, while physically his devil comes off as wry and deadpan. The combination works wonderfully.

The lovely Sandra Trattnigg is the Duchess of Parma and ably sings her difficult aria more than adequately . . . admirably, even, but while she has an attractive voice the role really isn’t a great one and she (whether directed or on her own) doesn’t make quite the meal out of it that I hoped she might. Some of the costumes are outlandish and downright weird, which, I’m guess serves to heighten the difference between the Devil, Faust and everyone else in the world, but some of them were (to me) fairly ghastly.

Philippe Jordan looks like he should be starring in movies rather than conducting operas, but he does a (mostly) superb job with the Zurich forces and nearly all of the music comes across magnificently. The one disappointment I had was in the long Symphonic Intermezzo (which begins the 2nd disc). It is dispatched with precision, attention to detail and amazing dynamics, but it felt “soulless” to me. There was too much of a detached quality that got under my skin as I want this intense, mostly soft music to “burn” and it did just about the opposite here. This was difficult for me to understand (but clearly an artistic choice . . . duh) as the rest of the score has that “burning” that Busoni has infused it with. Busoni’s opera is, as Hampson refers to it a complete “masterpiece.”

Despite its episodic nature - perhaps because of it - one can experience the ideas of Faust better than in any of the other Faustian operas. In a few hours his Doktor Faust encompasses far more of those ideas than could possibly be gleaned than were one able to spend the same amount of time with the sources from which it is derived. It seems almost as if told in a dream-like state, where anything at all is possible with little to no regard for the banalities of realism. Musically, Busoni embraces so many styles - there is Bach, Beethoven and Schumann aplenty in the score.

During one section of the great final monologue I always feel the presence of Poulenc ’“Dialogues of the Carmelites” (even though that work came much later). It is a glorious score wed to a a sometimes difficult to grasp libretto, but I don’t necessarily consider that a flaw, but rather more of a challenge to the listener. This is one tough bird of an opera. Busoni almost guaranteed his opera would be difficult on all accounts: to cast, to interpret, and to sit through. Despite a mostly ear ravishing score, it’s not one to “sit back and enjoy,” like some other works, but this production - musically and theatrically, yields mighty rewards.

There is a marvelous 26 minute interview with Hampson and the Zurich Opera House dramaturg, which is a “must see.” Hampson (speaking, thinking and gesturing in perfect German) is witty, intellectual without being “poofy” about it - it’s all “real” to him and his energy is as engaging off stage as on.

In one hilarious section he mentions the difficulty of the piece which he declares “unsingable” - how nearly impossible it is and how one of his first arias - there is all of this difficult coloratura but “the orchestration . . . is massive, everyone’s sawing away, thumping and tooting (he makes all manner of comic physical gestures here) while the conductor is (imitates a conductor trying to control the orchestra) and there above the vocal line it’s marked ‘sotto voce!’ . . . after a day and a half of this my lyric voice started wobbling in this ‘screamed version . . . ” Hampson as comedian works too!

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