Mean Girl
. Emily Magee is the hapless Elsa.
POSTED at
1:20 PM
01 December 2007
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14 Comments:
I saw this production live when it was first staged in Hamburg (with Eva Marton as Ortrud, Inga Nielsen as Elsa and Thomas Moser as Lohengrin) and it was one of the best operatic experiences I have had. Unfortunately, since Simone Young has replaced Ingo Metzmacher as director of the Staatsoper in Hamburg, most of Konwitschny's productions for Hamburg are not used anymore. Just a couple of weeks ago his Rosenkavalier (admittedly not one of his best works) has been replaced with a new production. I don't think this Lohengrin will ever be played again in Hamburg.
Although, he never shied away from producing a scandal (he had a tank rolling onto the stage in a Nabucco production once), Konwitschny has proven again and again that he is one of the most inspired producers of his generation and his productions were always thoughtful and very attentive to story and score. Unfortunately, he is not working much anymore. In fact, he has more or less retired from producing operas.
Thus, those interested in seeing some of his productions live may need to hurry. Hamburg will be showing his brilliant Don Carlos (the orignial French version including the balley), a co-production with Vienna in February. In Munich his Holländer can be seen in May, his Tristan (including a happy ending) on June 30 and July 4 (with Waltraud Meier as Isolde and unfortunately John Treleaven as Tristan).
Apart from the Lohengrin DVD (unfortunately without the orignal cast), there are only few Konwitschny productions available on DVD. Notable exceptions are the Tristan from Munich, the Don Carlos from Vienna and the Götterdämmerung from Stuttgart. I cannot say much about these DVDs as I don't own them, however these four productions are all wonderful works.
Everyone tells me Kondwitschny is the guy who puts the "theater" (all three syllables) in "regietheater"; I'm very sad I've never seen any of his works live -- and also sad that de Vol and her wobble are the Ortrud on this DVD. (Meier is SO fab on the Lohengrin with Vogt.)
But you hearten me greatly that his Don Carlos, Tristan and Gotterdamerung have been preserved. Look forward to catching them someday. (No rush. None of these are operas that call for rush of any sort.)
I saw Konwitschny's Don Giovanni and Cosi fan tutte at the Komische Oper in Berlin, a few summers ago. Absolutely hated the Don Giovanni--staged overture that had nothing to do with the rest of the production, reassigning lines from one character to another, and sex to the point of boredom. An aria starts, a character starts to strip, I started yawning in my seat. The failed rape of Zerlina at the end of Act I doesn't make an impact when everyone's been stripping and humping on stage already. Interrupting 'Il mio tesoro' before the da capo to have Ottavio read from a letter of Mozart's was meant to make a grand statement, but was simply obnoxious instead.
But his Cosi the next night was delightful and witty (especially in the overture, playing with the ambiguity of the German 'So machen alle') to the point I couldn't believe it came from the same director.
I have seen the DVD of K's Stuttgart Gotterdammerung and it is dreadful IMHO. He appears to be satirizing the opera rather than presenting it. The singing is decent but the "concept" is unmusical and very cheap.
I'm one who usually defends Regietheatre interpretations, but not this one.
and Luana de Vol is in the Gotterdammerung as well. So clever to project Wagner's stage directions on to a drop curtain for the finale. I can read the libretto without bothering to go to the theatre.
This "Hansel and Gretel" production of Lohengrin is cute, but honestly...this is the kind of opera performance I'd be embarrassed to show someone who knew little about opera. Hell, I still have that "Emperor's New Clothes" reaction to stuff like this and I've been an opera fan for 15 years.
It's nice to see that they're not running out of ideas for new and interesting stagings of works like this. But still...this is, um, bizarre. My feeling is that opera is too long to have to look at anything kooky, ugly, or weird for hours at a time.
I worked with Konwitschny in a training program in Switzerland; he staged me in the last act of Boheme. Yeah, he has some kind of wacked out ideas and I don't think they always work (if memory serves, I saw his Freischutz on TV while I was there and it was inscrutable), but I got the sense that he is sincere and passionate about what he does. What was clear from the Boheme rehearsals is that he wants to strip away the years of kitschy expectations that audiences bring with them to familiar works and to find ways to make each experience in the theater a new one. It's not an original idea, of course, but I think a lot of directors do "new" (read: weird) for the sake of being "new" (read: self-serving). He really is trying to be faithful to what he thinks is there and finding new ways to express them. Also I have a soft spot in my heart for him because when the day came for us to perform our Boheme act, I was hit with a horrendous allergy attack and had no choice but to sing anyway (I was Marcello). It was a real struggle and I was very unhappy; when it was over he gave me a big hug and said, "You sang beautifully." It meant a lot because I knew what he was acknowledging was not the condition of my voice or the scratchy tone quality, but my effort and commitment.
BTW, is Luana de Vol 8 feet tall? I would like to see the rest of this Lohengrin. Better than the Wilson!!! URGH.
DeVol is at least six feet tall. YEARS - a lifetime! - ago, I saw her Agathe with Pocket Opera in San Francisco. Gorgeous vocalism but, boy, were she and the Annchen unsisterlike. Little Sister was maybe 5' and maybe 100 lbs. DeVol, unkindly dressed in a dirndl, loomed over nearly everyone but most especially her sister.
I a very favorable review and more details of this Lohengrin by what appears to be a young Danish lady here.
I agree that the Konwitschny productions don't always work. I saw the Freischütz in Hamburg and it didn't work for me either. Also, while I find the Lohengrin production to be subtle and deep, I did not agree with the very heavy-handed way Konwitschny handled the ending. Nevertheless, after seeing this production, "traditional" approaches to Lohengrin (there is one in Mannheim, where there is a lots of knights in armor waving German flags...) don't work for me anymore, because they seem to miss most of the interesting aspects of the story.
I also agree wholeheartedly that this kind of production is not exactly the kind you wish for, when you are taking newbies to the opera. In fact, I believe it is targeted mainly at experienced audiences. On the other hand, I believe that Lohengrin in itself is simply too long an opera to be digested by an opera newbie, anyway. I prefer to take them to La Traviata, La Boheme or some other touchy and SHORT stuff, to find out their reaction and proceed in slowly increasing the dosage.
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Is this the operatic version of "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane", or what?
I've written...
a letter...
to Wagner...
As Ortrud, Miss Baby Jane Hudson looked larger than life. Nice to hear her sister Blanche in such grand vocal form on the other side of the door. Although, having both sisters in pigtails was "un peu de trop". Victor Buono was outstanding as Telramund.
---Hedda von Hopper
Stella here, ROFL!
I saw Luana DeVol as Brunnhilde in the 2001 Bayreuth Ring. Apparently she was a late replacement for Gabriele Schnaut, who apparently quit over differences with the conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli... who proceeded to die just weeks before Bayreuth. Luana did a fine if unexciting job, but since Bayreuth does Regietheater, I spent most of my time thinking things like "Is that a cell phone Wotan's holding? Is that a fax machine? Huh? What's THAT?"
Another wanky director- thanks for the warning- the clip looks like crap.
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