Pray for Verena’s baby
The story is the journey of Verena, tormented by dreams of her illegitimate child who now appears to her as a goblin, searching for redemption. We learn that her own cruel mother killed Verena’s child, and there are dark hints of sexual abuse.
Verena, too, seeks redemption through love — though, as the song goes, she’s lookin’ in all the wrong places. Her journey involves a travelling troupe of actors, a mysterious old man named Eckhart, a devious and deviant Count and Countess, and a symbolic magic stone.
In the end, the Count’s henchmen, trying to kill her lover Friedrich, stab Verena. She dies, redeeming all the children’s souls. In the story and the music, one hears hints of Lohengrin (exactly the same first chord), Pelleas et Melisande, Elektra, The Ring, Parsifal, and, yes, Rosemary’s Baby.
It must be said that the opera contains some magnificent musical passages, particularly the orchestral interludes. The prelude to Act III is particularly complex, expressive, and beautiful. Verena’s song about a blind bird in Act I is lyrically lovely, and the Count’s music when he attempts to seduce Verena is particularly haunting and passionate. Much of Verena’s music in Act III, too, is melodic, emotionally clear, and inventive. Unfortunately, these sublime sections are surrounded by pedestrian and uninspired music (particularly in the sections involving the acting troupe), a derivative mess.
The production captured on DVD (Marco Polo MCPO 2220003
We are constantly assaulted with projections, evidently to show us the state of Verena’s mind (we couldn’t get that from the music?) — and, of course, they are the usual suspects: dark clouds, waterfalls, and peering eyes. One set of projections, apparently to set us for the Count’s house in Act II, involves a number of poodles romping about. Are we to think that the leather-clad Count and Countess are dog breeders on the side?
In the pivotal role of Verena, the production happily has the soprano Rebecca Broberg, who gives a nuanced, powerful performance. She is a capable actress and a most expressive singer throughout her range, with excellent phrasing and emotional clarity. I also much liked the dark-voiced Regina Mauel as Verena’s mother Gertrud, though her singing is limited to Act I. The rest of the large ensemble cast was successful in their acting, but the singing ranged from competent to barely tolerable.
It seems to me that this opera might better be approached by hearing an audio recording before viewing this DVD. I found it very difficult to let my imagination respond to the music drama while attempting to decipher so much visual clutter.
Actfive declares, with considerable merit: “It often seems as if both music and libretto were written by a committee that couldn’t come to agreement.”
But had I been an opera critic in 1918, I might very well have said exactly the same thing about Puccini. His use of whole tone scales, pentatonic scales, and music without an apparant tonal center (is in the prelude to “Il tabarro”) undoubtedly seemed like it had been written by a committee to many audiences back then. Yet today we acknowledge Puccini as a master at bringing the musical innovations of others kicking and screaming into the mainstream of Italian culture. It seems to me that Siegfried Wagner, who must certainly be reckoned a “second-tier” composer in even the most favorable possible scenario, was attempting to do EXACTLY THIS, given the state of German music at the time. So I salute his efforts–I THINK; but reserve absolute opinion until I have heard more of his music and have learned more about the general cultural climate of German music at the time.
I have a CD recording of this, which purchase stemmed from an intense (at the time) curiosity as to how far from the tree the apple had fallen.
Listened to it once, possibly twice and came away with the overall feeling that it was cluttered and seemed to lack a proper direction.
I had no idea that this opera existed, and after reading your review, I think I haven’t missed much. But I am glad that you reviewed it for us, bringing it to my attention so that I can rent or seek out a copy and hear the beautiful sections. thank you.
Well we could instead listen to Daddy Wagners’ Die Feen (The Fairies) , with Linda Ester Gray, to boot.