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Singers shine in Bayreuth's 'Siegfried'
2008-08-01
BAYREUTH, Germany (AFP) - "Forced drudgery, fruitless toil," complains the evil dwarf Mime at the start of "Siegfried", part three of Richard Wagner's "Ring" that was performed here at the Bayreuth Festival on Thursday. From a musical point of view, however, the evening proved anything but, with strong performances from an excellent cast and a wondrous reading of the score by German star conductor Christian Thielemann. All received rapturous ovations when they took their bows when the curtain came down after six hours and more. The start of the performance had been delayed by 10 minutes owing to a cloudburst that hit Bayreuth at about 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) and left parts of the legendary Festspielhaus, the theatre built to Wagner's own designs, under water. Technicians and the local fire brigade worked furiously to drain the water and enable the performance to go ahead. The downpour was so heavy that a number of guests could not make their way from the car park to the theatre. "It was a veritable torrent. Within the space of just a few minutes, there was about half a metre of water in the corridors," said festival spokesman Peter Emmerich. Any disturbances were quickly forgotten, however, when the curtain went up and Thielemann began to weave his magical spell in the theatre's legendary covered pit. This "Siegried" has some visually striking moments, too, thanks to the imaginative sets of Frank Philipp Schlossmann and costumes by Bernd Ernst Skodzig. Mime's workshop in Act I is an abandoned school classroom and Fafner's lair in Act II is situated beneath a motorway bridge still under construction. Strongest of all, however, was the opening scene of Act III when The Wanderer, who had been father god Wotan in the first two parts, calls on the earth mother Erda for help. The stage is empty except for the two figures, but an invisible gauze curtain and highly atmospheric blue lighting gives the scene and floating and dreamlike quality. German bass-baritone Albert Dohmen continues to grow in stature as Wotan/The Wanderer. Erda's is only a tiny role, but German contralto Christa Mayer's voice is rich and vibrant. British baritone Andrew Shore and German tenor Gerhard Siegel excel as the evil Nibelungs, Alberich and Mime, German bass Hans-Peter Koenig is strong-voiced Fafner, and American soprano Robin Johannsen a bright and clear Forest Bird. US soprano Linda Watson may have never sounded better, but it was compatriot Stephen Gould in the extremely taxing role of Siegfried who impressed most, sagging only momentarily in Act III, but rapidly re-finding his form. Stage director Tankred Dorst still resolutely refuses to offer any real interpretation of Wagner's complex masterpiece. But with performances as strong as this, his non-interventionist approach at least has the advantage of not distracting the audience. The fourth and final instalment of the "Ring", "Twilight of the Gods" is scheduled to be performed on Saturday.
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