It has taken the
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden more than forty years to roll out a new
production of Lohengrin but the result is vocally outstanding with truly
exceptional production values form David Alden.
Brilliant vocal
artistry is provided by tenor Klaus Florian Vogt as the heroic knight Lohengrin
who demands anonymity. His vocal chords are a precision instrument that can
rise to high notes with power and sing lyrical passages with tonal splendor.
Lohengrin at the Royal Opera House, London. Photo: Tristram Kenton
Irish soprano
Jennifer Davis stepped in to replace the indisposed Kristine Opolais with
exceptional results. Poor Elsa has much to contend with as a woman accused of
killing her brother. She is saved by the would-be nameless Lohengrin only to be
maliciously misled into betraying him and herself. She needs strength of
character, beauty of tone and has the Achilles heel of weakness to doubt her
savior. An outstanding performance.
Baritone Thomas
J. Mayer has sung the role of the nasty and ambitious Friedrich von Telramund
all over Europe and is making his Royal Opera debut in the role this season.
With his resonant voice and stage presence he has all the equipment for a superb
performance which he provides. His character’s partner in sorcery and evil is
Ortrud sung by dramatic soprano Christine Goerke in an equally well done performance.
Bass baritone
Kostas Smoriginas with his commanding and booming voice served as the Herald.
The Orchestra of
the Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus are conducted by Andris Nelsons
and produce music of extraordinary power and beauty. When the full orchestra,
chorus and soloists are mobilized, for example, after Lohengrin’s victory over
Telramund, they produce a sound that is so thrilling that it transports you to
another dimension.
David Alden
brings some intriguing and in the end fascinating ideas to the opera. With Set
Designer Paul Steinberg and Costume Designer Gideon Davey, he sets the opera in
a devastated city after the war. The action takes place in a bombed building
where only the outer walls have survived.
It becomes
slowly clear that there is a power struggle among Telramund, King Heinrich
(finely sung by Georg Zeppenfeld) and Elsa who represents her brother
Gottfried, the rightful duke.
Alden saves us
from having to watch a swan drag Lohengrin’s boat unto the scene. Judicious use
of lighting suggests his arrival as the knight who will fight for Elsa and that
is all we need.
Jennifer Davis and Klaus Florian Vogt in
Lohengrin at the Royal Opera House, London.
Photo: Tristram Kenton
But the swan or
swans are not entirely left out. Near the end, as Lohengrin is about to depart
because he was betrayed into having to reveal his identity, large red and black
banners with white swans emblazoned on them are dropped across the stage. They
are frightfully similar to the large banners with swastikas that were used by
the Nazis.
It is an unexpected
and startling scene. As Lohengrin walks quickly off the stage and disappears.
Elsa falls to her death, the banners come crashing down and the old order
disappears. Gottfried, the rightful duke appears, and order is restored. I
found the scene breathtaking and the production awesome.
__________
Lohengrin
by Richard Wagner opened on June 7 and will be performed on different
dates until July 1, 2018 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London,
England.
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