Germany Wagner, Die Walküre: Soloists, Refrain of Saarländisches Staatstheater. Saarländisches Staatsorchester / Stefan Neubert (conductor). Saarländisches Staatstheater, Saarbrücken, 29.6.2024. (DMD)
Manufacturing:
Course, Stage and Costume design – Alexandra Szemerédy, Magdolna Parditka
Lighting design – Thomas Roscher
Video – Leonard Koch
Dramaturgy – Benjamin Wäntig
Forged:
Sieglinde – Ingegjerd Bagøien Moen
Siegmund – Peter Sonn
Hunding – Hiroshi Matsui
Wotan – Thomas Johannes Mayer
Brünnhilde – Aile Asszonyi
Fricka – Judith Braun
Gerhilde – Elizabeth Wiles
Ortlinde – Benefit Nath-Göbl
Waltraute – Judith Braun
Schwertleite – Maria Polańska
Helmwige – Valda Wilson
Siegrune – Johanna Jaworowska
Grimgerde – Clara-Sophie Bertram
Rossweisse – Carmen Seibel
Freia – Elizabeth Wiles
Loge – Mario Ferber
The surroundings that the staff collectively accountable for directing in addition to stage and costume design – Alexandra Szemerédy and Magdolna Parditka – had created for the miniature universe of Die Walküre, was that of a laboratory. The corporate had a reputation and corresponding emblem, WLLHLL, paying homage to Valhalla (within the German spelling). Freia, and Loge (from Das Rheingold) had been lab assistants, Hunding was a lab physician, Fricka a lab nurse with managerial powers representing an ethics committee of some form. The twins Siegmund and Sieglinde had been the present fundamental analysis topics, the Valkyries had been the outcomes of former experiments. Wotan dominated supreme because the chief scientist of the lab. All creatures had blond hair that appeared synthetic, the lab staff wore white lab garments, the topics of their experiments wore training-suit-like outfits in black and white. It was all very medical, equally primarily black and white, with the three phrases ‘wird / shall be or will turn into)’, ‘struggle’ (was, has been), and ‘ist’ (is) organized within the three potential sequences above and subsequent to one another. There have been many assumed and real entrance and exit choices, some with sliding doorways, some unnoticeable within the partitions. The management room was situated, and visual for a few of the scenes, on a stage above the primary lab space the place the experiments passed off. One thing was taking place on this area all through, displays confirmed digital camera photos of different areas, different screens represented displays of life features, different screens confirmed rotating 3D photos of the mind, there was a DNA mannequin in everlasting sluggish spinning movement, and a modified mannequin human skeleton.
It might take a very long time to relate the methods during which this directorial idea labored intimately, to analyse how roughly hanging concepts emanating from the idea associated to the plot, libretto and rating. What was the importance, for instance, of getting Wotan’s management over the Valkyries represented by him working a sensible watch which apparently triggered a mind implant within the Valkyries? Or that Siegmund and Sieglinde had been bodily separated at first – they communicated solely by way of their brains. Solely later had been the partitions between their lab cells eliminated they usually encountered one another in ‘particular person’. On the finish, Brünnhilde’s genetic and mind data was extracted and saved, her physique cremated. All the opposite Valkyries had been launched of their Valkyrie standing, that they had a quick second of joyful shock earlier than they collapsed (and ‘died’?)
There have been thus many visible stimuli, most of which had been clearly apparent as having been meant by the manufacturing staff. For different features of the manufacturing it was not so clear whether or not they had been meant or the truth is indications that the services out there to grasp the idea weren’t fairly as much as the intentions: At instances the sounds of the stage equipment shifting a part of the set interwove with, and even overshadowed the music; cumbersome elements of the set crashed into one another noisily, triggering temporary however alarmed glances from the singers, who additionally wanted to watch out except part of the partitions they leant towards was the truth is a door that gave strategy to their weight. Some smaller partitions, people who initially separated Sieglinde and Siegmund’s lab cells, had been clearly wobbly.
As somebody fascinated with science generally and science labs particularly, I used to be fascinated with whether or not all of it ‘labored’ or not. I may think about that somebody not as aware of the ideas on the core of the manufacturing could have discovered them puzzling, and their multitude each overwhelming and distracting from, somewhat than including to, the music and singing. I noticed some members of the viewers sitting with their eyes closed. The music was at a really excessive stage certainly. The efficiency was carried out by Stefan Neubert, the corporate’s long-serving First Kapellmeister. He introduced out many refined nuances of the rating, emphasising the complete potential of all of the light and emotional materials. The quantity was held again for a lot of the night, permitting the louder passages to come back to the fore much more strikingly.
The singers had been in a position to have interaction within the refined features of their elements extra simply and thus extra absolutely, somewhat than having to pay an excessive amount of consideration to the amount of their voices in relation to the orchestra. Peter Sonn as Siegmund excelled within the lyrical nature of the music composed for Siegmund with a radiantly brilliant higher vary, leaving adequate energy for well-supported and fascinating cries of ‘Wälse!’ He was significantly spectacular within the second act. Ingegjerd Bagøien Moen sounded youthfully recent as Sieglinde, with a robust higher register, whereas the decrease vary of the voice will profit from additional growth. Hiroshi Matsui as Hunding was convincing together with his very giant, booming bass, which he struggled solely often to maintain in focus.
The vastly skilled Thomas Johannes Mayer was a wonderful Wotan: his bass-baritone was wealthy, his intonation exact. His musicality allowed him to sing somewhat than recite the lengthy Act II narrations, and he and conductor Neubert celebrated the amount of Wotan’s Farewell, beginning with a towering ‘Leb wohl’. The assistant director introduced Aile Asszonyi’s indisposition initially of the night. There have been solely few uneasy moments of coughing and some dropped excessive notes for Brünnhilde’s opening exclamations, however in any other case any indisposition went unnoticed: this was a really achieved efficiency, most actually among the many better of her friends on this demanding position. Fricka was conceptualised as equally younger and somewhat than as a extra mature lady (as in most productions that comply with the libretto extra carefully on this respect). Judith Braun introduced out the musical arcs attribute of this position very properly certainly, together with her wealthy and appropriately youthful mezzo-soprano voice. The singers forged because the eight Valkyries sang with joyful abandon
To finish with a curious incident noteworthy provided that problematic know-how featured so prominently within the manufacturing: at the beginning of the third act, all cellphones within the auditorium that had not been turned off however had been in flight mode, rang with the particular piercing alarm sound from an app alerting individuals to a pure catastrophe, and formally triggered by the town administration. On this case it was a serious gale-force thunderstorm with excessive rain. The efficiency was interrupted, a employees member defined to individuals what was taking place and requested them to go away instantly in the event that they wished to take action …and to show off their telephones. No person left. One of many singers had her personal cell phone in her costume, didn’t know find out how to flip it off within the haste and gave it to a employees member offstage to take the place it could not disturb the efficiency any longer. The efficiency resumed after 5 minutes.
Daniel Meyer-Dinkgräfe
Featured Picture: Saarländisches Staatstheater, Saarbrücken © Martin Kaufhold.
