The Paris Ring: Das Rheingold

 Opéra Bastille, March 4, 2010

PHILIPPE JORDAN Conductor

GÜNTER KRÄMER Director

FALK STRUCKMANN  Wotan

SAMUEL YOUN Donner

MARCEL REIJANS Froh

KIM BEGLEY Loge

PETER SIDHOM Alberich

WOLFGANG ABLINGER-SPERRHACKE Mime

IAIN PATERSON Fasolt

GÜNTHER GROISSBÖCK Fafner

SOPHIE KOCH Fricka

ANN PETERSEN Freia

QIU LIN ZHANG Erda

CAROLINE STEIN Woglinde

DANIELA SINDRAM Wellgunde

NICOLE PICCOLOMINI Flosshilde

OK, now I can say a few words about the singers too. 
Globally, they were ALL very good. Kim Begley is to me the most impressive singer/actor out there,  someone who could be equally excellent Loge in any production of the Ring. He just nailed it both vocally and scenically in a way you rarely see it happen in Opera.
Ablinger-Sperrhacke is also someone that strikes you as an excellent fit for the role. OK  Mime is a short-living character in this opera, but still - for the time he's on stage you cannot miss that brilliance (I saw in the program that he'll be singing the same role in the Kriegenburgen's Ring in Munich in 2012).  
Many productions of Rhinegold fail to impress because of the poor singing/acting from Alberich. This isn't the case here. Peter Sidhom is a very strong Alberich,  although I felt he was more at ease during the final dress rehearsal. 
 Qiu Lin Zhang is a memorable Erda. Never have I heard anyone (live, DVD, CD...) singing this role better than her.  
Iain Paterson is a brilliant singer and I am grateful to whoever invited him to be a part of this show. His friend Fafner, Günther Groissböck, has a nicely sounding bass-voice, but lacks power. He's dominated by Paterson and does not fully convince in the last scenes --when he becomes a tyrant-- in spite of his remarkable acting. Part of it is maybe due to the fact that Bastille is a bi*ch place to sing in!
Concerning the Gods (!), to me, Falk Struckmann stands out. He's a strong, firm, powerful Wotan with that peculiar wagnerian voice that's always a pleasure to listen to. However, I don't believe he can be nearly as good in Die Walkure. That's a totally different beast and I guess it might be too much for our Falk (Well we'll know it in 3 months from now). In this Rheingold he is excellent!
Sophie Koch is the only French singer in the cast. This was her debut in the Ring, and she was brilliant! This is just one in a string of her memorable interpretations: last year we loved her Octavian (Rosenkavalier), very much enjoyed her Brangane (Tristan), and this year after that unbeatable Charlotte (Werther), she excels in Fricka. 
Two other Gods were very good too, as well as Freia (Ann Petersen) who --I guess-- was juuuust a little bit more afraid of the premiere than the other "God-fellas" ;)
Stein, Piccolomini and Sindram were good Rhine-maidens, but maybe a tad too nervous during the opening scene. 

Paterson, Krämer, and Begley

The second look at the Krämer's production (see my previous entry) made me more appreciate his skills. That man knows his job really well and it shows. At no moment the singers/actors are left to wander aimlessly on stage or do something that has no direct contact with dramatic action.
The reference to Germania is actually made the first time we see Wotan. Before the construction workers (represented by Fasolt & Fafner) go on strike, instead of the red flags [c.f. photo] there were white flags hanging on the poles, and you could see  "Germania" written across them.

I missed it the first time I saw the show, probably b/c it's written in white on the slightly whitER background. Since there are many --more colored-- things happening on the stage, it's easy to miss that detail. Now the finale with the boys bringing the letters GERMANIA (carrying them to the top to put them on the Valhalla) looks less isolated. Germania was the Gods' project from the outset. I like the idea and it fits well to a German director who after the end of the 20th century cannot easily dissociate Valhalla from the Welthauptstadt Germania.

The way how he [Krämer] makes Wotan surrender the Ring is well thought of too. It was actually Fricka (the "family values" figure in this production) who realized that her husband was doubting and the second she caught him off guard, she snatched the Ring and threw it to Fasolt. These are the details you start seeing better the second time you see the show... the details that makes the second viewing even more interesting ;)

Oh yes, the last segment is interesting too: The construction workers (remember, the ones who were well unionized before...) pull the huge staircase to the top of the mountain and Fafner (now in possession of the Ring) becomes a tyrant, a form of Alberich. He whips the workers to pull faster, and at the same time he's collecting the gold for himself.  Did Fafner became a tyrant only because of too much power he's got? Or it's because Fasolt is dead? A lesson in democracy, anyone?! ;)

Here you can see Fafner collecting the gold, while the pile of exhausted workers is finishing to  pull the huge Valhalla/Germania to the top of the mountain. You can also see Loge (the superbly portrayed character) sitting/relaxing on the stairs while they were pulling. If you click you can also see the helmets that the Gods will wear when marching up the stairs to enter their "Germania". The pic looks murky but it actually isn't. It's happening in the fog -- you're supposed to believe they're on the top of the tallest mountain...

There are many other interesting details. For example in this pic

the action takes place "on the mountain" and you see the Earth tied in red ropes of the Unions, i.e. of  Fafner and Fasolt who are coping with dilemma: Gold or Freia. You could also see Froh & Donner who're not wearing the sixpack-jackets; they are weak and need Freia's apples to regain the youth and strength. Later on, with Freia set free, they'll strap their muscles back on.    

Erda

There are many more details I wouldn't really spend my time blogging about, but they all make this show worth seeing.
From this and my previous entry I hope I made it clear that the production is opulent and well constructed.  

HOWEVER, to me, the production lacks audacity. It is a very "conservative" reading of the Ring -- I dare say, it is borderline obsolete for the 21st century. It is a production that is closer to the feel-good Met productions, than to the inventive, imaginative, and witty standards of the European theaters. So yes, it is well done, well sung, but there is hardly any surprise, no grain to kick you out of your comfort zone.

Philippe Jordan

I though the Orchestra was more at ease during the dress rehearsal. It's maybe because the stakes were too high for Philippe Jordan, for his reputation and his career. (You don't want to fail in your first Ring.) For the premiere he decided to play it safe, to make sure not to overdo in anything. His Rhinegold is fast paced (which is OK for me!) but he constantly tries to tame the orchestra so the singers never get drowned. That's all fine, but in the end, that becomes a problem. Not that you can complain about anything specific, but it all sounds just too tamed, too careful, too restrained... The precision is there, everything is fine, but there is no character,  "un grain de folie" is missing. He's a very young fellow, and maybe I expected too much from him (?)  In any case I'm sure the Orchestra and Jordan will improve with every next show in this run.

CC pics...

Fafner & Fasolt

Loge, Alberich, Wotan and Fricka

Froh, Donner and Mime

Wellgune, Flosshile, Weglinde

Beside the closing scene (first pic above), to me --dramatically-- the two best scenes are

 

"Wanna apple?!"  LOL

Alberich cursing (too bad the pic isn't better)

Have a good one everyone!