First-night review: Bayreuth becomes Gayreuth
mainHats off to this morning’s Neue Presse of Hannover, which nails the summer festival’s opening production of Tannhäuser with a headline that will resound long after the last kids’-company director has gone to his care home.
The headline reads: Bayreuth wird Gayreuth.
We’re happy to recruit the Neue Presse editor – whoever he or she may be – to the Slippedisc team.
Among other early-hours reviews, Deutsche Welle likes director Tobias Kratzer’s interspersing of film and live action and his Bayreuth/Wartburg cross-stitching. It reports loud cheers for soprano Lise Davidsen and tenor Stephen Gould, but ‘substantial booing’ for the conductor Valery Gergiev, whether for his Putin connections or his failure to adjust to the delicate Bayreuth acoustic. Read here.
BR-Klassik writes that Valery Gergiev was the only weak link in an otherwise innovative and well-sung production. Deutschlandfunk has further criticism of the conductor. Kurier also records anti-Gergiev responses. He’s not used to that.
More reviews to follow.
photos: Bayreuth Festival
Apparently some critics seem surprised about the booing for Gergiev, can’t see it being based on musical grounds. As anyone who wasn’t there himself (broadcast transmission doesn’t count, since it can alter the balance of the original acoustics.)
I can’t comment.
from the DW review:
“Gergiev was the only protagonist to reap some substantial booing at the end. That can probably only be explained politically, by his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, as this reporter has never heard the overture to Tannhäuser rendered more beautifully or meaningfully, or all the musical resources better appointed throughout the four-hour marathon.”
The booing was just as substantial for Kratzer and team – completely unjustifyed!
Even Gateau au chocolat got booed. Why? For his views on Bojob and Trump?
Singers were indeed superb, and no harm was done by Valery -really not fair to boo anyone stuck into that pit or continuing the performance in the heat of the interval.
In the 3rd act, Venus was dressed up like Pussy Riot…
Bayreuth has always been a little sadistic (Placido effect). German hospitality…letting Thielemann shine above all.
what do you mean with ‘sadistic’ ? the audience there has highest expectations towards Wagner – Interpretations which is understandable. Placido wasn t really at his best, to say it friendly .. Even though the idea from Katharina was good .. but why people doesn t prepare better for this house which is so difficult (and has seen so many great conductors) .. same for Gergiev : without rehearsing you can t have any result. when people like this utterly trivial and iconoclastic staging then it only shows how low the intellectual level already is.
So is it confirmed that Valery came too late to rehearsals and didn’t listen to what the Musikdirektor had to say about the special acoustics?
They could simply open the pit to solve the problem.
A few conductors have tried having the hood covering the orchestra removed. It doesn’t work since it destroys the balance between the pit and the singers.
Open the pit? Nonsense. The pit is essential for the Bayreuth sound.
You just have to learn how to work with and in it, like in any particular acoustical environment.
You also have to lower your expectations as a listener. I found Jimmy Levine’s Siegfried sounded like porridge. But he wasn’t booed at those days.
That said, Jonas Kaufmann could easily adapt to the special Elbphilharmonie acoustics (instead of fussing around) – just a matter of attitude and rehearsal time. At any rate, booing doesn’t help.
You probably mean the hood.
Orchestras have become quite suspicious about VG’s willingness to attend his own rehearsels, especially after a couple of times when he only appeared AFTER the performance.
Nonsense again. No singer can adapt to audience behind him.
Maybe in the future genetic engineering creates singers with two mouths, also in the rear of the head…
…but audiences can adapt to singers infront of them: simply continue booing Kaufmann if you happen to sit behind him.
Roshdestwenskijesque
Tranhäuser!
Nah! Different vowel-sound.
Whoops, I forgot about the Gesamtkunstwerk.
In the meantime, there are rumors that Valery won’t be returning next year. Welcome to the club.
Let Domingo take over and Netrebko singing Venus – Bayreuth under Mrs Wagner wants a show – talent isn’t easily inherited – one can calmly stay away as most they do there is simply mediocre –
So better for Andris, Kirill and Valery to search for the holy grale at other places?
Norman, poor soul, what did Putin do to you that you are so traumatized about?
You just won’t shut up about him! Not one week passes by without at least one article where you mention his name. May God help you….
I would understand if you were Paavo.
There is no god, and I fancy Norman knows that….
There are many gods: Wagner, Mahler, Bruckner, Thielemann…
Having seen some pictures of the production I can only say that Gergiev should have had nothing to do with such tripe.
Nor should have any self-respecting singer
But, as long as there are patrons willing to pay top prices to see this drek, it will continue under the guise of “brave, fresh and relevant”.
About time somebody yelled, that the king is indeed
NAKED.
CD then, not DVD?
Regie -garbage at its tasteless worst. It is one thing for children to create anew; quite another to abuse (for abuse’s sake).
So do you feel abused by Le Gateau chocolat, by Valery, by Kratzer & team or by Kathie and Chrisi?
I was at a cinema for yesterday’s performance. The production started badly but improved as the evening went on. The orchestra sounded a little thin at the start but Gergiev masterly delivering of Wolfram’s aria and the orchestra postlude was second to none. The cast was excellent even if we could ask for a more wagnerian voice (Meier?) in Venus. But Zidkhova is a superb actress and a great singer. A very good evening overall.
Did you say something positive about Gergiev? Norman won’t like that. He’s not here for the music, you know. That’s why I do not expect this comment to reach you. Come on Herr Lebrecht, are you a music man or a paid stooge of politicians out for world domination?
The gaslighting goes on
I watched the BR-Klassik live relay and thought it well worth the effort, and Tannhäuser is an effort within the canon, The production was innovative and the singing probably as good as any available in any other house. Based on the relay I didn’t find Gergiev any worse than many others who have ploughed their way through the work, in fact I thought it quite fleet footed and very much in tune with the production. On the whole this was much better than the post modern chic that is currently available in Munich, for which pretty, pretentious, obscure, and deathly dull would seem to be the prevailing dramaturgy. And BTW I just loved Le Gateau Chocolat and wonder what booing a performer doing what (s)he has been engaged to do does other than show those doing it as little more than small minded bigots.
Exactly!
“Four misfits — a clown, a vamp in a black sequined pants suit, a black drag queen and a Lilliputian — beg, borrow and steal their way through the countryside in an old truck. Discarding convention and law and order is fun until the vamp behind the wheel, Venus, fatally runs over a policeman. The clown, Tannhäuser, gets cold feet and wants to leave the mini commune.”
We wait for the further rewriting of the work which will include the music.
Since Miss Wagner is in charge, she does show a deep dislike for the operas of Richard Wagner: Cynical stagings which belittle libretto and music. Her contract is not for life and there is no reason that the Bavarian State should reconsider to prolong her contract which does end next year. The dammage is more than enough. Not only for Bayreuth and Germany, no, the entire opera tradition is put into question. She should look for a playground somewhere else.
Yawn…. another Gergiev story….
Let’s face it, folks: The Toothpick Conductor is an over-rated, overpaid poser.
He’s hired over and over again only because his name unexplicably (to me) sells tickets.
re: my previous post – “inexplicably” is a good word too, so how ’bout we just plug it in there instead of “unexplicably”.
I’ve watched the opening performance (on youtube) and it’s a damn sight better than the previous Bayreuth Tannhauser !