Post by darkehmen on Jan 25, 2008 6:37:58 GMT 1
One of the reasons why I asked for this board was because the sad fact is that Karajan didn't record or film everything. (How could he?) In particular, for a man who devoted so much of his career to Wagner, it's heartbreaking how little is preserved on video. So I thought I'd ask everyone's opinions for how to assemble a faithful set of Wagner's operas on video.
This is an especially important question these days, because the odds of attending a performance of Wagner that is faithful to the composer's wishes, or is at least in line with his ethos, is virtually nil. Except perhaps at the Met, any present-day Wagner staging is bound to be modernist rubbish that displays utter contempt for the work, for the composer, for Romanticism, etc.
With that in mind, my first criterion in assembling a Wagner video set is convincing set design/ costuming (yes, my first criterion, because I find that even if, say, the soprano sings like an angel on earth, if she is singing in an anti-Wagner modern production, I can't endure the work, let alone enjoy it).
My second criterion is faithful staging. It's easy to forget about this, but if the staging betrays the ethos of the work, it's all for naught. For example, I've heard of a period-costume production of Don Giovanni that has simulated rapes performed onstage. No, thank you.
Third is the believability of the performers in the part. One can be forgiving of this up to a point, but miscasting can undermine a work. E.g., I've never had any trouble accepting full-figured sopranos (and I think far too much is made of this operatic cliche) but a lumbering Walther von Stolzing who's getting on in years can severely weaken a Meistersinger production.
With those ideas in mind, here is my list of the best possible Wagner video set to assemble, at the moment. Most of these are Levine's Met productions, but any suggestions for other options are welcome.
1. Tannhauser
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EQHHK6/
This is an easy choice. The production is by the Karajan team of Schenk/Schneider-Siemssen, and it shows. The opening ballet is suitably primal, the forest scenes believably evocative of the Thuringian forest, and the Singers' Hall is simply magnificent -- much more grandiose than the Singers' Hall in the actual Wartburg, but, for the purposes of a set, that's what you need. The lead tenor may not be the young knight that Wagner envisioned, and his singing is strained at times, but I find his acting surprisingly convincing. The finale, with the staff sprouting new blossoms, is one of the most moving scenes in all of opera, and the first time I saw it, I actually wept. The costumes are genuinely medieval Gothic, and while I prefer the 19th-century Neo-Gothic style, they fit the naturalism of the production.
2. Lohengrin
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F3TAO4/
An August Everding rather than Schenk/Schneider-Siemssen production, but one could easily mistake it for the latter. It follows the same authentically medieval rather than Neo-Gothic approach, and the results are extremely satisfying. Peter Hofmann is perhaps the only tenor on video who actually looks like a Wagner hero, and he is an ideal Lohengrin. Eve Marton is the soprano here, as she was in the Tannhauser production above, and her acting is reasonably good. She isn't an extraordinary beauty, but she's photogenic enough to be convincing -- and actually looks more attractive here than she does in the Tannhauser film, even though Lohengrin was taped four years later. (The superior costumes help.) In this case, however, one sorely misses Karajan's conducting. Levine's take on the Act I finale is rather hurried and almost uncertain, as if it's an ambiguous conclusion, whereas it is surely one of the most affirmative, triumphant passages in all of Wagner's music. Karajan achieves a miracle with this in his superlative EMI recording.
3. The Ring
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006L9ZT/
Easy choice here; this is a Schenk/Schneider-Siemssen triumph. It's a tragedy that Karajan never completed his filmed Ring, and I find much in his Das Rheingold (the only video available for comparison) far more compelling than this one. The gods have a greater sense of presence and majesty in Karajan's film, and Loge especially is a figure of tremendous power. But nevertheless, this is an extraordinary achievement. It applies the naturalism-rather-than-romanticism approach seen in Tannhauser and Lohengrin to the Ring cycle, meaning that the setting becomes a European Urwald, and Siegfried fights, not a dragon, but a kind of nightmarish creature that renders the famous duel, "Siegfried vs. Cthulhu." Jerusalem isn't an especially Teutonic Siegfried (which is inevitable, in the present day and age), nor is Behrens a physically appealing Brunhilde, but this Ring definitely captures the spirit of Wagner's work, if not all of its glory. One notable omission, though, is the absence of horses on stage. While this is probably a production necessity, it renders meaningless the numerous references in the text to the Valkyries' mounts.
4. Parsifal
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006J9OV/
The last Wagner opera for which there is a clear choice -- another naturalistic Schenk/Schneider-Siemssen creation. Waltraud Meier is quite convincing as Kundry; Jerusalem passable in the title role. How I wish there were a film of the Karajan production, though. Just comparing the final scene in this staging to the famous cover photo of the Karajan box, with its "cathedral of light," makes me eager to know how he realized the work. This Met staging seems more archaic (which is certainly a fine approach in its own right), while the Karajan version appears to be a bridge between the ancient and modern.
5. Die Meistersinger
My favourite Wagner opera, and here, there is no clear choice.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002UNQ5Y/
I remember eagerly anticipating the release of the Schenk/Schneider-Siemssen Met production, and while in terms of sets, it's utterly brilliant -- the best Meistersinger I ever expect to see -- there are some significant problems. Ben Heppner may be a superlative singer, but his physical bulk is a genuine impediment. He lumbers across the stage, and I don't find his acting at all convincing. Even more problematic, Eva is completely miscast. Mattila is far too old to play this role, and she isn't attractive enough to be believable in the part. Here is where the cliche about plus-size opera sopranos runs aground, because while some sopranos (e.g. Cheryl Studer) may be full-figured, they are still very attractive. Mattila may be thin enough for modern tastes, but she is not photogenic, and while this doesn't matter when one attends a live opera where the singers are tiny figures on distant stage, in a video production with frequent close-ups it's a definite distraction. Also, I'm sure the costume designer thought he was being clever by making Beckmesser look like Wagner, and making Sachs, by contrast, look like...well, use your imagination to envision how one might follow through on this line of thinking. But it's another distraction. Most controversially, having a multi-racial chorus onstage to embody the citizens of Nurnberg may make perfect sense for an American opera house, but it is another element that takes away from the believability of the production -- it "breaks the spell." So while for set design, this video is the Meistersinger of one's dreams, there are serious problems with the production in other areas that make it at least partially unsatisfying.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005RIXK/
On the other hand, this Hampe film would be an ideal Meistersinger choice, but for one horrendous revision (which I'll get to in a moment).
The sets are not nearly as grand as the Met's, but they are medieval and traditional. They will do. Helena Does is youthful enough and charming enough to be completely believable as Eva; Donald McIntyre looks like the Sachs of old; and Paul Frey is especially good as Stolzing. Frey comes off as a brash young firebrand, flushed with the arrogance of nobility, but with a good heart and admirable intentions -- surely how Wagner envisioned the part. Frey's Stolzing is forever drawing his sword at perceived slights. The stage action is far superior to that in the Met production, especially in Act I. At the end of the "marker" episode, for example, Stolzing completes his song and deliberately pulls down an on-stage curtain while storming out of the church, bringing down half of the scenery in the process. After the commotion is over, and Sachs is left alone, a couple of boys walk by him with the rules tablet, as the oboe plays the Meistersinger theme. It's a brilliant bit of stage business; it livens up a scene that's terribly dead and lethargic in the Met production, and brings out the innate drama of the libretto.
As I said, this would be an ideal Meistersinger, except for a grotesque example of political correctness gone insane at the end of the opera. When the great climax sounds, one doesn't see Sachs crowned (that's already happened), or the laurel crown put on a religious effigy (a la Bayreuth), but instead...a reconciliation between Sachs and Beckmesser. (Groan!) Beckmesser is embraced by Sachs and they share a big hearty handshake, in almost a parody of a "let's all just get along" gesture. Now, I have nothing against the theme of reconciliation, but Die Meistersinger is just not that kind of opera, and the gesture, besides being forced, violates the spirit of the work.
So both Meistersingers have notable problems, but they're still better than anything else I've seen on video (especially the bare-set productions that seem to dominate otherwise).
6. Der fliegende Hollaender
My second-favourite opera, and here, there doesn't seem to be any acceptable choice. The Bayreuth production is modernist revisionism gone amok, and the one from the Savonlinna festival has a rather grotesque-looking Dutchman and an unattractive Senta. Furthermore, the sets are terribly static, and the two boats that Wagner called for are nowhere in sight. It's better than the Bayreuth film, but not by much. The only other version I know of that was released on video (VHS only) was a Sawallish production, which was better than either of these, but rather modest in its ambitions (like Hollaender done by a small-town regional opera house), and the horror elements of the work were largely absent.
Are there any better versions available that I may have missed?
7. Tristan & Isolde
Here, I would really appreciate some guidance. The Levine Met production is modern minimalism, so that's out, but most of the others sound scarcely better. Even a 1973 film with Boehm is said to have "abstract sets that Wagner would have hated."
I've read that a recent Barenboim production is a more recognizable T&I:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OONQ1W/
Would anyone care to confirm or dispute that? I haven't tried it yet myself.
- - - - - - - - -
Well, there are my thoughts on how to assemble a set of faithful Wagner films. I'd love to hear anyone's suggestions for viable alternatives, or preferable choices, or forthcoming productions that could be worthwhile.
This is an especially important question these days, because the odds of attending a performance of Wagner that is faithful to the composer's wishes, or is at least in line with his ethos, is virtually nil. Except perhaps at the Met, any present-day Wagner staging is bound to be modernist rubbish that displays utter contempt for the work, for the composer, for Romanticism, etc.
With that in mind, my first criterion in assembling a Wagner video set is convincing set design/ costuming (yes, my first criterion, because I find that even if, say, the soprano sings like an angel on earth, if she is singing in an anti-Wagner modern production, I can't endure the work, let alone enjoy it).
My second criterion is faithful staging. It's easy to forget about this, but if the staging betrays the ethos of the work, it's all for naught. For example, I've heard of a period-costume production of Don Giovanni that has simulated rapes performed onstage. No, thank you.
Third is the believability of the performers in the part. One can be forgiving of this up to a point, but miscasting can undermine a work. E.g., I've never had any trouble accepting full-figured sopranos (and I think far too much is made of this operatic cliche) but a lumbering Walther von Stolzing who's getting on in years can severely weaken a Meistersinger production.
With those ideas in mind, here is my list of the best possible Wagner video set to assemble, at the moment. Most of these are Levine's Met productions, but any suggestions for other options are welcome.
1. Tannhauser
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EQHHK6/
This is an easy choice. The production is by the Karajan team of Schenk/Schneider-Siemssen, and it shows. The opening ballet is suitably primal, the forest scenes believably evocative of the Thuringian forest, and the Singers' Hall is simply magnificent -- much more grandiose than the Singers' Hall in the actual Wartburg, but, for the purposes of a set, that's what you need. The lead tenor may not be the young knight that Wagner envisioned, and his singing is strained at times, but I find his acting surprisingly convincing. The finale, with the staff sprouting new blossoms, is one of the most moving scenes in all of opera, and the first time I saw it, I actually wept. The costumes are genuinely medieval Gothic, and while I prefer the 19th-century Neo-Gothic style, they fit the naturalism of the production.
2. Lohengrin
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F3TAO4/
An August Everding rather than Schenk/Schneider-Siemssen production, but one could easily mistake it for the latter. It follows the same authentically medieval rather than Neo-Gothic approach, and the results are extremely satisfying. Peter Hofmann is perhaps the only tenor on video who actually looks like a Wagner hero, and he is an ideal Lohengrin. Eve Marton is the soprano here, as she was in the Tannhauser production above, and her acting is reasonably good. She isn't an extraordinary beauty, but she's photogenic enough to be convincing -- and actually looks more attractive here than she does in the Tannhauser film, even though Lohengrin was taped four years later. (The superior costumes help.) In this case, however, one sorely misses Karajan's conducting. Levine's take on the Act I finale is rather hurried and almost uncertain, as if it's an ambiguous conclusion, whereas it is surely one of the most affirmative, triumphant passages in all of Wagner's music. Karajan achieves a miracle with this in his superlative EMI recording.
3. The Ring
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006L9ZT/
Easy choice here; this is a Schenk/Schneider-Siemssen triumph. It's a tragedy that Karajan never completed his filmed Ring, and I find much in his Das Rheingold (the only video available for comparison) far more compelling than this one. The gods have a greater sense of presence and majesty in Karajan's film, and Loge especially is a figure of tremendous power. But nevertheless, this is an extraordinary achievement. It applies the naturalism-rather-than-romanticism approach seen in Tannhauser and Lohengrin to the Ring cycle, meaning that the setting becomes a European Urwald, and Siegfried fights, not a dragon, but a kind of nightmarish creature that renders the famous duel, "Siegfried vs. Cthulhu." Jerusalem isn't an especially Teutonic Siegfried (which is inevitable, in the present day and age), nor is Behrens a physically appealing Brunhilde, but this Ring definitely captures the spirit of Wagner's work, if not all of its glory. One notable omission, though, is the absence of horses on stage. While this is probably a production necessity, it renders meaningless the numerous references in the text to the Valkyries' mounts.
4. Parsifal
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006J9OV/
The last Wagner opera for which there is a clear choice -- another naturalistic Schenk/Schneider-Siemssen creation. Waltraud Meier is quite convincing as Kundry; Jerusalem passable in the title role. How I wish there were a film of the Karajan production, though. Just comparing the final scene in this staging to the famous cover photo of the Karajan box, with its "cathedral of light," makes me eager to know how he realized the work. This Met staging seems more archaic (which is certainly a fine approach in its own right), while the Karajan version appears to be a bridge between the ancient and modern.
5. Die Meistersinger
My favourite Wagner opera, and here, there is no clear choice.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002UNQ5Y/
I remember eagerly anticipating the release of the Schenk/Schneider-Siemssen Met production, and while in terms of sets, it's utterly brilliant -- the best Meistersinger I ever expect to see -- there are some significant problems. Ben Heppner may be a superlative singer, but his physical bulk is a genuine impediment. He lumbers across the stage, and I don't find his acting at all convincing. Even more problematic, Eva is completely miscast. Mattila is far too old to play this role, and she isn't attractive enough to be believable in the part. Here is where the cliche about plus-size opera sopranos runs aground, because while some sopranos (e.g. Cheryl Studer) may be full-figured, they are still very attractive. Mattila may be thin enough for modern tastes, but she is not photogenic, and while this doesn't matter when one attends a live opera where the singers are tiny figures on distant stage, in a video production with frequent close-ups it's a definite distraction. Also, I'm sure the costume designer thought he was being clever by making Beckmesser look like Wagner, and making Sachs, by contrast, look like...well, use your imagination to envision how one might follow through on this line of thinking. But it's another distraction. Most controversially, having a multi-racial chorus onstage to embody the citizens of Nurnberg may make perfect sense for an American opera house, but it is another element that takes away from the believability of the production -- it "breaks the spell." So while for set design, this video is the Meistersinger of one's dreams, there are serious problems with the production in other areas that make it at least partially unsatisfying.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005RIXK/
On the other hand, this Hampe film would be an ideal Meistersinger choice, but for one horrendous revision (which I'll get to in a moment).
The sets are not nearly as grand as the Met's, but they are medieval and traditional. They will do. Helena Does is youthful enough and charming enough to be completely believable as Eva; Donald McIntyre looks like the Sachs of old; and Paul Frey is especially good as Stolzing. Frey comes off as a brash young firebrand, flushed with the arrogance of nobility, but with a good heart and admirable intentions -- surely how Wagner envisioned the part. Frey's Stolzing is forever drawing his sword at perceived slights. The stage action is far superior to that in the Met production, especially in Act I. At the end of the "marker" episode, for example, Stolzing completes his song and deliberately pulls down an on-stage curtain while storming out of the church, bringing down half of the scenery in the process. After the commotion is over, and Sachs is left alone, a couple of boys walk by him with the rules tablet, as the oboe plays the Meistersinger theme. It's a brilliant bit of stage business; it livens up a scene that's terribly dead and lethargic in the Met production, and brings out the innate drama of the libretto.
As I said, this would be an ideal Meistersinger, except for a grotesque example of political correctness gone insane at the end of the opera. When the great climax sounds, one doesn't see Sachs crowned (that's already happened), or the laurel crown put on a religious effigy (a la Bayreuth), but instead...a reconciliation between Sachs and Beckmesser. (Groan!) Beckmesser is embraced by Sachs and they share a big hearty handshake, in almost a parody of a "let's all just get along" gesture. Now, I have nothing against the theme of reconciliation, but Die Meistersinger is just not that kind of opera, and the gesture, besides being forced, violates the spirit of the work.
So both Meistersingers have notable problems, but they're still better than anything else I've seen on video (especially the bare-set productions that seem to dominate otherwise).
6. Der fliegende Hollaender
My second-favourite opera, and here, there doesn't seem to be any acceptable choice. The Bayreuth production is modernist revisionism gone amok, and the one from the Savonlinna festival has a rather grotesque-looking Dutchman and an unattractive Senta. Furthermore, the sets are terribly static, and the two boats that Wagner called for are nowhere in sight. It's better than the Bayreuth film, but not by much. The only other version I know of that was released on video (VHS only) was a Sawallish production, which was better than either of these, but rather modest in its ambitions (like Hollaender done by a small-town regional opera house), and the horror elements of the work were largely absent.
Are there any better versions available that I may have missed?
7. Tristan & Isolde
Here, I would really appreciate some guidance. The Levine Met production is modern minimalism, so that's out, but most of the others sound scarcely better. Even a 1973 film with Boehm is said to have "abstract sets that Wagner would have hated."
I've read that a recent Barenboim production is a more recognizable T&I:
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OONQ1W/
Would anyone care to confirm or dispute that? I haven't tried it yet myself.
- - - - - - - - -
Well, there are my thoughts on how to assemble a set of faithful Wagner films. I'd love to hear anyone's suggestions for viable alternatives, or preferable choices, or forthcoming productions that could be worthwhile.
