Tonight’s First Night of Siegfried had to be one of the most fantastic staging and singing ever of Siegfried’s forging song. Andreas Schager’s characterisation of the wild boy Siegfried smelting and forging using machines that look Heath-Robinson but appear convincing in their metalworking functions was utterly compelling. He gave us muscular singing, sparks from the anvil, juggling with forging hammers and joyous characterisation with the vitality of the youth who knows no fear. One of the great Siegfrieds and a highlight of the whole cycle.
Andreas Schager as Siegfried
Antonio Pappano and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
All these singers are fantastic. Siegfried leading but a commanding Wanderer/Wotan (Christopher Maltman) and a Mime (Peter Hoare) showing the duality of house-husband and Father, the cross-dressing isn’t exactly period though but it’s the director Barrie Kosky’s stated intention to strip back the story to the “quintessentially human condition”. The detailed modern acting style gives clarity in the domestic scenes as the story of Siegfried’s birth is told. Easily the most attention-holding performance of Act 1 that I have seen.
Act 2 was staged with snow falling around a modernish house representing Fafner’s lair and a lot of the duets taking place on and around a concrete park bench. It was convincing in a conceptual way but didn’t give any fresh insights in return for loosing any semblance of a naturalistic vision. Fafner (the giant who has taken the form of a dragon to guard the hoard of gold) is represented by a gold suit; it’s stretching it a lot to suggest this shows the greed of a man redefined as the gold he hoards. I’m not convinced, though Soloman Howard sang and acted imperiously. Dreadful pun on the surtitles as Siegfried drives the sword though his heart.
Siegfried and all the cast again sing wonderfully although the orchestra did have a few moments. Siegfried would have found that it is dangerous to hold any sword by the blade, at the balance point, especially fearsome Nothung, but apparently not.. And Siegfried appeared to have really lost his sword in the snow until the woodbird pointed it out. He did still strike a particularly bold heroic pose for the final chord and blackout at the end of the act.
Act 3 starts with the action in front of a front drop in conventional manner. This clears to a field of flowers around a mythical tree. A stretch from Wagner’s rocky mountain surrounded by fire and I don’t see what was gained. The orchestra is superb, much of this music was reused by Wagner in the Siegfried Idyll, composed for his wife Cosima on Christmas morning. But I wasn’t convinced by Siegfried and Brunnhilde’s love scene. Always singing full-on, maybe a bit slow and there seemed an emotional disconnect between the words, music and acting. It was magnificent heroic singing both Brunnhilde (Elisabet Strid) and Siegfried which gained tumultuous applause, but it’s the only unqualified love scene in the entire Ring cycle and it wasn’t joyous. I wasn’t convinced by the end that Siegfried loves Brunnhilde more than Nothung and had gone through fire for her.
Warm cheers and applause for conductor Antonio Pappano before the start of Act 3 and the whole, huge, orchestra appeared on stage to take the curtain calls along with the cast.
Translation usefully modern though of course you loose the detail of Wagner’s poetry, which I get from following a score. The lighting opens up and closes down the space, bringing focus to the close duets.
I’ve lost count of the Siegfrieds I’ve seen since my first, in Munich in 1977 on my hitch-hiking tour of Europe. That traditional naturalistic setting remains memorable. Andreas Schager is easily the most convincing heldentenor I've seen on stage: muscular singing and muscular physical acting. Worth the ticket alone. Overall, I’ll remember this production’s Act 1 for a long while.
Siegfried
Music and Libretto - Richard Wagner
Siegfried - Andreas Schager
Mime - Peter Hoare
Der Wanderer - Christopher Maltman
Brünnhilde - Elisabet Strid
Alberich - Christopher Purves
Fafner - Soloman Howard
Erda - Wiebke Lehmkuhl
Woodbird - Sarah Dufresne
Actor (Erda) - Illona Linthwaite
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor - Antonio Pappano
Director - Barrie Kosky
Set Designer - Rufus Didwiszus
Lighting Designer - Alessandro Carletti