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The Age, May 15, 2022 |
By Barney Zwartz |
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Wagner: Lohengrin, Melbourne, ab 14. Mai 2022 |
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OPERA - Lohengrin ★★★★★
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Melbourne opera lovers jam-packed the State Theatre on Saturday to hear
German tenor Jonas Kaufmann – the world’s most celebrated opera singer right
now – in perhaps his signature role as Wagner’s Lohengrin.
He was
absolutely thrilling, but he wasn’t alone. All the production’s parts –
principals, chorus, orchestra, conductor, direction, sets – came together in
a truly memorable performance and an evening to cherish. If this isn’t worth
five stars, nothing is.
Lohengrin is Wagner’s last great romantic
opera before his mind turned toward the Ring cycle and he missed the
premiere having fled Germany as a rather ambivalent revolutionary in 1848.
As conductor Christian Thielemann put it: “Wagner does extraordinary things
to the psyche of his audience simply by means of the instrumentation. It is
the purest eroticism expressed as sound.”
A joint production with La
Monnaie Theatre of Brussels, this Lohengrin moved from 10th-century Belgium
to the ruins of Berlin immediately after World War II – and it worked well,
allowing not-too obtrusive political point-making. The massive moving sets
were a dominating presence, even if some aspects mystified me. The duel
between Lohengrin and Telramund became a game of chess (with black given
first move!) while the orchestra vividly portrayed a sword fight; the famous
swan was represented by just a bunch of feathers.
Kaufmann met every
expectation: extraordinary clarity and articulation, always right in the
middle of the note, ravishing but penetrating pianissimos, effortless high
notes, and riveting emotional presence. He might have noted tiny things he
could have done better, but I didn’t.
The rest of the cast was also
splendid, especially mezzo Elena Gabouri in a superb voice as a conniving,
malevolent Ortrud and Melbourne baritone Simon Meadows, who is deservedly
breaking into big productions, as a tortured Telramund, Ortrud’s co-villain.
American soprano Emily Magee as Elsa has the challenge of appearing
innocent and naive while singing with great maturity; she rose to it
beautifully. Bass Daniel Sumegi mostly seems to stand around looking noble
as King Heinrich, but he matched it with noble singing, while the
ever-reliable Warwick Fyfe was a stentorian herald.
Lohengrin is the
first opera in which Wagner made the chorus a real protagonist, and the
augmented Opera Australia chorus was excellent. Again, it was matched by a
brilliant Orchestra Victoria, sensitively conducted by Tahu Matheson from
the ethereal opening high strings to the magnificent brass.
In all, a
wonderful night, and gratifying to see that, post-pandemic, opera can still
fill the biggest theatres. Reviewed by Barney Zwartz
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