As the lights go down, a great stillness fills the Bayreuth Festspielhaus - until the first notes of the Rhine music steal into the listener’s consciousness. The opening of Das Rheingold is perhaps the very best way to experience Bayreuth’s wonderful acoustics, for the first time, and when Christian Thielemann conducts, this experience is nearly perfect.
This Ring, directed by Tankard Dorst, was first seen in 2006 and some of it gets better each year. It is not perfect, but what is? But it is effective and, in general, true to Wagner. Neither Dorst nor his colleague Ursula Ehler - responsible for the revivals - have tried to impose a new interpretation on the whole.
Scene designer Frank Philipp Schlossmann and Bernd Ernst Skodzig (costumes) have adopted the most successful semi-classical style - steps, pillars, arches. All gods wear white.
Rheingold introduces the drama of the whole Ring. The story unfolds partly through the action of the opera, partly recounted by the players, and the success of the performance depends on the two central characters, Woton, chief of the gods, and Loge the fire spirit, who is neither god nor human, but plays a mocking part in the events. Albert Dohme, usually a promising Woton, was not in good voice here - the tone was harsh and gravely - but Arnold Bezyeun is a brilliant Loge by any standard. The two giants Fasolt and Fafner were well sung by Kwangchul Youn and Ain Anger. Andrew Shore repeats his very effective Alberich and all the others were more than adequate.
Festspielhaus, Bayreuth, Germany, July 27, August 7, 20
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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