Spain Wagner, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg: Teatro Actual Refrain and Orchestra / Pablo Heras Casado (conductor). Teatro Actual, Madrid, 24.4.2024. (JMI)
This nice Wagner opera was final carried out at Teatro Actual in 2001 by Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden, led by the now, sadly, comparatively inactive Daniel Barenboim. Expectations for the present performances ran excessive for this co-production with the Royal Danish Opera of Copenhagen and Nationwide Theatre Brno, however we have been dissatisfied. It was a suitable manufacturing nevertheless it acquired moderately irregular musical route and had a lower than sensible solid.
The motion takes place at the start of the 20th century. There’s a single set for the three acts: massive panels with simulated stained glass on each side and a panel on the again. Platforms are added within the heart of the stage the place, in Act I, the scebe with the Mastersingers takes place. Within the second act, a sequence of miniature homes characterize town of Nürnberg. These homes disappear in Act III and are changed by the workshop and home of Hans Sachs. For the meadow scene, the again panel is raised to disclose a fantastic picture of a mountain panorama. The manufacturing narrates the plot of the opera competently with out resorting to the ‘originalities’ of which fashionable administrators are so fond, and the stage route is okay, particularly within the final act.
If the function of the conductor is vital in any opera, it’s much more so in Wagnerian ones. Therefore my eagerness see what Pablo Heras Casado, probably our most acknowledged conductor, might obtain. Each finally yr’s Bayreuth Competition and within the upcoming one, he’s on the helm of Parsifal. His conducting was considerably uneven with clear ups and downs over the course of the opera. It was actually removed from these events of which I’ve indelible recollections: Zubin Mehta and Kirill Petrenko in Munich and, extra lately, Christian Thielemann in Dresden. Heras Casado’s conducting was notably disappointing in Act I, with a flat overture and a sound beneath what might be anticipated from this orchestra. Issues improved within the second act and, extra clearly, in Act III.
There is no such thing as a doubt that the nice protagonist of this opera is Hans Sachs, sung right here by bass-baritone Gerald Finley, who was the most effective of the solid vocally. He’s a real artist, as he has proved all through his lengthy profession. At 64, he retains that strong voice which has by no means been too massive however is adequate in quantity. He solely offers some signal of weak spot within the excessive notes.
Tenor Tomislav Mužek was Walther von Stolzing who appeared inadequate to me for such an vital character. His voice is passable within the center, however it’s clearly shrunk. It has the added drawback that the timbre modifications because it strikes upwards, leading to tight and unattractive sounds and finally reaching a falsetto.
Baritone Leigh Melrose was Beckmesser. He gave an exaggerated interpretation of the character – whether or not it was his resolution or the director’s. Soprano Nicole Chevalier was an accurate Eva Pogner. There is no such thing as a explicit brilliance to her voice, and I typically discovered her singing monotonous. Bass Jongmin Park has an enormous voice, which is well-suited to the character of Pogner.
David, Hans Sachs’s apprentice, was tenor Sebastian Kohlhepp whose gentle voice fits this character. He did properly in phrases each of singing and performing. Magdalene was mezzo-soprano Anna Lapkovskaja, who was superb. The Mastersingers have been correctly coated, and bass Alexander Tsymbalyuk was a sonorous Night time Watchman.
José M. Irurzun
Manufacturing:
Director – Laurent Pelly
Units – Caroline Ginet
Costumes – Laurent Pelly and Jean-Jacques Delmotte
Lighting – Urs Schönebaum
Refrain grasp – José Luis Basso
Forged:
Hans Sachs – Gerald Finley
Walther – Tomislav Mužek
Eva – Nicole Chevalier
Beckmesser – Leigh Melrose
Pogner – Jongmin Park
David – Sebastian Kohlhepp
Magdalene – Anna Lapkovskaja
Night time Watchman – Alexander Tsymbalyuk
Fritz Kothner – José Antonio López
Kunz Vogelgesang – Paul Schweinester
Konrad Nachtigall – Barnaby Actual
Balthasar Zorn – Albert Casals
Ulrich Eisslinger – Kyle van Schoonhoven
Augustin Moser – Jorge Rodríguez Norton
Hermann Ortel – Bjørn Waag
Hans Schwarz – Valeriano Lanchas
Hans Foltz – Frederic Jost