LOVE/DEATH: RICHARD WAGNER’S TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, ACT 2

Maestro Gianandrea Noseda, National Symphony Orchestra, and cast of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde
(photo © Kevin Yatarola, courtesy of Lincoln Center)

Guest review by Ellen Godfrey:

On Sunday afternoon, at David Geffen Hall, the White Light Festival, now in its 10th year, presented a concert performance of the complete second act of Wolfgang Wagner’s great music drama Tristan und Isolde. English subtitles were supplied. The theatre was totally sold out for this very special occasion. The title roles were sung by the dramatic Wagnerian soprano Christine Goerke and the Wagnerian tenor Stephen Gould.

Earlier in the afternoon, before the opera began, a very engaging lecture was given by Cori Ellison, a well-known opera lecturer and dramaturg involved in many opera projects.  She gave a wonderful in-depth lecture about Richard Wagner and his opera Tristan und Isolde.

Richard Wagner is one of the greatest musical geniuses who ever lived.  He revolutionized opera and brought it into the 20th century.  After working on his epic Ring Cycle for four.years  (the first ever “Mini-series”), he took a break after completing the second act of Siegfried, the third opera of the cycle. He wanted  to move away from the romantic period of opera to try some new ideas. As usual, he was short of money. Otto Wesendonck, a silk merchant and patron offered Wagner and his wife a small house to live in on his property.  

During his long break, Wagner began studying the 13th century German legend, Tristan, and became very excited about using it for his next opera. In 1856, he began by first writing the music for the opera and then later the libretto, which he wrote, as he did for all his operas. During this period, Wagner set five poems written by Otto’s wife Mathilde to music.  

He used two of them as sketches for the opera Tristan: "Im Treibhaus" (in the greenhouse) appears in the beginning of the third act and "Traüme" (dreams),is heard during the second act love duet.  The five songs became known as the Wesendonck Lieder and are still sung in concerts today.  Wagner and Mathilde were infatuated with each other, but it was never confirmed whether or not they were lovers.

Wagner was very interested in the philosophy of Arthur Schopenhauer. The philosopher was very pessimistic about the human condition.  He felt that Death is a liberator.

In the first act of the opera, Tristan is on a ship to Cornwall bringing Isolde to marry King Marke. Isolde has cured Tristan from his wounds from a fight and Isolde secretly has fallen in love with him. She is furious that he is bringing her to Cornwall to marry another man, King Marke. She summons him to come to her and asks Brangane, her companion, to prepare a death potion for them. Brangane  realizes that they are both in love and prepares a love potion instead.  They both fall instantly in love as the ship reaches shore.

The second act of the opera begins with the famous “Tristan chord” and we are suddenly in a whole new world….a world of dissonance and unease.   Maestro Gianandrea Noseda conducted this chord and the subsequent music with great beauty of sound.  Each of the solo instruments and the off-stage French horns stood out for their clarity.  Maestro was able to bring out all the drama of the music when needed and easily toned down the orchestra for the more intimate moments. There were times when he took a more Italianate approach to the music but he excelled in the Wagnerian style as well. 

Christine Goerke has recently added the role of Isolde to her repertoire after having performed several Ring Cycles.  She conveyed the excitement and expectation of waiting for Tristan.  She has a wonderful lower register which was perfect for this scene.  She started off a little carefully but quickly warmed up to her big beautiful Wagnerian voice.  

The mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova, as Brangane, tries to warn Isolde that Melot (Neil Cooper), Tristan’s supposed friend, has been double dealing, but Isolde is too much in love to heed the warning. Ms. Gubanova has a big exciting dark voice.  In this scene she has to sing out many long beautiful lines and she handled them very well.  Her singing showed great empathy for Isolde.  When she went to the top of her register, her voice had perhaps an excess of vibrato but otherwise she was very comfortable in the role.

The Wagnerian tenor Stephen Gould is the leading Wagnerian tenor of today.  He has a big resonant voice that easily soars over the orchestra.  He sings the role of Tristan with great passion and has a big heldentenor sound.  When he sees Isolde, his singing becomes very passionate and they are both nearly breathless with the excitement of seeing each other.

As daylight disappears and night takes over, the music becomes quietly rapturous as Christine Goerke and Stephen Gould begin singing the love duet.  Their voices blended wonderfully for this long and difficult duet, effortlessly sung.  Their singing is interrupted by Brangane, who warns them of danger, but they are too much in love to care. They welcome the dark of night which banishes everyday reality from day; night is also the realm of death.

Tristan’s companion Kurwenal runs in warning that King Marke is arriving from the hunt. The King is angry and feels betrayed  and dishonored by Tristan who was suppose to be bringing Isolde to him to be his bride. King Marke was sung by Gunther Groissbock who has a velvety smooth dark bass-baritone voice.  His sadness at losing Isolde was well portrayed.  Kerwenal, sung by another bass-baritone Hunter Enoch, also had a compelling voice.

For me, the most beautiful scene in the opera, which is a turning point for the lovers, occurs at the end of the act, when Tristan asks Isolde gently if she will follow him to a land where the sun never shines.  The music for this scene is so simple and moving.  Isolde responds directly that she will follow him to his land.  Both Stephen Gould and Christine Goerke sang this scene calmly with great beauty, as the music called for.  The act ends with a fight between Melot and Tristan. Tristan is seriously wounded.

At the end of this 80 minute act, the whole audience rose to their feet to cheer the wonderful singers, conductor, and orchestra members.  The performers were called back three times for more applause. We were all grateful for this wondrous performance. It made us all long to hear the entire opera in the near future.

© meche kroop

  

A TRIP DOWN THE RHINE

Guest Review by Ellen Godfrey:

Last night at St. John’s Church in the Village, the genius of Richard Wagner’s music abounded in the pairing of the Wesendonck Lieder with two selections from his passionate opera, Tristan und Isolde. 

In 1849, Wagner had to escape from Dresden to Switzerland with his wife Minna, to avoid being arrested as a rebel. He was invited to live in a small cottage on the estate of one of his patrons, Otto Wesendonck, and his wife Mathilde. While the Wagner’s were there, Mathilde wrote a cycle of five poems for women which Wagner set to music.  The cycle became known as the Wesendonck Lieder.  The song cycle was composed between 1857 and 1858. There were unconfirmed rumors that Wagner and Mathilde were having a love affair. 

Wagner was two thirds of the way through composing his unmatched 4-opera Ring Cycle, when he took a 12 year break after almost completing Siegfried, the third opera of the cycle. Wagner was very interested in finding new expression in music and drama. He became very interested in the 19th century philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, who wrote a book called The World as Will and Repression. He started to compose a new opera, Tristan und Isolde, which pointed to a new kind of music which eventually led composition into the 20th century.   

The highly gifted soprano Julianna Milin performed both the Wesendonck Lieder, and, after a brief intermission, two selections from Tristan und Isolde, no easy task.  In the first part of the program, Miss Millin used her  beautiful, big voice in a lighter vein, as is befitting a lieder singer.  In the second half of the program, she let her voice rip, with a much bigger sound and beautiful high notes and deep low notes. Her accompanist was the talented Juan Jose Lazaro, who has performed in many major symphonic halls. He has also accompanied many singers in masterclasses. He was a very supportive partner throughout the two part program.

Ms. Milin sang the first poem “Der Engel “(The Angel) very softly and ended it on a very quiet note. This song has several musical references to Das Rheingold, the first opera of Wagner’s Ring Cycle. In the second song "Stehe Still “(Be still), the pianist sailed easily through the difficult very fast moving music, like the rushing wheel of time, which is the first line of the song. Ms Milin was equally adept in her performance.

Wagner was using two of the Wesendonck songs as a draft for a new opera Tristan und Isolde which he had started working on.  In the third song “Im Treibhaus" (In the Green House) Wagner used the music as part of the prelude to Act 3 of Tristan und Isolde. It started off with a beautifully played piano introduction by Mr. Lazaro as Ms. Milin started slowly and softly along with him.  The ending of the song was quiet, with both the pianist and the singer feeling the music very deeply. In the fourth song “Schmerzen"( Sorrows)  Ms. Milin was able to show off her deep low notes, expressing the sorrow of the song.

The fifth and final song is the most beautiful of the cycle--“Traume” (Dreams,) and was used by Wagner in the Act 2 love duet of Tristan und Isolde.  Ms. Milin sang a beautiful introduction to the song with much feeling and a good. understanding of the music.  It was really her most beautiful singing of the cycle. Mr. Lazaro accompanied her with great understanding and feeling.

What was missing from Ms. Milin’s performance of these 5 wonderful songs, was communication with the audience.  She too often looked at the music on her nearby music stand rather than relating to the audience.  Hopefully, by the next time she performs this music, she will no longer need the score.

After the intermission Ms. Milin returned to the stage to sing Isolde’s curse from the first act of Tristan und Isolde.  Here she was a different singer  She used her big bright voice to great effect for this highly dramatic music, and sang with great feeling when called for.  In the long narrative, Isolde spews out her rage against Tristan, with whom she is secretly in love, but who is escorting her to marry King Mark. Her singing in this portion was very exciting and she poured out wonderful high notes as she curses Tristan. Juan Jose Lazaro played with anger when needed but never overshadowed her singing.

The evening concluded with the  beautiful "Liebestod " (love/death).  The music began quietly with both pianist and singer. Ms. Millin sang with great feeling with perfect accompaniment by Mr. Lazaro. She had a beautiful pianissimo at the end and Mr. Lazaro finished on a quiet note. As the program ended, the audience cheered the performances of both artists.  It was a lovely evening of music and thoughtfully demonstrated the relationship between Wagner's song cycle and subsequent opera.

© meche kroop

KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR

Sophia Muñoz and James Edgar Knight

Tenor James Edgar Knight strode onstage clearly eager to delight the audience and delight he did. No shining armor on this knight but rather a suave velvet jacket and bowtie; sporting a David Niven moustache, he looked rather debonair. He and his glamorous collaborative pianist Sophia Muñoz made an elegant pair.

His love of singing was infectious. He made the effort to translate all the texts--French, German, Italian, and Russian--into English.  This clearly showed in the singing which was full of commitment and connection. Further, he demonstrated comfort with different types of material from lied to Broadway; we definitely heard the Steven Blier influence.

He began the program with our three favorite Duparc songs. He sang "L'invitation au voyage" with a powerful round sound, painting a picture that was more than usually visible to the mind's eye. We loved the way he swelled into a full crescendo. "Le manoir de Rosemonde" was filled with excitement and urgency.  In "Phidylé" he brought it down several notches and emphasized the delicacy of the text. One could not tear away one's eyes or ears.

The same connection with the material was evident in the five songs of Richard Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder. But, sadly, the connection with the audience was impaired by the use of a music stand.  Violinist Basma Edrees and cellist Talya Buckbinder joined Ms. Muñoz for the gorgeous accompaniment. Our personal favorite is always "Im Treibhaus" with its pattern of four ascending notes reminding us of Tristan und Isolde. 

Mr. Knight won our heart with "On the Street Where You Live" from Frederick Loewe's My Fair Lady. He sang it with romantic fervor and involvement.

We also greatly enjoyed the trio of Tosti songs. Although not the possessor of an Italianate timbre, Mr. Knight could never be accused of lacking Italian passion. "L'ultima canzone", Ideale", and "Non t'amo più" were equally stirring-- but the first offering has that melismatic vocalise at the end that drove us wild.

The program closed with three Rachmaninoff songs which Mr. Knight sang "on the book" which again interfered with total audience connection. In "Do not sing, my beauty" he floated his high notes ethereally and the piano accompaniment was more than usually stirring.  The seasonally appropriate "Spring Waters" was luscious.

It was the encore that engaged us the most. We are convinced that Mr. Knight was channeling Richard Tauber for whom "Dein ist mein ganzes Herz" was written by Franz Lehár; it was for the 1929 operetta Das Land des Lächelns.  Fritz Löhner-Beda wrote the romantic lyrics that scan and rhyme and go perfectly with the music. It was just the right end to the recital which was given to fulfill the requirements for a Master of Music Degree from Juilliard.

This reminds us to mention that Manhattan School of Music is presenting that very operetta this weekend, conducted by the wonderful Jorge Parodi. We will be there of course and happy to hear the song once more.

(c) meche kroop 

TEUTONIC LOVE FEST

Helmut Deutsch and Jonas Kaufmann

Lieder recitals are a tough sell but you'd never have known it last night when rock-star tenor Jonas Kaufmann gave a stunning recital with collaborative pianist Helmut Deutsch.  They held the capacity audience spellbound for two hours and six (yes, SIX!) encores.  Not a whisper was heard, nor forbidden electronic device; even coughs were stifled.  The only sound made by the audience was a bit of program shuffling on two occasions when the printed program did not accurately reflect what was being performed onstage.

You will hear no complaints from us that the program was almost entirely 19th c. German; it was a study in depth, not breadth.  Mr. Kaufmann is a brilliant interpreter, employing his gorgeous instrument to convey the depth of feeling in each song.  He is in complete control of dynamics with the most exquisite messa di voce one could wish for.  His phrasing is elegant and he is in possession of the uncanny skill of coloring his words the way a painter layers paint on canvas.

The first half of the program was all Schumann.  We have written before about Schumann's "year of song writing" as his feelings for Clara were finally permitted consummation.  We don't believe we have heard Zwölf Gedichte, Op. 35 before last night but we would happily hear them again.  The poet Justinus Kerner was an optimist and the songs are mainly sunny in nature.  But our favorite was "Stille Tränen" in which Mr. Kaufmann floated his high notes as if they were balloons filled with helium.

Dichterliebe, Op. 48, composed the same year, 1840, made use of the darker poetry of Heinrich Heine and describes the course of a failed love affair, permitting Mr. Kaufmann to render moods from the initial hopefulness of "Im wunderschönen Monat Mai" to the concluding resolution of "Die alten, bösen Lieder" in which the poet dramatically buries his dreams in a huge coffin which endures a burial at sea.

We are far more familiar with this cycle and have our personal favorites:  "Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne" is filled with excitement; "Ich grolle nicht" is bitter and ironic; "Ein Jüngling liebt ein Mädchen" has a cynical flavor; "Ich hab' im Traum geweinet" is filled with sorrow.  All of these moods and more were captured and embraced by Mr. Kaufmann.

The second half of the program was given over to Wagner and Liszt.  Richard Wagner's 1857 Wesendonck Lieder, Op. 91 with their chromatic harmonies and melodic motives (to be heard in Tristan and Isolde) were performed with incredible sensuality.

Franz Liszt's Tre sonetti di Petrarca, composed in the 1840's to texts by Petrarch, are bursting with passion.  In "Pace non trovo" we were vastly impressed by that beautiful messa di voce and those wild upward skips.

The audience showed the artists a lot of love at the conclusion of the recital and the artists returned the love with a series of six encores.  No one wanted to leave!  It is a rare event in a hall the size of Carnegie Hall to feel such an intimate connection with an artist.  Before the final encore, in a touching moment, Mr. Kaufmann got down on one knee to express his gratitude for the accolades he was receiving.  But ultimately, it was the audience that showed their gratitude for his performance with an endless standing ovation.

© meche kroop