The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

Recent posts

SF Opera’s Die Walküre Cycle 1

Sfopera-walkuere-act3-2011 * Notes * 
Cycle 1 of Der Ring des Nibelungen at San Francisco Opera continued last night with Die Walküre (Act III pictured left, photo by Cory Weaver). Francesca Zambello's production shows the human side of every character, both God and hero alike are shown as flawed yet accessible. The use of fire, dogs, and parachuting Valkyries came together to create a spectacle. The staging could get busy at times, and some of the motivation behind the entrances and exits of characters was not always clear. There was also strange moment of humor when the sword was revealed. Jan Hartley's projections help to tell the story in naive images, but they lack a certain elegance. The sets, from Michael Yeargan, range from Hunding's extremely detailed house to the clean bleakness of Brünnhilde's rock. Catherine Zuber's costumes reinforce the narrative, especially in the changes in wardrobe for the female leads. Sieglinde sheds layered dresses and Brünnhilde's tomboy vest transforms into a warrior woman's bodice.

The orchestra sounded utterly lovely, Donald Runnicles drove the tempi without losing control. The strings were transparent and shimmering. The harp, clarinet, bassoon, and flute had especially fine soli. There was some sourness in the Walhall motive in Act I, but the Völsungen and Siegfried motives were clear and beautiful. The final scene of the opera was superbly played.

As with last year, the Walküren included many current and former Adlers and Merolini: Maya Lahyani (Siegrune), Tamara Wapinsky (Helmwige), Sara Gartland (Gerhilde), Daveda Karanas (Waltraute), Melissa Citro (Ortlinde), and Renée Tatum (Grimgerde). Joined by Lauren McNeese (Rossweise) and Cybele Gouverneur (Schwertleite), they produced a great deal of sound and pulled off their choreography with aplomb.

Daniel Sumegi was a physically imposing Hunding, the somewhat husk-like quality of his voice is not a detriment to this character. Elizabeth Bishop made for a sympathetic Fricka, her voice is full. Mark Delavan may be difficult to hear at times, but his voice has a pleasant timbre and he articulates the words with conviction. Brandon Jovanovich had a promising role debut of Siegmund. His voice rang out with warmth. Anja Kampe's Sieglinde was moving. Her vibrato did not detract from the intensity or beauty of her voice. Nina Stemme continues to be a dazzling Brünnhilde.

* Tattling * 
The audience in standing room upstairs was, for the most part, silent. Some latecomers may have argued aloud with an usher about taking their seats. One of them turned off his cellular phone, which made a chime to indicate this. Another phone rang somewhere in the balcony during a quiet part of the music of Act I. The scene changes were not an issue for this opera, and the prompter was less audible.

Posted in , , , , , , , ,

13 responses to “SF Opera’s Die Walküre Cycle 1”

  1. Ann the tea maiden Avatar
    Ann the tea maiden

    What? No mention of a certain audience member’s themed costumes??

    Like

    Reply
  2. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    Golly! Perhaps I will write a post on that later.

    Like

    Reply
  3. Florentia Scott Avatar
    Florentia Scott

    I adored Nina Stimme – the best Brunnhilde I’ve seen so far and the only one who can really nail those high notes in the Walkure’s call. Also Brandon Jovanovich was stellar as Siegmund.
    A continuing frustration for me is that frequently the orchestra under the direction of Donald Runnicles seems determined to drown out the singers. This is particularly noticeable with Mark Delavan’s Wotan. I love Delavan’s voice and find him a convincing, if somewhat buffoonish, Wotan, but I hate it when I can’t hear him in key scenes. I know that singers are supposed to be able to sing above the orchestra but it also seems to me that it’s the conductor’s job to make sure that the instruments and voices are in proper balance. Runnicle’s not doing that job. Either he’s deaf or he really has it in for Delavan and has decided that making Delavan look bad is more important than giving the paying customers what they came to hear – and the prices of these tickets (including the mandatory donation if you want to secure a good seat) are not insignificant. The people sitting behind me were complaining about it too and couldn’t make up their minds whether to blame Runnicles or Delavan. I blame Runnicles. If he knows his Wotan can’t sing above his din, he has to allow for that in directing the orchestra.
    Stimme managed to make herself heard throughout but seemed to be getting a bit hoarse towards the end herself.
    Turn the damned orchestra down, Runnicles! I won’t forgive you if I can’t hear Brunnhilde sing at the end of Gotterdammerung.

    Like

    Reply
  4. Lürkhild Avatar
    Lürkhild

    Imo, Runnicles has been taking everything way too fast most of the time, which has put many of the singers at a disadvantage, but particularly Delavan for some reason. In last summer’s Walküre, and the stand-alone performance of Siegfried a couple weeks ago, I had the sense that he was on the brink of being an outstanding Wotan, but needed 1) a chance to settle into the role, and 2) time to breathe.
    His performance in Walküre Wednesday night, though, blew me away. Where I was sitting, there was only one moment when he got swamped by the orchestra (“ich, der traurigste von allen”). I heard James Morris in his debut as Wotan here in 1985, and I honestly think Delavan was up to the same standard on Wednesday. It’s unfair to compare him to Morris singing Wotan for the Met in the 90s, as I’ve heard some do. I’m convinced he will get there, given half a chance.
    I have greatly enjoyed his acting, too — I wouldn’t say he’s been playing Wotan as buffoonish so much as emphasizing the character’s mercurial side more than is usual. There’s plenty of justification for that in the score and the libretto — not saying it’s better, or always preferable, but certainly legit, and it works well for this production.
    It helped that Runnicles finally, finally relaxed the pace a bit in Act II. The orchestra started sounding a thousand times better — orchestral players need to breathe, too. This is the sound I remember Runnicles getting from them in the past (although I agree that it would have been thoughtful to hold back the volume in places.) I hope the trend continues.
    Jovanovich also benefited from the broader pace — he missed a lot of notes in Act I, and sounded like he was struggling to stay on top of things. In Act II, he was solid. Personally, I think he tries too hard to darken his tone much of the time — he doesn’t need to, as he already has that necessary baritonal quality. His intonation was also noticeably better when he stopped forcing the tone color and pulled back on the volume (as he did in “Winterstürme.”) A couple more cycles, though, and he’ll own the part.

    Like

    Reply
  5. Florentia Scott Avatar
    Florentia Scott

    Well, Runnicles outdid himself last night in Siegfried. He managed to drown out Siegfried as well as Wotan. I guess he feels his job as director is to compete with the singers, so he can win. He won all right, but imho the whole production and the whole cycle is suffering as a result. I guess there are people who would rather hear the orchestra than the singers and those are the ones who are praising Runnicles to the skies. To each his or her own. I’d rather hear the singers and the orchestra in balance. I will definitely remember the name of Runnicles in future, and avoid operas with him directing, though I’d go if he were directing a symphony or something with no voices involved as he does seem good at getting maximum sound from the players. He just doesn’t see the point of including the voices in his direction.

    Like

    Reply
  6. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    Where are you seated? It makes a significant difference, unfortunately. From the back of the balcony in standing room, it is really easy to hear all the singers except for Delavan (when he is upstage).

    Like

    Reply
  7. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    The orchestra was quieter in Siegfried last night than they were for the opening 2 weeks ago. Perhaps Morris and Delavan were also singing more loudly as well. Again, I am really curious about where you are seated, as there are certain spots where the singing is dampened.
    Have you been to the War Memorial before? Luisotti gets even more sound out of the orchestra than Runnicles, a complaint that even made its way back to our current Music Director.

    Like

    Reply
  8. Lieto Fine Avatar
    Lieto Fine

    Why do American audiences have to clap … And laugh at the most inopportune times at the opera? Do they treat everything like it’s a musical?

    Like

    Reply
  9. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    Gosh, I wish I knew. I think they like clapping because it is their way of participating in the performance, in a certain sense. As far as laughing, it could be a sign of discomfort or some other social signal, more than because something is actually funny.

    Like

    Reply
  10. Lieto Fine Avatar
    Lieto Fine

    Just weird … But have to say so far disappointed with Zambello’s production … And bar a few singers, the quality of the performances.

    Like

    Reply
  11. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    Sorry to hear that! This is not my favorite production of the Ring, it is a bit safe. But I do like the singing and playing.

    Like

    Reply
  12. Roberto Avatar
    Roberto

    I went to yesterday’s performance.
    Brandon Jovanovich knocked me down. I really didn’t expect anything from that Pinkerton tenor that sang for us here a few years ago. More recently, he came back still singing Puccini. How can he face Sigmund?, I thought as soon as I found out that he would sing this role. My expectations couldn’t be so low. But Jovanovich delivered! His energy was there. His voice was strong and above all, credible. He is primetime now.
    Anja Kampe was almost convincing. If it wasn’t for her scratchy high notes, she would have made it. The highs were just not there.
    It is unavoidable to compare this performance with the one in 2010. At that time, we had a better Hunding with Ray Aceto. Maybe I am too spoiled with Kurt Moll and Gottlob Frick, but Daniel Sumegi’s Hunding didn’t scare me.
    A lot has been said about Mark Delavan and his Wotan. He is not James Morris and he doesn’t want to be James Morris. His voice is on the lighter range, that’s true. But in 2010 he had his moments. He was less successful yesterday. He had a great second act but his energy started to fade on the third act. It was about the same as 2010, but on that performance he pulled himself together for a great finish. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the same luck yesterday. It is a tough and very demanding role and I sympathize with him. He is a very good actor who clearly has a lot of insight of the character.
    Nina Stemme was Nina Stemme. What else can be said? I don’t remember her voice to be so dark in 2010. Sometimes, she was almost a mezzo, that Christa Ludwig kind of voice. She was totally in control. Irreproachable. I also could sense generosity on her duet with Anja Kampe. She and Delavan have been singing together for a while and developed good chemistry between them.
    Runnicles was fast and still very, very restrained. Even so, Mark Delavan couldn’t penetrate the orchestra a couple of times (it was the orchestra loudest moments, but not exactly fortissimo). The brass section as a whole was bad. Sometimes so bad that it was embarrassing. I sat at the balcony rear, to the center left. The brass (on the orchestra right side), didn’t balance well with the strings and sometimes the impression was that they were not even together. I wonder how this worked on other sections of the house… But the sound on the balcony rear is usually the reference. I was thinking if maybe the brass should be in the middle with the cellos and double bass on the right. But the problem was not even that. The problem is that for the first time in my life, I felt that orchestra playing without a soul. After all, this is a wonderful orchestra. Time after time I was amazed by their professionalism and virtues. But on this cycle, I just don’t fell their heart there. I just cannot fell it.
    This is a very cohesive and coherent production. Maybe it is on the safe side, but you cannot deny its creativity. It is an extremely powerful production. G’d bless Francesca Zambello and her team. I think they deserve the highest praise.
    The next ones are Siegfried and Gotterdammerung. Please don’t spoil because I haven’t seen those yet. I wonder how this thing will unfold… 🙂

    Like

    Reply
  13. The Opera Tattler Avatar
    The Opera Tattler

    Hope you enjoy Siegfried!

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment