Die Walküre

by Richard Wagner

seen by live streaming from Covent Garden n 28 October 2018

Keith Warner's 2005 Ring cycle, designed by Stefanos Lazaridis, is completing its second and reputedly last revival this year, with Die Walküre the only opera of the four to receive a live streaming (apparently to over 800 cinemas - ours had only about 20 in the audience, compared with many more for the Met's Puccini the night before). Antonio Pappano conducted Stuart Skelton as Siegmund, Emily Magee as Sieglinde, Ain Anger as Hunding, John Lundgren as Wotan, Nina Stemme as Brünnhilde and Sarah Connolly as Fricka.

Genetics (family) and Fate are symbolically present in this cycle, manifested respectively by metal helices circling from the height of the stage down into the floor, and by a thick red rope. Here, in the first two acts, one of the helices is transformed from shiny metal into the twisted roots of a tree as it reaches the ground, to represent firstly the ash tree in Hunding's house, and secondly a generic 'outside' for the battle. It is not quite so clear why it should be present in the first scene of the second act which is more usually considered to be in the realm of the gods; also, on a more practical level, it proves an clumsy obstruction to the singers who have to clamber over it, especially awkwardly in the first act where an upper room of the house already restricts the acting area. The rope, seen only in the second act, is particularly useful in marking the twists of Fate, as Fricka pulls it down when she wins her point in her argument with Wotan, then later Siegmund uses it to guide Sieglinde to a sheltered spot (only an upturned sofa; but we are beyond realism here), and finally Brünnhilde treads beside it unwillingly to confront Siegmund and declare his doom. It has to be conceded, though, that this last detail may have escaped many in the audience, as the rope was by then lying on the floor; it was however obvious to the camera.

La fanciulla del West

by Giacomo Puccini

seen by live streaming from The Metropolitan Opera New York on 27 October 2018

Marco Armiliato conducts Giancarlo del Monaco's production of this opera, adapted from a play by David Belasco, with Eva-Maria Westbroek as Minnie (the eponymous heroine), Jonas Kaufmann as Dick Johnson (the bandit impelled to turn good) and Željko Lučić as Sheriff Jack Rance (a strong man thwarted in both love and what he sees as justice).

Puccini wrote the opera as a commission for the Met, where it was first performed in 1910 with Caruso in the tenor role. No pressure, then. for the Met to deliver the goods now, and one sensed a certain self-satisfaction in the detailed realism of the setting, complete with characters turning up on horseback whenever possible - some to the Polka Saloon in the first act, and both Minnie and Dick Johnson to Minnie's cabin in the second (sets and costumes by Michael Scott). It all helped to emphasise the Wild West (or Californian gold-rush) setting; though the saloon was doubtless improbably large in order to fill the stage.

Samson et Dalila

by Camille Saint-Saëns (libretto by Ferdinand Lemaire)

seen by live streaming from The Metropolitan Opera New York on 20 October 2018

Mark Elder conducts Darko Tresnjak's new production of Samson et Dalila with Roberto Alagna as Samson, Elīna Garanča as Dalila, and Laurent Naouri as the High Priest of Dagon.

The climax of Samson's story, from the book of Judges in the Old Testament, is his seduction by Dalila, who extracts from him the secret of his physical strength (his uncut hair), thus enabling the Philistines to overpower him. Then, blinded and in chains, he is nonetheless able to recover his strength through praying to God (and through the Philitines having neglected to keep his head shaved), and he destroys the temple of Dagon when the Philistines taunt him there.

The three acts of the opera show Samson's initial success against the Philistines, then Dalila's seduction, then Samson's final triumph. Most of the circumstantial details of the Biblical story are omitted in favour of a scene in which the oppressed Hebrews lament their subjugation and are then taunted by a Philistine leader who eventuallyattacks Samson and is killed by him. The High Priest of Dagon then curses the Hebrews, and Dalila and her attendant priestesses emerge from the temple. Samson is transfixed by Dalila, who suggests that they meet in private.

Aida

by Giuseppe Verdi (libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni)

seen by live streaming from The Metropolitan Opera New York on 6 October 2018

Nicola Luisotti conducts Sonja Frisell's production of Aida with Anna Netrebko as Aida, Anit Rachvelishvili as Amneris and Aleksandrs Antonenko as Radamès. The spectacular sets are designed by Gianni Quaranta.

The vast Met stage is ideal for the grander aspects of this, one of the grandest of 'grand operas'. The dedication of the new war leader is wonderfully staged in hieratic symmetry, while the triumphant return of the victorious army is even more splendid, with plenty of supernumerary troops and several horses, to say nothing of welcoming crowds and courtiers. But this monumentality can prove a bit problematic for the more intimate scenes. This is largely overcome by night-time settings, and by occasional restrictions of space by the use of extra statues, pillars and walls which appear during scene breaks, while the final entombment is concentrated on a small acting space which chillingly disappears downwards from view as the rejected princess Amneris prays for peace above the condemned lovers. When one sees the stage hands hard at work during the intervals putting these massive sets into place one can only marvel at the technical ingenuity and precision of the whole enterprise, even though these behind-the-scenes glimpses tend to distract from the stage illusion of the actual production.

Salome

by Richard Strauss (libretto based on Oscar Wilde's play)

seen at the Coliseum on 3rd October 2018

Adena Jacobs directs ENO's new production of Salome, designed by Marg Horwell and conducted by Martyn Brabbins, with Allison Cook as Salome, David Soar as Jokanaan, Michael Colvin as Herod and Susan Bickley as Herodias.

ENO's 2018/19 season proposes to 'explore and examine some of the patriarchal structures, relationships, and roles of masculinity within our society'. Adena Jacobs' theatre work 'is celebrated for its questioning of conventional patriarchal attitudes as she reframes mythic stories through a lens that is radical, contemporary and feminine'. (Both quotations are from Artistic Director Daniel Kramer's welcome note in the programme.)

Whether Strauss's opera can be so 'reframed' is perhaps open to question. The clash between Salome and Jokanaan is stark and unrelenting; she is intoxicated by his charisma while he is utterly impervious to hers. The clash between Salome and Herod is powerful in a different way: he is besotted with her and she is scornful of him, but well able to use the power his lechery gives her to gain what she desires. While it may be easy to regard Salome as merely a female temptress, it's fairly clear that her obsessions and recklessness drive the opera, and while her final soliloquy may be grotesque and distasteful, it is nonetheless extremely powerful.