Customer Reviews

Wagner - Gotterdammerung / Levine, Behrens, Jerusalem, Metropolitan Opera (Levine Ring Cycle Part 4)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have watched the three major options of the ring on dvd (kupfer,schenk,chéreau). Chéreau's gotterdammerung is very good with its beautiful staging and imaginative approach supported by fine singers save for hagen! I didn't like Hubner's presence nor his rendition was impressive.. As for Kupfer's gotterdammerung all works nicely even if the very end destroys the whole magic imho. I have nothing to say about the acting and vocal renditions of the singers, but a modern setting is never my first choice. Now, gotterdammerung of the met.. is certainly the best production with heavily realistic sets and lavish traditional staging. Salminen and Ludwig are simply magnificent. As for the "problematic" couple (jerusalem and behrens), it's true that this is not their finest moment on stage (they have both sang these parts in bayreuth in a much better form) but I have to admit that the most beautiful (technically flawed maybe, especially for the chest register) voice of these three brunnhildes on dvd belongs to behrens. her elegant phrasing and ringing top notes are simply electrfying! one can say that she is not very wagnerian yes I agree, but she is not unsuccesful. Actually I've cried at the immolation scene she had such a strong presence on stage.. Jerusalem is a good actor (for an opera singer anyway) and even if he has some problems with high notes, the phrases made with his middle tones are very sophisticated and musical.. I mean they may not be compared to the great wagner singers like nilsson, varnay, flagstad or, windgassen, melchior, kollo... but they are not bad enough to ruin this magnificent production. You will never find a most thrilling immolation scene anywhere else! Everything written on the libretto can be seen on stage: the gibichung castle falling in ruins, river rhein covering all things, walhalla in flames!...
Levine and met orch & choir are no match to the bayreuth team, however they are very good indeed, considering the length and high demands of this great work, especially the dts sound is simply brilliant!
In short, this is not a perfect production (none of the others is), but is the strongest gotterdammerung production considering that it's the only one which is the closest to fulfill wagner's visions and dreams with a very fine cast for its time (today you can't even dream a cast like that!)and with a technically well presentation on dvd (masterful video direction by brian large and superior sound transfer)

I am considering this only in the context of the Met 1980's production of The Ring and without considering the contribution of Wagner, save to assume the music to be at the highest level and the libretto of less quality. Clearly, of a cast which maintained a very fine level of singing/acting, Behrens and and Salminen, take top honors carrying off their central roles with controlled dynamism and considerable impact. Salminen is well-nigh perfect with an immense voice and commanding stature, Behrens, freed of the armor of a Valkyrie, emotes passionately in body and song. Jerusalem handles well the conception of Siegfried that permeates the Met's approach, a child of nature who never quite catches on to what is going on about him, and the others do what is expected of them in irreproachable manner.
The production values are first rate, with the whole team wringing every ounce of impact from the array of technological tools at their disposal two decades ago. Levine and his wonderful orchestra create a foundation of Wagnerian music which is rock solid and allows every element to make its fair contribution.
All-in-all, for the viewer not grounded in Wagnerian lore nor musical technicalities, this is a lustrous version of a classic, with sight and sound of the highest quality for the average television monitor today.

The final chapter in the Ring Cycle, as done by the Metropolitan Opera conducted by James Levine. This is a fine offering. Of particular highlight is Hildegard Behrens portrayal as the spurned Brunehilde. A surprise was Christa Ludwig's fine performance, not as Fricka, but as a Valkyrie (a role I enjoyed very much). The story itself ties up a lot of loose ends....Also great performance of Siegfried's death march. Definitely worth watching if you've gotten this far.

The Metropolitan Opera Ring Cycle comes to a conclusion in Gotterdammerung with many positives. This production has traditional staging that is beautifully done. This helps make the story and the action more clear. And the finale is spectacular.
The singers in traditional costumes sometimes do very well in continuing the magic of this mythical tale. Salminen as Hagen is magnificent as a singer and an actor. But musically and dramatically everything plods along under the direction of Levine. The orchestra sounds beautiful but the tempos are so slow that sometimes all the drive is lost in the music. This was particularly painful in Siegfried's funeral march where the energy was sucked out of the score. Levine then tried to compensate by having parts played too loudly spoiling the balance of that passage.
These slow tempos also affected the drama of the story. Gotterdammerung is a struggle between different characters. Singers exchange dialogue more quickly in this opera. But with Levine dragging things the singers would sometimes finish their acting movements and slow down waiting for their next cue from the orchestra. This was startling with Salminen as Hagen where he holds his hand out to Gunther I believe, and then holds it longer by pointing a finger and then longer, waiting.
As for the other singers Behrens as Brünnhilde was very effective not only as a singer but as an actress conveying her emotions as the scorned lover. She's great at the end. Christa Ludwig does fine as a Valkyrie. Gunther and Gutrune are passable but not memorable.
Jerusalem as Siegfried is a mixed bag. When he can reach his notes, he performs this character very convincingly. But he had problems with certain passages (and this is a very difficult role). I wonder if Levine's plodding tempos hurt Jerusalem's singing. It's very possible. Overall, Jerusalem made me believe he was the trapped, tragic Siegfried.
* Is this performance worth getting? Absolutely. This story of betrayal works best when it is set in a castle on the Rhine river as we see here. It makes the most sense portraying curses, oaths, with divine beings interacting with mortals when the singers are in traditional costumes set in a mythical time. This Metropolitan Opera production has the brilliance to bring the listener/viewer to this magical world. And then make it collapse spectacularly before your very eyes.

I'm afraid this performance of Gotterdammerung is the least satisfactory in the 4 Ring operas and it provides a sort of anti-climatic conclusion to the Levine Metropolitan Ring.

While Levine creates some sense of urgency in the preceding dramas, his sprawling tempos here don't serve the work very well and the drama sags from time to time. That said, the performance of the orchestra is exceptionally good. It's only Levine's plodding tempos that is the liability here.

The singing is unexceptional. In fact, with such slow tempos preferred by Levine, some of the singers encounter problems when trying to sustaining phrases. The chief casualty is no doubt Hildegard Behrens. Her Brunnhilde is not only underwhelming, her struggles with some of the climatic phrases are made far too evident. Siegfried Jerusalem is a secure Siegfried, but his performance lacks individuality. The other roles are not particularly well taken. Vocally, the performance doesn't have much to boast about.

The stage direction is generally good, although the ending - the collapse of Valhalla and the over-flowing of the Rhine - is vastly under-staged. On the whole, it is indeed quite a disappointment.

I don't know about the rest, but man was Matti Salminen something else! He absolutely dominated, looming over (especially) Gunther and the rest. And when he called the vassals together to greet Gunther and Brunhilde, I worried that he would falter because I didn't think that kind of output was humanly possible.

I do have to mention that Jerusalem wasn't bad, although the acting seemed exaggerated and forced, much like Behrens' acting. Behrens was okay but she did falter a bit here and there and I am willing to concede that (listening to Karajan's Ring as well) Wagner places a lot of demands on the singers and only Salminen was really up for the challenge, with the rest being adequate. I think I may have to go for Solti where Birgit Nilsson sings Brunhilde. Lastly, Gutrune was okay because her role is not to be a force like Hagen and Brunhilde, but more subtle.

Unfortunally,beautiful set and costumes in a
satisfactory DVD transfer can`t save this production
from musical mediocrity.Levine,Behrens and Jerusalem
seems like to play the opera without any rehersal,
the scene four on act two is a real disaster.Of course
some singers are in excellent shape:Salminen,Ludwig
and Wlaschiha just are doing their best,but who can
ignore Behrens`scenic weakness and Jerusalem`s dirty
vocal tone?She acts sometimes like if she was drunk
but not under any poisons.Her immolation(Levine guilty?)
is so fast that I can imagine so many jokes why Grane,
the Brunhilde`s horse isn`t on the stage.I will give
3 stars just there are a lot of very good professionals
behind the Met`s curtains.

The opera is supposed to be the climax of Wagner's Ring cycle. Unfortunately, the performance here is rather inadequate, which detracts from the majesty of the opera.

The production is traditional (which is good) but badly directed. The singers are either left with no direction to hang onto, or they are merely able to fill the acting requirements with half-hearted stock gestures. Their singing is unremarkable, in particular Hildegard Behrens's strained Brunnhilde.

Levine and his orchestra are quite admirable, although I've heard them on better forms. All in all, it's quite a lame effort.

The biggest, darkest, most savage bass in the biggest, darkest, most savage role. Matti Salminen in his prime sings like an erupting volcano. Wagner-conductors all over the world adjusted their schedules to fit his availability and you will see and hear why. As for acting, I would call this the most powerful portrayal of ruthless murderous villiany I've ever seen on a screen. (My choice for second place is Boris Karloff casting the long-distance-heart-attack spell in The Mummy. Third I think Orson Wells' conversation with, and strangling of, Akim Tamiroff in Touch of Evil.) Special kudos to cameraman Brian Large for giving him a quick close-up while he holds the cup for the Blut-Bruderschaft oath and for slowly zooming in during the Watch Monologue until his face fills the screen, and for generally making the whole thing as naturally watchable as, well, a movie. Any time Matti Salminen is onstage if you take your eyes off him for half a second, you are likely to miss something remarkable. Even when he's not the one singing. The way he watches others is enough.

Most of the other singers are outstanding too. Siegfried Jerusalem has some pretty severe vocal problems and Hildegard Behrens narrowly avoids the same but who really cares? This is about Hagen. (If you want to hear and see Hildegard Behrens do something impressive and beautiful, watch her as Marie in WOZZECK. She's better when she flirts.) Ekkehard Wlaschiha and Anthony Raffell do excellent jobs of portraying one-dimensional secondary characters--just interesting enough to be real characters without stealing the viewer's attention. Raffell in particular gets his character's rock-headed dislikability right--I hate it when the people playing the purebred Gibichung siblings try to make you sympathize with them. On other recordings Fischer-Dieskau and Franz Mazura suffer badly from this. Christa Ludwig is very beautiful but not big enough for her role. She should sing Flosshilde.

Don't miss: Jerusalem loses the ring in Behrens' costume and barely recovers it in time--less than two seconds to spare--for Brunhilde to see it on his hand and scream "Ahhhhhhh! Der Ring!"

The Met Opera orchestra is phenomenal as always.Gotterdammerung calls for a vocal powerhouse in its Brunnhilde. It is the pivotal role for the success of this opera. Ms. Behrens was not that Brunnhilde.You've read the other reviewers assessments of her deficiencies. Was there something political involved in her getting the role? Waltraud Meier would have been a better choice.I was particularly impressed with the vocal dynamics of 1St Norn Gweneth Bean. I also enjoyed her as Dryade in the Met production of Strauss' Ariadne Auf Naxos.I'd like to see what she could do with bigger roles.Behrens truly was the weakest link.Bye-Bye.