Customer Reviews

Wagner - Lohengrin / James Levine, The Metropolitan Opera

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This 1986 Met 'Lohengrin' proves why a beautiful sound is not everything.

I purchased the earlier 1982 Bayreauth production (which also features Hofmann and Leir Roar) and after watching both DVD's - the difference was an eye opener. In the earlier Bayreauth production, Peter Hofmann's voice is far more beautiful, his upper notes not as strained as they are 4 years later at the Met. Also, his Bayreauth costumes are far more beautiful and more fitting than the Met ones with their 'Grand ole Opry' rhinesteone gloves and silver boots (ugh!). In addition, the voices of the women (Karan Armstrong and Elizabeth Connell) in the earlier Bayreauth production are less forced, more smooth, more note perfect than the voices of the women (Eva Marton and Leonie Rysanek) in the Met performance which sound strained, almost screeching and even at times off-key.

Yet the Met production is awesome, stupendous! -- while the Bayreauth production almost makes you yawn. The Met production has power, feeling, it has grandeur - from the first moment you are swept up in it, you believe in the characters, you feel their rage, greed, weakness and grandeur. No matter how many times you watch the Met DVD, you still get the goose bumps, the tingle, the joy of experiencing 'Lohengrin' as it was meant to be felt. Hofmann's 'Lohengrin' in the Met is more regal, more pained, more magnificent in his desolation at the end by Elsa's betrayal. And in the Met production Hofmann's piety burns through more powerfully than in the Bayreauth. Marton's 'Elsa' is stunning - she hits her notes with power but it is her acting that blew me away. Indeed, her most powerful performance comes when she doesn't even sing a note but instead stands motionless on stage sobbing in grief and shame from the consequences of her betrayal of Lohengrin. It breaks your heart. In contrast, Karan Armstrong's 'Elsa' was irritating because I never connected enough to care what happened to her - as a result, frankly, my dear, I didn't give a damn when she died at the end. It was just a soprano hitting the floor. Leif Roar's 'Telramund' was the only person who wasn't different in either production - in both, he gave equal passion and fury - he was magnificent. But finally, it is Leonie Rysanek who proves the vital necessity of emotional power. Rysanek's 'Ortrud' reveals why Leonie was a legend - not just because she hit the notes but because she infused them with such power of emotion that it knocked you off your seat. You felt her rage, her arrogance, her power, her ruthlessness, etc. In comparison, Elizabeth Connell's 'Ortrud' is merely beautiful music. She sings the notes perfectly - but nothing else. You can see Connell make the face of an angry woman but if you close your eyes, you do not hear that anger - and you should because that is what operatic singing is all about.

The filming of both productions is also vastly different. The Met production is wonderful - it films precisely those parts of the stage which you need to see, which explain, which reveal the more powerful and necessary movement on stage at that moment. You are never lost, you know exactly what is going on, etc. In contrast, the film director of the Bayreauth production irritated the hell out of me by constantly doing closeups instead of showing the entire scene. Since I couldn't see what happening on stage, how on earth could I understand what the characters were reacting to? As a result, I was totally confused as to what was going on - it was maddening and robbed me of enjoyment. Finally, the design of the Bayreauth set was offsetting in many ways - for instance, when Hofmann stood at the back of the stage in front of a giant revolving disc, you almost had to hold on to your chair because the revolving disc made you dizzy to look at it. Yuck.

Still, in the end, it was the emotion of the voices that revealed to me how incredibly important emotion is. Yes, beautiful voices are pleasant - but in the end, if they are only beautiful and nothing more, they leave you empty. The Met was not empty in any sense of the word. The Met production was glorious, emotional, thrilling, etc. It proved that sound NEEDS fury in order to signify something.

Amazing that no one has ever written a commentary on this performance, even in its VHS format. Superb performance all around. It is difficult to single out anyone person because they are all good to outstanding. In my bias, I do single out Rysanek, whose "Orturd" is overwhelmingly sung and conceived. Her radiant voice fills out a great acting performance. The Met orchetra is equally outstanding. I am grateful that we have Rysanek in a live from the Met performance. She recorded little. They claim her voice was difficult to record (LP or Cd). Here she is the legend she already had become. She stated in her own words that she was not always satisfied with her recordings, although the RCA album of Italian arias did get her ok. Rysanek caught live surpasses Rysanek recorded in the studio. Live she was exciting and riviting. Her Chrysothemis is also available on a live from the Met with Nilsson as Elektra and Mignon Dunne as Clytemestra. That performance had the Met audience on its feet for nearly a hour hour at the curtains' fall. That, like this Lohengrin, is absolutely a "must have". Marton is caught in beautiful voice before its lamentable decline. Roar is an effective Telramund, never coarse of voice and Hofmann is the least stunning of the cast and he sings well and makes a very believable presence. So this gives you some idea of what you are in for. I'm been trying for many months (close to a year) to find this dvd format as I had it on VHS. It deserves to be a best seller along with the Elektra. Opera on dvd doesn't come along that often with this calabre of prodction, - No Euro-trash here - singing and overall excellence. Grab them while you can. Superb theater, great singing, outstanding orchestra playing. Wagner, Srauss and Rysanek must be very happy with this unequaled success.

To start with, James Levine conducts masterfully, with spaciousness where needed and exciting drama in other places. He is certainly one of the best operatic conductors working today. The staging, lighting, costumes, the whole production is fully captivating. The DVD quality is very fine, good picture and sound.

Other reviewers have mentioned that the vocalists are not always at the top of their game, I concur. However having this opera on DVD with their masterful characterizations is much more persuasive than it would be to just hear this on a sound recording. Peter Hofman plays Lohengrin really well although Domingo in a competing DVD is his superior in voice. The other singers do their parts proud, Eva Marton makes a very good, not always great Elsa. The other two main characters played by Leonie Rysanek as Ortrud and Leif Roar as Telramund are both phenomenal actors and singers.

The production is large and spares no expense in it's tradional staging, all the big set pieces come off wonderfully, the direction is top-notch. If you're a Wagner newcomer, this DVD of Lohengrin or the Placido Domingo version are both wonderful choices to view this most accessible of Richard Wagner's grandiose works for the stage.

I'm just coming to Wagner...just saw the Ring Cycle where I fell in love with Peter Hoffman's all-to-brief appearance as Sigmund....and was happy to find this production. As a long time theater and film goer I approach opera differently than musicians do so bear that in mind as you read this. I do love, love, love the music but the over all emotional impact is more important to me than just the vocal quality of the singers.

This performance was wonderfully satisfying in every regard. At first I found Eva Marton quite a bit beyond the age of the virginal heroine (spoiled by all the movies I've seen) but her presence quickly grabbed me. She seemed to inhabit the character at a profound level, never even breaking at the confounded curtain calls. She also has glorious dimples on the few occasions where she was permitted to smile and I could see how she would win the heart of the Prince.

As I said, I fell in love with Peter Hoffman as Sigmund, where he appeared magnificently bare-chested, so I carried over my affection to his Lohengrin, even though his voice was perhaps a bit weak compared to the others. Some have commented on the corny costume but I thought he wore it well, including the Rod Stewart hairdo. He doesn't do a lot of "acting" but, like Marton, he thorougly inhabited the character. He is every bit the magical Prince Charming that all young girls dream of, silver boots and all. He doesn't have a lot of facial expression but his grief at Elsa's mistake comes across loud and clear, just through his being. The "number" where he exposed his other-wordly origins was very moving. I think that would be difficult to pull off in this day and age but his gravity and bearing really came across. I wish I could have seen him arrive on the swan...that would have been truly magical.

The staging was wonderful. The bridal chamber was charming and I could almost smell the flowers wound around the bedposts. Likewise, the alley where the Telramund and Ortrud conspired their evil deeds was appropriately bleak, dark and sinister. The famous wedding march, which we've all heard too many times, was so sweetly played that it seemed as fresh and innocent as it was meant to be.

The supporting cast was fine. Leonie Rysenek got huge ovations and was bombarded by flowers from her adoring Met followers, but I thought her performance was perhaps a little too over-the-top, screechy and even off-key at times. However she was playing a pushy, evil, power grabbing witch so perhaps her performance was appropriate for the role. Leif Roar (great name for a Nordic opera singer) was good as her conspiring husband. They certainly both looked appropriately haggard.

I enjoyed seeing James Levine conduct, and really liked seeing the wonderful horn section play. I think that one of the reasons I love Wagner is the use of the brass and percussion instruments. However I really do find their tradition of bringing the singers out after each act for a curtain call to be annoying. The drama is so deep and the singers are often so engaged in the emotions that it seems a shame to break the mood by this. Most of these singers stayed in character except for Ms. Rysanek who clearly enjoyed the loud ovations she got from her fan cluband and smiled broadly at the mid-performance curtain call. The Beyreuth Ring production didn't have this distraction and I found it much more fitting for the gravity of Wagner's operas to leave the curtain calls to the end. Again, comparing this to theater, I was wondering how it would play if actors came out and took a bow after each act.. Marlon Brando, smiling and bowing during Streetcar? Really distracting!

However it is definitely a good show and I recommend it to others who are just getting acquainted with Wagner.

For the traditionally minded-this is preferable to the Abbado\Domingo Lohengrin, but maybe not to Peter Hofmann's earlier Bayreuth Lohengrin, despite the unbelievable staging-which is one of the finest I and most satisfactory I have seen in a Wagner opera. Hofmann does a fine job-both gentle and demanding when need be. Telramund and Ortrud are also fine, though Ortruds facial expressions are ridiculous despite the critical applause she received-her singing is fine-though neither is close to Ludwig and Dieskau on EMI.
For DVD versions this about as good as it gets, but compared to CD versions it is merely good. I would recommend either this or the earlier Bayreuth\Hofmann set.

I am admittedly not familiar enough with Wagner or German opera to say that the cast in this production was great or not, but I'm familiar enough with James Levine's heavy treatment of his Italian productions, whether they be by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti, you name it, to call them "Wagnerian".

Unlike those where he seems to try to make the orchestra overshadow the singers with deep rumbling passages whether it be L'elisir D'amore or Don Giovanni, Levine is 100% with the music here.

The audience is as well. There is absolutely NO doubt in my mind that the same audience who favors these Wagner/Met/Levine productions here on Amazon and the audience in the house that night come from the same school of listening. They go INSANE for Rysanek as Ortud, who was great, yes, but this listener does not jump out of his seat for one well sung phrase, let alone......well you'll just have to watch the curtain calls.

Seriously though, this is an epic for anyone trying to break into Wagner without going through the Ring. I, for one want to get used to Wagner's music first before laying down the big money on that. BE WARNED Wagner is a slowly acquired taste! I'm still just getting used to it after growing up among people who think Wagner is as good, if not better than Mozart. This production of Lohengrin is a step in the right direction.

I was very excited to come across this Met performance by one of my favorite dramatic sopranos, Eva Marton. Wonderful dramatic gifts aside, I was quite disappointed and saddened by the amount of wear and tear the voice exhibited at this point by such a gifted actress and musician. She put tears in my eyes and touched my life when I saw her in a concert video singing "Sola, perduta, abbandonata" from Manon Lescaut. It is a rarity to have as much emotional depth as she had in that recital. I also hold the opinion that she attacks the role of Elsa with so much vocal force that it sounds as though it would be more fitting for Isolde. I believe that Cheryl Studer hit the nail more squarely on the head with a more lyrical approach to the vocalism in the Abbado-Vienna production, although Studer did not have Marton's depth of character. I am completely amazed at the choice of Telramund, Leif Roar, who made up for his apparent inability to sing the exposed high notes of the role by snarling and literally screaming them out in a melodramatic manner here, as well as in the Vienna State Opera venture also out on video. Levine and the Met Orchestra exhibit exceptional, intense playing here. In my humble opinion, the orchestra's comtribution was on of this production's saving graces. Peter Hofmann's voice as Lohengrin is crystal clear, youthful and as powerful as necessary here, but I prefer Placido Domingo's (in the Vienna production) warmth and color, although his German is un-idiomatic. Also what was up with Levine's shameful casting of the Herald, whose wobble was so great that it was impossible to discern his pitch?? One should be focusing on the drama at hand and not worrying about someone's attention-grabbing lack of technique. Shouldn't we expect more from the Met, with such a supposed standard of excellence? I am glad I bought this on Ebay and didn't pay full price.

Vocally this is a most satisfying performance. All the voices are clear and the acting is good. I do miss the swan however.

With the only previous Wagner I had seen being Hollander {which, I still liked better} I decided to give "Mature" Wagner a shot with Lohengrin. I enjoyed this opera a great deal, though I could not watch it all in a single sitting. I watched the first two acts one day and the third the next. Some may scoff, but I think this is the way to go. I am not even sure that Wagner himself would think it was such a terrible idea...after all, be broke up the Ring, no?
I found the characters believable, and for once, the fact that a singer looked too "old" for the part (exactly how much older is Elsa than Gottfried?!) didn't bother me. Actually, I sort of liked her as a little past peak, made her virginal-fantasy desperation more sincere, as far as I was concerned.
I think I understand the complexity of Wagner now too...his music really does not lend itself to "highlight" albums of solo arias. As opposed to Verdi or Puccini though, I am not sure that I would enjoy listening to Wagner on CD without first having seen the opera to have associational memories with. Because it really is more continuous melody, I think it would lose a lot when not accompanied by staging and acting. From what I have read, that is probably what Wagner too would think. For him it certainly was not "all about the music".
Like other reviewers I was put off by Lohengin's cheesy costume (especially the silver platform boots and the big 70's hair), with that though, I found this to be an enjoyable version to watch. Next up, Tritsan.

"Lohengrin" is indeed a great, beautiful work. I believe it was the great Wagnerian Ernest Newman who wrote that it is such a finely crafted web of beautiful music that one could regret Wagner's developing in a different direction and never recapturing this style. But, regardless of its long and continuing popularity, it is a very difficult opera to perform. Wagner provides cruel and unusual challenges for both singers and conductor. The conductor's problem is that virtually the entire opera is written in 4/4 meter; if he doesn't find the singing line of the music and carry it through, it can sound stolid and monotonous. All the leading roles have their particular challenges, as well. Elsa is often sung by a dramatic soprano because she must carry over the big ensembles. But the part is written for a full-bodied lyric soprano, who will be more comfortable with the long legato lines and some very delicate passages. Ortrud is a dramatic soprano role. Because of its demands on the lower register it is often sung by mezzo-sopranos, but it needs powerful, ringing high notes as well. Lohengrin is a cruelly difficult role in vocal terms. The music sits right around the passaggio for pages at a time, rising to an occasional high A, but no higher. This is very fatiguing for a singer, especially one with the heavy instrument we usually hear in Wagner. As with Elsa, the role responds better to a large lyric voice, but few tenors of that breed attempt it. Telramund is the highest of Wagner's baritone roles, climbing into Verdi baritone territory, and is very difficult for the usually Wagnerian singer. Even the "normal" bass role of King Heinrich has an unusually high tessitura.
I watched this production when it was televised back in the eighties and though little of it. Watching it now, I like it much better. To start with, I like the production very much. It is traditional without fussing over detail. The medieval setting is suggested by the beautiful costumes. There are enough scenic elements to give the proper idea, and the audience is given credit for enough imagination to fill in the blanks. Best of all, the staging never distracts from the music. I only wish the designer had thought of a credible way to represent the Swan; it's disconcerting when people discuss and react to something that isn't there.
James Levine conducts extremely well. His "Lohengrin" has a more consistent and well thought out concept than his rather up-and-down "Ring". He finds the elusive singing line and has enough flexibility to avoid Wagner's 4/4 trap. The orchestra plays splendidly.
The singing must be described as good-not-great.
The pleasant surprise in the cast is the Elsa of Eva Marton. I'm familiar with her filmed performances in "Elektra" and "Die Frau ohne Schatten". Though recorded only a few years later, they show much evidence of vocal decline. But here she is in excellent shape. She is, of course, a dramatic soprano, but she handles the quieter passages convincingly. The Act II scene with Ortrud is very beautiful. She uses her acting skills to enliven an often pallid character.
Leonie Rysanek was 60 at the time and in amazingly good voice. Her age shows mainly in some imprecise intonation. But mostly she sings well and creates a memorable character. Some reviewers have complained about her overacting; but when one acts in a house as large as the Met, the gestures must be big - they are not geared for close-ups. I wish she had recorded the role earlier in her career, when she could have given Varnay and Ludwig a run for their money.
Peter Hofmann was not really a heldentenor, though he sang Siegmund and even Tristan. His more lyrical voice is well suited to this role. He sounds decidedly weary at the end of Act II, after that long stretch of sustained ensemble singing; happily, he recovers for Act III, which is quite stunning throughout.
Leif Roar is a fine actor and really conveys Telramund's inner conflicts - an honorable man led terribly astray. But the role is too high for him; he manages his Act II aria only by a lot of shouting. A far cry from Fischer-Dieskau and Uhde, who really sing the music.
John Macurdy was a longtime Met stalwart who still sounds terrific here. Anthony Raffell is a disappointment as the Herald; this part requires a stentorian voice, not a wobbly one, especially since the four trumpets that accompany his pronouncements are truly stentorian.
This is the only "Lohengrin" video I've seen. The well-regarded Vienna production under Abbado, with Domingo and Studer, is out of print, and the others available look like standard "eurotrash" stagings. The long-time champion among audio recordings is the 1963 EMI set, wonderfully conducted by Rudolf Kempe, and with a fabulous cast - Elisabeth Grümmer, Christa Ludwig, Jess Thomas, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and Gottlob Frick. Not far behind is the 1953 Bayreuth recording, with Eleanor Steber, Astrid Varnay, Wolfgang Windgassen, Hermann Uhde, and Josef Greindl. Too bad it's conducted by the unexciting Josef Keilberth.
I would certainly recommend this "Lohengrin" for the many good things in it.