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Lohengrin
By Michael Van Duzer
LOHENGRIN found Richard Wagner transitioning from German Romanticism to the new music drama that would consume the rest of his creative life. It also signaled his move from enfant terrible to Artist. Today's audiences prefer the mature Wagner. And LOHENGRIN might seem naïve next to the awesome scope of the Ring Cycle or the murky ambiguities of PARSIFAL, but there's something undeniably exciting about watching the young genius flex his musical muscles and toss down his gauntlet to the world. There's excitement, too, in watching a maturing company like Los Angeles Opera tackle LOHENGRIN and get it so right.
From the first, unearthly stirrings of the strings to the sonorous hurricane of the full orchestra Kent Nagano trumpeted his right to the title of principal conductor for Los Angeles Opera. Giving a master class in Wagnerian conducting, he vividly shaped the complexities of the score. This uncut production allowed Nagano leisure to explore the myriad musical shifts from martial majesty, to earthy sensuality, to ethereal transcendence without losing focus or resorting to hollow bombast.
Maximillian Schell's direction was, likewise, subtle and entirely appropriate. Eschewing the temptation to fill the stage with distracting business, Schell placed his trust in the music and kept the performer's movements sparse and economical. This lent the stage pictures a particular grandeur and gravitas without ever seeming static. His vision was greatly enhanced by Alan Burrett's breathtakingly beautiful lighting, which bathed the stage in an otherworldly glow. Schell collaborated with Designer Dirk Hofacker to create the post-modern inclines and crags that formed the playing area. A giant Celtic cross towered above the terrain metamorphosing, in a graceful coup de theatre, into Lohengrin's swan.
Swedish tenor Gosta Winbergh sang the title role with the requisite power and command necessary for a knight in shining armor while revealing a sympathetic tenderness in the final act. Adrianne Pieczonka's Elsa was luminous, pouring out a glittering cascade of song that cut through the orchestra effortlessly without ever losing its essential sweetness. Tom Fox's not-so-bad-guy Telramund was forceful, passionate, and surprisingly sexy. Veteran Eva Marton was a solid, if not particularly dangerous, Ortrud while Kurt Rydl sang King Henry's music with great warmth and compassion. The choral singing, like every aspect of this splendid production, was sharp, detailed and thrilling. The standards set by LOHENGRIN only make one even more anxious to see Los Angeles Opera's recently announced production of the Ring Cycle.
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