Enlivening Wagner’s third installment
One by one, we are seeing the operas of Wagner’s Ring at the Metropolitan Opera, in a new production by Robert Lepage. We have now seen the third opera, Siegfried, the one that follows Die Walküre and precedes the finale, Götterdämmerung. Lepage has not made a Siegfried that will dance through your head forever. But it is a sensible and credible Siegfried.
Jay Hunter Morris as the title character in the Met’s new production of Wagner’s Siegfried. Photo by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera.
Some aspects of it are a little puzzling or silly. Early in the opera, I wondered, “Who’s that bulky blonde woman?” It turned out to be Bryn Terfel, portraying the Wanderer in a long wig. At the end of the show, when Terfel was taking his bows, I realized that the wig was white or gray. In Act II, the dragon is more comical than fearsome. But complaints and quibbles aside, this is indeed a worthy Siegfried, and we will see how Lepage ends the cycle when Götterdämmerung premieres in January.
The most important participant in a Siegfried, or any other Ring opera, is the conductor. The Met’s music director, James Levine, was supposed to conduct, but he has been sidelined with injuries and ailments. Subbing for him on the night I attended was Derrick Inouye. From what I can gather, he has had a journeyman’s career. And my hope for him was that he would merely manage the opera competently. He did much more than that. He conducted the opera with real understanding and command. A couple of times, he let his guard down, and this was particularly true at the end: The music should peal like wedding bells, and on this occasion it was rather limp. All in all, though, Inouye had performed laudably.
As for the Met orchestra, these guys played so well, I felt they were casting a vote of confidence in the conductor. I should single out the low brass: Wagner gives them a field day in Siegfried, and they took full advantage. The ground under Lincoln Center slightly shook.
In the title role was Jay Hunter Morris, not to be confused with James Morris, the veteran bass. Siegfried is a famously punishing part, and you root for the tenor to get through it. Anything else is gravy. Morris got through it, and gave us a little gravy. Most of the time, his singing was rough and ready, but he gleamed when Wagner allowed him to sing high. What’s more, Morris looks somewhat like a Siegfried should. Ideally, this character is a splendid physical specimen, a Norse Tarzan—never mind that he is the son of twins.
Gerhard Siegel was Mime, and among his contributions was authentic German: The text sounded just right from his mouth. Mime is both crafty and pathetic, and Siegel made sure he was that. Also, his Mime was oddly swishy. Eric Owens, who sang Alberich, sounds like a Wotan in the making, as many have remarked. Unfortunately, he doesn’t sound much like an Alberich. He pours forth lushness, which is nice. But Alberich requires bite, articulation and menace.
Terfel sounded magnificently like a Wotan, or the Wanderer, as he is known in Siegfried. In the past, Terfel has been a beautiful voice crooning in the part of Wotan. He has been short on majesty, solidity and godlikeness. On this occasion, he was not short at all. His exchange with Erda was downright memorable.
Erda was sung by Patricia Bardon, who was both correct and moving. She had some of the molten earth in her voice (just as Wagner puts it in the music). Hans-Peter König boomed adequately as Fafner, disguised as a dragon, and Mojca Erdmann chirped adequately as the Forest Bird. Incidentally, Lepage provides us with an enchanting (electronic) bird, even if his dragon leaves something to be desired.
Assigned the chores of Brünnhilde, Deborah Voigt acquitted herself with honor. But if you want to hear a really resplendent Brünnhilde, try Voigt’s recording with Plácido Domingo, made in 1999.
Some people think of The Ring as a four-movement symphony, and if that is so, Siegfried is the scherzo: fast, fizzy, quirky, full of life. Of course, it has other types of music too, such as the Wanderer’s hymn-like lines. You would hesitate to say you had a favorite Ring opera, but I must say I look especially forward to Siegfried.
