The house was closed for half a year.
The Bavarian State Opera is back with a highly emotional performance of the first "Walküre" act.
Ultimate triumph sounds exactly like this. When Lise Davidsen takes a short breath as Sieglinde to sing "Siegmund!" - less so than to flood the National Theater with that high A. Not only does knowledge about the beloved twin brother flash, all of a sudden it seems as if a victory is being celebrated here over the past 14 months. About the privations, the frustration, the anger, the suffering, about the damned C-word, which also provoked the absurd cultural ban.
Seldom has a first “Walküre” act been so emotionally charged as it was on this Thursday evening in the Bavarian State Opera.
There, where that Wagner opus, another reference, was premiered on June 26, 1870.
70 concert minutes with which the house woke up from its forced sleep in front of 700 listeners who had tested negative or had been double-vaccinated.
One dreamed of it for over a year, says artistic director Nikolaus Bachler at the beginning with a slightly husky voice.
A “particularly emotional”, yes “a historical moment”.
Standing ovations before the first tone
Even before the first note, when the musicians enter the stage, the cheering audience is torn from their seats. Forget teething troubles: in front of the back entrance on Marstallplatz everything had previously jammed into a long line. Just a controller at the door, to whom the smartphone with the test result or the drawn yellow passport plus a printed ticket is presented - that could be improved. Those who came from Max-Joseph-Platz were obviously better off.
Hundreds of guests in the foyers, the buzz of voices, the expectant greetings, a vibrant national theater: after pandemic isolation, this is the (brave) new world.
But whether in the cloakrooms or in corridors and halls - it stays at a distance of 1.5 to two meters.
Mostly.
Inside there is an empty seat between individual cardholders or couples, in front of and behind a free row, and yet, according to absurd 50 or 200 limits, the amazing impression: the house is full.
+
A Mir-san-mir cast with (from left) Jonas Kaufmann, Lise Davidsen, Georg Zeppenfeld and Asher Fisch.
© Wilfried Hösl
The re-start cast that was donated is a State Opera-style Mirsan-mir.
Jonas Kaufmann audibly did the compulsory break good.
The relatively low-lying Siegmund always suited his tenor perfectly.
But now: a lot of withdrawn, lyrical, many nuances in tender mode, hardly any phrases from the weight bench.
The closer the finale gets, the more muscle games.
But anyone who has to sing about this Sieglinde has a difficult time.
When was the last time such a highly dramatic event was experienced in Bavaria's opera treasure chest?
The Norwegian woman's voice, the rich, effortlessly generated sound in all registers, the long arcs with perfect breath control, the victorious top notes, all of this is addictive and provokes comparisons with legendary predecessors: is a soprano growing up there?
Three song encores as a quiet end
Conductor Asher Fisch cannot be blamed for giving in to these soloists.
It is one of the slowest first “Valkyrie” elevators.
A constant lingering, more arias evening instead of a dramatic culminating development.
It doesn't matter: The Bavarian State Orchestra, motivated to the tips of its fingers and hair, is enjoying the rebirth, especially with brass solos.
An ensemble that shows off its Wagner competence with power and relish - and that at the end, after cheering, trampling and renewed standing ovations, has to get off the stage.
The curtain opens again and Asher Fisch is now sitting at the piano.
Kaufmann designed Wagner's “dreams” very cautiously.
Davidsen celebrates spring with Edvard Grieg's “Våren”.
And Georg Zeppenfeld, who previously sprayed an extra portion of blackness as Hunding, ends the evening with the monologue of Morosus from Strauss's “Schweigsame Frau”: “How beautiful is the music.” But instead of continuing with “but how beautiful first when it is over ”, Zeppenfeld varies“ especially in these times ”.
A quiet, elegantly set final point.
If your eyes don't get wet now at the latest, a block of ice is there.
Further performance
on May 16 (sold out, remaining tickets may be available from staatsoper.de);
Video recording from May 15, 7 p.m., for 9.90 euros on staatsoper.tv.