The new "Rheingold" at the Bayreuth Festival: Our night review

Created: 07/31/2022, 21:50

By: Markus Thiel

Worn-out western desperado: Olafur Sigurdarson (left) makes Alberich the centerpiece with light baritone granite.

© Enrico Nawrath

Director Valentin Schwarz has brought the "Rheingold" to the stage in Bayreuth.

Now his production has premiered at the Bayreuth Festival.

Our night review.

After 25 minutes there is an oath in every "Rheingold".

Alberich's curse on love in return for the precious metal - only it doesn't appear that evening.

Because what is really the most precious thing?

That's where director Valentin Schwarz gets moral: It's the children, the hope of all of us.

They are kidnapped by this jaded western desperado so he can corral and re-educate them.

An army of darkness shall grow up for him.

And a Dreikäsehoch makes his thing particularly splendid.

He brandishes his stepdad's pistol and likes to beat up those who stand in his way.

That is, not only Wagner nerds suspect this quickly, Hagen, the later Siegfried murderer of the "Götterdämmerung".

Valentin Schwarz knows Wagner's "Ring" very well

Rarely have there been so many cross-references and forebodings at the start of the "Ring des Nibelungen" as on Sunday evening at this premiere of the Bayreuth Festival.

Schwarz, the 33-year-old opera stirrer, knows the 15 hours exactly, you take that with you from the first two and a half.

He is interested in the family network of these strange tribes of Nibelungs and gods (and later also humans);

Schwarz wants to unravel, enlighten, also surprise and provide plausible things where even some nerds can't get through.

And sometimes there are also new ideas.

Because why should the wise Erda at the end of "Rheingold" call Wotan to reason and prophesy the "bad day" of the gods?

Black's answer: because she's there almost from the start and sees through everything.

much clever,

So you get to feel the questioned in this premiere - but you don't always see it.

Black knows a lot and also wants to shine with little gags.

In the weakest moments, black comes across as defused Castorf

But often the balance between content and direction is not right.

One may pass this off as dull brooding, but at times the figures appear to have been turned off.

Involuntarily one thinks of the Bayreuth predecessor "Ring": In the weakest moments, black acts like defused Castorf.

A character sharpening, a complete character relief is actually only successful with Alberich, whom Olafur Sigurdarson makes the central figure with light baritone granite.

Daniel Kirch is an exuberant, obtrusively tacky lodge, he could have stopped by from other "Rheingolds".

And when Okka von der Damerau exudes as Erda, it doesn't actually need any gestures at all.

Egil Silins as Wotan manages without the attitude of the father of the gods, even vocally.

And, a little punch line: with him you can feel that a completely different soloist was originally intended.

The athletic sportswear, the chic summer suit, these were probably once made to measure for Günther Groissböck.

A general apology hovers over this “ring”.

Underdog versus chic, this conflict also determines the current "Rheingold".

The Rhine daughters play with children in the pool in front of a US desert egg.

Alberich's reformatory is a glass room in which his evil bundle of joy thunders the colors against the walls.

And the Wotans live in nouveau riche maisonette luxury including a garage, where the two giants drive up in their SUV.

The mobile elements allow for transformations on the open scene.

As detailed as all this is puzzled out by Andrea Cozzi (stage) and Andy Visit (costume): Some things are limited to modernism, you have already seen it on the hill or elsewhere.

A general apology hovers over everything: This “ring” is an extrapolation.

Too many singer failures during rehearsals, the years of Corona postponement, and then there was a new conductor.

Cornelius Meister is new to the hill at all, which you can hear and given the tricky acoustics, it's not a bad thing.

The murmuring in E flat major at the beginning is much too quiet, some sounds as if held in hand and disembodied, until Donner's appearance in the second scene suddenly awakens the festival orchestra.

Much is not linked to the stage, the contact between singers and conductor is also a case for the Bayreuth workshop.

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The Alberich scenes are of particular interest to masters, here the music is unraveled with finesse.

But all in all there is (still) a lack of feeling for the tempo architecture under these special Bayreuth circumstances, for the compelling, the inherently logical.

Some things happily rush along, towards the end Meister suddenly unpacks the great pathos.

Erda has long since left here, a little girl from Alberich's home on her protective hand.

From now on you can ponder on the hill up to the "Valkyrie": Is that Brünnhilde?

Next performances on August 10 and 25, 2022;

Tickets: 0921 / 78 78 78 0.