Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Revelatory, 21 Sep 2007
Even if you are not enamoured of this sort of modernist production of the Ring, you have to see this Siegfried for the Mime of Graham Clark. Gone is the whining, slimy creep of most productions, to be replaced by a hyperactive, demented insect, continually chattering and rushing about, his every thought and plot vividly brought to life in voice and facial expression - a gift to the roaming camera. Sensational!
Unfortunately, he is pitted against a Siegfried who hardly acts at all - probably he would look OK in an old-fashioned `stand-up-and-sing' production from a distance, as the character is really little but a stupid dolt, but the close camera reveals all too clearly that the singer is rarely dramatically engaged in the action. However, he really can sing - he has the right kind of heldentenor voice and is unflagging to the end, when usually the freshly woken Brünnhilde easily overwhelms the exhausted, gasping `hero'. Jeannine Altmeyer is again excellent in voice and physical expression, so that the final duet is as well-balanced and moving as it should be, but rarely is.
The detailed playing of the Rotterdam Philharmonic under Hartmut Haenchen is powerful and clear - perhaps not as `beautiful' as some performances by greater orchestras, but not as sentimental either.
Anne Gjevang is strong of voice and expresses more personal anguish at the disastrous prospects than some Erdas. The Woodbird is charming if you can tolerate a boy's voice instead of a well-developed coloratura soprano and he clearly delights the audience. So does their local singer, John Bröcheler, as Wotan. His confrontation with Alberich works vocally and dramatically very well - each the shadow of the other.
The themes of darkness and light are well played out in George Tsypin's bold, semi-abstract set, which consists mainly of a series of ramps and platforms surrounding the orchestra, with much use of coloured, sometimes dazzling lighting, smoke and flame. The positioning of the orchestra doesn't distract from the action as much as you might suppose, because of the concentrated detail of the action supervised by Pierre Audi, which is ideal for DVD. Screen projections lend an air of menace and psychological tension. Fafner is well sung, and the dragon is an interesting piece of construction - not really scary, but not quite silly either, though Siegfried doesn't seem sure how to tackle it. The forging scene also has some interesting props, appropriate for the finicky Mime, though perhaps too fussy to mirror the accumulating power in the orchestra accompanying Siegfried's hammering.
Again vocally strong and well played, this production fits in well with Audi's overall concept of the Ring, and is compulsory viewing on its own account for the revelatory Mime.
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