Gandolf Pa
Sun, Nov-28-04, 19:15
Review: Voight Stars As 'Tannhaeuser'
Fri Nov 19, 5:15 PM ET By RONALD BLUM, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - Deborah Voigt lost the weight and kept the voice
Since the controversy over London's Royal Opera cutting her
from a Strauss production last spring because she wouldn't fit
into a little black dress, the American soprano has dropped
about 80 pounds. Her slimmer physique did not alter the voice
that made her famous, and she gave a riveting performance in
the Metropolitan Opera (news - web sites)'s revival of
Wagner's "Tannhaeuser" that opened Thursday night.
Singing Elisabeth, a role she has performed rarely, Voigt
brought forth excitement, tenderness and steel. When the
assembled mob gathered around Tannhaeuser and condemned him to
damnation for enjoying the pleasures of Venus, her shimmering
B natural cry of "Haltet ein! (Stop!)" was spine-tingling.
There was much to enjoy at this strongly cast revival, the
first "Tannhaeuser" at the Met in seven seasons.
Tenor Peter Seiffert, making his Met debut, sang sweetly and
strongly in the title role. Baritone Thomas Hampson, in his
first Wagner part at the Met, was in outstanding voice as
Wolfram von Eschenbach and conveyed his conflict between
condemnation and camaraderie with unusual pathos, especially
in his third-act "Abendstern (Evening Star)" aria.
Michelle DeYoung looked sexy as Venus and sang with allure,
but there was room to amp up the vamp on the acting side.
Kwangshul Youn's dark bass as Hermann, the Landgrave of
Thuringia, conveyed authority and passion.
But the star of the show was Voigt.
Her only previous experience as Elisabeth was seven
performances at the San Francisco Opera in 1994 and a pair of
concerts in Cologne, Germany, two years later. At first she
was to have sung both Elisabeth and Venus in these
performances but the originally scheduled conductor, Christian
Thielemann, decided he wanted difference voices in the two
roles. The Met then signed DeYoung, but Thielemann withdrew
more than a year ago and was replaced by Mark Elder.
The minstrel Tannhaeuser, in Venus' mountain land of
Venusberg, wants to go back to earth and break from the
goddess, calling on the Virgin Mary to return him to home.
Venusberg disappears, he returns to a valley near the
Wartburg, Hermann and Wolfram recognize him and Wolfram
reminds his of Elisabeth, Hermann's niece.
In the hall of the minstrels in the Wartburg, Hermann holds a
song contest, with the winner to be married to Elisabeth. When
Tannhaeuser sings of passionate love and admits he was with
Venus, the locals are shocked, with women fleeing and knights
drawing their swords. Elisabeth stops them for attacking
Tannhaeuser and Hermann tells him to join a pilgrimage to Rome
to beg for forgiveness from the pope. Elisabeth, waiting his
return, dies of grief before the pope's staff sprouts green
leaves, signaling Tannhaeuser's redemption.
Voigt entered at the start of the second act, to un-Wagnerian
applause, for the great aria "Dich teure Halle (You dear
hall)," her voice firm and warm. What makes Voigt special is
that rare combination of Wagnerian heft in her voice and
ability to act and convey the deep emotions the composer
created in his characters.
Her added mobility improves her skills and should come in
handy — next season she is to sing in "Tosca" and "La Forza
del Destino" at the Met, and she's agreed to sing the
"Siegfried" and "Goetterdaemerung" Bruennhildes for the first
time in 2009, in a new production at the Vienna State Opera
and a revival at the Met.
Elder led a performance filled with detail, choosing slow
tempos for the early part of the overture. The Otto Schenk
production, with sets and productions by Guenther
Schneider-Siemssen, was the first of seven Wagner operas
prepared by the duo at the Met and features realistic sets
evincing medieval Germany. The lighting was dark much of the
time, especially in the final act.
Fri Nov 19, 5:15 PM ET By RONALD BLUM, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - Deborah Voigt lost the weight and kept the voice
Since the controversy over London's Royal Opera cutting her
from a Strauss production last spring because she wouldn't fit
into a little black dress, the American soprano has dropped
about 80 pounds. Her slimmer physique did not alter the voice
that made her famous, and she gave a riveting performance in
the Metropolitan Opera (news - web sites)'s revival of
Wagner's "Tannhaeuser" that opened Thursday night.
Singing Elisabeth, a role she has performed rarely, Voigt
brought forth excitement, tenderness and steel. When the
assembled mob gathered around Tannhaeuser and condemned him to
damnation for enjoying the pleasures of Venus, her shimmering
B natural cry of "Haltet ein! (Stop!)" was spine-tingling.
There was much to enjoy at this strongly cast revival, the
first "Tannhaeuser" at the Met in seven seasons.
Tenor Peter Seiffert, making his Met debut, sang sweetly and
strongly in the title role. Baritone Thomas Hampson, in his
first Wagner part at the Met, was in outstanding voice as
Wolfram von Eschenbach and conveyed his conflict between
condemnation and camaraderie with unusual pathos, especially
in his third-act "Abendstern (Evening Star)" aria.
Michelle DeYoung looked sexy as Venus and sang with allure,
but there was room to amp up the vamp on the acting side.
Kwangshul Youn's dark bass as Hermann, the Landgrave of
Thuringia, conveyed authority and passion.
But the star of the show was Voigt.
Her only previous experience as Elisabeth was seven
performances at the San Francisco Opera in 1994 and a pair of
concerts in Cologne, Germany, two years later. At first she
was to have sung both Elisabeth and Venus in these
performances but the originally scheduled conductor, Christian
Thielemann, decided he wanted difference voices in the two
roles. The Met then signed DeYoung, but Thielemann withdrew
more than a year ago and was replaced by Mark Elder.
The minstrel Tannhaeuser, in Venus' mountain land of
Venusberg, wants to go back to earth and break from the
goddess, calling on the Virgin Mary to return him to home.
Venusberg disappears, he returns to a valley near the
Wartburg, Hermann and Wolfram recognize him and Wolfram
reminds his of Elisabeth, Hermann's niece.
In the hall of the minstrels in the Wartburg, Hermann holds a
song contest, with the winner to be married to Elisabeth. When
Tannhaeuser sings of passionate love and admits he was with
Venus, the locals are shocked, with women fleeing and knights
drawing their swords. Elisabeth stops them for attacking
Tannhaeuser and Hermann tells him to join a pilgrimage to Rome
to beg for forgiveness from the pope. Elisabeth, waiting his
return, dies of grief before the pope's staff sprouts green
leaves, signaling Tannhaeuser's redemption.
Voigt entered at the start of the second act, to un-Wagnerian
applause, for the great aria "Dich teure Halle (You dear
hall)," her voice firm and warm. What makes Voigt special is
that rare combination of Wagnerian heft in her voice and
ability to act and convey the deep emotions the composer
created in his characters.
Her added mobility improves her skills and should come in
handy — next season she is to sing in "Tosca" and "La Forza
del Destino" at the Met, and she's agreed to sing the
"Siegfried" and "Goetterdaemerung" Bruennhildes for the first
time in 2009, in a new production at the Vienna State Opera
and a revival at the Met.
Elder led a performance filled with detail, choosing slow
tempos for the early part of the overture. The Otto Schenk
production, with sets and productions by Guenther
Schneider-Siemssen, was the first of seven Wagner operas
prepared by the duo at the Met and features realistic sets
evincing medieval Germany. The lighting was dark much of the
time, especially in the final act.