A deeply disappointing Tristan und Isolde on the Deutsche Oper Berlin – Seen and Heard Worldwide

Germany Wagner, Tristan und Isolde: Soloists, Refrain (director: Thomas Richter) and Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin / Juraj Valčuha (conductor). Deutsche Oper Berlin, 3.7.2024. (MB)

Manufacturing:
Director – Graham Vick
Designs – Paul Brown
Lighting – Wolfgang Göbbel

Solid:
Tristan – Michael Weinius
King Marke – Günther Groissböck
Isolde – Ricarda Merbeth
Kurwenal – Leonardo Lee
Melot – Jörg Schörner
Brangäne – Irene Roberts
Shepherd – Clemens Bieber
Younger Sailor – Kieran Carrel
Steersman – Byung Gil Kim

And so, the Deutsche Oper’s season, through which it has proven all ten of Wagner’s ‘Bayreuth’ works, begins to attract to a detailed. I’ve not managed to see all of them; accidentally moderately than design, I’ve seen the present productions of the seven ‘music dramas’, however missed these of The Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser, and Lohengrin (all of which I’ve seen earlier than). Of these I noticed, all however Philipp Stölzl’s Parsifal (right here) have been new to me. Stefan Herheim’s Ring I greeted (right here) enthusiastically, although not with out reservations, in Could; the Wieler-Viebrock-Morabito Meistersinger much less so (right here), although it had its moments. How would the late Graham Vick’s 2011 Tristan, which someway I had missed till now, fare?

Disappointingly, I’m afraid. Perhaps I used to be not in the correct temper, although it was definitely not solely that, however I don’t suppose I’ve ever felt much less engaged, and even , in a efficiency of what ought to all the time be a piece like no different, on the sting of the potential but in addition of what one can bear. I likely quote this letter from Wagner to Mathilde Wesendonck too typically, but nevertheless drama-queenish the expression, the precept stays sound, or at the least readily understandable: ‘I worry the opera might be banned – except the entire thing is parodied in a nasty efficiency –: solely mediocre performances can save me! Completely good ones might be certain to drive individuals mad, – I can not think about it in any other case.’ As soon as once more, sanity regrettably endured.

Allow us to start with Vick’s manufacturing, at which I really feel in a position solely to throw my fingers into the hair and say (well mannered model): goodness is aware of. One can admire his extraordinary work in Birmingham and certainly some or a lot of his stagings, with out having a lot concept what’s going on right here and, extra sadly, with out with the ability to care very a lot. Is it maybe all a drug-induced dream, Dallas assembly Trainspotting? One of many only a few (by itself phrases) theatrically convincing moments, presaged by a disturbing look (certainly one of many, from a forged of irritating extras) by a shaking, wall-hugging addict, is when Tristan and Isolde inject themselves for what appears, even sounds, to be that elusive excellent hit. Who they’re, although, and what they’re doing in one thing that could be a home or could also be a funeral parlour (Morold’s funeral, I believed to begin with, although the coffin certainly stays too lengthy) is anybody’s guess. All method of unusual individuals come and go. A gang of menacing males within the first act suggests an strategy based, oddly, upon gender, when certainly the entire level is the irrelevance of the outstanding world, however it’s quickly gone anyway.

So too are the lady who walks round bare and, within the second act, exterior within the backyard (albeit with an indoor hearth), a male bare gravedigger. Maybe it’s scorching on the market, and Tristan’s overcoat is a product of his habit. He and Isolde sit on the couch for many of it, as if watching the tv; they appear to have little curiosity in one another. A torch-cum-gigantic-peppermill typically comes into view above, although it doesn’t appear aligned to the night time/day axis. Infrequently, a lady in an adjoining room does the ironing. The Steersman makes his look bursting out of the toilet in mid-shave. All of it ends, banally sufficient, with Isolde, spying some extra individuals strolling across the backyard, opening the door to hitch them. Fairly. That the motion on this ‘motion’ (Handlung) is fully metaphysical appears to have eluded Vick, because it does many, however this lacks a lot as a touch of coherence by itself phrases. I believe the purpose, or at the least a level, could also be that they’ve grown outdated within the meantime; with that, at the least, one can sympathise.

The true drama lies within the orchestra, after all, or ought to. There have been passages of relative fluency among the many relaxation from Juraj Valčuha, however that’s about the very best one can say. As a rule, we had audible gear adjustments, surprisingly skinny strings, odd balances, defective ensemble, and a lethal tendency all through every act to decelerate. The second act felt interminable, while Tristan’s third-act agonies amounted to little greater than a prolonged record of non sequiturs. The Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper, usually excellent in Wagner, sounded as if it had had sufficient; I can not blame it.

Ricarda Merbeth’s Isolde had a lot to commend it, particularly within the first act. She made quite a lot of the phrases, providing a masterclass in scorn, although sustaining a line appeared much less of a precedence. Hans von Bülow’s declare that that is Wagner’s bel canto opera is as foolish because it sounds, however that doesn’t imply there is no such thing as a melodic curiosity within the vocal line. Nonetheless, she outshone her Tristan, Michael Weinius, who had seemingly countless vocal reserves to name on. Given how shouted and unvariegated they have been, it was tempting typically to want that he had not; this was neither bel nor canto, and his performing was at finest gestural. Leonardo Lee’s Kurwenal bloomed into what, alongside Günther Groissböck’s fantastically sung, finely detailed Marke, was certainly the best efficiency of the night time. Irene Roberts (Brangäne) sang nicely too, although a bit extra mezzo-ish depth wouldn’t have gone amiss, particularly in order to distinction with Isolde. Given what the singers have been offered with, although, it could be churlish to complain additional.

Wagner, then, was saved once more. Subsequent cease: Bayreuth, together with a brand new Tristan. Fingers crossed for a bit insanity.

Mark Berry