{"id":36135,"date":"2016-04-12T14:58:33","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T18:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=36135"},"modified":"2016-04-12T15:04:04","modified_gmt":"2016-04-12T19:04:04","slug":"feature-review-letters-from-berlin-salome-and-elektra-deutsche-oper-berlin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2016\/04\/12\/feature-review-letters-from-berlin-salome-and-elektra-deutsche-oper-berlin\/","title":{"rendered":"FEATURE REVIEW | Letters From Berlin: Salome And Elektra (Deutsche Oper Berlin)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part One of a report from the Richard Strauss-Woche in the Deutsche Oper.<\/h2>\n
\"Salome;
Salome; Jochanaan – Michael Volle (Photo: Deutsche oper berlin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

F<\/span>or many Torontonians, the best thing about April is the warmer weather and the ditching of that heavy coat; or the return of the Boys of Summer, i.e. the beloved Blue Jays.\u00a0 I\u2019m a baseball and a warm weather fan too, but for me, the return of opera to Toronto trumps the other two. For years now, the Canadian Opera Company\u2019s spring season starts in April, not to mention the single production of Opera Atelier, invariably some Baroque morsel. \u00a0It also means indulging in some opera travel without being tied down with marking exams and essays like I was prior to retirement. \u00a0This year, the destination is Berlin. When I found out about the Richard Strauss-Woche<\/em> at the Deutsche Oper, it was irresistible.<\/p>\n

For the really seasoned opera buffs, it\u2019s always a pleasure to discover something new, especially outside the standard repertoire. \u00a0Of the Richard Strauss pieces on offer, I\u2019ve seen Salome, Elektra<\/em>, and Der Rosenkavalier<\/em> many times over, not to mention concert performances. The fourth, a comparative rarity, is Die aegyptische Helena<\/em>, which I saw staged many years ago at the Santa Fe Opera. The only one new to me is Die Liebe der Danae<\/em>. \u00a0Given the high standards of the Deutsche Oper in Strauss and the German rep in general, I had very high expectations.<\/p>\n

For those unfamiliar with the German opera scene, Deutsche Oper is an \u201cA\u201d house, one of a handful of top houses of the highest quality. Berlin is particularly opera-rich with three well-known houses. Besides the Deutsche Oper, there\u2019s the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in what used to be East Berlin, also an \u201cA\u201d house, with the longest history going back to 1742 as the Court Opera. The third house in Berlin is the Komische Oper. The Deutsche Oper is located in the Charlottenburg area of the city, in the western part of the city. The original building, dated from 1912, was destroyed by RAF bombing in 1943. It subsequently reopened in 1961, in a more modern and rather austere design that by today\u2019s standards may seem a bit dated. I found the building has a well-used feel to it and arguably in need of some sprucing up. But all that is immaterial as the music remains glorious.<\/p>\n

Throughout the week of my visit, I rarely saw an empty seat, a testament to the opera-loving German public. This house, which also presents the Stattsballett, attracts a huge number of foreign visitors. To my delight, I ran into several American friends who came specifically for the Strauss-Woche, as well as a group of 27 Canadians from Toronto on the very first night. Not unlike North America, the opera audience demographic in Germany is decidedly aging. That said, I was impressed that on two nights there were several pre-teens sitting in my vicinity, no doubt brought there by their parents who were intent on giving their kids some taste of heilige Kunst, never mind the kids were dozing off during the show, much like some of the adults!<\/p>\n

The first opera on my itinerary was Salome, in a 2016 production directed by Claus Guth, who also directed the 2006 Salzburg Le nozze di Figaro, recently staged by the COC. One can count on Guth to be provocative, and he has outdone himself in this Salome. Judging by what\u2019s on stage, one would be hard pressed to recognize it as the Salome based on the Oscar Wilde \u2013 and the Bible! Guth\u2019s take is relentlessly radical. The stage is populated by \u201creal\u201d characters and mannequins \u2013 yes, mannequins. Almost all the men \u2013 living or dummies – wear similar business suits, including Jochanaan, the prisoner about to have his head chopped off. Maybe they get their wardrobe from Herod\u2019s very well stocked supply that looks like the men\u2019s department at the Bay. Sitting there, I was willing to be receptive to his vision, but it wasn\u2019t easy – in the opening minutes, the lighting was so dim, and no attempt was made to use spot lighting – I had trouble telling who was actually singing. Except for Jochanaan, there\u2019s a lot of zombie-like, robotic movements throughout, the meaning of which remains a mystery.<\/p>\n

\"Claus
Claus Guth (Photo: Monika Rittershaus)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Guth\u2019s vision, there is not just one Salome but six, all younger versions of different ages and heights, wearing the same costume. \u00a0Herod, sung by the young tenor Thomas Blondelle, looks more like the son of Herodias when paired with the veteran soprano, Jeanne-Michele Charbonnet. Anyone looking forward to the Dance of the Seven Veils would be disappointed in this production. Salome doesn\u2019t really dance \u2013 her place is taken by the six younger girls of different age and height, manipulated by black-clad, hooded men.\u00a0 It\u2019s obvious that Guth is making the point that Salome is a victim of child abuse, in a dysfunctional family. \u00a0This idea isn\u2019t exactly new \u2013 back in the 1998 COC production, Canadian director\/filmmaker Atom Egoyan, using the filmic approach, underscored this point very effectively. At the time, it was considered controversial, given that the abusers were the five Jews, minor characters in the opera. \u00a0But I find Egoyan\u2019s idea milder and in many ways more effective than Guth\u2019s. \u00a0In the Guth production, Jochanaan\u2019s head stays on. Salome just goes to one of the mannequins and snaps it off!\u00a0 At the end when Herod sings \u201cKill that woman!\u201d the stage light dims, but she remains standing, very much alive.\u00a0 I can\u2019t pretend that I have bought into Guth\u2019s vision, however much I tried.\u00a0 And it appears a substantial segment of the audience didn\u2019t either, judging by boos that stood out from the applause at the end.<\/p>\n

\"Soprano
Soprano Allison Oakes (Photo: Athole Still Opera Ltd)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I am happy to report this problematic staging was counterbalanced by the very high musical values. Top vocal honours went to the Jochanaan of Michael Volle. He also deserves special credit for gamely appearing almost naked for several minutes in his underwear. Replacing the original Salome of Catherine Nagelstad was British soprano Allison Oakes, who was totally indefatigable and a bit stentorian, serving up blazing top notes. Jeanne-Michele Charbonnet\u00a0was a fine Herodias. Thomas Blondelle was a fresh-voiced Herod, a nice change from the many superannuated character tenors one usually encounters in this role. The downside is a lack of chemistry between him and the much older-looking Herodias. Guest conductor Alain Altinoglu led the great Deutsche Oper Orchestra with uncommon eloquence and clarity.<\/p>\n

A Strauss masterpiece often paired with Salome is Elektra<\/em>, the two sharing stylistic and musical affinities. Unlike Guth\u2019s far-out Salome<\/em>, this Elektra<\/em> (a production from 2007, directed by Kirsten Harms, who was the Intendant of DO from 2004 to 2011), tells the story in a straight-forward fashion. \u00a0The set is an abstract and claustrophobic box with striking colours and textures. On three sides are doors that occasionally open. The stage floor is covered with what looks like soil mixed with rubble. That\u2019s it, for the one-hour forty-five minutes of the opera, performed without an intermission. Boring?\u00a0 Not in the least!\u00a0 I was completely riveted by what\u2019s on stage and the sound coming from the pit. Donald Runnicles, the Music Director of Deutsche Oper, led the orchestra in a galvanizing reading of the powerful score.<\/p>\n

\"Soprano
Soprano Evelyn Herlitzius (Photo: Deutsche Oper)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s not often that a performance succeeds on so many levels \u2013 musically, dramatically, as well as on a deeper emotional level. \u00a0German soprano Evelyn Herlitzius does not have the richest or the most beautiful of voices, but it\u2019s not necessary as Elektra. For me, Herlitzius owns this role today, pace <\/em>Nina Stemme and others currently singing it.\u00a0 Despite being slight of frame and short of stature, Herlitzius makes a big, penetrating sound, in some ways reminiscent of the great Dame Gwyneth Jones in these same Wagner-Strauss heroines. They possess an intensity and total commitment that one doesn\u2019t encounter very often.\u00a0 In the opening monologue, \u201cAllein, ganz allein\u201d Herlitzius established the character in no uncertain terms, a mixture of profound sadness, steely determination and an undercurrent of desperation. \u00a0Not vocally perfect but striking just the same.\u00a0 The pain and anguish in her voice in the Recognition Scene brought copious tears to my eyes, something that doesn\u2019t happen to me very often.<\/p>\n

A perfect foil for her was the Chrysothemis of Manuela Uhl, physically beautiful and possessing a \u201cprettier\u201d voice, full of luster and womanly warmth. \u00a0It was a bit of a vocal stretch for the lyric soprano of Uhl, but she warmed up and was fine. Doris Soffel, who was a marvelous Adelaide in the Munich Arabella<\/em> I saw last summer, was a scary, decaying Klytemnestra, and she made a strong musical and dramatic impression. Bass Tobias Kehrer was an outstanding Orest, singing and acting with a combination of brotherly warmth and the intensity and gravitas of someone about to commit murder.\u00a0 And murder he did, right in full view, a very unusual staging! \u00a0Also impressive was tenor Clemens Bieber in the brief role of Aegisth.\u00a0 Interestingly, the Harms Elektra, like the Guth Salome, does not dance. Here, the serving women, now in white, deputized. It actually works very well.<\/p>\n

\"Deutsche
b Elektra (Photo: Bettina Stoess)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seeing the two performances back to back, I couldn\u2019t help but compare the two. In any case, Salome<\/em> and Elektra<\/em> are like peas in the same creative pod of Strauss.\u00a0 Comparing and contrasting the different directorial visions of Guth and Harms, it\u2019s clear to me that More is Less\/Less is More, at least in this case. The Guth Salome<\/em> comes across as gimmicky, a touch pretentious, and deliberately convoluted, with meanings that are too cryptic for most audience members to decipher.\u00a0 On the other hand, the Harms Elektra <\/em>shows a trust in the power of Richard Strauss\u2019s magnificent score. In her willingness to let the music speaks for itself, helped tremendously by the magnificent cast and great conducting\/orchestra, the result was immensely satisfying.<\/p>\n

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Part One of a report from the Richard Strauss-Woche in the Deutsche Oper by Joseph So.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":36143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5723,4967,43],"tags":[6084,3835,5913,2837,2914],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/04\/salome_156MonikaRittershaus_hf.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-9oP","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36135"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36135"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36154,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36135\/revisions\/36154"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36135"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=36135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}