“Lohengrin” at the Salzburg Easter Festival as a thriller
It is well known that one should go when it is most beautiful. This only applies to a limited extent to Christian Thielemann’s farewell to the Salzburg Easter Festival, because the background is anything but nice, but all the more so for his conducting. Wagner’s “Lohengrin” could not be more magnificent and sensitive than on Saturday evening in the Great Festival Hall.
However, the trio of directors Jossi Wieler, Anna Viebrock and Sergio Morabito did not want to act entirely in the spirit of Wagner. They wanted to stage the work as a thriller centered on an otherwise little-noticed alleged murder: the story of heir apparent Gottfried, who never returned from a walk with his sister. In this way, the otherwise helpless and wrongly accused Elsa quickly became a cold-blooded and power-hungry perpetrator.
During the first prelude, Elsa lolls on the banks of a canal, which is located at the foot of a mighty fortress and is the linchpin of the production. What has Elsa done that brings thieving joy to her face, but also forces her to keep looking around suspiciously? It must have something to do with Gottfried’s disappearance, because she soon finds herself in court accused of fratricide. Then she speaks radiantly and confidently. Here someone is sure of their perfect crime. The question that arises, however, is: Does such an Elsa need a savior at all? The way she presents herself, she should actually defend herself. The answer is yes, because in the end Wagner still determines the plot, and that’s exactly what some of the director’s ideas can’t work out that evening.
So Elsa has to wish for a knight, and so the channel promptly spits one out at her. Lohengrin comes out of time with a flowing mane, chain mail and armor that flashes through pants torn at the knees. Why should the people of Brabant declare their protector such a strange hero who has apparently already fallen on the way there? Even more so where it has not proven itself as such. Before it can come to a sword fight, the outcome of which should decide whether Elsa is guilty or innocent, challenger Telramund collapses with a heart attack. The character is not worthy of that and certainly not of its singer Martin Gantner. He gives the adversary with infinite energy and passion. Together with an incredibly strong Elena Pankratova as Ortrud, in the first part of the second act, you witness a first-class Wagner freestyle. Just as Telramund and Ortrud incite each other and hatch a revenge plan, the two singers push themselves to higher and higher spheres. Christian Thielemann is also very happy about this, because it allows him to let the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden turn up the heat. The singer couple comes along here with ease.
Thielemann provides further proof that he is the top dog when it comes to Wagner in the prelude to the third act. After starting from zero to 100, he keeps the Saxons on the long reins at full throttle without running the risk of falling out of the curve, because before it can get that far, the conductor has gently and safely cushioned his orchestra again. Unfortunately, such musical moments of pleasure are not always possible, because Thielemann has to shift down a gear again and again out of consideration for his singers. As tough as she plays Elsa, Jacquelyn Wagner lacks the stamina in her vocal performance. Eric Cutler’s Lohengrin probably has heroic dispositions, but there’s still room for improvement here, too. On the other hand, Hans-Peter König is enthroned very sublimely with his powerful and royal bass, which sprays with authority right down to the last row.
In the end, Elsa stands there as a failed perpetrator and has to pull Gottfried out of the water, who apparently survived the attack and, exhausted and leaning on his sword, takes up the throne. This attempt at a thriller is not always thought through to the end, but it is definitely visually stunning to look at. Anna Viebrock’s costume and stage design are as detailed as Thielemann’s conducting, even if she jumps a bit wildly through the ages with World War II uniforms, bell hats and graffiti. The audience doesn’t like these directing experiments at all and it also loudly announces this. Unfortunately, anger hits the wrong people. Since not only the directing team, but also the choir directors consist of two men and one woman and they appear first for the final applause, a hail of boos rains down on the three. However, she would have deserved the opposite, namely storms of jubilation, for the great performance of the choir. Christian Thielemann, on the other hand, received demonstrative jubilation. He makes Salzburg’s farewell anything but easy.
(SERVICE – Richard Wagner: “Lohengrin”, romantic opera in three acts, libretto by the composer. Musical director: Christian Thielemann, directors: Jossi Wieler, Anna Viebrock and Sergio Morabito, co-set designer: Torsten Gerhard Köpf, light: Sebastian Alphons. On stage: Hans-Peter König: Heinrich der Vogler, German king, Eric Cutler: Lohengrin, Jacquelyn Wagner: Elsa von Brabant, Martin Gantner: Friedrich von Telramund, Brabant count, Elena Pankratova: Ortrud, his wife, Markus Brück: Der The King’s Herald, Alexander Hüttner, Thomas Atkins, Simon Schnorr, Roland Faust: Four Brabant Nobles, Jana Hohlfeld, Maria König, Leonie Nowak, Kristina Fuchs: Four Noble Boys, Saxon State Orchestra Dresden, Saxon State Opera Choir Dresden, Bach Choir Salzburg, Choir of the Salzburg State Theater Another performance on April 18. www.osterfestspiele-salzburg.at)