PERSPECTIVE — The Vienna State Opera’s new production of Richard Wagner’s Tannhäuser, directed by Lydia Steier (and seen Sept. 24), impresses with its formidable set design but disappoints with repeatedly misleading direction and absurd ideas.
Happily, the overture takes place while the curtain is closed and only opens when the Venusberg music begins. Like the Tannhäuser production at the Grand Théâtre de Genève (seen the night before), the Vienna State Opera uses the Paris version, with its intense Act 1 and longer dialogue between Venus and Tannhäuser.
The first thing one sees in the Vienna production is a fascinating, expansive set design by Momme Hinrichs (also videos) reminiscent of an aging, late-Gründerzeit Berlin Berghain (nightclub). What then takes place is anything but erotic. Tabatha McFadyen’s choreography is an endlessly banal, fidgeting ballet, in which everyone kisses everyone. It feels more like a cheap Las Vegas variety show for day trippers. Why Tannhäuser should have become (so) guilty by visiting this establishment that he is banished to Rome for penance in Act 2 isn’t made clear — a dramatic blackout!
Act 2 again features an imaginative stage design with three staggered levels within a triangular wall, which is acoustically favorable for the singers and accommodates seating for the guests. But there are again distracting banalities, such as the setting up of the tables with tablecloths, which seriously disrupted the flow — even during the hall aria. But there were some interesting side scenes. During Tannhäuser’s lyrical musing on love, colorful Graces emerged from the Venusberg in the semi-darkness, unnoticed by anyone but him.
In Act 2, the knights, dressed in parodistic medieval costumes designed by Alfred Mayerhofer, compete in a contest about love. A closer look at Steier’s dramaturgy reveals a motive for these seemingly absurd costumes. Perhaps she wanted to demonstrate that her portrayal of love is completely antiquated and thus medievally uptight, especially since Tannhäuser is the first to rip off his blond wig when he contradicts Wolfram. Little by little, everyone sheds this apparel and become “normal” people again. Nevertheless, the backward-looking costume jump seemed strange.
In Act 3, the atmosphere is dark and gloomy, with Elana Siberski’s lighting fitted to the general mood of the opera. And then again: Even before the Roman story, Tannhäuser appears before Wolfram and approaches him with sexual tenderness, which in this production would be more closely associated with Wolfram. A dream image of Wolfram? After all, Tannhäuser arrives with the Roman story in the habit of the classical pilgrim from Rome. Although Elisabeth gives Wolfram a fiery kiss before her departure, which also made little sense, she was impressively brought back in as a corpse. Instead of the Pope’s greening shepherd’s crook, the entire forest appears as a symbol of Tannhäuser’s acquittal of his (supposed) guilt. The effect was quite captivating and even thrilling, especially with the wonderful choral singing under the direction of Thomas Lang.
Clay Hilley certainly gave his all as Tannhäuser, but while he reached the top notes, the vocal strain in this demanding role was evident. Camilla Nylund has become the ideal Elisabeth. She looks outstanding, portrays the role with incredible empathy, and once again delights with her luminous, multifaceted soprano. Ekaterina Gubanova sang and played an attractive Venus, albeit with a slight emphasis on the top notes at times. Martin Gantner was fine as Wolfram von Eschenbach, with his song-like expression and lyrical tone. Günther Groissböck‘s colorful bass contributed an excellent and confident Landgrave Hermann.
Music director Philippe Jordan and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra delivered a first-class performance worthy of a festival, with an impressive, multi-layered prelude, superbly constructed crescendos, and a good command of both the dynamic and the more subtle moments. He maintained close contact with the singers throughout. Many in Vienna will still think back to Jordan with nostalgia when he leaves the house on the Ring.
Standing in for Tatjana Gürbaca, Michael Thalheimer staged Tannhäuser at the Grand Théâtre de Genève with only two months’ notice after Tristan und Isolde. The Tannhäuser production featured a set by Henrik Ahr and atmospheric lighting by Stefan Bolliger. Thalheimer’s concept centers on the figure of Tannhäuser, who has fallen for the utopia of Venusberg and is confronted by the reality of narrowly conservative Wartburg society.
Right at the beginning, Tannhäuser is seen in utter despair before a gigantic, black, turbine-like structure. It seems to absorb him almost irretrievably, along with the emerging Venus. The call for Elisabeth throws him into a world where the Landgrave and his entourage initially appear anonymously with alienating, even frightening, animal heads and try to win him back for the Wartburg society. It was immediately evident from everyone’s behavior that this would not end well.
In Act 2, the guests storm the scene with a force reflecting their roughness — in a production marked, unlike Vienna, by great physicality. Barbara Drosihn’s simple costumes emphasized the timelessness of the plot. In Act 3, the tale of Tannhäuser takes on central dramaturgical significance with an intensely staged confrontation with Wolfram and the seductive Venus between the two. While Tannhäuser succumbs to his intractable conflict between Elisabeth and Venus, the latter slowly persuades Wolfram to follow her back. Venus has thus found a new victim.
Samuel Sakker, as the understudy for Tannhäuser, largely succeeds in the demanding role. Victoria Karkacheva sings Venus superbly, with great seductive flair. Jennifer Davis, like Karkacheva in her role debut in this Geneva series, performed intensely with a powerful soprano as Elisabeth, who seeks and ultimately finds self-determination. Stéphane Degout was a concise and dramatic Wolfram von Eschenbach, though quite different from the much more lyrical Martin Gantner in Vienna. As always, Franz-Josef Selig gave a solid performance as the Landgrave of Thuringia.
Mark Elder conducted the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande with aplomb, capturing both the dramatic moments of the score and the quieter ones. The Choeur du Grand Théâtre de Genève, under the direction of Mark Biggins, sang with great intensity and transparency.
