PORTLAND, Ore. — It was almost surreal to see and hear a soprano sing from the back of the stage and project her voice over an 88-piece orchestra, but that was the scene at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall when Christine Goerke appeared with the Oregon Symphony on Jan. 11 for a concert of music by Richard Wagner in a program called “Wagner’s Greatest Hits.”
Usually, a massive choir occupies the space along the rear wall for concert programs for voice and large orchestra. This time, however, it was one woman holding down the fort with the full-throated sound of the orchestra, albeit playing reduced versions of Wagner’s scores, at her feet. The overall effect of this staging was impressive and glorious, though one wonders if it might have been even better if she had taken a position next to the conductor.
Of the coterie of singers who regularly perform Wagner operas, Goerke is among the best. She has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Royal Ballet and Opera, Paris Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, La Scala, and many other companies. Her concertizing with symphonic orchestras has taken her to halls around the world from New York to New Zealand. Her concert with the Oregon Symphony marked her debut with the orchestra, which was conducted by its music director, David Danzmayr.
In the first half of the evening, the orchestra played the Prelude and “Liebestod” from Tristan und Isolde. The Prelude ebbed and flowed in an unhurried and natural way, expressing an unrelenting sense of yearning that led to the “Liebestod.” Goerke’s first words, “Mild und leise” (Mildly and gently) sounded almost unearthly as it resonated through the orchestral cloud. As she sang, the total effect shimmered with a transcendent quality that was heavenly and mesmerizing at the same time.
If the horns could have been more demonstrative in the famous “Ride of the Valkyries” from Die Walküre, arranged by Wouter Hutschenruyter, they made up for it in “Siegfried’s Rhine Journey” from Götterdämmerung (arranged by Engelbert Humperdinck). It sparkled with full-bodied gusto, with principal horn Jeff Garza executing the off-stage solo marvelously.
In “Siegfried’s Death and Funeral Music” (arranged by Hutschenruyter), four Wagner tubas added emotional weight and a tinge of darkness. That seamlessly flowed into “Brünnhilde’s Immolation” from Götterdämmerung in an arrangement by Gotthold Lessing. Goerke wonderfully evoked the heroine of the Ring Cycle and her determination to honor Siegfried, return the ring to the Rhine River, and ride her horse onto the funeral pyre. Danzmayr and company superbly elicited the many leitmotifs from the Ring and brought the evening to a glorious close.
Some of Goerke’s diction became blurry, perhaps from singing at such a distance, and while texts in German and English were provided in the program, the only way to read them was by using a cell phone, because the lighting for the audience area was turned off. Projected titles would have mitigated the issue.
The concert began with another operatic gem, the overture to Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers. The orchestra excelled with the dramatic contrasts, from the bellicose opening statement to a delightful folk melody and a forceful hymn-like section.
Premiered in 1906, Smyth’s opera is being rediscovered and has enjoyed much success in recent productions by major houses. The performance by the Oregon Symphony made this listener want to hear more of her work.
A final note about Goerke: She became ill after the performance and was unable to sing the next afternoon. According to orchestra staff, the ensemble played the same pieces, cutting a few measures from the beginning of the “Brünnhilde’s Immolation.” Goerke apologized to the symphony audience via a Facebook post, saying she intends to return to make it up. I will look forward to that.
