Heppner trying on Siegfried in Aix-en-Provence
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jun30/0,4670,Oper [2008-7-1]
Tag : bare conductor
That this came at the end of a long night _ three acts, eachlasting more than an hour, with his character rarely off stage _made it even more remarkable.
Heppner showed his newness to the part a few times: too much eyecontact with the conductor early on, one or two missed entrances, abit of holding back in the sword-forging scene. In Act 3 there werea few rough patches in the middle register when he had to singsoftly, the only hint of vocal fatigue.
It's ironic that Wagner wrote the role of his young superhero withsuch strenuous vocal demands that it can be sung only by a tenorwhose voice has fully matured, typically in early middle age.Heppner, a 52-year-old Canadian with a bulky physique, is not goingto make anyone think he's a teenager, but he runs about the stageenergetically and assumes a wide-eyed innocence that helps make himbelievable.
He's aided by costume designer Thibault Vancraenenbroeck, who hasdressed him casually in a plaid work shirt hanging loosely over agreen undershirt. This contrasts with the more formal trench coatsworn by most of the other male characters.
Heppner is coming in, as is his character, midway through a newstaging of Wagner's four-part "Ring" cycle in a production byStephane Braunschweig that's conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. It'sbeing introduced one opera per summer at Aix and then shared withthe Salzburg Easter Festival.
"Siegfried" continues Braunschwieg's concept of interpretingWagner's epic music drama as a dream, though exactly whose dreamisn't always clear. As the curtain rises, Bruennhilde is stretchedout asleep across three red upholstered chairs, where we left herat the conclusion of the previous opera, "Die Walkuere." The magicfire that protects her from all but the bravest hero is visible inflames projected on the rear and side walls of the set.
The chairs are the same ones on which Wotan was dozing when hefirst appeared during the initial opera, "Das Rheingold."
Bruennhilde disappears before the action begins, but her briefappearance suggests that she dreams all that is about to unfold ofSiegfried's adventures as a young man. If that's true, then doSiegfried and Bruennhilde really unite at the final curtain, or isthat her imagination as well?
Sets are minimal, dominated by giant walls that shift positiondepending on the scene. The forest of Act 2 is just a stand oftrees with bare branches at the rear, but a rich shade of greenwashes over the stage when Siegfried muses about the beauty ofnature. (His mother, Sieglinde, makes an unscripted appearance inthis scene as she sings of his loneliness.)
The cast supporting Heppner is first-rate. As Bruennhilde, theSwedish soprano Katarina Dalayman sings with great warmth andvibrancy, and the high Cs that are such a crucial ingredient ofthis role peal forth with uncommon brilliance.
A fine singing actor in the role of Mime, the conniving dwarf whohas raised the orphaned Siegfried, always threatens to steal theshow for the first two acts. German tenor Burkhard Ulrich isdefinitely in their ranks. The tall, angular Ulrich, with hisspectacles and bald head, looks more like a mad scientist than acringing dwarf. Vocally he captures every detail of the tricky,high-lying part, including a maniacal cackle.
As the Wanderer (Wotan, king of the gods, in human disguise), SirWillard White shapes his lines with nobility and beautiful tone.The Jamaican-born bass-baritone occasionally gets overpowered bythe thick orchestrations in Act 3, but he anchors the productionwith his dignified, world-weary presence.
Dale Duesing, an American bass-baritone, has a voice that's frayedon top, but he makes up for that with his fierce presence asAlberich, Mime's brother; German bass Alfred Reiter sings the linesof the dragon Fafner with aplomb; Swedish contralto Anna Larssondisplays an impressive range and velvety voice as Erda, the earthgoddess, and German soprano Mojca Erdmann sings sweetly as theforest bird.
Under Rattle's spirited guidance, the Berlin players revel in thevast variety of colors in the score, creating shimmering, delicatetextures for the forest scene and outbursts of thunderous intensityfor the climactic moments in Act 3.
Heppner is due to reprise the role of Siegfried in the final "Ring"opera, "Goetterdaemmerung," at next summer's Aix festival, withperformances of the complete cycle to follow.
By waiting until relatively late in his career to take on theseroles, Heppner can probably expect to perform them for only adecade or so before time and nature take their toll. Opera loverswill count themselves lucky to hear him for however long he cansustain the golden sound he brings to this magnificent music.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Thismaterial may not be published, broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.
That this came at the end of a long night _ three acts, eachlasting more than an hour, with his character rarely off stage _made it even more remarkable.
Heppner showed his newness to the part a few times: too much eyecontact with the conductor early on, one or two missed entrances, abit of holding back in the sword-forging scene. In Act 3 there werea few rough patches in the middle register when he had to singsoftly, the only hint of vocal fatigue.
It's ironic that Wagner wrote the role of his young superhero withsuch strenuous vocal demands that it can be sung only by a tenorwhose voice has fully matured, typically in early middle age.Heppner, a 52-year-old Canadian with a bulky physique, is not goingto make anyone think he's a teenager, but he runs about the stageenergetically and assumes a wide-eyed innocence that helps make himbelievable.
He's aided by costume designer Thibault Vancraenenbroeck, who hasdressed him casually in a plaid work shirt hanging loosely over agreen undershirt. This contrasts with the more formal trench coatsworn by most of the other male characters.
Heppner is coming in, as is his character, midway through a newstaging of Wagner's four-part "Ring" cycle in a production byStephane Braunschweig that's conducted by Sir Simon Rattle. It'sbeing introduced one opera per summer at Aix and then shared withthe Salzburg Easter Festival.
"Siegfried" continues Braunschwieg's concept of interpretingWagner's epic music drama as a dream, though exactly whose dreamisn't always clear. As the curtain rises, Bruennhilde is stretchedout asleep across three red upholstered chairs, where we left herat the conclusion of the previous opera, "Die Walkuere." The magicfire that protects her from all but the bravest hero is visible inflames projected on the rear and side walls of the set.
The chairs are the same ones on which Wotan was dozing when hefirst appeared during the initial opera, "Das Rheingold."
Bruennhilde disappears before the action begins, but her briefappearance suggests that she dreams all that is about to unfold ofSiegfried's adventures as a young man. If that's true, then doSiegfried and Bruennhilde really unite at the final curtain, or isthat her imagination as well?
Sets are minimal, dominated by giant walls that shift positiondepending on the scene. The forest of Act 2 is just a stand oftrees with bare branches at the rear, but a rich shade of greenwashes over the stage when Siegfried muses about the beauty ofnature. (His mother, Sieglinde, makes an unscripted appearance inthis scene as she sings of his loneliness.)
The cast supporting Heppner is first-rate. As Bruennhilde, theSwedish soprano Katarina Dalayman sings with great warmth andvibrancy, and the high Cs that are such a crucial ingredient ofthis role peal forth with uncommon brilliance.
A fine singing actor in the role of Mime, the conniving dwarf whohas raised the orphaned Siegfried, always threatens to steal theshow for the first two acts. German tenor Burkhard Ulrich isdefinitely in their ranks. The tall, angular Ulrich, with hisspectacles and bald head, looks more like a mad scientist than acringing dwarf. Vocally he captures every detail of the tricky,high-lying part, including a maniacal cackle.
As the Wanderer (Wotan, king of the gods, in human disguise), SirWillard White shapes his lines with nobility and beautiful tone.The Jamaican-born bass-baritone occasionally gets overpowered bythe thick orchestrations in Act 3, but he anchors the productionwith his dignified, world-weary presence.
Dale Duesing, an American bass-baritone, has a voice that's frayedon top, but he makes up for that with his fierce presence asAlberich, Mime's brother; German bass Alfred Reiter sings the linesof the dragon Fafner with aplomb; Swedish contralto Anna Larssondisplays an impressive range and velvety voice as Erda, the earthgoddess, and German soprano Mojca Erdmann sings sweetly as theforest bird.
Under Rattle's spirited guidance, the Berlin players revel in thevast variety of colors in the score, creating shimmering, delicatetextures for the forest scene and outbursts of thunderous intensityfor the climactic moments in Act 3.
Heppner is due to reprise the role of Siegfried in the final "Ring"opera, "Goetterdaemmerung," at next summer's Aix festival, withperformances of the complete cycle to follow.
By waiting until relatively late in his career to take on theseroles, Heppner can probably expect to perform them for only adecade or so before time and nature take their toll. Opera loverswill count themselves lucky to hear him for however long he cansustain the golden sound he brings to this magnificent music.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Thismaterial may not be published, broadcast, rewritten orredistributed.
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