Juha Uusitalo (Der Wanderer), foto Elisa Haberer

The Paris Opera, who is making a new Nibelungen Ring, has come to part no 3, Siegfried, which was premiered in Paris  March 1st
. 2011. Positive and radiant in mood, the second day of the Ring cycle shows the hero in his turbulent youth. The adventure begun last season continues in Günter Krämer’s vision, under the musical direction of Philippe Jordan.

This strange setting and scenography of Der Ring des Nibelungen is continuing to be more difficult to understand. However, I want to start this critic with all the good and positive aspects of the production.

The musically side is brilliant, the orchestra sounds great, very many delicious details, solo clarinet and horn. But I am missing a bit of atmosphaere, perhaps it is too correct?  Some of the singers are great. The hit of the evening was Juha Uusitalo as Der Wanderer, he was great all the time. Unfortunately the “star” in the role as Siegfried, Torsten Kerl, was not satisfying. He had clearly problems in the deper tunes and tryed to cover that by using too much vibrato, and his high tunes didn´t sound like a “Helden” tenor. I have heard many better Siegfrieds in my life. Lately Stig Fogh Andersen in the Copenhagen Ring. Not to forget Jean Cox, even so late as in 1983 singing Siegfried (in Götterdämmerung) together with Ingrid Bjoner in Munich.

Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (Mime)cooking spaghetti to Siegfried. Foto Charles Duprat

Furthermore to dress Siegfried up in the way done here didn´t help him at all to look good on stage
. Siegfried tryed to look like a young man, but as his body is too fat for that kind of costume he was never looking handsome on stage. He is not 16 years old any longer
. Siegfried is suppose to be the hero on stage, and then it is the duty of the costumedesigner (Falk Bauer) to try to make him looking good
. It could have been more succesfull by trying to using something more handsome for Siegfried. This tells about bad taste from the costume designer and the regissor. -If they had a message that they wanted to tell the audience, I am sorry, I didn´t catch it.

One positive idea in the beginning was to let the very well singing and acting Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke as Mime to appear as gay was an interesting idea, and he was all the way good singing. To let it look like Siegfried has been growing up in a gay home together with Mime since Siegfrieds mother and father died as the history tells. It could have been succesfull, but during the first act the collaboration with Siegfried behaving childish and unpolight to his “father” Mime, where Mime is dressed in gay, feminine outfit with female wig of the most feminine style. Unfortunately the audience started not to believe in the production. I was after a while feeling that this was bad children theater. Mime and Siegfried were for a periode looking like two aunts in a soap opera. In this first act there were amusing details. More for an operetta than for a Wagner opera.

The Walküres, and in front left Torsten Kerl as Siegfried. Foto: Elisa Haberer

Unfortunately this feeling continued, spite in that it during the way came a few good staging ideas, as in the second act with the first green summer forest, who became autumn in the colours when Siegfried enters, this was elegant done, and I too like the staircase with app 50 steps in the last scene, with the group of Walküries sitting quitely to the right. However, during the performance, so many strange scenographic elements has been shown, that i lost the fate in this production. Which I am sure will go in to the history, but unfortunately not as a performance good to remember but for one of the most hopeless as one of the worst Siegfrieds shown, so far.  WHo is taking away and disturbing the beauty which is in the music and in the original history.

Scenography is by Jürgen Bäckmann and costumes by Falk Bauer, the only nice costumes was the 15 nude guys, which entered caring the Gold from Nibelungen.

Juha Uusitalo (Der Wanderer) et Qiu Lin Zhang (Erda), foto Charles Duprat

Erda, sung by Qiu Lin Zhang had a beautiful dress, and was acting and singing well. Stephen Milling as Fafner was good we trusted in his singing, but didn´t like him entering on a throne chair with a paper crown on. I was not so satisfied with Peter Sidhom as Alberich.

It is a pity for the conductor – and music chief Philip Jourdan that he has to deliver so wonderful music to such a dreadful, misunderstod production.

Last time Siegfried was performed at the Paris opera was in 1959, it was a hope that this new Ring would be something extraordinary. And in deed it has been that, but something fast to forget

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Torsten Kerl as Siegfried and Katarina Dalayman as Brünnhilde. Foto: Elisa Haberer