<Translated from Danish automatically>
For many years, I have wondered when looking at pictures of the voluminous Wagner sopranos of yesteryear with their flowing hair and burning gazes.
These women, who enthralled composers and audiences at the end of the 19th century, were legendary—but how did they sing, and what was their charisma like?
Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the concert performance of "The Valkyrie" in Odense Concert House on Friday night was that I felt I finally received answers to those questions. Especially the American soprano Jennifer Wilson as Brünnhilde—effectively the title role of the opera—possessed a vocal splendor and a presence that could set one's imagination regarding the imposing female figures of opera history in motion. Her entrance with the cry "Hojotoho! Hojotoho!" — where, according to Wagner, she is supposed to leap from rock to rock, which is hard to imagine — made ears flap and the small hairs on the back of the neck stand up.
Wilson was the pinnacle of Wagner, but there were several other powerful and beautifully singing female figures: Finnish soprano Miina-Liisa Värelä as Sieglinde and American Ronnita Miller as Fricka also possessed voluminous vocal majesty.
The supreme god Wotan, or Odin as he is called in Danish, was embodied by German bass-baritone Oliver Zwarg; he was reliable enough, but purely vocally, he was close to being outmatched. He already has a difficult time because he cannot assert himself against his wife Fricka, who, as the guardian of marriage, cannot accept the lovers and twin pair Siegmund and Sieglinde (yes, it is an incestuous story), of whom she observes that they "blossom in incest."
Generally, it was a strong cast of singers, brought in from near and far, that one could experience in the Carl Nielsen Hall, including Lithuanian tenor Kristian Benedikt as Siegmund and German bass Andreas Hörl as a suitably terrifying Hunding.
But it is, to a large extent, Wagner's inciting music that has caused people to make pilgrimages to his very long operas — and in Odense, this meant a sold-out house.
Alexander Vedernikov, who years ago made his mark at the Bolshoi Opera in Moscow, proved once again to be an excellent opera conductor, and the Odense Symphony Orchestra was in top form.
It is impressive that a Danish city of such relatively modest size can put together such a massive work of art — and deliver it with both commitment and skill. The applause was thunderous and very well-deserved.
And there is more to come. "The Valkyrie" is, as is well known, the second of the four operas that constitute "The Ring of the Nibelung," and concert performances of the two subsequent ones, "Siegfried" and "Twilight of the Gods," will follow.
But most importantly: in about a year and a half, the new Music and Theater House, Odeon, is scheduled to open in Odense. The Odense Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor Alexander Vedernikov will lead a mammoth project to demonstrate the many possibilities of the city's new cultural center: a complete staged production of Richard Wagner's "The Ring of the Nibelung" will hopefully take place in the spring of 2018.
Many Wagnerians — and curious non-Wagnerians as well — will be looking forward to that. The prelude has been more than promising.
Source.
For many years, I have wondered when looking at pictures of the voluminous Wagner sopranos of yesteryear with their flowing hair and burning gazes.
These women, who enthralled composers and audiences at the end of the 19th century, were legendary—but how did they sing, and what was their charisma like?
Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the concert performance of "The Valkyrie" in Odense Concert House on Friday night was that I felt I finally received answers to those questions. Especially the American soprano Jennifer Wilson as Brünnhilde—effectively the title role of the opera—possessed a vocal splendor and a presence that could set one's imagination regarding the imposing female figures of opera history in motion. Her entrance with the cry "Hojotoho! Hojotoho!" — where, according to Wagner, she is supposed to leap from rock to rock, which is hard to imagine — made ears flap and the small hairs on the back of the neck stand up.
Wilson was the pinnacle of Wagner, but there were several other powerful and beautifully singing female figures: Finnish soprano Miina-Liisa Värelä as Sieglinde and American Ronnita Miller as Fricka also possessed voluminous vocal majesty.
The supreme god Wotan, or Odin as he is called in Danish, was embodied by German bass-baritone Oliver Zwarg; he was reliable enough, but purely vocally, he was close to being outmatched. He already has a difficult time because he cannot assert himself against his wife Fricka, who, as the guardian of marriage, cannot accept the lovers and twin pair Siegmund and Sieglinde (yes, it is an incestuous story), of whom she observes that they "blossom in incest."
Generally, it was a strong cast of singers, brought in from near and far, that one could experience in the Carl Nielsen Hall, including Lithuanian tenor Kristian Benedikt as Siegmund and German bass Andreas Hörl as a suitably terrifying Hunding.
But it is, to a large extent, Wagner's inciting music that has caused people to make pilgrimages to his very long operas — and in Odense, this meant a sold-out house.
Alexander Vedernikov, who years ago made his mark at the Bolshoi Opera in Moscow, proved once again to be an excellent opera conductor, and the Odense Symphony Orchestra was in top form.
It is impressive that a Danish city of such relatively modest size can put together such a massive work of art — and deliver it with both commitment and skill. The applause was thunderous and very well-deserved.
And there is more to come. "The Valkyrie" is, as is well known, the second of the four operas that constitute "The Ring of the Nibelung," and concert performances of the two subsequent ones, "Siegfried" and "Twilight of the Gods," will follow.
But most importantly: in about a year and a half, the new Music and Theater House, Odeon, is scheduled to open in Odense. The Odense Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor Alexander Vedernikov will lead a mammoth project to demonstrate the many possibilities of the city's new cultural center: a complete staged production of Richard Wagner's "The Ring of the Nibelung" will hopefully take place in the spring of 2018.
Many Wagnerians — and curious non-Wagnerians as well — will be looking forward to that. The prelude has been more than promising.
Source.
Powerful Wagner Sopranos Impressed in "The Valkyrie".
The supreme god Odin was nearly outshone in Odense Concert House
The supreme god Odin was nearly outshone in Odense Concert House
Peter DŰRRFELD, Kristeligt Dagblad, April 19, 2016
