ROH - Tannhäuser - 1st Feb 2023

[Keraulophone]

.
"Worse, the intended Tannhäuser, Stefan Vinke, was unwell. The Viennese tenor Norbert Ernst sang the notes creditably from the side while Vinke walked the action. It was nobody’s fault, but the effect could only disappoint.

What a relief, then, that the soprano Lise Davidsen as Elisabeth gave a positively divine performance. The living, breathing meteor of the current opera world, she offered total security from her first jackpot-ringing notes – the mind-bending sonic equivalent of an ace in a Wimbledon final." (iNews review of the opening night)

...BUT on the second night, Vinke began badly then got worse. At the end of the first act the audience were told that he would continue [singing terribly] but requested our 'understanding'. What I understood was that the Royal Opera had not arranged for an understudy in the title role - why?

Gerald Finley was a very fine Wolfram, Ekaterina Gubanova and Mika Kares were satisfying, while the ROH Chorus (including the Tiffin Children's Choir) sang with fulsome tone.

The massive contrast on stage between the vocally crippled Stefan Vinke and the sublime Lise Davidsen was extreme, and extremely frustrating. She was worth the onerous journey from Kernow, involving a train strike and the collapse of Flybe. (Another of our rewards was the game on offer at Rules.)
.

[Ein Heldenleben]

.
"Worse, the intended Tannhäuser, Stefan Vinke, was unwell. The Viennese tenor Norbert Ernst sang the notes creditably from the side while Vinke walked the action. It was nobody’s fault, but the effect could only disappoint.

What a relief, then, that the soprano Lise Davidsen as Elisabeth gave a positively divine performance. The living, breathing meteor of the current opera world, she offered total security from her first jackpot-ringing notes – the mind-bending sonic equivalent of an ace in a Wimbledon final." (iNews review of the opening night)

...BUT on the second night, Vinke began badly then got worse. At the end of the first act the audience were told that he would continue [singing terribly] but requested our 'understanding'. What I understood was that the Royal Opera had not arranged for an understudy in the title role - why?

Gerald Finley was a very fine Wolfram, Ekaterina Gubanova and Mika Kares were satisfying, while the ROH Chorus (including the Tiffin Children's Choir) sang with fulsome tone.

The massive contrast on stage between the vocally crippled Stefan Vinke and the sublime Lise Davidsen was extreme, and extremely frustrating. She was worth the onerous journey from Kernow, involving a train strike and the collapse of Flybe. (Another of our rewards was the game on offer at Rules.)
.

An epic journey to rival that of a Wagnerian hero. If you can get from West Cornwall under such circumstances why can’t the ROH find a sub ? The phrase “ craves your indulgence “ or some such usually means a bad night for the singer.
And Rules as well … used to go there with my parents in the sixties,

[Master Jacques]

An epic journey to rival that of a Wagnerian hero. If you can get from West Cornwall under such circumstances why can’t the ROH find a sub ? The phrase “ craves your indulgence “ or some such usually means a bad night for the singer.
And Rules as well … used to go there with my parents in the sixties,

I was told ROH had the same singing sub as on the 1st night, ready and waiting in the wings. My own feeling, was that apart from a patch of vocal oblivion in the second verse of his song to Venus ("Dank deiner Huld, gepriesen sei dein Lieben!") and having to leave the stage a couple of times to "gob it out" while she was singing, Vinke just about weathered the storm. He certainly improved once the announcement had been made craving indulgence, before Act 2. He's no actor, and I think the Rome Narration would have been a low point even if he'd been in better voice.

As for the rest, the performances Keraulophone praised were indeed worth turning up for. I was particularly impressed by the Finnish bass Mika Kares, and have never heard or seen Gerald Finley to better effect. Davidsen, for me, turned out to be every bit as good as the hype suggested. What charisma!

The production looks and feels its age (the Venusberg reminded me of a dowdy bedroom in one of those awful, post-war British railway hotels) and if this was 'Hamlet without the Prince', it was still a pretty good evening.

[Ein Heldenleben]

I was told ROH had the same singing sub as on the 1st night, ready and waiting in the wings. My own feeling, was that apart from a patch of vocal oblivion in the second verse of his song to Venus ("Dank deiner Huld, gepriesen sei dein Lieben!") and having to leave the stage a couple of times to "gob it out" while she was singing, Vinke just about weathered the storm. He certainly improved once the announcement had been made craving indulgence, before Act 2. He's no actor, and I think the Rome Narration would have been a low point even if he'd been in better voice.

As for the rest, the performances Keraulophone praised were indeed worth turning up for. I was particularly impressed by the Finnish bass Mika Kares, and have never heard or seen Gerald Finley to better effect. Davidsen, for me, turned out to be every bit as good as the hype suggested. What charisma!

The production looks and feels its age (the Venusberg reminded me of a dowdy bedroom in one of those awful, post-war British railway hotels) and if this was 'Hamlet without the Prince', it was still a pretty good evening.

Do you remember the “topless” Venusberg of the Seventies (Solti ?) Tannhauser that as my dad sitting next to me remarked “ this is all a bit Raymond Revuebar isn’t it ? “
Never seen a Venusberg that’s really worked.

[Master Jacques]

Do you remember the “topless” Venusberg of the Seventies (Solti ?) Tannhauser that as my dad sitting next to me remarked “ this is all a bit Raymond Revuebar isn’t it ? “
Never seen a Venusberg that’s really worked.

Yes, it's odd - given the number of operas liberally supplied with concept-inflicted brothels these days - that when stage directors are called on to produce something like the real thing (Venusberg or Flower Maidens) they rarely seem to conjure any sort of sensual allure. Your dad had it right - cliché rules!

[Lancashire Lass]

Wonderful night last night, totally bowled over by the opera (which I knew absolutely nothing about) and the performances. Vink was fine, seemed to strain a bit but maybe that was for other reasons than being unwell. I was stunned by Gerald Finlay, and the tenderness and humanity he brought to the part, Evening Star was just the best. Plus the attention to detail -- dynamics, texture (as with Lise Davidson) -- delivered each phrase as if it were a precious baby he were handing over to the audience. And good to know we can look forward to seeing Davidsen again in Don Carlo.

I agree with you all about the production but somehow it diodn't seem to really matter.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Yes, it's odd - given the number of operas liberally supplied with concept-inflicted brothels these days - that when stage directors are called on to produce something like the real thing (Venusberg or Flower Maidens) they rarely seem to conjure any sort of sensual allure. Your dad had it right - cliché rules!

Don’t the current Met Flower maidens wade through blood? Very alluring ….

[Ein Heldenleben]

Wonderful night last night, totally bowled over by the opera (which I knew absolutely nothing about) and the performances. Vink was fine, seemed to strain a bit but maybe that was for other reasons than being unwell. I was stunned by Gerald Finlay, and the tenderness and humanity he brought to the part, Evening Star was just the best. Plus the attention to detail -- dynamics, texture (as with Lise Davidson) -- delivered each phrase as if it were a precious baby he were handing over to the audience. And good to know we can look forward to seeing Davidsen again in Don Carlo.


I agree with you all about the production but somehow it diodn't seem to really matter.

Now you are making me want to go. I saw GF as Scarpia . He’s a magnificent singer but his voice didn’t really carry to the Amphitheater for the rehearsal - fine in the stalls though. Was he powerful enough or does Wagner (I don’t know the score well enough ) cunningly pare things down in a way that Puccini doesn’t for the over sexed chief of police ?

[Master Jacques]

I agree with you all about the production but somehow it diodn't seem to really matter.

I agree with you.

[ChandlersFord]

The production is just over twelve years old, so not that venerable in ROH terms.

This is a seriously flawed work, as its composer himself came to appreciate: there is no-one alive today who can satisfactorily essay the central role of Tannhauser. It seems very unfair that the baritone who sings the gratefully-written role of Wolfram always walks away with the notices (and it ALWAYS happens) while the punishing titular part gets praised with faint damns. All Wagner’s fault, of course.

Paris is preferable to Dresden, but neither really works, imo.

Let’s have more revivals of Die Feen (it’s fun, and it’s ‘new’) and let Tannhauser be dropped for a good while, or until Nature furnishes us with another Melchior/de Reske Heldentenor who can actually do it justice.

The best bits can always be heard in concert, anyway.

[LHC]

Just back from this evening’s performance. Stefan Vinke was again unable to sing, so mimed on stage while Norbert Ernst (I think) sang from the side of the stage. Actually he did a pretty good job; he sang powerfully and in tune all night and didn’t flag at all. He was a considerable improvement on poor Peter Seiffert, who croaked his way through the part when it was last on at the Opera House in 2016.

We were also told before the start that Ekaterina Gubanova was unwell and asked for our understanding, but she was fine and if nothing had been said, no one would have noticed anything wrong with her performance. However, as others have said the real stars of the show were Finlay and Davidsen, both of whom were quite exceptional. I did wonder if the Evening Star has been sung with such beauty and feeling as Finlay managed. And as for Davidsen, her singing seems almost effortlessly secure throughout the range and with seemingly limitless reserves of power. She’s so good, all you can do is sit back, admire and give thanks that you are there to hear her.

[duncan]

Also went last night, an enjoyable evening overall. Concur with the views on Davidsen and Finlay: magnificent. Orchestra, conducting, Gubanova and Norbert Ernst were all more than acceptable. Ewa Płonka is singing Venus in the next couple of performances. I hear very good reports about her and had half hoped she was stepping in when it was announced Gubanova had a cold. The Bacchanal was spectacularly athletic, the Jockey-Club de Paris would very much have approved had they turned up on time.

The design and production was uninspiring and dressing the Thuringians like the Wagner group might have seemed edgy in 2010 but just looks hackneyed and inappropriate now. This isn't a work that sings itself and needs more help from 'The Creatives' (as the ROH likes to term them, the musicians not creative by implication...) than it got here.

[Prommer]

I had to leave part way through the dress rehearsal - Vinke was singing then, but was so awfully effortful. Unbearable.

I have been spoiled as I saw the production in its earlier incarnation, beautifully and stirringly conducted by Bychkov. Weigle a total plodder by comparison.

Davidsen is indeed a great singer, and will get better and better. Finlay too was good, though no one can beat Christian Gerhaher as Wolfram: his taking of this role in this house (2011/2?) was one of the most magical, breath-denying pieces of singing I have ever heard anywhere.

[Cockney Sparrow]

.
"Worse, the intended Tannhäuser, Stefan Vinke, was unwell. The Viennese tenor Norbert Ernst sang the notes creditably from the side while Vinke walked the action. (iNews review of the opening night)

As to Sunday next's performacnce:

"Stefan Vinke is replaced by Norbert Ernst as Tannhäuser who will be singing and acting the role.

Austriantenor Norbert Ernsthas previouslyperformed with The Royal Opera in performancesofAriadne auf Naxos and Tannhäuser. Elsewhere, Ernst has performed the title roles in Tristan und Isolde(Vienna Chamber Opera),Tannhäuser(Opernhaus Wuppertal), and the role of Walther von Stolzingin Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Tokyo). He has performedhis signature role of Logein Wagner’s DasRheingoldat leading houses includingWiener Staatsoper, the Opéra national de Paris, BayerischeStaatsoper and Deutsche Oper am Rhein and made his acclaimed debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York with this role."

I too (per previous comment) found Gerhaher's performance as Wolfram superb and memorable, in the previous revival (not being organised enough to secure tickets to his Wigmore Hall visits etc).

However, I also admire Gerald Finley and am looking forward to his performance, and hearing Lise Davidsen live for the first time.