Der Freischutz at the Barbican

Der Freischütz (in concert) - LSO / Davis - Barbican Hall, 19 & 21 April 2012

As a music drama, Der Freischütz is problematical, inherently fractured by the interpolated speech sections. In the theatre, the visual element provides some compensatory continuity - it's this basic structural issue as much as the content of the story that encourages contemporary directors to lard the work in Konzept. But in concert, it's almost inevitable that the talky bits come across as mere chat between numbers. The English language narration commissioned here to replace the original German dialogue only magnified that effect, breaking the spell with unfortunate regularity. And so, despite high musical values, these two performances failed to gather any real dramatic momentum.

It's a shame. Taken as a series of numbers, like one of those concerts of operatic arias, there was much to admire. The LSO played with a vigour that complemented Sir Colin Davis's sweeping phrasing and stately pace. The cast was excellent. But it proved impossible to build any tension in the few minutes between each actorly ejaculation. And a story as improbable as Der Freischütz demands that an audience is hypnotised for long enough to suspend disbelief and enter into its world. Otherwise it can (and did) come across as a little bit silly - the pre-recorded thunder and water sound effects of the Wolf's Glen scene provoked titters rather than terror, as did the chorus's supposedly spooky paper megaphones. 

Simon O'Neill's piping tenor proved far more suited to the part of Max than the Wagnerian heroes he has played recently, despite his distracting tendency to relish the sounds of words more than their meaning.  Christine Brewer might seem an unusually weighty-voiced choice for Agathe, but the very fullness of her sound sat well with Sir Colin's proto-Wagnerian conception. The bloom is not as intact as it once was, but I could overlook a few intonation problems and a touch of wear at the top of the voice. 

These performances were effectively a live recording session for a future LSO disc, so perhaps it's not surprising that the cast kept their eyes on the target, with only a couple making a consistent effort to get their noses out of their scores and engage with the audience.  Some of Sally Matthews' notes may have lacked focus, but her determination to present Ännchen as a vivacious foil to Agathe came across vividly in her physical presence. And Lars Woldt might have been back home treading the boards of the Wiener Staatsoper, so complete was his immersion in the part of Kaspar. 

Comments

[Liane Bierau]

Thank you for your review. I have been waiting for this since I was also there on Saturday. I have only once seen Freischuetz in my life and thoroughly enjoyed this performance. The points you made re the narration did not worry me. I quite agree I dont' like O'Neill in Wagner, especially not as Siegmund which I have seen in La Scala. He has not got a patch on Jonas Kaufmann's performance in the same role. However, I did like him very much as Max and I was impressed by Sally Matthews who I saw for the first time. But most of all I was impressed by Lars Woldt's performance. He made me see the dark forest and dangerous Wolfschlucht as if I saw it in the theatre, or even in reality. You are quite right he might as well have been in Wien
playing it on the stage.

[Justin Chapman]

Who's the hottie with the beard next to the bird in the dark red dress? And I most certainly don't mean lardy O'Neill who seems to be trying to emulate Johan Botha's girth. Have the RO really cast him as Parsifal?
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Intermezzo replies - the beardy is Marcus Farnsworth, who sang Kilian (very well).

I'm not sure why the ROH has stopped booking Chris Ventris - maybe not a golden age voice, but a rightly sought-after Parsifal on the continent. Or there's Andrew Richards or Nikolai Schukoff.....it's not that hard a role to fill well right now.

[amac4165]

I was at Saturday's performance - a pretty good cure for Widdecombe syndrome. [see other thread]

I happen to be next to some regular prommers who had also seen the Berlioz version last year. I think we agreed we didn't like the narration but also agreed we would not have liked the dialogue any better !

I have now seen it in 3 languages ! Overall I think Berlioz wins - as basically it gets over the stop/start of the dialogue.

It was a pity someone at LSO did not go to the Le Jakobin - they might have picked up a few tips on how to do a concert staging
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Intermezzo replies - I agree about the Berlioz, at least for a concert staging. The flow gained more than compensates for the oddity of le français.

[SJT]

Or better stiil, translate the Berlioz recits back into German.

But I can't be the only person who likes the original dialogue - and in Fidelio and Zauberflöte - and who can see no reason why a performance using surtitles anyway doesn't provide them. I can't see how this polyglot mish-mash, minus the all-important rifle shots, can have any shelf-life as an international release on LSO Live.
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Intermezzo replies - the original version, with dialogue, has a place on stage. In a good production, you barely notice the transition. I just don't think a load of talking works in concert.

[Vecchio John]

Nicolai Schukoff spent most of the third act of the recent Lyon Parsifal (shared with the MET)shirtless. I dare not think of O'Neill doing that when he takes over the role in the 2013-4 season.

[amac4165]

I do wonder if it's possible to do the Berlioz in German ?

[Steve W.]

I sat almost dead center in the third row on Saturday and spent a lot of time worrying about how any prospective sound engineer is going to manage the fact of O'Neil constantly interposing his score between his mouth and his microphone. Unless he behaved differently on Thursday, I actually fear a decent recording will be an impossible task...

Did enjoy it though, even if we got coverd in spit!