Bayreuth. (International).(Tannhauser)(Opera Review)

One expects to leave a new Bayreuth production with deeper insights and lots to think about. If judged on this precept, director/designer Philippe Arlaud's new production of Tannhauser did not succeed. Arlaud neither created individual personalities nor concentrated on interpersonal relationships. He made no use of symbols, no discernible attempt to portray Tannhauser as an artist caught between the rigid rules of society and his own need for freedom.

That said, Arlaud created magnificent, beautiful sets. After a sterile Venusberg, set on a square platform with some fascinating use of background perspective, Tannhauser found himself in an exquisite green meadow teeming with red poppies. One could taste the springtime. Magically, the pilgrims scaled the undulating hillside at the rear of the stage and, while marching toward the audience, imperceptibly disappeared from sight. Act II was set in an amphitheatrical hall. A column of light, changing color to meet the mood, rose diagonally from the floor. It was an impressive-looking set, and it might have worked had Arlaud not reduced the staging to melodramatic gesture. In Act III, we were back in the meadow, but through clever lighting, green had turned to autumn brown, afternoon shadows to evening. It was here that Arlaud offered his best direction, Tannhauser's Rome narrative being particularly well blocked.

The musical standard (heard Aug. 5) was extremely high, the tone being set by conductor Christian Thielemann, using an edition that did not include any of Wagner's post-Dresden orchestral refinements. The overture, played with the curtain down, was thrilling. Thielemann resisted the temptation to move from one fortissimo to the next, instead building then relaxing the tension until reaching a shattering climax. (One wondered if Thielemann would be flattered to be called a master of bel canto.) The idea of giving melodic phrases sufficient time to breathe brings to mind Bellini rather than Wagner, but by emphasizing vocal expression, Thielemann heightened communication with the audience, underscoring each individual singer's interpretive strengths. To balance this, he kept tempos upbeat in the score's narrative sections. What emerged was masterful, brilliant, unforgettable.

The cast was generally outstanding. Tenor Glenn Winslade's voice is strong but cumbersome. He projected the title role well, and he sang a very professional Rome narrative. Roman Trekel was a dominating Wolfram who translated ...