Anxious final. Review of the closing concerts of the festival Riga Jurmala / Day

The festival allowed two unique, musically glorious vocal symphonic evenings at the Latvian National Opera in its closing week. Riga Jurmala. This was a historic event, as the orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival visited us for the first time with majestically ambitious and at the same time sensitively nuanced interpretations of the music of the German operenic Richard Wagner.

Finally, in Riga, where Wagner worked for two years in his youth and there is no shortage of passionate Wagnerists, the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, once formed by Wagner himself, performed at the first Bayreuth Festival in 1876 and has been working as it has been for 135 years (since 1886). Neither the orchestra nor the conductor is visible to the public in the performances, as they play music at Bayreuth Festspielhaus in the unusually deep, graceful pit of the orchestra, which is additionally partially covered with a peculiar roof – so that the music flows as if from a mystical abyss, allowing the audience to focus on the stage and protecting the singers from the superiority of the orchestra. The music of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra on stage is a rarity, but its tours are even more rare. This team has not been on a tour of Europe as long as this summer.

This summer, about half of the impressive orchestra consisting of 200 musicians playing in Wagner’s opera performances visited Cologne, Essen, Paris and Riga. There were 102 musicians from 42 different orchestras – mostly German – on the stage of the Latvian National Opera, as well as some like-minded people from Switzerland (Geneva), France (Paris National Opera) and the Netherlands. Of course, also from Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, which has also dedicated its main conductor – our world – famous maestro Andris Nelson to the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra this summer tour.

Three soloists played with them – one of Wagner’s most famous heroes, Klaus Florian Fogt from Germany, the unbeatable Wagner (and not only Wagner!) Soprano Kristine Gerke from the USA and Austrian bass Günter Groisbeck, who lives in the versatile repertoire the brilliant, arrogant Baron von Ox at the Richard Strauss Opera, brilliantly portrayed on the stages of several theaters Rose Knight, which we could admire in Riga live broadcast of the New York Metropolitan Opera. Instead, he adds that Ginters Groisberks will return to us to give a solo concert at the Latvian National Opera in May 2022.

Listen and see!

Although we are not a peripheral province where the best European orchestras have not been heard before, the concerts of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra were truly a very special adventure. Wagner’s opera Loengrin, Valkyrie, Parsifal a The twilight of the gods the interpretation of the voluminous fragments was addressed by an extremely saturated, dense, powerful, nuanced and lively sound. Purposefully and enthusiastically guided by Andris Nelson, he addressed with irresistible force and literally pulled in, revealing the Wagner code in all its riches. There was both a glamorous complement of the soloists ‘songs, a capable vibration of the characters’ feelings ranging from love passion to spiritual ecstasy, and a vivid, almost visually perceptible depiction of the environment and natural elements in Wagner’s operas in typical, wide symphonic fragments. Loengrin at the introduction of the strings “weightless” flazolette and noble flowing wind instruments solo lift into the divine sky, Parsifāla the introduction leads to a sad, unhurried but fatally inevitable course, in turn Valkyrie in the foreplay of the first act makes the eyes of the spirit to see the desperate delusion of the wounded Sigmund in the gloomy, night – dark forest. Where else is Siegfried Rhine Journey (The Twilight of the Gods), famous, dynamic Valkyrie flight operas Valkyrie at the beginning of the third act and the finale of this opera, where music with apt orchestral means paints a dazzling flame of protective flames around the high cliff, where lies the eternally driven, magically sleeping walnut Brinhilde – this is Wagner ‘s sound “pyrotechnics”. Valkyrie the hidden miracle sword Nottung also shines brightly in the symphonic wave.

It was a real celebration to enjoy the artistic union of this orchestra and Andris Nelson so close and so transparent. Enjoy how a miracle flourishes before our eyes, powerfully triggering and lifting the wings of modern technology. The orchestra in the hands of Andris Nelsons was like an inexhaustible palette of colors, in which both sophisticated and powerful, heroically solo, and breeze-changing or scary instruments (especially wooden and metal wind instruments) and their groups stood out. all. I only dream that this scale and nuances would sound not in the gray box of the opera house adapted for concerts, but in acoustically ideal conditions, such as in the Rezekne concert hall. Gors or Liepaja Great in amber.

The solo work of soloists

The singers have a special challenge to keep their voice above the orchestra with a dense, powerful sound. Kristīne Gerke was undoubtedly the brightest star of the soloists’ triumvirate. I had never heard such an open, flowing, warm, powerful, timbre full-bodied and emotionally full-blooded dramatic soprano in person. Without many dramatic sopranos in the voice of a typical, cold-edged methanite, her Sieglinde and Brinhilde disarmed with the warmth of a timbre, deep human intonation, true revelation of content, emotional saturation, and a free flow of vocals. In addition, she is an outstanding actress, who was so absolutely empathetic to the image that in the visually modest conditions of the concert performance, she addressed even with just a glance and without punching theatrical gestures.

The artistic arsenal of Klaus Floriant Fogt and Ginter Groisbeck is also an actor whose power has a bone-deep effect in the image of deep penetration. Klaus Florian Fogt is by no means the loudest, most ambitious heroine in the world. Unlike Kristine Gerke, it seems that at the climax she has to use all her vocal strength reserves, but she is able to do so, not only focusing on these challenges, but expressing the inner world and emotional experiences of her portrayed characters – Loengrin and Sigmund – with maximum dedication. And, as is the case in Wagner’s operas, there is nothing lukewarm here – everything is in a state of extreme affect, be it passion for love, dreamy tenderness, hatred, noble feelings or sacred revelation.

Bass Ginter Groisbeck’s task was on the same September 4 evening and at the same opera Valkyrie incarnating in the image of both the cruel, violent warrior Hunding and then also of the Walloon god Wotan – specifically in the Votan farewell monologue Valkyrie in the final. In front of us was an outstanding artist – both a master of vocal and acting. Hundingu Valkyrie in the first act we get to know him as a negative hero in all respects. His vocal part does not offer the performer the opportunity to demonstrate bass beauty as self-worth. It is completely blunt, because there is a conversation in which Hundings listens more, suspiciously “scanning” a stranger who has arrived at his home. The singer only slowly but surely turns his head in the direction of Sigmund, and we already understand that he has discovered the enemy of his family.

Discovery in the test

The extremely talented 22-year-old Japanese pianist Mao Fujits visited Latvia for the first time soon after winning the second place in the 2019 Peter Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, responding to the call of the Herman Brown Foundation. Now at the festival Riga Jurmala he previously had to give three concerts in two days! With the sensitive, delicate, crystal clear, infinitely gentle, singing tone, playful virtuosity and the long, felt Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s domino sonata no. 14, after two readings by Johannes Brahms and the rarely performed reading of Richard Strauss’s piano (sibemolminor, op. 5), seduced the audience at a solo concert on the afternoon of September 4 in the Grand Guild, in emotional depth and melodically harmonious beauty.

On the evening of September 5, Mao Fuji was already on his way to the airport, but… arrived on the stage of the Latvian National Opera, urgently replacing the world grandmother of pianism Maria Juau Pirete, who, coming from the hotel, stumbled on a tram and ended up in hospital. It was an extreme challenge for both the young musician and the festival organizers, because they had to react immediately and everything went very fast and under a lot of stress. This evening, Mao Fujita once again played his solo program, which began with two miniatures by Peter Tchaikovsky, which sounded in addition to the Grand Guild, making him particularly admirable. Waltz airy arcade delightfully light flight.

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