Jay Hunter Morris, Deborah Voigt in Siegfried's final scene. Photo (c) Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera
With inexorable momentum, Wagner's Gesamtkunstwerk rolls on at the Met. Saturday's performance of Siegfried was remarkable for its emotional immediacy, a musically and dramatically exciting experience. I am still frustrated that Lepage's approach to the staging of the Ring is descriptive rather than analytical, but the performers did an admirable job. The humanizing approach to the Ring, while it may be the best approach to working with Lepage's sets, does not serve all the relationships of Siegfried equally well. The staging's implication that Mime is an unreliable narrator remains unexplored, but there was more detailed characterization of his relationship with Mime, which worked well. Siegfried's abuse of Mime is thus adolescent pique. The dwarf's interactions with the Wanderer further establish that Mime's disagreeability is personal, not part of a larger scheme of value; his refusal of Gastfreundlichkeit is shrugged at by the old man who dries his own boots at the fire. The orchestral performance was better-coordinated than at this cycle's Walküre; there were one or two moments where the brass sounded slightly unfocused, but matters were much improved. The horn and woodwind soloists distinguished themselves, and the forest murmurs were dreamily lovely. Whether it was the result of added experience or simply an example of a performance "clicking," I found myself more convinced and engaged by Fabio Luisi's Siegfried on this second hearing. Flexible dynamics and responsiveness to the singers made it a lively, but not a lightweight account. The orchestral playing in the final scene was so radiantly sensual as to border on the obscene; from my perspective, this counts as warm praise.
A strong cast of singers delivered fine performances. Erin Morley's Waldvogel sang beautifully, if not always intelligibly. Patricia Bardon still sounds light-hued for Erda to me, but she phrased her music expressively. Hans-Peter König's expansive sound as Fafner was far more intimidating than the dragon's snakelike head. Eric Owens' charismatic singing and incisive diction made Alberich's reentry carry an appropriate frisson of excitement, and his scene with Bryn Terfel's Wotan sparked with energy. Gerhard Siegel sang a magnificent Mime, with richly expressive use of text, and full, muscular sound. At the outset of Brünnhilde's glorious awakening, Deborah Voigt sounded a bit thin, but soon warmed up to deliver a strong and deeply affecting performance. She and Jay Hunter Morris have an excellent stage chemistry, and Voigt portrayed Brünnhilde's complex emotional journey movingly, as she reconnects with her former existence only to realize that her life must change. At her "Siegfried! Dein war ich von je!" I actually teared up. I might have wished for still more recklessness to "Leuchtende Liebe! Lachender Tod!" but the triumphant finale provided exultant emotional release.