On November 30, the Metropolitan Opera opened a revival of Richard Wagner’s opera “Tannhäuser.” With some of the most challenging singing roles in all of opera and obscure settings, such as a grotto and a castle and an extended ballet section, “Tannhäuser” is one of the hardest works for an opera house to put on. This performance certainly had its faults, including a disappointing orchestra and, at times, imbalanced singing. However, these flaws were far outweighed by the phenomenal production and exceptional showings by the cast.
In “Tannhauser,” the title character finds himself trapped in the seductive grotto of Venus, the goddess of love. After many failed attempts to escape, he finally lands back home, where he is quickly welcomed back. During a singing contest, he reveals that he has been living with Venus, leading to an uproar by the Christian crowd. At the end of the opera, inspired by his love for a woman named Elisabeth, he travels to Rome for religious salvation.
Otto Schenk’s classic production, which opened in 1977, continues to delight as one of the Met’s most successful stagings. It presents “Tannhäuser” in a very traditional manner, with picturesque scenery for the Venusberg scene and architecturally impressive sets for the great hall in Act II. While old, the production fulfills its purpose, providing a robust foundation for a star-studded cast.
The most well-known piece from “Tannhäuser” is the overture, a fifteen-minute thunderstorm of melody that mirrors many of the themes developed later in the opera. When performed properly, it is one of the most beautiful and instantly recognizable pieces in the operatic canon. In an opera house as world-renowned as the Met, an overture like this is expected to bring the house down. Unfortunately, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, under the baton of Maestro Donald Runnicles, failed to meet these expectations. The opening French Horn passage was rough and imbalanced, while the famous climax, with its whirlwind of strings and booming brass, felt drowsy and unrehearsed. In a rare disappointment by Runnicles, an experienced and successful Wagner conductor, the orchestra played a standout piece with no energy and little dynamic variation. Thankfully, the musicians warmed up as the opera progressed, playing with more vibrancy in the ballet scene and beyond.
The highlight of this performance came right after the overture, in the Act I ballet. With stunning choreography and perhaps the most beautiful scenery in all of opera, the dance scene was thrilling from start to finish. The dancers were on their A-game, immersing the audience in Venus’s grotto, and the orchestra finally started playing more energetically. The Metropolitan Opera Chorus was similarly fantastic, as always, throughout the evening. Their first lines, sung softly and tenderly from backstage, kickstarted a night of stellar singing and exceptional acting.
The role of Tannhäuser is one of Wagner’s most challenging parts, but superstar tenor Andreas Schager lived up to the hype. An experienced heldentenor who has sung the roles of Siegfried and Parsifal on the Met stage in previous years, Schager seemed comfortable throughout the evening, making a difficult part seem easy. Early in the opera, Schager’s vibrato, known for being particularly fresh and controlled, came off a bit uneven, especially in his Act I aria “Dir, töne lob.” Schager quickly fixed the problem, however, and by the end of the act, his timbre perfectly resonated throughout the theater. Schager was also a very convincing actor, adding very animated and dramatic movements to his wonderful vocal performance. Most impressive was his delivery of the famous line, “O Königin! Göttin, lass’ mich ziehn!” at a critical moment in the plot, as Tannhäuser urges Venus to let him leave the grotto. Schager threw his body on the floor in a violent fashion, demonstrating his passion and desire to return home.
Similarly impressive was Elza van den Heever in her role debut as Elisabeth. The South African soprano is one of the most versatile performers in all of opera, having sung everything from the baroque chorales of Handel to the atonal operas of Berg. Every note she sang was not only delivered with incredible precision but underlined by a piercing emotional punch. While she was stronger in the upper register than in the lower, where her voice was at times overpowered by the orchestra, she delivered a brilliantly balanced and consistent performance — and she showed the potential to become one of the best Wagnerian sopranos in the world. Van den Heever and Schager were a powerhouse duo theatrically, producing exceptional chemistry and deeply expressive acting.
Christian Gerhaher also shone in his highly-anticipated Met debut as Wolfram, Tannhäuser’s loyal friend and skilled minnesinger. Gerhaher is known for his interpretations of Leider, short poems set to music, and he delivered the famous Act III aria, “O, du mein holder Abendstern” with the same warmth and soothing tone that is so characteristic of a Leider song. Particularly beautiful were his Act II songs in the singing competition, “Blick ich umher in diesem edlen Kreise” and “O Himmel, lass’ dich jetzt erflehen!” which were sung with a tenderness that left his fellow minnesingers — and the entire theater — absolutely starstruck. In the final scene of the opera, when Wolfram finally lets loose on Tannhäuser, reminding him of Elisabeth’s love for him and urging him not to return to Venus, Gerhaher sang and acted with ferocious passion, singing fortissimo for the first time all night and truly making his stage presence felt.
As Venus, the tempting goddess of love, mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova was satisfactory, especially theatrically. She was seductive and luscious in both of her major scenes, the Act I episode in the grotto and her return in Act III. She was, for the most part, vocally excellent as well, singing with a surgical direction of sound and crisp timbre. At times, however, her supple vibrato turned into a wobble, especially in the higher register, where she lost control of her voice.
The remainder of the cast was superb. Le Bu, a former winner of the Met’s Laffont Competition, stood out as Biterolf, especially in the Act II singing competition, where he belted out the lines “Heraus zum Kampfe mit uns allen!” with a towering sound, before stealing the show with a masterful decrescendo towards the end of the passage.
Overall, I would give this rendition of “Tannhäuser” a 4.5/5 rating. Apart from a few faults and wobbles, it made for an absolutely incredible evening!
