Das Rheingold - Peter Rose (Fafner), Mika Kares (Fasolt), Claudia Mahnke (Fricka), Siyabonga Maqungo (Froh), Lauri Vasar (Donner), Rolando Villazón (Loge)

I attended a performance of Dutch director Guy Cassiers’ 2010-13 Ring production at the Staatsoper Berlin in September 2019 conducted by Daniel Barenboim. And now three years later a new Ring unveils itself directed by Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov and also due to be conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

Sadly, though, Barenboim (who has held the post of General Music Director at the Staatsoper Berlin since 1992) had to pull out of the production because of health issues, a great blow to all and disappointing for Barenboim himself as he reaches his 80th year. However, his replacement, Christian Thielemann - who was at one time Barenboim’s assistant at Bayreuth - duly conducted the first and third cycles, while the second cycle fell to the young and highly talented German conductor Thomas Guggeis (designated Generalmusikdirektor of Oper Frankfurt) whom Barenboim holds in high esteem. As Kapellmeister at the Staatsoper Berlin, Guggeis has been heavily involved in preparations for the cycle over the past year.

No stranger to the Staatsoper Berlin, Tcherniakov worked with Barenboim on Tristan und Isolde in 2018 and, a year later, on Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery. But this is his first Ring which follows hard on the heels of Deutsche Oper Berlin’s new cycle seen last year directed by Norwegian director, Stefan Herheim.

Tcherniakov’s Ring takes place in the confines of a research institute named ESCHE (Experimental Scientific Centre for Human Evolution), appropriately forming an acronym of the German word for ‘ash-tree’ in which Wotan broke a holy bough to fashion his spear. In his infinite wisdom, Tcherniakov dumps the spear and other such magical trappings drifting miles away from Wagner’s original intentions but, nonetheless, came up with an interesting and rewarding production - though not to Wagner traditionalists, I’m afraid.

With an eye for detail, Tcherniakov conjured up a grand and magnificent set along with his collaborators, offering more than a hint to DDR architecture featuring simplistic linear-designed furniture and wall coverings to match while one wooden-panelled room (the meeting room) displayed a total of six golden-sculpted busts of philosophers considered ancestors and role models of the ESCHE research institute. Their names: Albertus Magnus, Pierre-Louis Maupertius, Charles Darwin, Alexander von Humboldt, Gregor Mendel and Gregory Bateson. And with the Humboldt University lying in the shadow of Staatsoper, the red-marbled wall covering employed in the meeting room equates to that used in the foyer of the university.

From an engineering point of view, the set was cleverly constructed swallowing up the length, breadth and depth of the Staatsoper’s vast stage either moving horizontally backwards and forwards highlighting the multiple rooms of the research centre, vertically apropos Nibelheim and Valhalla and rotating in respect of smaller scenes such as Hunding’s house.

The mighty Rhine is miles away in this production of Das Rheingold and when one comes across the Rhinemaidens (Evelin Novak, Natalia Skrycha and Anna Lapkovskaja) at the beginning of the opera they are reimagined as white-coated lab assistants working as part of the ESCHE research team in the stress lab. But they still get up to their old tricks of teasing Alberich - admirably sung and acted here by Johannes Martin Kränzle - who’s wired up all over with sensors to his head and strapped down to a medical-type reclining-padded chair receiving experimental treatment by a fluorescent liquid being injected into his brain. I should imagine it was highlighting the workings of the central nervous system and the powers thereof. A group of students watch the proceedings close by through a video link created by Alexey Poluboyarinov.

Under tremendous strain and boiling over with frustration, Alberich blows his top and breaks loose from the stress lab in an avalanche of vandalism and riotous behaviour (shades of Frank Castorf here) grabbing as much data that he could manage in his hurried and confused state, buzzing off leaving the lab staff in wonderment and utter despair in respect of the loss of their work. This brilliant opening scene of Das Rheingold certainly set the overall tone and stamped the credentials of Tcherniakov’s carefully planned Ring.

The journey to Nibelheim proved equally captivating putting to the test the theatre’s brand-new hydraulic-lifting system with the whole set moving slowly and gently into place without a hitch. And a nice amusing touch to the overall scene witnessed Wotan taking the ‘elevator’ to Nibelheim in tow with Loge, the role so well played by Rolando Villazón, fashionably dressed and adorned with ‘shades’ and behaving in his usual cunning and devious way.

And when the pair eventually catch up with Alberich he’s furiously cracking the whip of his team of neurotically charged scientific researchers in his underground den. And to trick the poisoned dwarf out of his ‘stolen treasure’ by utilising the magical properties of the Tarnhelm to turn him into a dragon or a toad was, simply, left to one’s imagination. There’s no magic helmet, dragon or toad whatsoever, just the idea of these so-called creatures swimming about in Alberich’s confused and mindless head. The scene, in fact, was not too dissimilar to that portrayed by Valentin Schwarz at Bayreuth. However, I think it fared better here. It ended calamitously and Alberich was quietly removed to the research centre by a couple of lab staff while cursing the ground he stood on and cursing his own stupidity.

A strong cast was headed by Michael Volle in the pivotal role of Wotan. He harbours such a lovely rich-sounding baritone voice and, as boss of ESCHE, he’s Master of the Universe to coin a Tom Wolfe phrase, firmly in control as befitting his godly status. He thirsts for knowledge and power by garnering scientific data (his ‘gold’ so to speak) through an elaborate and detailed assortment of experiments surrounding the human mind and its behavioural patterns which resurrected in my mind the human medical experiments carried out on prisoners of the Third Reich in the Nazi concentration camps.

Other memorable performances included Wotan’s long-suffering and loyal wife, Fricka, gracefully portrayed by Claudia Manke. She delivered a commanding and convincing performance that leaped out into the auditorium, while her ill-fated sister, Freia, sung by Anett Fritsch, brought a nervousness to the role that caused the necessary friction between Fricka and Wotan over the ransom money demanded by the giants as payment for building Valhalla.

The duo playing the giants proved more than their worth. Fafner (Peter Rose) got the better of his greedy brother, Fasolt (Mika Kares) by the help of a handgun. Another bullet to the head and a further nod to Frank Castorf, while Anna Kissjudit delivered an impeccable performance as Erda with Stephan Rügamer portraying so humbly Alberich’s down-trodden brother, Mime. Of the more junior roles Siyabonga Maqungo was heard to good effect as Froh while Lauri Vasar made a strong impression in the companion role of Donner.

Providing an idyllic setting for the Gods magical journey to Valhalla was the courtyard of ESCHE. All the heavenly-bound passengers are found sitting on circular benches surrounding a mature flowering tree – the World Ash Tree? - one of the very few hints of nature to be seen in the whole of this Ring. They were lapping up and thoroughly enjoying the Donner & Froh magic show conjuring up an odd assortment of pyrotechnical wizardry and such goings-on. For instance, Froh holds his special guests in the palm of his hand performing the multi-coloured handkerchief illusion which conveniently fuses together to form one long multi-coloured silk scarf representing the rainbow bridge - the gateway to Valhalla.

Crafty Loge, though, lurks in the realm of the shadows, his secret world, lights up a fag and decides the lofty heights of Valhalla are not for him.

Die Walküre - Michael Volle (Wotan), Anja Kampe (Brünnhilde)

And so to Die Walküre. A strange quirk to this production is the fact that Hunding and Siegmund survive the hunt. Generally, Hunding kills Siegmund and Wotan strikes him down immediately using the magic properties of his spear. Confusingly, to any Ring newcomer, the libretto tells one story and Tcherniakov tells another. That’s the conundrum of this production.

The fallen heroes destined for Valhalla were clearly depicted by their mugshots and personal data created in a passport-type format flashed up regularly on a wide-angled video screen housed in ESCHE’s lecture theatre which also provided the setting for the scene featuring the Ride of the Valkyries.

As for Brünnhilde’s punishment over her disobedient behaviour towards Wotan in respect of the feud between Hunding and Siegmund, her banishment was rather a low-key affair employing no ceremonial procedure or burning rock as is the norm. However, inventive and independent as ever, Brünnhilde creates a circle of wooden chairs nabbed from ESCHE’s lecture theatre then daubs the backs of them with a red marker - that’s the nearest you get to a flame!

Continuing this charade, she then re-enacts a dance-like ‘fire’ sequence within the circle stretching her arms and fingertips to the limit imitating flickering flames. When they subside, Wotan gently leads her from the circle to stand alone on a black-draped bare stage pondering her misfortune.

Nervously, Brünnhilde half turns towards the audience before Wotan finally dispatches her to the research centre’s sleep lab where she’s kept under constant surveillance (a nod to DDR interference here) in a glass-covered room. Covered by a sheet of silver foil, she forms part of ESCHE’s overall experiment focusing on the workings of one’s inner self and, in all probability, the subconscious mind, free, of course, from the stresses and strains of daily life during sleep. By her side is a small plastic toy that is her loyal steed, Grane. The waiting game begins.

On the vocal side Vida Miknevičiūtė, proved a spirited (and athletic) performer, delivering a brilliant reading of Sieglinde working in tandem with Robert Watson, as Siegmund, her long-lost brother. The beast of their respective lives, Hunding, fell to Mika Kares, whose deep-sonorous voice alone shook the foundations of his house let alone those around him.

Returning to Guy Cassiers’ Ring, I well remember Simon O’Neill and Anja Kampe stamping their authority on the demanding roles of Siegmund and Sieglinde in Die Walküre, therefore I found it delightful to witness Kampe returning to the Ring in the more superior role of Brünnhilde. For sure, a seasoned and spirited performer, she sang and acted this most demanding of Wagnerian roles with consummate ease.

Siegfried - Andreas Schager (Siegfried), Stephan Rügamer (Mime)

The beginning of Siegfried sees scruffily dressed Mime working at full stretch to keep Siegfried on side. We first meet this ‘heroic’ character of the Ring, triumphantly and handsomely sung by Andreas Schager, bored stiff hearing Mime whining on and on about the ‘motherly’ role he undertook in bringing him up. As befitting his naïveté, Siegfried acts in a juvenile and boorish way, turned out as an over-enthusiastic backpacker wearing a light-blue tracksuit.

By now, Wotan and Alberich are seen as bad-tempered and crotchety old duffers. Wotan is propped up by a walking-stick, while Alberich is struggling on a Zimmer and Mime is not doing so well either. However, with youth on his side, Siegfried gets down to business forging and shaping Nothung on Mime’s kitchen table while also prancing about smashing to smithereens such old childhood memories as his Lego collection (a scientific conception, mind you!) and practically everything else he could lay his hands on in the makeshift smithy. The scene is reminiscent of a concert by the rock band, The Who, renowned for smashing and destroying their instruments at the end of a gig.

However, searching for his bride-to-be at the sleep lab Siegfried incurs many interruptions and slimy characters on the way. First, he has to deal with Fafner, who seems to have lost his marbles after greedily stuffing his mind too full of knowledge that made him incapable of enjoying the fruits of life. He appears straitjacketed and bound but soon finds his dead end.

Having dealt with Mime, Siegfried then finds his saving grace in the Woodbird who was represented by a small plastic hand toy operated by a lab assistant. Victoria Randem sang the role beautifully utilising featherlight movement to imitate a bird in flight thereby guiding the fearless young Siegfried to Brünnhilde.

In the last scene both Anja Kampe and Andreas Schager came together as one to deliver a superb and heart-throbbing ending. ‘Wonder Girl’ performed brilliantly delivering a dramatic and soulful reading of ‘Heil dir, Sonne! Heil dir, Licht!’ while ‘Wonder Boy’ looked rather bemused by what was going on around him casually standing beside her with hands stuffed in his tracksuit pockets looking perplexed. Then the couple, solemnly declaring their eternal love for each other, put all the vocal energy that existed between them into a majestic rendering of ‘Leuchtende Liebe, Lachender Tod’ (Radiant Love, Laughing Death) to a thunderous reception from a packed house that included the former German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, a Wagnerite through and through.

Götterdämmerung - Anja Kampe (Brünnhilde), Andreas Schager (Siegfried)

When one arrives at Götterdämmerung the Norms (Noa Beinart, Kristina Stanek and Anna Samuil) are seen hobbling about fudging in their handbags dressed in the comfy style of old grannies bent over and crippled with arthritis and, like Wotan, aided by walking-sticks.

There’s no evidence of them weaving the Rope of Destiny recalling the days of Wotan’s reign and predicting the fall of Valhalla. But as they enjoy afternoon tea in Siegfried and Brünnhilde’s well-furnished and well-designed house, where the couple are enjoying a brief life of domestic bliss, a crash of the Norns’ bone-china cups indicates the break of the rope thus culminating in the end of their wisdom.

If in Das Rheingold Wotan thirsts for knowledge and power by garnering scientific data in the pursuit of his ‘gold,’ in Götterdämmerung Tcherniakov shakes the drama to a higher level by introducing a ring, the physical object of Hagen’s desire, in stark contrast to Brünnhilde who relishes it as a symbol of fidelity.

One of my favourite scenes in Götterdämmerung is when Waltraute, Brünnhilde's tender and caring Valkyrie sister, tells her of the dangers of keeping the ring and not returning it to the Rhinemaidens for safekeeping. Waltraute was passionately sung here with true devotion and conviction by Violeta Urmana - however her plea to Brünnhilde falls on deaf ears.

Eventually, Hagen (the role strongly and menacingly sung by Mika Kares) sees his chance and takes over as boss of ESCHE changing its pace and ways of working and, indeed, changing the whole look and layout of the place. For instance, he introduces a gymnasium to keep the staff fit with Siegfried and Gunther (Lauri Vasar) sportily kitted out as members of the centre’s basketball team while Gunther’s sister, Gutrune, was portrayed by Mandy Friedrich in a carefree and whirlwind way as befitting a glam-looking movie star being manipulated along with her weak-minded and dithering-looking brother by Hagen.

The brutal killing of Siegfried takes place in the gymnasium by Hagen utilising the coloured-spiked team flag as his chosen weapon, thirsting more than ever to get his hands on the ring at any cost. Siegfried is reverently laid out in the stress lab providing one of the greatest scenes of this production where the visual accompaniment to Siegfried’s funeral march saw Brünnhilde and a large core of mourners slowly come together to keep a vigil. A deeply thoughtful moment - the scene resembled a ‘living picture.’ Meanwhile Thielemann and the orchestra painted their own picture of this most moving and delicate scene.

Denouncing the Gods for their guilt in Siegfried’s death, Brünnhilde takes the ring from her husband’s hand and throws it away - presumably in the Rhine. Full of guilt, Hagen quietly leaves the research centre to live another day in the hope, maybe, of redeeming himself for his wrongdoing. The idea of redemption, of course, lies at the heart of Wagner’s philosophy.

Brünnhilde follows Hagen from the centre. The earth goddess, Erda, waves her goodbye by utilising the wings of a toy bird. Brünnhilde’s farewell references Robert Graves’ 1929 autobiography, Good-Bye to All That, pointing to the passing of the ‘old order’ (and a new beginning) following the cataclysm of the First World War.

At the very end of Götterdämmerung Tcherniakov projects on screen Wagner’s Schopenhauer-influenced version of the Immolation Scene which, in fact, he never used. It describes the fleeing of Brünnhilde from the visionary world of delusion and witnessing the end of the world. The text passage comes from the so-called ‘Schopenhauer Schluss’ of the textbook of Götterdämmerung called ‘Siegfried's Death’. It was published in Wagner’s Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen (Collected Writings and Poetry) in 1872. The quoted version dates from 1856.

The German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, who had an ambivalent relationship with Richard Wagner, said: ‘Life is worth living, says art, the beautiful temptress; life is worth knowing, says science.’ I think that this philosophical statement helps to sum up Tcherniakov’s Ring.

The Staatskapelle Berlin, under Christian Thielemann, did a fine job in the pit as one would expect from such a well-established orchestra and so well drilled in the works of Richard Wagner but from my standpoint I shall always think of this production as Daniel Barenboim’s Ring conducted by Christian Thielemann. Most certainly a great statesman for Wagner, Thielemann found the right balance between pit and stage and in the big set pieces such as The Ride of the Valkyries, Siegfried’s Rhine Journey and Brünnhilde’s Immolation Scene Thielemann pulled out all the stops to deliver a thrilling account of Wagner’s mesmeric, inviting and challenging score. That’s something to be reckoned with and something to fondly remember.

A further cycle will be performed next year running from 4th-10th April 2023.