The stars and luminaries turned out last night in Bayreuth to hear Christian Thielemann (again) lead the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra in an amazing sampler of Wagner's mature work, including all of Act I of Die Walkure, the Overture and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, Siegfried's Rhine and Funeral Music from Gotterdammerung, and the Overture from Die Meistersinger. And, yes, I was there. More to come.
More pics on the photo page.
by Melanie Wong
Above: Cadillac Moon Ensemble; below: Circles and Lines
Friday evening at the Tenri Cultural Institute, Cadillac Moon Ensemble presented a program of music exclusively written by members the composer collective Circles and Lines. A unique quartet comprising flute, violin, cello, and percussion, Cadillac Moon Ensemble has commissioned over 50 new works for their instrumentation, including four of the five pieces on the evening’s program.
On the first half of the program, violinist Patti Kilroy and cellist Meaghan Burke demonstrated their duo skills in Noam Faingold’s Knife in the Water (named for Roman Polanski’s first feature film). A series of disconnected sonic outbursts and melodies ranging from sparse pizzicato sections to chaotic rhythmic chases created a chilling effect throughout; that is, until its comical ending, complete with an audience fake-out, where the performers were instructed to wait for applause before proceeding to the forceful and abrupt ending.
Also on the first half were Angélica Negrón’s funky, folk-inspired exploration of her native Puerto Rico, Quimbombó & Tembleque, and Dylan Glatthorn’s colorful, semi-psychedelic Fever Dreams, a delirious trip that depicted the simultaneous feeling of ecstasy and mayhem. Although the two pieces were completely different in sound and mood, Cadillac Moon’s wonderful ensemble blend enhanced the composers’ remarkable use of color.With just two composers left to complete the set, Cadillac Moon performed Eric Lemmon's unfinished version of Canis Major, a celestial saga that combined a broad range of extended techniques and complex rhythms to create both a creepy and beautifully ethereal nebulousness of sound. Flutist Roberta Michel performed her atmospheric effects particularly well (such as circular breathing, whistletones, and slap-tonguing), greatly heightening the piece’s effectiveness.
The final composer, Conrad Winslow, presented his “pageant to simple sound waves,” Abiding Shapes. Winslow explored the realm of shapes (such as sine, square, and sawtooth) through dynamics and sound, and—though a bit peculiar—the work engaged the mind and moved outside the box. Throughout the evening, Cadillac Moon was a dynamic and cohesive unit capable of portraying a wide variety of sounds, effects, and moods.
As discussed in FoM’s previous interview with Circles and Lines, the five composers do not believe themselves to be united through a specific aesthetic; however, there was a distinct similarity among their pieces in both rhythmic usage and in their incorporation of tonal elements. Despite contemporary classical music sometimes having a reputation for being inaccessible or unlistenable, Circles and Lines’ works inevitably formed a program that was equally enjoyable, understandable, and intellectually stimulating.
In 1842, soon after becoming Saxon Court Composer in Dresden, Wagner visited the Wartburg, a thousand-year-old castle on a mountain overlooking the Thuringian city of Eisenach. There, Wagner became entranced by the tales of Tannhäuser and his love for the Landgrave's daughter Elisabeth, as well as the 13th-century Sängerkrieg: the Minstrels' Contest in which such famous Minnesänger as Walther von der Vogelweide, Wolfram von Eschenbach (author of Parzival), and many others took part. Not long after, Wagner put pen to paper and three years later produced Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg (Tannhäuser and the Singers' Contest at Wartburg Castle)—better known as Tannhäuser. (Synopsis and other details here.)
The original Sängerkrieg took place in the Wartburg's Great Hall, which remarkably still stands today. And, thanks to the efforts of the Meiningen State Theater, I was able to experience the Sängerkrieg myself last night through their excellent semi-staged production of Tannhäuser. The wood-paneled room filled with medieval carvings was as ideal acoustically as it was visually, with the singers and the Meininger Hofkapelle (led by one GMD Philippe Bach) sounding crisp and clear all the way to the back. (The hall only held about 300 or so.)
For the first two acts, daylight streamed in through the western windows. But in Act III, darkness overtook the hall, allowing the audience to concentrate on the action onstage. Then, for the final scene where Tannhäuser finally achieves redemption for his transgressions, the ancient chandeliers dramatically came on until they were at full brightness. It was a simple, yet stunning effect.
The singers weren't household names, but their obvious devotion to this opera yielded some unquestionably strong performances. Tannhäuser was sung by Richard Decker, who, though shaky at times, soldiered through. Soprano Camila Ribero-Souza was forcefully dramatic as Elisabeth while baritone Dae-Hee Shin was a powerful and convincing Wolfram. And bass Ernst Garstenauer melded authority with tenderness as the Landgrave Hermann. The choruses—including the thrilling men's chorus in Act II—were all sung offstage, underneath the balcony which ran along the west side of the hall.
For those who might find themselves in these parts, there will be one more performance of Tannhäuser in the Wartburg on June 23; contact the Wartburg for more information.
More pics on the photo page.