DAS RHEINGOLD • LA SCALA MILANO
★★★★☆☆
REVIEW DAS RHEINGOLD: LACK OF EUPHORIA AT LA SCALA
There was a lack of euphoria at the premiere of Das Rheingold in the packed La Scala theatre in Milan. The sought-after, well-travelled Scottish director David McVicar’s spectacular staging delivered on all parameters except one: the extraordinary.
Scattered rather unfair boos at the curtain calls scratched the paint on the otherwise well-produced and spectacular production of Scala’s large-scale and highly anticipated Wagner Ring’s first episode.
A first-class cast of singers, led by the excellent German baritone Michael Wolle as Wotan, delivered impeccably, while Olafur Sigurdarson as the devilishly good Alberich, André Schuen as the rumblingly strong Donner and Norbert Ernst as the vile court jester Loge raised the level to the top.
Above all, the set design was characterized by truly impressive production design, with stunning set pieces following one another in an entertaining, dynamic flow. The opening scene was centered around three giant severed hands on which the Rhinemaidens frolicked in a breathtaking set of golden streaks of light in a beautiful blue river ambience.
Soon after, we met Wotan in Valhalla, presented as a tight, neoclassical staircase geometry with menacing fissures of red-hot volcanic lava that skillfully established a suspenseful sense of trouble brewing.
Fasholt and Fafner stomped in as 4-meter-tall giants on killer stilts with huge, hooked hands and started arguing about the payment for the construction of the god fortress, after which they left with Wotan’s sister-in-law as downpay hostage – and the trouble ensued.
Alberich’s gold mine was beautifully staged as a giant underground gold skull that looked like something out of Indiana Jones at its best. Niebelungen’s magic tricks and the fatal transformation from ugly snake to peaceful frog were executed with technical skill and poetry.
So, what was it that prevented the show from reaching the top, judging by the lukewarm reception of the premiere audience?
For once, it was actually a version of The Golden Ring where everything was understandable, which was quite nice, even for a fairly experienced Wagnerian like me, with a number of performances of The Ring in my luggage.
Several of them have been so extemporized that you really enjoyed knowing the story beforehand. This applies to Herheim’s Las Vegas Show at Deutche Oper in Berlin, Castellucci’s galloping fantasy at the Monnaie in Brussels and Kosky’s climate thriller at Covent Garden in London.
This version in Milan stands as an extremely faithful interpretation of the story of gold, gods, gnomes and greed. Gorgeous costumes, great orchestral playing and a perhaps slightly neutral direction by Simone Young are all part of the picture.
The lack of creative assaults, constraints and quirky surprises was ‘punished’ with indulgent applause and subdued expressions of disapproval from the party-clad audience, who remained strangely unenthusiastic about the events throughout the two and a half hour long one-act play.
In any case, a performance at La Scala is always an experience. Sometimes greater than others. This time we land on four stars from GOT TO SEE THIS
Valkyrie and Siegfried are scheduled for 2025, followed by Götterdämmerung and two complete cycle performances in 2026.