Tannhäuser at Münchner Opernfestspiele

* Notes *
Bayerische Staatsoper's 2017 Tannhäuser (ovation pictured, photograph by author) returned to the Münchner Opernfestspiele last night. The performance was absolutely transcendent in its beauty, with grand playing from the orchestra and wonderful singing.

The orchestra sounded full and together under Maestro Sebastian Weigle. The trumpets, bassoons, and harp were particularly fine.

This staging, from director Romeo Castellucci, is very busy. There are many supernumeraries, in various states of undress, doing all kinds of choreography all the time. For example, the overture was accompanied by perhaps two dozen archers, all of whom appeared to be young ladies with their chests bared. They shot at a large circle with a projection of an eye on it. It was very impressive how well they shot the arrows and how perfectly everything was coordinated. But we also had blood splattered loudly on this same round object, and had a count up in German of time from one second to many billions of years. I did really enjoy the dancing that happened from seated or lying down, the dancers were able to move as one entity, it seemed.

The chorus was great, singing with intensity. "Beglückt darf nun dich" was very moving. The rest of the cast was likewise strong. Mezzo-soprano Yulia Matochkina has a luxuriant, plush sound, perfect for Venus. Soprano Elisabeth Teige also has a dark tone as Elisabeth, but the two women definitely sounded different. Her Act II "Dich, teure Halle, grüss ich wieder" was full of hope and her Act III "Er kehret nicht züruck!" had palpable despair.

Baritone Andrè Schuen was heartbreaking as Wolfram. His voice is velvety and resonant, and his "O du mein holder Abendstern" was simply lovely. Even still, Schuen managed not to upstage tenor Klaus Florian Vogt in the title role. Vogt is bright, warm, and effortless. His Tannhäuser has much appeal and such sweetness.

* Tattling *
It seems that certain audience members simply do not think that the messages in German and English about completely turning off one's cellular phones apply to them. An elderly person on the left side of the Balkon, Reihe 3 Platz 35 had a device that rang many times during the overture, and the couple next to her had to help silence it.

The person next to us in the Balkon, Reihe 1 Platz 17 was roughly in the same demographic, yet was kind enough to take our photograph before the performance and let another eager person know that our seats were taken before the start of Act III. We tried to arrive as late as possible as we were on the aisle and wanted to make it easier for others to get to their seats.