Cincinnati Meistersinger: Review

Several WCNC members and friends converged in southern Ohio last month for Cincinnati Operas' first-ever Wagner production, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg which was to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Cincinnati Opera.

This gutsy undertaking was to showcase Cincinnati native James Levine in a homecoming performance leading an all-star cast. However, Maestro Levine, who has been plagued with health issues, literally "backed out" in April (he had back surgery for a ruptured disc), as did James Morris, also for impending back surgery. One-by-one, all the principals cancelled. Disaster! The Cinci Opera admin department must have been swilling Maalox and downing Migraine-Strength Excedrin like crazy as they scrambled to find last-minute replacements. Here's Steve Charitan's report on how they pulled it off:

(photos by the author, who points our that the Cincinnati Music Hall (built in 1878) is one of the few places to hear a major 19th century work in a major 19th century setting)

A phoenix rose from the ashes this past week in Cincinnati's Music Hall. Those of us who have been anticipating this gala performance for the past 2 years watched as it began to unravel with Levine's cancellation in April followed by James Morris (Sachs), Hei Kyung Hong (Eva), Thomas Allen (Beckmesser), Richard Margison (Walter) as well as several other key singers. How many of these chronic cancellations were legitimate and how many were of the "dog ate my homework" variety only the beleagured directors of Cincinnati Opera know for sure. In a lecture at Music Hall sponsored by the Wagner Society of Ohio, Opera director Evans Mirageas commented that this casting crisis allowed him to know where every singer in the world capable of performing a role in Meistersinger was on the two Cincinnati performance days.

Aside from James Johnson who had impressed me mightily with his Berlin Sachs this past February, and Mr. Kettleson, a proven Beckmesser, the rest of the replacement cast seemed to take a little of the glitter off the gala. I could not have been more wrong. What this brave company pulled off under very adverse circumstances was one of the most effective and moving Meistersingers I've seen in many years' experience with this piece.

I will start with Mr. Johnson as I think his understanding of Sachs and the mature artistry he brought to the role must have been a rallying point for the diverse talents that had to come together in relatively short order. The voice itself may not be as refulgent as Morris or Weikel in their primes or as plush as Terfel's is now, but his clean, lean column of sound never waivered or lost character throughout a strenuous evening. Both monologues were sung and acted with deep feeling and he could light up the stage with a pure and generous Menschlichkeit. Despite his tall stature and lack of whiskers, he bore a passing resemblance to Wagner himself which added a subtle layer of authority to the cobbler's pronouncements on the interplay of music and poetry. The Saturday night audience roared its approval when he took his curtain call.

Having heard John Horton Murray in the past, I was prepared for an uneven performance as Walter. Act I with its two demanding solos must have been close to his "personal best," the voice strong and rich from top to bottom with a gorgeous legato flow to the music. By the final reiteration of the Prize song in Act 3 the voice grew husky and the pitch began to sag, but based on the majority of his work, indulgence should be given for overall achievement if not for stamina.

Two other "anchors" of the evening were Hans-Joachim Ketelsen as Beckmesser and Norbert Ernst as David. Both were well seasoned in their roles but familiarity never for a moment gave way to routine. Ernst looked the juvenile, but had enough heft in his voice to make you believe he would attain the rank of Meistersinger in his time. Unfortunately John Del Carlo's Kothner was audibly, if not visibly indisposed. Having seen him perform the part with honor in the past it would not be fair to judge him by his efforts in this performance other than to thank him for carrying on and not adding another "cancellation" to the list.

Twyla Robinson was a delightful surprise. My previous hearings of this voice involved inappropriate repertory - the soprano soloist in Verdi's Requiem, and Alice Ford in Falstaff. Despite those mis-steps she was a glorious Eva. The instrument is bright and forward which gives it dramatic thrust and it has a rapid vibrato which tempers those steely qualities with a warming glow. She managed to sound young and girlish while encompassing the intensity of “O Sachs! Mein Freund”. She then went on to deliver a serene and soaring contribution to the quintet. Despite a bulky frame she moved with complete freedom on stage erasing any barrier between singer and character.

John Keenan conducted with great sensitivity to his singers - at no point were the voices lost in the orchestral tide and the horns behaved beautifully - no disturbing "cracks" to take the listener out of the moment. The big choral pieces, augmented by voices from Cincinnati's famed May Festival Chorus proved that a "live" event can produce thrills impossible to capture even with the most sophisticated digital equipment.

Having seen Katarina's Meistersinger in Bayreuth I now approach this work with trepidation wondering if her idea of wheeling in a gurney piled with dirt during Beckmesser's "Prize Song" in Act 3 will catch on. As Beckmesser sings he begins clearing away the dirt and out pops a bald, naked man. There were reams of text in the program book explaining why Katarina finds things like this relevant. Cincinnati's director, Chris Alexander decided to eschew the verbiage and trust Wagner's ability to tell a story on its own terms.

Originally, the production was to be a new one set in Cincinnati's "Over the Rhine" district - a predominantly German neighborhood in the 19th century. Economics forced a cut back and the company ended up buying a traditional Schneider-Seimssen production from Düsseldorf. It was polished up and looked newly minted for the occasion.

The only tragedy here is that this finely honed group of artists had only two opportunities to perform together.

-Steve Charitan, Ohio