Tyrolean Festival Erl

[uffeviking]

During the past two weeks I spent every afternoon in my music room and watched the most unusual but exciting performances of Richard Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen and Tristan und Isolde. There is Erl, a small Austrian village close to the Italian border, dedicating themselves to performing a Passion Play every six years, rivaling with the Bavarian Oberammergau. And there is Gustav Kuhn, native of Salzburg, doctorates in Philosophy, Psychology and Psychopathology, not enough, he also studied conducting under Herbert von Karajan and became known conducting orchestras in Europe, North America and Asia, still not enough, he also devoted himself to directing many operatic performances. In 1998 he concentrated his energy on selected projects in Erl, founding the Erl Festspiele, achieving soon worldwide attention.

One more accomplishment to the credit of Dr. Kuhn is the establishment of Accademia di Montegral. In the hills above Lucca in Northern Italy is the monastery of the order of the Padri Passionisti and since 2000 the home of this Accademia. Kuhn founded it to give singers, conductors, musicians and artists a refuge from the hectic world of art and to further their talents in the quiet of the Accademia, exchanging thoughts and ideas with their peers. Kuhn employed many of those artists for the Erl Festival, supplementing the professional orchestras, like the one from Minsk he used for the Ring productions. Luciano Pavarotti, Francesco Araiza and Lucio Dalla are Honorary Members of the Accademia.

Quoting from the insert to the DVDs: "Since it's foundation in 1998, the Erl Festival has been a beacon in the international world of music. Kuhn's festival direction combines the sublime and the funky, the popular and intellectual, the traditional and the contemporary – but always interpreted with an unusual twist. The self-imposed claim of playfully positioning the programme between the innovative and the tried and tested and showcasing non-conformity at this intersection is a key characteristic of the Tyrolean Festival Erl."

Of the many Ring and Tristan performances I have seen Kuhn's unconventional presentation has fascinated me and I wish I could share it with you, alas, the DVDs are available only from col legno, a Viennese record producer, and represented here in this country by a not too satisfactory retailer. I order the DVDs directly from col legno and get fast service, - airmail! - and no shipping and handling charge.

That's enough for now, I'll tell you about the performances in my next installment.

Lis

[uffeviking]

Just discovered I can not delete an unwanted picture. Oh well, the second one is of a performance and should go to my second installment of this thread. Bear with it, please! 

[springrite]

Would you be going there next time?

[uffeviking]

These are the pictures I wanted to attach:

[uffeviking]

Would you be going there next time?

I am sorry, Paul, I won't; too much problems with traveling nowadays! But anybody who wants to go, I can asssure you, you won't have to wait 10 years to get tickets! Just show up and they'll find a seat for you! 

[knight66]

Lis, It all sounds very interesting, including Mr Khun, the building looks great. As the proof of the pud, etc....so what was it like?

Mike

[uffeviking]

Erl cont'd.

The performances, the production and direction are the chore of making the Festival such a worldwide success. First the music. The orchestra is listed as the Orchester of the Tiroler Festspiele, and is imported from Minsk, augmented with musicians from the Accademia di Montegral. Singers are professional opera singers, friends of Gustav Kuhn, who have appeared at many worldwide venues, more or less singing for their supper, surrendering to his persuasive arm-twisting. They are good, believe me, no clunkers or scooping or cracked voices. My favourite is Duccia dal Monte, a Wotan to match the best of them, and yes: I consider him a better acting-singing Wotan and Wanderer then James Morris. He not only sings all the Wotan roles, but also sings Hagen without a let-up in the strength and beauty of his voice.

Another singer catching my attention is Michael Kupfer singing Donner's showpiece in Das Rheingold to perfection. He returns in Götterdämmerung as Gunther and makes this usually unremarkable role a big hit with the audience, and me!

Now there is Alan Woodrow, Siegfried, the protegé of Speight Jenkins, General Director of the Seattle Opera, who brought him to be the star of the socalled 'Green Ring'. The voice is there, which must have caught Jenkins's attention, hoping some concentrated acting lessons will complete the career as Wagnerian tenor. Woodrow is not bad, his bright voice, always hitting the notes perfectly, and Wikipedia has an impressive entry of all his worldwide appearances.

The forth outstanding artist is Svetlana Sidorova as Erda. I know we are in love with Ewa Podles but I could easily switch my allegiance to Sidorova. Dramatic and clean singing, no skipping over difficult passages. She also sings the Walküre Grimgerde and returns as the First Norn. – Kuhn keeps his singers active! – All of the other singers are beyond criticism, it's those four I wanted to pay special attention to.

Now we come to the natives! The Chorus of the Tiroler Festspiele is already experienced from the performances of the Passion Plays, and very experienced they are, adding good acting to their vocal accomplishments. It seems that every able-bodied Erl citizen is in the production: Building the sets, sewing the costumes, applying make-up, doing the hair, manning the cameras and occupying the prompter's box. The children of course are the Nibelungen slaves. Nearly stealing the show are the men and women of the Erl Volunteer Fire Department. Whenever strong arms and backs are needed, they are there. A good  example: Siegfried's Rhine Journey. Easily done in a huge opera house, but it takes imagination to do it in Erl. No problem, 'can do'. A platform vaguely resembling a boat, Siegfried sitting on it and being carried through the audience by eight firemen in their splendid uniforms, to the edge of the stage, Siegfried steps off; journey accomplished. We all know he has to get back to Brünnhilde's rock, accompanied by Gunther. Same platform, same firemen, up the Rhine, and then Gunther with Brünnhilde back down to his Gibichung homestead, all journeys executed by those available and willing firemen. It's the same firemen, who in Das Rheingold, dressed in black and blackened faces, move around the stage in wave-like movements those three 12' and 14' ladder contraptions with the Maidens perched on top, waving their veils.

I truly admire all the people involved in this festival, all motived by the love of opera and Richard Wagner. It is an experience unlike any I have ever seen before, and so very difficult to describe. Gustav Kuhn and his Tyrolean Erl Festival outshines anything the newest Wagner family member might present on the Bayreuth stage. It is Wagner, his music, his vision and meaning, materialised by citizens of a small village in the European Alps.

[knight66]

Lis, This sounds very interesting. You are however suspiciously silent on the Brunhilde. Is she below standard?

Could you PM me with the connection to the site where they sell the DVDs?

Mike

[uffeviking]

There is so much to talk about those productions, I had to skip a lot of other important things. Like talking about the Brünnhilde. She is good, very good, acting and singing, and looking great too.

What I did not mention is that the DVDs I have are recordings made during the dress rehearsals, not the main performance. Don't ask me why col legno did this. Because it is a rehearsal, there are a few glitches, hopefully not in the regular performance, like Siegfried wearing his wristwatch while he is being skewered by Hagen! The entire Die Walküre performance is ruined by a constant female cougher too close to one of the mikes; she even returned after intermissions! In spite of great music and singing I can not, in good conscience, recommend the purchase of this segment of the Ring; and what is a Ring without the Walküre!

The whole set of the entire Ring DVDs is not cheap and I doubt too many GMGers will rush out to order themselves the collection but I wanted to tell about exciting things in the opera world going on outside the New York area, outside the USA, and many excellent singers, conductors and directors are active and worth paying attention to. Vickers and Nilsson and Flemming are not the only people worth praising in eternity!

[knight66]

Lis, Thanks for being so candid and helpful. It is indeed good to read about as wide a variety of houses as possible. Now you have alerted me to this co, I will keep my eye on them.

Mike

[uffeviking]

... and the easy way to keep an eye on Erl is going to this very beautifully designed web site:

http://www.col-legno.com/