Review: Met Orchestra with Goerke, Jovanovich, Owens under Nezet-Seguin Conquers Wagner, Lets Mazzoli Shine Through

You'd have thought that the Met Orchestra would have had enough by the end of the season in the opera house, but, no. Their New York season really ended at Carnegie Hall this week with a pair of concerts combining some opera excerpts with orchestral pieces by composers also known for their opera work.

The evening I attended was the first of the two. Undoubtedly, much of the audience was there for the long excerpt from Wagner's DIE WALKURE that took over the entire second half of the program. They weren't disappointed, particularly with the half-mortal twins, the Siegmund of tenor Brandon Jovanovich and Sieglinde of soprano Christine Goerke, with bass-baritone Eric Owens in the smaller (here, at least) but key role of Wotan, their father, ruler of the gods. (The conductor noted that Wagner probably wouldn't have approved of a concert version of the opera.)

Goerke may be more familiar in these parts for her Brunnhilde, the most famous of the Valkyries, in the Met's Ring cycle, but her Sieglinde was wondrous, perhaps egged on by the exciting performance of Jovanovich (as her brother, her lover, her brother, her...). For those who don't know, the twin siblings were brought up separately and only realize their "consanguinity" (as the program puts it) as they discover their love after they meet in her husband's (Hunding) hut.

Their dual set pieces--his "Wintersturme wichen dem Wonnemond" ("Winter storms have waned in the moon of May") to her "Du bist der Lenz" ("You are spring")--are superbly done, well matched in passion and volume. Jovanovich was beautifully modulated yet heroic in tone, whether dreaming of Sieglinde without knowing who she was, or singing of the mighty sword, Nothung, which was plunged into an ash tree during Sieglinde's forced wedding to Hunding, and he searches for.

The thrilling act ends in their recognition as siblings but it does not matter, for he must take his sister as his bride. Goerke wields her dramatic voice with warmth and ardor, realizing her relationship to her brother (who calls himself Wehwalt ["Woeful"] until she names Siegmund late in the act) before he does.

The evening started with Richard Strauss's "Don Juan" tone poem. It gave the orchestra a bit of a chance to warm up--the bombastic opening seemed a little muddy before turning into the exciting piece it should be, particularly in the aggressive approach taken by the conductor in the most stirring sections. The marvelous work all around was especially evident from the winds (oh that oboe) and brass (the horns!), though the strings played (uh) second fiddle to no one in the contrasting, sometimes almost dainty, parts that provided the variety that the piece is known for.

Mazzoli rose up and cheered when the ensemble finished their performance of her "Sinfonia (for Orbiting Sphere)," rushing forward as she was invited to join the orchestra for the curtain calls by Nezet-Seguin, dodging the walkers blocking the staircase to the stage. I was concerned that Mazzoli's short piece--only 12 minutes long--might get swallowed up between the Strauss and the Wagner, but I needn't have worried. The hypnotic, appealing piece proved a magnetic center to the evening.

Scored for a large orchestra--the Met ensemble filled the Carnegie Hall stage--including synthesizer, harmonicas and the usual suspects--they embraced the composer's quirky, multi-hued style. But it was never splashy for its own sake, but moved in its very abstract way, looping around itself and enveloping the listener in its rich fabric, meshing impressions and tones.

Previously, I only knew Mazzoli from her operas, BREAKING THE WAVES and PROVING UP. I'm happy to have been introduced to what she can do with the voices of the orchestra.

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