Review: San Francisco Opera Presents Virtual DIE WALKUERE

On the weekend of March 13 and 14, San Francisco Opera streamed its 2018 production of Richard Wagner's Die Walküre to the computers of opera lovers around the world. Director Francesca Zambello moved the story to a modern time in which Wotan was a captain of industry and Hunding was a hunter with a house full of trophies, one of which was his fair-tressed wife. Michael Yeargan's set gave him a poorly-painted white frame house that could have been built any time in the first half of the 20th century.

Costume Designer Catherine Zuber clothed Sieglinde in sleeveless house dresses while Brünnhilde wore a coat and business wear when she wasn't riding Grane. Fricka was the gods' queen in silky plum palazzo pants and a top with fur or feathered cuffs. Siegmund and Hunding looked like hunters in leather and Wotan wore a gray suit with a pale pink shirt and a blue tie.

When Siegmund collapsed outside Hunding's home, Sieglinde approached him fearfully because her husband was a violent abuser. With well placed dark tones, Raymond Aceto as Hunding agreed to let the stranger stay the night tied in the living room into which the audience saw when the front of the house lifted up. Hunding did not realize that Sieglinde had spiked his evening drink. When he was asleep, the brother and sister sang of spring and the house walls flew aside allowing them to enjoy the beauty of the moonlit night.

Brandon Jovanovich was a stout voiced Siegmund whose honeyed bronze tones could be easily heard through Wagner's huge orchestration. Much of the beauty of Wagner's vocal music can be heard in the blending of naturally large voices with the orchestral instruments. Karita Mattila was another artist whose voice was heard through the orchestra rather than over it. She is a fine actress. Here she was a vocally strong, battered wife who needed physical protection from a bully of a husband who even pawed her in front of a guest. With silver tones and nervous, hesitant actions, Mattila was the brow beaten Sieglinde awaiting rescue who became Siegmund's worthy companion. He sang of winter storms and she told him that he was the spring for which she had been waiting. They embraced and rushed out toward the huge moon that lit this magical night.

Act II opened in Wotan's well-appointed office which could have been located in any big city. Brünnhilde tried his whisky and didn't like it. Fricka had him sign a contract to uphold Hunding's marriage despite Sieglinde's never having agreed to it. Wotan told his daughter, the representative of his will, that she had to side with Hunding but he did not convince her. As Wotan, Greer Grimsley declaimed in eloquent German, sung with solid gray tones that matched his character's position in business. Jamie Barton's Fricka sang with a sweetness that belied her intent, while Irène Theorin's Brünnhilde showed her enormous vocal power.

Siegmund brought Sieglinde to an abandoned hall and placed her on a broken down bench seat, presumably from an old car. For the soprano, that seat was a big improvement over spending most of the act on a dusty stage floor. Hunding arrived with myriad friends and relatives, most of whom seemed as barbaric as he. Siegmund needed Wotan's magic to win this fight. Nothung-the-sword broke and Siegmund died, but so did Hunding as Wotan sang a single note of pure hatred.

Act III opened with Valkyries clad in unflattering brown Amelia Earhart-type outfits parachuting across the top of the stage while the orchestra played their "Ride." Sieglinde's final outburst, "O hehrstes Wunder! Herrlichste Maid," as sung by Karita Mattila, was a moment to be treasured. Mattila's Sieglinde sang gorgeous music with crème brulé tones as she told of her hopes for motherhood.

The rest of the act belonged to Wotan and his erring daughter. Brünnhilde had not realized the full extent of her crime when she committed it. Faced with loss of immortality, she asked for protection while sleeping. Wotan, who still loved her desperately, granted her a protective fire as he told her that they would never meet again. She reclined and he took off his cloak to cover her. Yeargan's set gave her a low, round platform with a staircase on one side and a high platform at the back where most of the flames could be seen. Thanks to Mark McCulloch's lighting, and other technical wizardry, the whole stage seemed to be afire at the glorious end of this Wagner masterpiece.

Next weekend, March 20 and 21, San Francisco Opera will present Wagner's third Ring Opera, Siegfried where a fearless, young hero battles otherworldly challenges on a journey to discover his destiny. The following weekend, March 27 and 28, the cycle reaches its transcendent climax with Götterdämerung, a suspenseful tale of bravery, sacrifice, destruction and renewal.

Cast: Brünnhilde, Irène Theorin; Wotan, Greer Grimsley; Sieglinde, Karita Mattila; Siegmund, Brandon Jovanovich; Fricka, Jamie Barton; Hunding, Raymond Aceto; Siegrune, Laura Krumm; Grimgerde, Renée Rapier; Ortlinde, Sarah Cambidge; Gerhilde, Julie Adms; Rossweisse Lauren McNeese; Schwertleite, Nicole Birkland; Helmwige Melissa Citro; Waltraute, Renée Tatum.

Creative Team: Conductor, Donald Runnicles; Director Francesca Zambello; Set Designer, Michael Yeargan; Costume Designer, Catherine Zuber; Lighting Designer, Mark McCullough; Projection Designer, Jan Hartley; Remounted Projections, S. Katy Tucker; Fight Director, Dave Maier.

Photo by Cory Weaver for San Francisco Opera.

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