We’ve been waiting a long time for this première, and impatiently. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the production originally scheduled for 2020 has been postponed. Because he is one of today’s most controversial directors (Calixto Bieito), with an intriguing take on the work. Because it is one of the finest conductors in the Deutsches Repertoire who is taking his place in the pit. And because, wherever it is produced, Der Ring des Nibelungen ignites the spirits. Whether you like it or not, it is the talk of the town. Let’s just say straight away that we loved it, and we loved what we heard (more than what we saw).

But first of all, let’s put the work in context (this will be useful for the rest of the Ring!): Das Rheingold is a prologue to the stage festival Der Ring des Nibelungen, made up of three works: Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung (so we know from the outset that not everything will be presented or understood in 2025: see you in the next three years!). It is the shortest of the four (approx. 2 hours 15 min), consisting not of acts but of scenes: 4 in all.
Wotan is played by Iain Paterson. On stage, the baritone wonderfully brings to life the conception intended by the director. He is fat, he is disgraceful, he inspires both fear and revulsion. Above all, he knows that the guarantee of his power lies in obtaining, by whatever means, the Ring. And all this is done with a disconcerting naturalness, a “Mafia-like malice”, a suburban humour embodied with the greatest poise. With his platinum blonde hair (and false white eye!), all the visual attention is on Wotan. This characterisation, as audacious as it is unexpected, is in harmony with the idea behind Calixto Bieito’s intentions, which will only be fully developed in the rest of the Ring. Vocally, everything is not perfect, but once you compare it with what the staging is trying to bring out, the sensitivity of the sometimes slightly weathered timbre comes as no surprise; it may even serve to reinforce the point: a Wotan in an increasingly desperate search for a resource capable of restoring his hold on the world he is supposed to dominate.

Eve-Maud Hubeaux’s Fricka is astonishing, and we are left to wonder how far we can read the work from the director’s point of view. It is not easy to weave the links between what we see – a woman who is sometimes lustful, sometimes a “stooge” as long as her interests are preserved (saving Freia), not hesitating to change sides when it suits her – and the original work. The mezzo-soprano comes through with a convincing performance and a completely fused synergy with Iain Paterson. Her vocal instrument is at the top: in all the registers she adopts, the challenges are met.
What a joy to hear Gerhard Siegel in the role of Mime. A Heldentenor with the characteristics (now almost disappeared) of a certain way of doing things that comes close to the madness of another Gerhard (Stolze) who is not lacking in picturesqueness, but who renders the portraits of certain Wagnerian characters so well. Theatre and song united and inseparable, to the delight of the audience.
We discover Brian Mulligan’s Alberich in Paris and are impressed by his absolute engagement, by the energy he injects into making his character’s madness palpable. It’s easy to see in Scene 3 why this apparently extravagant delirium deserves to be pushed to the limit, and the baritone succeeds marvellously. The voice may (on rare occasions) lack power, particularly in moments of confrontation with the orchestra, and nuance in the high notes, but this in no way detracts from the credibility of his visceral embodiment.

Simon O’Neill takes on the role of Loge, a crucial character in the plot of Rheingold. It’s a character that requires dynamism, twirling, a certain kind of mischievousness, persiflage to the core, shrewdness… that we don’t find on stage. Articulation is not always very careful and the vocals have no effect, even though they are where it all changes (they seem to comment on the action, rather than guiding it). It’s a shame, because we were expecting a fine performance from this tenor so familiar with the Wagnerian repertoire.
All the other members of the cast gave credible performances that lived up to expectations vocally, with a special mention for the Rheintöchter as real she-devils with bewitching voices.
Pablo Heras-Casado’s conducting inspires deep admiration for the nuances he brings to every detail of the score. It is a reading that is certainly not vertiginous, but whose equilibrium is respected throughout the performance; a direction that hints at a suite whose power, whose violence, is far more poignant than what we see here. Elegance and poise were the watchwords of this somewhat Mozartean direction, subtle and pleasantly surprising.
Should we see this Rheingold/Ring? Natürlich, because it’s not something you see every day. It’s a major work in a repertoire that the general public is familiar with, but whose musical keys to understanding are provided by a spellbinding conducting style. Our only regret is that the staging is so far removed from the original message (although the nature of the sentiments is similar): in order to convey a thought-provoking message, is it really necessary to construct a so ugly universe? We don’t think so… but we hope that the sequel to the Ring will give us the opportunity to reconsider our point of view.
Casting: Wotan (Iain Paterson), Fricka (Eve-Maud Hubeaux), Alberich (Brian Mulligan), Loge (Simon O’Neill), Mime (Gerhard Siegel), Freia (Eliza Boom), Erda (Marie-Nicole Lemieux), Fasolt (Kwangchul Youn), Fafner (Mika Kares), Donner (Florent Mbia), Froh (Matthew Cairns), Woglinde (Margarita Polonskaya), Wellgunde (Isabel Signoret), Flosshilde (Katharina Magiera). Opéra National de Paris Orchestra.