Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin Re-Invent the Ring

It seems the Daniel Barenboim’s Wagner really divides opinions.

Barenboim is a conductor who takes risks. Urging his players to push their limits in terms of extreme dynamics, tempo and technique. You can’t have success without risk taking. If you want your Wagner “safe” then listen to James Levine but for me Barenboim is full throttle. Not in a superficial “wow” factor way, but by providing continual depth and renewal for this familiar music.

The result is music that is always interesting and confronting. That’s why he polarises opinion. I wasn’t in the Royal Albert Hall for any of these performances but listened over streamed BBC 3 broadcasts.  Sure there were some orchestral fluffs and Nina Stemme missed an entry in Die Walkure (by all accounts the venue was like a sauna, which would have played havoc with instruments and temperaments) but this was a Ring Cycle like no other.

I tuned in because I had been so overpowered by Barenboim’s account of the Ring in Berlin in April this year. Was it my imagination or was there something really special about the Wagner sound the Staatskapelle Berlin and Barenboim produce? After hearing the Proms performances I am convinced this is something special. Attention to orchestral detail, inventive tempi and dynamics made the music sound like I was hearing it for the first time.

The Berlin production (also staged at La Scala) directed by Guy Cassiers has been much maligned. I enjoyed it and found it complemented the playing with a subtle depth. No superficial literal interpretation of the story, but also no indulgent director fantasy either. It was a nice compromise between two extremes. The idea of incorporating dancers during orchestral interludes was very unpopular (the dancers were booed during the performance at the Rheingold I saw in Berlin) but this annoyance tended to overshadow the inventive aspects and some beautiful visual imagery.

On hearing the performances from the Proms with a similar cast (including the amazing Andreas Schager, who we saw in Berlin not only as a last minute replacement for Ian Storey but also singing Act 1 of Siegfried from the wings when Lance Ryan failed to show up on time!), I am convinced this is a historic re-inventing of the Ring Cycle.