*disclaimer: This is not meant t be an official review – just my personal opinion*
Christian Gerhaher
Well, I think it’s fair to say that a Wagner opera never lasts an hour and a half. Especially not when the first act lasts 73 minutes. So, yesterday I went to see the preview of Tannhäuser at the Royal Opera House, starring Johan Botha as the title character, Michaela Schuster as Venus, Christian Gerhaher as Wolfram von Eschinbach (now that’s a mouthful!) and Eva-Maria Westbroek as Elisabeth – amongst others.
WHAT HAPPENS?
Act One starts at the Venusberg. Yes, the Venusberg. Poor Tannhäuser has been held captive (yeah right, probably against his will too…) because he – unlike most men – enjoys sex, passion, love etc, and he gets his kicks from Venus herself. After we’ve witnessed a mini-orgy involving a dozen dancers of both sexes frolicking on the stage, he realises that he misses his former, grim life, and upsets Venus by letting her know she’s not enough for him. Ouch.
Once he’s broken away from the Venusberg, he meets his old chums Wolfram, Walther, Biterolf, Reinmar and Heinrich (if you didn’t realise we’re dealing with a German opera before, you do now) who welcome the young singer back. He originally fled to begin with because he was shamefully bested in the prize-singing contest where he was a bit more, say, explicit about love than what was considered good manners.
He initially refuses to join them back, but changes his mind when he realises Elisabeth actually quite fancied what he had sung about. She’s delighted to see him, and puts on another singing contest, where he confesses he’s been to the Venusberg which leaves everyone in horror. After being saved by Elisabeth from certain death, he’s shipped off to Rome to see the Pope to ask for forgiveness and redemption. Elisabeth is left to wait for him and the big question is: Will be come back a pure, forgiven man…?
THE SET & THE PERFORMANCE ITSELF
I won’t give away too much, other than saying that the set is minimalistic, which I quite enjoyed, as it kept the focus on what was going on. Out of the main performers, the voice that made me go “oh, hello!!” was that of Christian Gerhaher, whom I’d not heard of until then. Johan Botha has a very nice voice indeed (clearly made for Wagner!) and has vocal moments that make your jaw drop – yet, I don’t feel particularly moved by it. That’s just down to personal taste, though, and for me Gerhaher just had something extra, and probably is one of the most beautiful (light) baritones I’ve heard.
The chorus was stunning in this performance. The first time the male chorus was heard backstage, I woke up from my slight daze. In the second act, when they entered the stage as guards and audience for the singing contest, I had another “oh hello!!” moment. There’s something really satisfying about hearing a 50-strong male chorus giving it all. When they entered as Pilgrims again in act three, I was thoroughly moved. The way it builds up and up until every hair on the back of your neck stands up is just phenomenal. At the end when the children’s chorus as well as the full chorus perform together is also a stunning experience.
Pilgrim’s Chorus
SO…?
Well, it has to be said, a combination of Wagner and soft porn before noon was an interesting experience. 
I’m the first to admit that entering a performance at 10:45 and exiting the same performance at 15:15 is a long stretch on a cold Wednesday in December. Also, considering this is Wagner, it’s not filled with those arias that make you go “Oh yes, I remember that one [from YouTube]” – and you pretty much know it won’t be all smiles and lollipops at the end.
I did drift in and out of consciousness at times, but there were also times when I got goosebumps. Mainly when the full chorus did their thing, as well as when Christian Gerhaher opened his mouth – though Johan Botha had moments when I gawked too. He particularly gave a star performance in the third act. The Venusberg-dancers weren’t perfectly coordinated all the way through, but then again, it was only a preview.
