Any Wagner opera is worth seeing or hearing at least once if you have the patience and stamina for it. Tannhauser is not my absolute favourite of his work but it has a powerful conflicting story and music that shows a genius at work. I found this production from Copenhagen quite good(no stranger to Wagner, their 2006 Ring Cycle was very interesting), the 1978 Bayreuth and 1982 Met are superior productions, but it is an improvement over the 1994 Munich, 2003 Zurich and 2008 Baden Baden performances. Visually it doesn't really appeal, by all means there are definitely far worse-looking productions but it is all too sparse and drab-looking and often the lighting is rather dark. Of the three acts Act 2 is by far the most successful staging wise, the contest and conflict are very compellingly done, whereas Act 1 does suffer from some decent, if less than ideal, ideas not explored very well and come across as confused instead. Tannhauser being already married just didn't make sense to me. It does benefit from watching it on DVD rather than live, if I saw it live I highly doubt that I would understand it much. The video directing is very dynamic and it picks up things that I imagine I would have missed if seen live.
For me however I have seen little to prove that Tannhauser works in a less than traditional setting. Unfortunately, Holten doesn't really do anything to change my perception, though it is second to the 2008 Liceu production, though that is a long way from great, as the least badly executed of the "concept" productions.
While it is somewhat of a mixed bag visually, the production scores better musically. There is some really stirring orchestral playing, the chorus are communicative and beautifully blended and Friedermann Layer's conducting flows beautifully and shows great musicianship and authority. Of the cast, the best were Stig Froh Anderssen and Stephen Milling. Anderssen isn't quite up to Peter Seiffert as the best Tannhauser of the past 15 years, but for a tenor in (I think) in his late 50s at time of recording he is very virile vocally and portrays Tannhauser with great empathy. Milling is a superb Hermann Landgraf, he has a very warm and resonant voice and has no trouble commanding the stage, not only because he is naturally magnetic but also his character is one that exudes an authoritative nature in the first place. Susanne Resmark is not your picture of a sexy Venus, but she is thrilling dramatically and has much depth in her already strong voice. Tina Kiberg and Tommi Hakala are less good. Kiberg's Elizabeth is acted with real poignancy and commitment but I don't find her voice particularly pleasant, coming across as rather shrill and hard-edged, more radiance wouldn't have gone amiss. Hakala has a great voice and sings Wolfram's gorgeous music splendidly, but he is rather bland and not noble enough in the role.
Overall, this production is well sung and is not bad, but I was in all honesty expecting more than what I actually got. 6/10 Bethany Cox
For me however I have seen little to prove that Tannhauser works in a less than traditional setting. Unfortunately, Holten doesn't really do anything to change my perception, though it is second to the 2008 Liceu production, though that is a long way from great, as the least badly executed of the "concept" productions.
While it is somewhat of a mixed bag visually, the production scores better musically. There is some really stirring orchestral playing, the chorus are communicative and beautifully blended and Friedermann Layer's conducting flows beautifully and shows great musicianship and authority. Of the cast, the best were Stig Froh Anderssen and Stephen Milling. Anderssen isn't quite up to Peter Seiffert as the best Tannhauser of the past 15 years, but for a tenor in (I think) in his late 50s at time of recording he is very virile vocally and portrays Tannhauser with great empathy. Milling is a superb Hermann Landgraf, he has a very warm and resonant voice and has no trouble commanding the stage, not only because he is naturally magnetic but also his character is one that exudes an authoritative nature in the first place. Susanne Resmark is not your picture of a sexy Venus, but she is thrilling dramatically and has much depth in her already strong voice. Tina Kiberg and Tommi Hakala are less good. Kiberg's Elizabeth is acted with real poignancy and commitment but I don't find her voice particularly pleasant, coming across as rather shrill and hard-edged, more radiance wouldn't have gone amiss. Hakala has a great voice and sings Wolfram's gorgeous music splendidly, but he is rather bland and not noble enough in the role.
Overall, this production is well sung and is not bad, but I was in all honesty expecting more than what I actually got. 6/10 Bethany Cox
