Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Christine Goerke unveils a very human Isolde via the NSO’s dramatically and musically alert performance of Wagner’s intoxicating score

• By drediman
• November 18, 2019
• No Comments

Christine Goerke portrays Isolde in the NSO’s rendition of Act II of Richard Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” at David Geffen Hall.

Yesterday at David Geffen Hall, Gianandrea Noseda led the National Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Act II of Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. The raison d’être for the concert, an offering at this year’s White Light Festival, was the highly anticipated unveiling of star dramatic soprano Christine Goerke’s Isolde to New York audiences (she had performed the concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. leading up to the concert at Geffen Hall). The opera is one of the greatest in the operatic repertoire, a serious meditation on love — vis-à-vis death — on a cosmic and philosophical level. This is one tale that truly needs the grandeur of operatic writing to give it full dimension and meaning, which Wagner furnishes with his intoxicating score.

After satisfying Ring aficionados earlier this year with her fully-rounded Brünnhilde, it’s only logical that Ms. Goerke would take on another epic and iconic role in the Wagnerian canon, that of Isolde. It’s a mammoth role that historically hasn’t come across as the most sympathetic. However, the innately charismatic Ms. Goerke – an uncommonly nuanced actress – manages to give a very human portrayal, already distinguishing her interpretation from other Isoldes I’ve seen (who have tended to possess an otherworldly majesty). As of yet, hers may not be the most musically thrilling portrayal – some passages were understandably still a bit tentative – but her powerful yet warmly plush soprano is an exciting match for Isolde (rather than the invariably steely instruments I’ve encountered in the role), and I’m excited to see where she takes the role vocally in the coming years.

As a whole, the performance was dramatically and musically alert. Ms. Goerke’s co-stars were exemplary across the board. As Tristan, Stephen Gould was riveting. An imposing physical presence onstage, his heroic tenor ripped through Wagner’s unforgivingly thick, pulsating orchestrations with the force of a battle axe.  The depiction of King Marke by bass Günther Groissböck’s was breathtaking — exquisitely anguished and heartbroken — providing a worthy counterpoint to the two lovers’ ecstasy (which in of itself is an astonishing feat). As the concerned Brangäne, mezzo soprano Ekaterina Gubanova brought real earth-bound tenacity to the role. Under the baton of Mr. Noseda, the NSO gave a ravishing and urgent account of Wagner’s extraordinary score that made the story of the two legendary lovers come to vivid life.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, ACT II
Opera, Classical Music
National Symphony Orchestra / White Light Festival / David Geffen Hall
1 hour, 20 minutes (without an intermission)
Closed