In April 2019, the Landestheater Niederbayern brought it “Rhine Gold” out, but then came Corona. So now the “Valkyrie” followed in Landshut only 25 months late, and once again it is astonishing that the rather extravagant idea of performing Wagner’s “Ring” for the first time in Lower Bavaria is working out remarkably well. If everything works out, the tetralogy will be completed in a year.
So Valhalla is long since finished. In the second act, Wotan sits in his study, surrounded by walls of books that contain all the myths in the world, and carves arrows, Brünnhilde’s favorite toy. He also has a magic sphere in which the characters from the “Rheingold” appear when he tells Brünnhilde the first part of the “Ring”, in which she is not a part.
The Landshut Theater is less complete than Valhalla, which Karlheinz Beer cleverly devised and whose residents, like everyone else here, are imaginatively dressed by Ursula Beutler. For nine years, the troupe has resided in this circus tent in the middle of a wasteland on the outskirts of the city, the main building on the edge of the old town is still awaiting renovation. At the moment it looks like this will be tackled in a few years. Then there would be a small playhouse with 196 seats, enough for spoken theatre. A new building is to be built next to it for the music theatre. According to optimistic estimates, it could be ready by 2030. If the city of Landshut doesn’t mess it up after all.
The opera will probably stay longer in the tent – with all the adversities that prevail there
Until then, the opera will definitely remain in the tent. With all the adversities that prevail there. It’s interesting to experience what the sound does here when it gets loud: the horns and the brass seem to wander along the walls, you can hear them from the front, side and back, analogue surround sound. But if you’re not squeamish, it leads to excellent moments of true theatrical music, which is then very engaging, even if Basil HE Coleman goes for the lyrical rather than the dramatic – the latter comes naturally here.
To counteract this, the voices are amplified, directly via microport. For the first time in Landshut they are experimenting with being a little too bold – the dialogic passages bang overly clearly, some voices seem too hard, sharp. On the other hand, it goes well with the courageous game that director and artistic director Stefan Tilch demands from the singing staff and receives in the most beautiful way. Aaron Cawley jumps in as Siegmund and puts up a good fight, next to him Peggy Steiner blossoms more and more as Sieglinde, embodies a lot of hardship and has a brilliant voice. Stephan Bootz is a powerful Wotan, Judith Gennrich struggles as Frika with technique for a long time until she wins, Yamina Maamar is a very cheerful, crazy Brünnhilde, the other Valkyries are also very lively, Hunding (Heeyun Choi) grumbles and has his books with his hut heated.
Tilch has many ideas, both great and silly ones, works a bit with video, there is real fire magic, beautiful theatrical craftsmanship and a freshness that pleasantly takes away the aura of a sublime work of art. It’s theatre, that’s a good thing.