4. "Tristan and Isolde" at the Usher Hall.

Yesterday I went to see Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde”, performed by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra at the Usher Hall. The Usher Hall is in the city centre and forms an artistic hub that includes the Lyceum Theatre and the Traverse Theatre. Surrounding that are a nice cluster of pubs and restaurants; I would not recommend the Crêpe stall as I found the fare expensive and the food of no great quality; but it seemed popular with the theatre goers so perhaps I was missing something.
Despite the fact that the Usher hall is older and held in higher regard by most people than the Festival Theatre – I found it a little lacking! The bathroom was like those old train station ones of over a generation ago; wet floors, cracked sinks and a foul odour. The bar was old fashioned and the staff looked disorganized although friendly. The interior was grand; very art nouveau and well maintained. The acoustics were also superb! It reminded me that Usher had planned a joint project with Sir McEwan (an MP for Edinburgh Central and owner of the large brewery; the two were big monied men in Edinburgh at the time but had a falling out. McEwan continued the project and created McEwan hall that is part of Edinburgh University while Usher created the slightly smaller Usher Hall. Unfortunately at a gala performance; the Pavarotti of the day disliked the sound quality and the architect is said to have committed suicide over it – his ghost is said to still wander the halls of his grand but flawed creation. Usher built his superior theatre with money from rival brewery companies and it became the predominant one.
I had a nice isle seat and in the intermission I looked about for where my next seat would be (the cheaper seats at the front) as well as where I might like to sit for future performances. If you visit, have a look at the decor; it really is very nice but I secretly prefer McEwan Hall, especially as I graduated there.

Wagner’s opera emerged during a difficult period in the composer’s life – he was beset by money problems and was far from the respected figure his talent or his ego could accept. A lot has been written about how this work reflects his psychological (note his taste for married women) as well as his philosophical aspects. I won’t comment on that as there are innumerable sites on the web about this. Wagner is very accessible but is also open to all sorts of re-evaluations and interpretations. I will resist the temptation to add to all that!
The performance was great. This was not a theatrical presentation but the talent of the singers and armed with my program I made good sense of the vibrant German masterpiece that was playing before me.

SYNOPSIS;
ACT ONE; Takes place on a ship. We see Isolde with her loyal maid Brangane who are being escorted to Cornwall by the gallant knight Tristan and his loyal right hand man Kurwenal. They are escorting Isolde to his uncle King Marke who is to marry her. The atmosphere is strained as Tristan ignores Isolde as a mere Irishwoman and Kurwenal loudly points out that Tristan had killed Isoldes prior suitor in combat. When the maid tries to temper things down, Isolde points out that Tristan had tricked her into curing his wounds; the same wounds her prior lover had inflicted on his killer. In her possession are two magical potions; one for certain death the other for undeniable love. Isolde decides to use the death potion to avenge her position of Tristan, unaware that she is actually attracted to him. When the ship arrives; she refuses to disembark unless Tristan talks to her. He complies and she relates the fact that she still seeks vengeance and he offers his sword. Instead she offers a toast and brings the poisoned chalice; Tristan suspects that she means to poison him but drinks anyway as he coverts her but loyalty to his uncle hurts him. Isolde then grabs the drink and takes the rest. Both face death but are unaware that the maid, Brangane had deliberately given her the wrong potion; they have drunk the one for love. Both are now in a passion for the other and Isolde is overcome.

In the performance, Brangane was played by Ms Jane Irwin and she had long blonde hair and wore a flowing scarlet dress. This quite outshone Ms Brewer who played Isolde. This is a trivial note, but I thought I’d mention it.

ACT TWO – We are now at King Marke’s castle. Isolde is awaiting her lover while the king and all the other knights and men are away hunting. Brangane warns her that people suspect their dalliance, especially Melot a member of the king’s court. It is unsafe to continue. Alas Isolde and her passion will not be denied and the signal is issued for Tristan to approach at night. The two sing about love and decry the ending of the night. The maid cries a distant warning and Kurwenal runs in calling for them to flee. It is too late as Melot rushes in and catches the lovers; it is he who brings the King so as to vindicate his low suspicions. King Marke is upset at the betrayal of both his love and his friendship. Tristan feels the end is near but when they kiss Melot draws his sword and Tristan is severely wounded.
To tell you the truth I thought Mr Franz, the bloke who played Tristan looked rather uncomfortable and I spied him eating mints on stage. Also Kurwenal was played by a very tall, long haired and light bearded man who looked more knightly. But once again this is a really trivial point!

ACT THREE - Tristan lies dying in his land with Kurwenal and a helpful shepherd who is acting as look out; the hope being that Isolde is on her way. Tristan is delirious and is both frustrated and depressed in his confusion. The Shepherd heralds a ship and Kurwenal goes forth to fetch his master’s lover. Tristan, mad with longing, gets up despite his grievous hurts and rushes to meet her. But when the two are reunited he falls down dead. Isolde tries to revive him with her art but fails, overcome she passes out upon the body of Tristan. The Shepherd calls out - another ship!

Melot bursts upon the scene and enraged Kurwenal dispatches the man. The king and his soldiers arrive but before they can do anything Kurwenal is spoiling for vengeance and is promptly killed. He too falls but dies at his master’s feet. The King tries to calm everyone down; he has been told of the love potion and came to forgive the two lovers. He is upset about the death of Tristan. Isolde hears none of this; transfixed by the loss of her love she too is overcome by loss and love and passes away.

The end is fantastic and that piece of music was used to great effect in the 1930’s Surrealist film “Age d'or” by Luis Bunuel and helped out by Dali.

Once again I am not one for musical theory and I have no concept of the correct terms and methodologies for analysing music. What I can say is that I really enjoyed it, although if I do have another opportunity to see a Wagner opera, I think I would like to see it played theatrically; either in the traditional setting or one of the modern versions.

3. The Death of Klinghoffer.

I went to see the production of "The Death of Klinghoffer" and I must say that it was very interesting. I decided to go and see it with an open mind but much media attention and debate meant that I already had some inkling of its possibly incenduary potential.

The newspaper had recently reported on a Rabbi over in America who called for a boycott of the premier performance of John Adams opera about the terrorist murder of an Jewish American back in 1985. The production has been dogged by controversy. The original UK premier faltered and was subsequently cancelled when Glyndebourne Opera team bowed to protest and pulled out. Similar productions in the US have also been cut short or cancelled, especially after 9/11. The recent terrorist atrocities in London helped stir up concern and there was a very real risk that this production would also go the way of the other planned performances. Fortunately this would not be the case and I had the chance to see the penultimate show of this very controversial operatic work.

The production certainly courted controversy with its use of guns amongst the audience; the resultant misfire caused a panic among the security staff and prompted a quick evacuation of the theatre.

The opera dealt with the terrorist seizure a cruise ship, the Achille Lauro, just out of Egypt. Palestinian terrorists claimed to have bobby-trapped the engine room and took the passengers and crew hostage. Operas and plays have often dealt with difficult issues and events; such luminaries as Mozart, Verdi and Shostakovich have all come up against public and political pressure. All too often the outcries are lost with the passing of time; recall the moral panic over Oh, Calcutta!

Certainly the very recent deaths of London bus and tube passengers has reminded us all of the very real threat of terrorism. The opera gives voice to such terrorists and by giving their motivation for such acts of violence, may make many uneasy. I do not think that the Opera actually justified their actions and the death of the Mr Klinghoffer is shown as nothing more than a murder. It is not a romantic political act or something we might feel comfortable; there is no sense of pathos such as with Dickens “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” Klinghoffer’s last words to his frightened wife are; “I should have brought a hat”. Don’t think that the opera is flippant; it merely shows the banality of evil as portrayed by Hannah Arendt's observation of the Nuremburg trials. This is seen by the way the terrorists embrace the ships Captain at the end of the work.

The first act lacks any overall political message; we are introduced to the ship by its captain and the appearance, at the start, of a sexy showgirl who mugs the audience and a plump panic stricken Austrian woman hiding out in her bathroom certainly generates humour rather than the morbid. It is here that one of the main objections is pointed at; Mamoud – a Palestinian terrorist seen shooting his gun and manhandling the passengers, sings about night time radio music and of his past. He appears to be a sympathetic character that has had a harsh life in which his family was killed in his youth. But there is no mention of why they took the ship. This is not a platform, as some critics would have us believe, for justifying terrorism. We are just shown that such figures who take the path of violence are not simply brainwashed thugs. It is the fact that an act of terror is portrayed in detail without condemnation that has irked some; I would have liked to believe that we have moved on from the need for a carefully defined moral warning like those found on cig packs; Warning – terrorism is bad for the health.

The second act wratches up the intensity; the terrorists are contrasted. One cries out for a holy death, another torments Klinghoffer and the other passengers. Eventually Klinghoffer becomes the centre of attention and is taken away. He is killed off stage. We know he is dead and this adds depth to the wife as she hopes he is being looked after below ship. The Captain is informed of the death; he colludes with their demands to tell the World that a woman was also killed and others will follow while, at the same time, continuing with the fantasy that Klinghoffer is below deck. The captain is not a coward but is mindful of the crew and the safety of the passengers. Eventually a settlement is reached and the terrorists give themselves up at some undisclosed location. They put down their guns and embrace a shell shocked captain. It is left to him to tell the sickly wife of the fate of her husband; she is first defeated and crumpled at the loss of her husband and friend but this turns to anger at the captain. We are shown a personal snapshot from history; a name taken from a very long list that. Sadly, is still being added to.At the end we see two boys playing with the wheelchair, perhaps mirroring the callous taunting of the terrorists who had unseated the elderly Klinghoffer. This could show that this was part of a circle of violence but I think it reflected the true banality of the situation. The Palestinian cause was not helped by the murder of an old man, the pain that the terrorists might have experienced at the hands of the Israelis is not cured, and a major terrorist event is shown not for what it was; the murder of an old man. This can be seen by reference to the earlier work “Nixon in China” which brought out the big political machinations as well as the character of the main players. With the Death of Klinghoffer, we are not told of the rational for the hostage taking, the political deals and ramifications of the act. Instead what was a media event has been redressed as a personal, almost familial, event.

My only disapointment was that I was expecting something on the scale of Adams orchestral works such as Shaker Hoops or El Dorado. But the grand scale and violence of the music would have detracted from the raw violence presented in the body of the opera. Unfortunately I am not schooled in Music and its theory so my explination is a little lacking. But I am certainly a big fan of his works. Anyway next stop; Wagner!