Latest news with #TristanundIsolde
Spectator
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
The glorious elitism of Glyndebourne
There is nowhere in May more beautiful than England with the hawthorn out, the clear light and a thousand shades of green. And there is nowhere more beautiful in England than Glyndebourne, the Sussex opera house between the Downs and the coast. Every visit to the ancestral pile of the Christie family brings joy and we lucky folk who caught the new production of Parsifal were granted double rations. Wagner's final music drama is a first for Glyndebourne and completes a triptych of the Master's late work, following productions of Tristan und Isolde and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. As Larkin wrote of Sidney Bechet: 'Oh play that thing!' Music-lovers have been coming to this blessed plot of land outside Lewes since 1934 when John Christie invited three refugees from Germany to establish a shrine to Mozart.
The Guardian
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Morally questionable': inside the epic Lars von Trier exhibition in Copenhagen
I am not even inside the building but a creeping sense of foreboding has already set in. As I try to find the entrance to Nikolaj Kunsthal, a gothic-style former church in Copenhagen, I hear the lamenting strings of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde – the soundtrack to Lars von Trier's 2011 end-of-the-world film Melancholia. Inside, I take a seat in a tent-like structure, similar to the one in the film, and watch as a planet hurtles towards Earth, Wagner still blasting away. Nearby lies a long table, covered in white linen and laid out for the celebration of a lifetime – but clearly abandoned midway, and now adorned with dead flowers and burnt-out candelabras. Upstairs, black and white projections – a ticking clock, trains moving through postwar Germany, scenes of sex and drowning – play as the ominous male voice that features in Von Trier's 1991 film Europa does a countdown. 'On every breath you take, you go deeper,' he says. 'On the mental count of 10, you will be in Europa.' With the world still reeling from the arrival of Trump 2.0, and Europe at war amid increasing polarisation, looming AI takeover and the escalating climate emergency, the experience feels strangely current, even though it is intended to take viewers back to the visual world of the notorious Danish film-maker, and immerse them in it. 'It is almost a new paradigm,' says Helene Nyborg Bay, artistic director of this arts venue, as she takes me round Breaking Darkness, the Von Trier exhibition she has curated. 'We had this belief in one united country or the United Nations after the second world war. Now we see there are new thoughts coming through, unfortunately. Lars von Trier shows some of these.' But in other very important ways, Von Trier is deeply irrelevant in 2025. As well as attracting criticism for the treatment of women in his films, he has been involved in multiple scandals. In 2011, while promoting Melancholia, he told the world's press at the Cannes film festival that he was a Nazi and 'understood' Adolf Hitler, after which he was banned. He later apologised, saying: 'I am not antisemitic or racially prejudiced in any way, nor am I a Nazi.' Six years later, amid the rise of the #MeToo movement, musician and actor Björk, who starred in his 2000 musical film Dancer in the Dark, said he sexually harassed her during its making, claims he has denied. But despite this, the exhibition has attracted unprecedented interest, with record numbers at the opening – 2,000 in three hours – including younger generations. Why? 'Lars von Trier is such a strong film-maker with such a strong aesthetic sense that he could be a visual artist,' says Bay who, despite the controversies, believes that Von Trier's work and its themes – love and despair, good and evil, faith and human choice – have a lot to offer contemporary audiences. 'We live in new times,' she says. 'On the other hand – he might have been ahead of his.' Personally, this longtime Von Trier fan says she 'was never offended by his way of looking at women', although she concedes that some younger women have been. Rather than avoiding the subject, she says: 'It's interesting to have this dialogue.' Clips from the films have been combined with designs and installations – even incorporating the architecture of the building – to recreate the themes and moods of five films made between 1991 and 2011: Melancholia, Europa, Dancer in the Dark, Breaking the Waves and Dogville. There are a few props dotted around, including a fur coat worn by Nicole Kidman in Dogville, and the wedding dress worn by Kirsten Dunst in Melancholia, which is displayed entwined in roots that climb the walls. But film memorabilia is by no means the focus of the show. The exhibition doesn't just fill the space, it also spills up into the clock tower which, via steep stairs, visitors are led up to by a white line, like the ones that represent the set in Dogville, all to a soundtrack of Vivaldi. Although probably the most site-specific of the installations, this feels the least immersive of the five, because it does not have the same emotional power as, say, the Melancholia installation – which is entirely captivating. But absent of moving image, it serves as an effective contrast to the others. Bay invited young designers to interpret the 'universe of Lars von Trier' in such a way as to create an experience that does not depend on the viewer having seen his films – including the generations for whom she believes he has been 'abandoned'. Her inspiration for the show came from an exhibition of photos of Von Trier's work at the Perrotin gallery in Paris. She is particularly interested in seeing how the under-30s who visit her exhibition 'adapt into his universe'. She says: 'It's more like a feeling or an atmosphere. And it is also a subconscious way of understanding some topics in life – or trying to.' Von Trier, who has Parkinson's disease and is now in a care centre, has not been directly involved, but he has given the exhibition his blessing. He attended the opening night on FaceTime with the help of his ex-wife. And, during this launch, Bay noticed a group of producers from Zentropa, his production company, sitting in the shelter in front of the oncoming planet. Unusually, the exhibition also features a critique of the film-maker and his work, by Sofie Riise Nors, a Danish feminist satirical graphic novelist, who has accused him of romanticising and fetishising femicide, while criticising his artist-muse relationships. In a comic strip piece about Von Trier, created for the exhibition, Riise Nors appears as a radio host doing a phone-in about the director and explaining her problems with him. She questions the notion that he creates 'strong female characters' and accuses him of using women's lives as a 'kind of currency'. She also mentions Björk's #MeToo accusations. 'His characters,' this host says, 'seem more like a mirror for his own fantasies about women than they are a mirror for female identification.' She describes Melancholia – which has an 'iconic' scene showing Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg being pulverised by a planetary collision – as an example of 'Von Trier's penchant for staging women's deaths in an artistic and aesthetic way'. She also cites Björk's Dancer in the Dark character Selma, who bursts into song at her execution. It is also worth reminding ourselves that Nicole Kidman gets chained to a giant metal wheel in Dogville, while Gainsbourg cuts off her own clitoris in Antichrist. Could this two-pronged approach, celebration and criticism, provide a model for dealing with the work of more cancelled artists whose work is still deemed worthy of appreciation? Bay says that, even though Von Trier and Riise Nors have wildly different opinions, they share a capacity for self-reflection. 'In that way, it's also a starting point for talk and for conversation.' Riise Nors isn't so sure. 'The fact that we are still creating celebratory exhibitions about Lars von Trier is testimony to the fact that he was never really cancelled – at least not in Denmark.' She thinks the country holds on to such a 'morally questionable' figure because of his huge international success and would have liked to have seen more critical contributions in the exhibition. 'You can still be a great artist,' she adds, 'and very problematic at the same time.' Breaking Darkness is at Nikolaj Kunsthal, Copenhagen, until 27 July
The Guardian
05-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
On my radar: Nell Zink's cultural highlights
Nell Zink was born in California in 1964 and grew up in rural Virginia. Before becoming a published novelist in her 50s, she worked a variety of odd jobs including bricklayer, technical writer and secretary, also running a postpunk zine. In 2014, with the help of Jonathan Franzen, she published her debut novel The Wallcreeper, followed closely by Mislaid, which was longlisted for a National Book Award. Her seventh novel, Sister Europe, out 24 April, charts the unravelling of a Berlin high-society party – Vogue called it 'a worldly hangout novel of 21st-century manners'. Zink, a committed birder, lives outside Berlin. Hope Against Hope by Nadezhda Mandelstam This is the book that's keeping me cheerful. It is just impossible to feel sorry for yourself if you're reading the memoirs of Nadezhda Mandelstam, whose poet husband Osip died in the transit camp to the Siberian gulag in 1938. She is incredibly wise and stoical on dealing with this Stalinist terror of the 1930s, and writes about it really beautifully, with a deep belief in humanism and a constant critique of using people as means to an end. Reading about what it was like to be on the run from Joseph Stalin, you think, wait a second, I don't have it so bad. Tristan und Isolde at Staatstheater Cottbus, Germany, until 4 May I have seen three different productions of this Wagner opera in three different places in the past year or so, and the hands-down winner was the production in Cottbus, because they took it seriously. It was a straight-up production, which the Brechtian ones in Dessau and Berlin were not. The finale was so beautiful and moving that the audience had tears in their eyes. And the theatre in Cottbus is a beautiful art nouveau building – a real destination – where the best seats in the house are €32. It's worth a trip, and Tristan und Isolde is playing again soon. Vaginal Davis: Fabelhaftes Produkt at the Gropius Bau, Berlin, Germany, until 14 September Vaginal Davis is a queer drag performer from LA who absolutely has that ironic, pop-cultural, intertextual aesthetic down cold and walks a tightrope over punk and drag, combining the two while always annoying somebody on either side. She's also a photographer and film-maker, and just somebody who is very creative and constantly churning out material that's funny and beautifully pointed. She moved to Berlin 20 years ago and now there's a solo show of her work – including some large-scale installations – at the Gropius Bau in Berlin. I haven't seen it yet but it'll be extremely interesting. Lit Link, Croatia Lit Link is the most brilliant literary festival put on by two Croatians. They invited me to speak years ago and then again in 2023. They pick different countries each year – this time it's Sweden and Norway – inviting not only writers from those countries but also editors and translators. They rent a van and go from Zagreb down to Istria, and it's just insanely pretty. Last time we stopped in Labin, a jewel of a hill town with an adorable little theatre looking out over the Adriatic. It's fun to ride around in a van and go to these unbelievably beautiful places and then read to the Croatians. Nightingale It's the time of year to hear nightingales, but they are threatened because people keep their gardens and public parks too tidy. A nightingale needs thick underbrush in which to build a nest where no one can see it. The nightingale's song is never what people think it is. It's great by the standards of the Romantic era when people sang in an incredibly sappy way that today we'd probably find unbearable. He's super-horny and whiny, like, 'Pleeeease, baby, please'. But it's important to have nightingales pestering you every night, starting in April, so don't rake up the leaves or trim the hedges; let things get a bit chaotic. Nebra Sky Disc at the Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte, Halle, Germany This is one of these precious artefacts found by accident by guys with metal detectors in Germany and it's apparently the oldest depiction of the night sky that we have on Earth, dating back to 1800-1600BC. I saw it for the first time recently and it's really gorgeous – a blue-green bronze disc with gold symbols of sun, moon and stars. They went out of their way to give it a dramatic setting in the Halle prehistory museum, with beautiful lighting and really good information. Halle is a nice town with an art academy that's worth a visit. Having art students in a town improves it, I think.
Korea Herald
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
From training to the podium: Seoul Philharmonic fosters future maestros
A special concert took place Feb. 28 at Lotte Concert Hall with not one, but three conductors leading the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. On the podium were Park Keun-tae, Song Min-gyu and Harris Han Andersen, the three conductors selected by orchestra members from the eight participants of the inaugural SPO Conducting Fellowship, which also included Kim Ri-ra, Kim Jun-young, Kim Hyo-eun, Shin Ju-ya and Choi Jae-hyuck. The eight conductors participating in the five-day fellowship program were chosen from 59 applicants who applied last year. At a press conference held on Feb. 26, SPO Artistic Director Jaap van Zweden explained that they were selected based on two criteria -- a genuine passion for their craft, and an active career as a conductor with experience working with orchestras across Europe, the US and other regions. The young age of the conductors in the fellowship program suggests that Korean orchestras -- which often look abroad to hire renowned artistic directors -- may no longer need to search so far. 'In this country, you see very talented young pianists, violinists and other musical instruments but not enough young talented conductors. The problem is that they need to have their instruments -- orchestras -- and that is not always easy,' van Zweden told the audience after the concert. 'So I thought, let's open our door.' While the artistic director emphasized that it is his 'responsibility' to pass on his knowledge to the next generation, the participants expressed that even a few days of working with the orchestra was an invaluable experience. 'One of the most impressive and memorable aspects was how the maestro gave us time to rehearse thoroughly. This kind of deep exploration is not something that can be taken for granted. Yet, the maestro provided us with the opportunity to delve into the music with remarkable persistence, ensuring that we could push ourselves to the very end,' Song said during an interview on Feb. 26, adding 'Through this experience, I learned so much about how to bring an orchestra to the next level and how to better approach the true intentions of a composer.' After three days of rehearsals, Song, Park and Han took the podium for the final concert on Feb. 28. Song, the winner of the 2023 Guido Cantelli International Conducting Award, conducted Wagner's Prelude to Act 1 of "Tristan und Isolde" and "Liebestod." He was followed by Park Keun-tae, who led the orchestra in Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Viola and Orchestra. Park, the first prize winner of the 2022 Opera de Bauge International Conducting Competition in France, is the principal conductor and deputy artistic director of the Neue Philharmonie Berlin. Hailing from the US, Han closed the program with Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra. "They have different speed for growth but there is no doubt that they have unlimited potential. I'm very pleased also that there are female conductors," van Zweden said during the Feb. 26 press conference. As for any advice he might have for the conductors, van Zweden said, "Be humble. Orchestras don't want to have authority by just being authority, but they want to see the authority of knowledge, what you know about how to fix (the sound.) "Don't be in a hurry. If you are in a hurry, you can't see what's happening around you. Don't hunt for a career. A career will come to you if you're a good conductor," he said. "Most importantly, you have to love what you do." The conducting fellowship was also part of SPO's attempt to look for its next associate conductor. David Yi, who served as associate conductor and assistant conductor from 2020 to 2025, took over as artistic director of the Gangnam Symphony Orchestra in January this year. An official at the SPO told The Korea Herald on Monday that the appointment of a new associate conductor is still under discussion.
New York Times
05-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Review: With ‘Fidelio,' the Met Opera Does What It Does Best
Opera houses tend to have their specialties. They might be havens for adventurous directors or unusual repertoire, for grand spectacles or Baroque chamber dramas. The Metropolitan Opera, at its finest, is a destination for voices. The Met is a glamorously storied house with a welcoming audience and undeniable prestige. It hasn't always been quick to cast today's rising singers, but when it does, it holds on to them, sometimes even bending its repertory to match theirs. And occasionally, the Met will gather its favorites in a single opera, assembling a vocal all-star team. This is what the company does best, and it can be thrilling to witness, as in the revival of Beethoven's 'Fidelio' that opened on Tuesday. This 'Fidelio' isn't just excellently sung, including by the Met's sensitive chorus: Jürgen Flimm's fresh-as-ever staging from 2000 is also led with clarity, drive and insight by the conductor Susanna Mälkki. It's just a pity that the revival is so brief, with only four more performances through March 15. These performances will also be the last of the season for the soprano Lise Davidsen. With a remarkably luminous sound in Wagner and Strauss roles, she has been a pillar of the Met's recent casting. But she announced in January that she was pregnant with twins and would take a break from singing after 'Fidelio.' (She is set to be back at the Met next year to star in 'Tristan und Isolde.') A towering presence, with a seemingly unshakable nobility, Davidsen is made for roles like Leonore, the heroine who, disguised as a man named Fidelio, infiltrates the prison where her husband, Florestan, is being held and starved for his political beliefs. Her 'Komm, Hoffnung,' in which Leonore expresses worry and hope for rescuing her husband was a journey from soft-spoken determination to resounding confidence. When, in Act 2, she revealed her identity to the villainous Don Pizarro, she was shockingly fearsome, with an otherworldly strength that befits an opera in which characters are more archetypal than human. The soprano Ying Fang has a nearly opposite sound, of Mozartean agility and precision, less powerful yet more heavenly. As Marzelline, the warden's daughter who falls in love with Fidelio, she didn't blend easily with Davidsen but charmed on her own, and she was more appropriately matched with the young tenor Magnus Dietrich as her suitor, Jaquino. Jaquino is a thankless role; like the assault rifles he assembles and threateningly wields but never uses in Flimm's production, he is a Chekhov's gun without a trigger. In his Met debut, Dietrich made the best of what he was given, boyish in his irrational devotion to Marzelline, with a pleasantly tender and focused sound. The other tenor role is more herculean: Florestan, sung at the Met by David Butt Philip with ardent tirelessness matched only by his dramatic bravery. He enters with a high G, exposed once the orchestra drops out after a beat. There isn't a fermata in the score, but Philip held the note, less to show off than to trace an arc of pathetic anguish to full-voiced despair. René Pape was back as the warden Rocco, which he sang when Flimm's staging was new. After a quarter century, Pape's sound may be a bit smaller, but it was still warm, as well as appropriate for a loyal worker willing, against his better judgment, to follow the sadistic orders of Pizarro. In that role, the bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny had a loud, reverberating speaking voice, similarly penetrating when he sang, that slowly revealed itself as posturing bluster; he remains one of the great acting talents at the Met. In Flimm's production, Pizarro is a vaguely defined tyrant who answers to and fears a higher, distant authority. It's deliberately unspecific, with details plucked from oppressive regimes of recent history: cold Soviet architecture; discarded shoes piled as if in a concentration camp; khaki uniforms of a banana republic; a monument, eerily of our moment, that may or may not be giving a Nazi salute. Beethoven's opera is beautiful if flawed as theater, with political idealism that is more admirable than resonant. But Flimm, who died in 2023, found a way to make it work and, most impressively, speak to the audiences of each revival in different ways. During the Iraq War, the toppling of a dictator's monument in the finale felt ripped from the headlines. With a rightward swing around the world today, there seems to be a warning in its 'Zone of Interest'-like juxtaposition of the mundane and the monstrous; flowers are trimmed and dinner is served as prisoners look on, in a portrait of complicity and opportunism. Most chillingly, Flimm turns Beethoven's celebratory finale into a warning. The officers who have just obeyed Pizarro now cheer his execution, while members of the public menacingly wave knives in the air. Flimm, a German born during World War II, knew that tyrants are dangerous, but so are people who are all too happy to do as they're told.
