No Wagner in Bayreuth? Oh yes, indeed, not a corner or edge in beautiful Bayreuth without Wagner is conceivable. He is even hidden in login passwords. Wagner is fortunately no longer alone. There is Bayreuth Barock and recently Gluck was the main attraction.
Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787), the underrated, almost slipped between the folds of music history composer without whom there would have been no classicism and possibly no Mozart and even no Wagner. Who really knows more than 'Ach, ich habe sie verloren' and the ballet from his Orfeo ed Euridice? Few. The Gluck Festival now brings change to this neglect and not quite 240 years after the ingenious composer's death, he receives again the recognition he deserves. Wagner knew what Gluck stood for and he arranged his music. That alone says enough that the not-too-simple man Richard Wagner did that. Whether those arrangements were successful is debatable, but everything must be seen and understood in its time.
The 'Gluck Festspiele 2026' which puts the theme Amor & Psyche in the spotlight, invited a number of music critics to get acquainted with and report on two operas by Gluck. One in an arrangement by Wagner, Iphigenie in Aulis, the other, Paride ed Elena, in original setting. The setting for the Wagnerian Gluck was in the (not yet fully completed) Friedrichsforum complex, the 'Großer Saal' and for the opera Paride ed Elena they chose the Markgräfliches Opernhaus. The latter is, more than rightfully so, UNESCO World Heritage. A rococo hall and stage with strikingly much trompe-l'œil painting alongside solidly executed wood carving and stucco work. Striking is that all large curtains that are normally in red velvet are here simply part of the trompe-l'œil painting.
Iphigenie in Aulis or still Gluck through Wagner's eyes
The strongly renovated Großer Saal in the Friedrichsforum that has been under renovation for years, received the musicians and the public to listen, to experience how Wagner adapted the nowadays actually unknown opera Iphigenie in Aulis by Gluck to his hand and how he respected the original. In that respect he succeeded. His temperament has made this opera, which besides the solos gives remarkable attention to the choir and of course the orchestra, a rather violent whole that somewhat overwhelms. Beautiful it certainly is, unusual too. We heard a musical whole under the direction of Michael Hofstetter, that was in very good form and completely absorbed in a concert performance. That was consciously chosen precisely to give more attention to the for most of us unknown music and to emphasize the importance of Gluck for the opera after him. Because it must be said and written: without Gluck there might have been muddling through and musical theater might have died out because in the long run it could possibly bore people in those turbulent times of novelties in all aspects of society.
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The performers in a row: Bo Skovhus, Agamemnon - Vero Miller, Klytaimnestra - Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli, Iphigenie - Aco Bišćević, Achilleus - Christian Miedl, Kalchas - Soula Parassidis, Pallas Athene – the choir Cantus Thuringia - ThüringenPhilharmonie Gotha-Eisenach - Michael Hofstetter, conductor[/caption]
Pure Paride ed Elena in my top 3!
Perhaps I am rather brief in my review of Iphigenie in Aulis, but that? That has a reason and that reason is the performance of the opera Paride ed Elena. Given musical form by the same dedicated conductor – a man who meditates before getting to work – and the same choir, with different singers admittedly and this time with no less than the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. A group of musicians that guaranteed and guarantees the best of the best and whether that was proven.
Hofstetter, besides conductor also intendant of the Gluck Festspiele 2026, again chose a concert performance. You might consider it a pity because such a Greek tragedy calls for beautiful scenery, the fabric falling in folds of the wealthy Greek ladies in those ancient times and more, but no one missed the theatrical aspect. The decor of the stage itself is more than rich enough, a chunk of baroque harmony and symmetry that gives plenty to the eye. Of acting, in such a story as this you can expect little more than some stiff pacing back and forth, but it was cleverly replaced here by singers who presented very expressive mimicry and measured gestures whereby you had no need whatsoever for supplementary theater.
As far as the eye was concerned, it was already more than satisfactory, but musically we experienced something unparalleled. I am not exaggerating: it was one of the three best opera performances I have ever been privileged to witness live. Pride of place, and it will remain there, goes to Don Carlos by Verdi performed by Opéra de Wallonie-Liège in 2020. Second place I reserve for, after necessary deliberation with myself (a matter of conscience), Rigoletto by Verdi in Novi Sad in 2019, and now, as third or equal with Rigoletto, this Paride ed Elena. Three completely different works, but with the same artistic inspiration that entails unconditional fidelity to the original, the greatest possible respect for the work of composer and librettist. It is a pleasure to see a conductor at work who is completely absorbed by the score and with a radiant smile conducting his musicians in an inspiring and immediately encouraging manner for a work you do not know.
This opera was not unknown, listen to Mozart's Idomeneo…
What does Mozart's Idomeneo have to do with this today unknown opera by Gluck? Not everything, but more than you might think. Mozart certainly brings in Idomeneo a tribute to Gluck with the final chorus. The castrato role has two extended musically compelling, deeply moving arias that demand virtuosity, technique and above all very great artistic talent, and they make the audience fall completely silent, hardly daring to breathe. These are arias that no longer make you think of Gluck, but much more of Mozart. The genius lies moreover also in the other arias and indeed the entire score, but still, this opera is perhaps even more than Gluck's Orfeo the revolution in opera that led to, among other things, Mozart.
The artistic performances of the renowned orchestra and choir were already compelling, but the singers' limited yet so emphatic mime and gestures conveyed the whole as if it were a staged and not at all a concert performance.
Like the evening before, it was listening to thoroughly excellent singers and to a voice you can never forget. The professionalism of the trio Roberta Mameli as the reluctant and conquered lovestruck Elena, Vanessa Waldhart in the role of the all-dominating Amor, and the harsh, vengeful Athena by Soula Parassidis was of the highest level. And then Paride… A castrato role now sung by women because men, fortunately, are no longer castrated at age 12 for their beautiful boyish voice, is fulfilled by the singer - not songstress - more than impressively. There are men who can sing like a castrato, or at least approximately so, it may have sounded somewhat different, that's fine. Now and then you get to hear one of them. One of these singers is Samuel Marino. Highly trained in the artistic world with ballet and singing, son of university professors who unfortunately had difficulty with their son because he was indeed 'different'. Thus he did not experience a full voice break, something rare but existing. Read more about him via this link.
Marino is a musical gift from God. How do you express what cannot be expressed? On the various channels where you can listen to music, you will find recordings with this unique singer, a sopranista. Dear readers, go for it, search, discover and find where and when you can experience this musical rarity. And further you have meanwhile learned that Bayreuth is much more than just Wagner, thanks to none other than, yes, Wagner.
