The Rhinegold review – Jones’s production lacked dignity and power

I have a real problem knowing what to make of the ENO’s production of this opera. The audience seemed to enjoy it and I could see why, but I am not sure whether I agree with them. Let me see if I can explain.

Wagner’s Das Rheingold is the first part of his epic Ring cycle which he began around 1850 and finished 24 years later. The plot derives from old Norse myths about an all-powerful, magical ring but Wagner reworked the story much as Tolkien did later to produce his Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Just as Tolkien wrote three long books preceded by The Hobbit, which was much shorter, Wagner gave us Das Rheingold as a starter, lasting around two and three-quarter hours (without an interval in this production, be warned), followed by three much longer works.

The music is magnificently powerful, the original German libretto, which Wagner also wrote, is equally striking, and there isn’t a dull moment.

The current ENO production is described in the programme as “a vivid, contemporary response to Wagner’s epic” and I think that is the source of my reservations.

On the one hand, I think that the director Richard Jones has done a fine job in turning a 19th century German treatment of an ancient Icelandic myth into something suitable for a 21st century British audience, but I still have doubts about whether one should even try to do such a thing.

Even before the overture began, we were treated the the sight of a naked man removing a massive branch from the stage before another man wearing only underpants dragged back a rather trimmed version of the same branch.

There were some laughs from the audience – possibly recognising the reference to Yggdrasill, the ash tree of Norse myth which held the world together, and from which Wotan, head of the Gods, carved himself a powerful spear.

Or they may have just seen the sight of men dragging trees across the stage amusing. My own feelings were that one does not laugh at Wagner and it set the wrong tone for what was to follow.

On the plus side, the cast were excellent. The American bass-baritone John Relyea sang and acted the part of Wotan with great authority, British baritone Leigh Melrose was in fine voice as the wicked dwarf Alberich, though I thought he rather overplayed the wickedness, and the British tenor Frederick Ballentine gave real character to the part of the mischievous god Loge.

The two basses, Simon Bailey (UK) and James Cresswell (US) both impressed as the giants Fasolt and Fafner, but the best performance overall came from mezzosoprano Christine Rice in the relatively small part of Erda, the earth goddess, who brought great authority back to the proceedings when she came to steer Wotan away from disastrous actions.

Christine Rice also seemed to me to be the cast member with the most appropriate costume. The others all appeared to be dressed in lounge suits or tracksuits, which looked highly incongruous for gods and mythological dwarfs. Other mysteries in the design included a golden baby (brilliantly operated by puppeteers in black) and a set design that included some huge unexplained white spheres (probably not Chinese weather balloons).

My general feeling that the production lacked the dignity and power it deserved was increased by a rather clunky English translation of the libretto, which too often showed a tendency to descend into colloquial expressions that seemed out of place. I suppose I would have to give the production high marks as a modern English version of a German classic, but I cannot help suspecting that if Richard Wagner had been there, he would have walked out very early on.

Following the appalling decision by the Arts Council to cut their grant to the ENO, it is unclear whether plans to stage the entire Ring cycle will be completed. Following last year’s Valkyrie, the final two parts have been plunged into financial limbo. Despite my reservations about the present production and the general policy of singing Wagner in English, I feel it would be a great shame if this epic project is not completed. We can only reach a fair judgement after seeing all four parts.

• Box Office: 020 7845 9300 or www.eno.org (various dates until 10 March)