That necessity is the mother of invention has been proven repeatedly throughout the pandemic. Nobody has done it so brilliantly, in my experience, than Longborough Festival Opera in their new production of Die Walküre.
I wasn't expecting that. Yes, the idea of a weekend away in the Cotswolds, of a hotel, of being in a theatre again hearing live music, inspired joy. But the prospect of four hours of Wagnerian opera with no staging and people just singing filled me with trepidation. How wrong I was. Because this was so much more than "just" singing.
Performers kept a guideline-respecting two metres from each other, but they moved ingeniously around the stage. Metal gangways on three levels at the back and two aisles to spaces at the front corners of the stage allowed for plenty of movement, and even something approaching a crowd when the Valkyries gathered. The performers weren't just moving, however, but acting. Acting with every muscle of their bodies and every twitch of their faces. Social distancing only added to the frisson. As Sarah Marie Kramer's Sieglinda and Peter Wedd's Seigmund fought their instant but forbidden attraction they danced towards the limits of their 2-metre barrier and retreated like moths around a flame. Even as they gave in to their passion, the distance was there, reinforcing the brevity of their union and the tragedy to come.
The emotion in the last act was even more intense, as a fiercely defiant Brünnhilde (played by Longborough regular Lee Bisset, in particularly fine voice) and angry, defensive Wotan (the magnificent Paul Carey Jones) brought all the trauma of complicated father-daughter relationships to glorious life. Once again the inability to touch brought added poignancy, as the vulnerable and ultimately defeated father had abandon his favourite child only because she acted on what was in his heart. It was one of the most emotionally charged moments I've ever experienced in an opera. (And will forever destroy my argument that Wagner can't do love or emotion as authentically as the Italians.)
This Walküre, however, transcended both Wagner and opera to touch the longing and emptiness of the pandemic itself. A whole world hungering for, and striving towards, the forbidden touch of others. Anyone who doubts the art of centuries past can't be relevant to today should have been there. No wonder there were so many moist eyes as the privileged audience reeled out of the theatre into the June dusk.
Scoring Wagner tickets at Longborough must always be described as a privilege. Since we discovered the Cotswold-based country house opera festival 11 years ago it's climbed into the heights of Wagner interpretation, regularly acclaimed alongside giants like The Met or Bayreuth. I don't have statistics to prove it, but I doubt there's much chance at tickets without the advantages membership. We certainly learned years ago that stepping up to patron level was the only way to be sure of weekend seats in the intimate 500-seat theatre.
This year, social distancing guidelines reduced the audience per performance to about 150. On the main floor, every other row remained empty and two seats separated each group of ticket holders. Boxes were at normal capacity as long as they were filled by groups who came together. Thus we had the rare delight of being able to welcome friends into this rarified world; even Wagner patrons can normally only purchase two Wagner tickets.
The audience might have been limited and the sets foregone, but there was no skimping on the orchestra. Strings swelled, brass stirred the senses, percussion thundered and boomed. Longborough maestro Anthony Negus wouldn't have allowed any less. So the string sections sat on stage with the action taking place around them, while the rest of the orchestra sat in the pit directly below. From the nerve-wracking edginess of the chase scene that opens the opera to the intensity of the lovers' themes to that iconic Ride of the Valkyries, every note surrounded us in richness and reminded us that no matter how good a home sound system, there's nothing quite like live to touch your soul.
While my appreciation for Wagner has grown steadily with our years at Longborough, I was never sure I'd be up for the whole ring cycle at once. This Walküre decided me. When they put on their next ring cycle in 2024 I'm ready to decamp to Stow-on-the-Wold for a week and binge watch the whole thing. Because I really need to see this production again. Next time, I'll be armed with a box of tissues.
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