Opera Review: The Boy Nobody Wanted

As Siegfried, Stefan Vinke triumphs at the Metropolitan Opera.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Anvil, no chorus: Stefan Vinke makes his debut in Wagner's Siegfried.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2019 The Metropolitan Opera.

For even the most dedicated Wagnerian, Siegfried is a challenge. The third chapter of the Ring is almost never performed as a stand-alone work, but only in the context of the other three operas. It is too often treated as an obligation by both performers and audiences. Siegfried is often the easiest Ring opera to get a ticket for, and is viewed as a long (but necessary) bridge between the glories of Die Walküre and the drama of Götterdämmerung. However, Saturday's season premiere of the opera at the Metropolitan Opera showed what a great and underrated opera this is.

Concert Review: Two Bridges to Nowhere

Alan Gilbert conducts Mahler and Sibelius.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Mahler man: Alan Gilbert (left, back to camera) leads Thomas Hampson (standing)
and members of the  New York Philharmonic (seated) in Das Lied von der Erde.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2016 The New York Philharmonic.

The last stages of a composer's output often contain their most profound utterances. Mozart's Zauberflöte, Beethoven's string quartets and Wagner's Parsifal are all notable examples. Last week, the New York Philharmonic offered a program exploring the penultimate completed works of Jean Sibelius and Gustav Mahler, two composers whose careers ended early, albeit for very different reasons. The concert marked the return of Alan Gilbert to the New York Philharmonic podium after an absence of some weeks. Friday morning was the last of three concerts featuring Sibelius' Symphony No. 7 paired with the work that almost became Mahler's Ninth: the six-movement song cycle Das Lied von der Erde.