Shades of White: Wagner on the South Bank
by Zoe Strimpel
Sun, 9 Mar 2008 at 7:07 PM
The South Bank is such a dense complex of arts and culture that you could go crazy trying to decide what to see — or, indeed, do little else but camp out in that bit of riverside between Waterloo and Southwark for weeks on end and never get bored. Culture minister Margaret Hodge said last week that the Proms, a summer classical music festival, were elitist in part because their program is overwhelming and chaotic. By that token she might dismiss the entire South Bank cluster, which broadly includes the National Theatre, National Film Theatre, Hayward Gallery, and Royal Festival Hall. Each building has several sub-chambers and performance halls.
Ms. Hodge might have been forgiven for thinking last night's blistering Wagner medley concert at the Royal Festival Hall was not for every walk of society. As with, say, the "From Russia" exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, an inordinate amount of white hair was visible above swaths of expensive tailoring. The young were not much in attendance, and the crowd was not ethnically diverse. Tickets cost in the region of £45 ($90).
But it was awesome — even for those, like yours truly, who find the idea of Wagner the man difficult. The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (who better to play such a program?), conducted by Mariss Jansons, was technically wondrous, textured, and unified. Standouts were a stunning "Tannhäuser" Overture, Siegfried's funeral march, and the famous, rousing "Ride of the Valkyries." Mihoko Fujimura, the Japanese mezzo-soprano, sang the "Wesendonck Lieder," adding yet another strand of texture to the fulsome program.
It's a shame a greater variety of people weren't there to appreciate this concert. More important, though, was the happy fact it took place at all.
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