Aug. 17--However cloudy the future of opera (and serious classical music in general) may be at Ravinia now that James Conlon has stepped down after 11 seasons as music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra residencies, his operatic valedictory to the festival on Saturday night was, in a word, glorious.
The conductor took his leave with a full-blooded concert version of "Der Fliegende Hollander" ("The Flying Dutchman"), Richard Wagner's breakthrough early opera and a work new to the Ravinia repertory. The festival has hosted numerous Wagner concerts over the years, of course, but never before had a complete Wagner opera been presented at the CSO's summer home.
For this "Dutchman," Ravinia assembled a top-flight international cast such as Bayreuth, the Wagner holy of holies in Germany, would have envied. It was headed by two of today's most respected exponents of the Wagnerian repertory, Greer Grimsley as the tormented Dutchman and Amber Wagner as the devoted Senta. Added to this were the luxurious resources of one of the world's most accomplished Wagnerian orchestras, along with the mighty Chicago Symphony Chorus.
Here was opera to rival the many fine performances of the mature Mozart stage works Conlon has led at Ravinia. Loud ovations went on into the night, puncturing the warm, humid air hanging like a blanket over the pavilion and lawns. Conlon came in for a particularly grateful reception, as much for his nearly four decades of service to the festival as for the vividly dramatic performance that took shape under his baton.
Considering how little dramatic action there is in "Dutchman," one did not regret the absence of an actual stage production. Besides, when you have some of today's finest Wagnerian voices and an orchestra-choral contingent of such high caliber filling the stage, who needs it?
Grimsley's Wotan and Wanderer (in Wagner's "Ring" cycle) are rightly celebrated, and he has graced the Lyric Opera stage with his Telramund ("Lohengrin") and Kurwenal ("Tristan und Isolde"). It was a treat to experience his intensely committed portrayal of the Dutchman, the accursed seafarer doomed to travel the oceans in search of a bride who would be true to him unto eternity, thus releasing him from the curse.
With his round, firm, darkly powerful bass-baritone, Grimsley made a striking entry with his narrative "Die Frist ist um," conveying the character's mingled bitterness and longing with truly demonic force. Yet, in the long second-act love duet, he softened and lightened his tone to suggest the deeper vein of humanity the prospect of redemption through Senta's undying love has awakened in him. The riveting matching and blending of his voice and Amber Wagner's was one of the highlights of Saturday's performance.
The Ravinia-debutant soprano was in equally fine form, both vocally and dramatically, as she added another admirable Wagner heroine to the Elsa ("Lohengrin") and Elisabeth ("Tannhauser") she has sung triumphantly at the Lyric. She delivered Senta's ballad beautifully, her steady, seamless, gleaming, gloriously full tone signaling her deep emotional investment in the character. Unlike many dramatic sopranos, she was unfazed by the high tessitura of the final scene, where Senta hurls herself into the sea to be forever united with the Dutchman. Lyric really should consider building a new "Dutchman" around her and Grimsley.
The solid Icelandic singer Kristinn Sigmundsson rolled out a deep, imposing bass to project the bluff paternal warmth of the sea captain Daland, Senta's father, who revels in his good fortune at finding a rich husband for his daughter, literally out of the blue.
In its bright timbre, high placement and absolute security throughout its range, the fine, musical tenor of New Zealand native Simon O'Neill, another Ravinia debut, made him ideal casting as Erik, Senta's ardent if hopeless suitor. Matthew Plenk brought a clear, attractive, expressive lyric tenor to the Steersman's wistful longings. Mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller, also very good, completed a winning ensemble as Senta's nurse, Mary.
Conlon's mastery of Wagner's youthful and prophetic score showed not only in the dramatic urgency he brought to such big moments as the windswept overture and the big choral confrontation of the Norwegian and Dutch sailors that begins Act 3, but also in the finely detailed shaping of his accompaniments to the arias, ensembles and chorus. His pacing was always surefooted, and the well-balanced and richly sonorous sound he drew from the CSO was the genuine Wagnerian article.
The chorus men sounded firm and virile, while the chorus women made much of their lighthearted chatter during the Spinning Chorus. Chorus director Duain Wolfe did the thorough choral preparation.
Indications are that Ravinia will simply retire Conlon's title, leaving the CSO residency without a dedicated music director for the first time in 50 years. Ravinia CEO Welz Kauffman says the festival is considering a seasonal "musical curator" model such as is in place at California's Ojai Festival. Where this will leave the CSO -- whose Ravinia repertory has increasingly embraced classical "lite" repertory and movie nights -- only time will tell.
Meanwhile, Conlon will be greatly missed. The many memorable concerts he has brought to Ravinia audiences in the course of his 38-year association constitute a major chapter in the history of the festival. Saturday's "Dutchman" surely will go down in the record books as one of the finest of these.
John von Rhein is a Tribune critic
jvonrhein@tribpub.com
