Seattle Opera opens its 2004-05 season this Saturday with Richard Wagner's "Lohengrin," composed in 1848 and staged two years later. "Lohengrin" gave Wagner his first important success and is considered one of his most understandable operas. However, this does not mean that it is simple and straightforward.
On the surface, it's a colorful medieval romance full of feudal pomp and pageantry: a gallant knight appearing from nowhere saving a damsel in distress, trial by combat and a wicked sorceress casting spells, myth and magic. It's reminiscent of Arthurian legend and Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe, though Wagner asserted that the opera depicts medieval Germany with its abundance of history, legend and tales of chivalry and brave deeds that probably took place in all those castles along the Rhine.
The story is set in the Flemish duchy of Brabant. Elsa, the duchess, is defended by mysterious knights against accusations of having murdered her brother, Gottfried, heir to the ducal throne. Elsa's protector makes what is perhaps the most spectacular entrance in all of opera, riding a boat pulled by a great swan and arriving just in time to render aid. He agrees to defend Elsa and take her hand in marriage only on one inviolable condition: that she never seek to discover his name or from whence he came.
Once she accepts this term, he proceeds to defeat Elsa's accuser, Count Frederick von Telramund, in a combat trial. Elsa thus gains vindication and love with a single stroke, but the joy this brings her proves short-lived. Plagued by doubts planted in her mind by Frederick's wife, the sorceress Ortrud, Elsa demands to know her hus-band's identity. When she will not be dissuaded, the nameless knight sadly agrees to tell her. He is Lohengrin, and with that revelation he must leave her.
Wagner uses his hero's identity - the secret of it, then its revelation - to introduce another element into the plot: religious symbolism. Lohen-grin's injunction against seeking his name and origin is no arbitrary whim. As we learn in the closing scene of the opera, Elsa's rescuer is a Knight of the Holy Grail. The power of the Grail makes him invincible as long as his name is not known, and it is through the Grail's power that Lohengrin performs one last heroic deed at the very end, breaking the spell by which Ortrud had imprisoned Gottfried of Brabant in the form of the swan. Nevertheless, once he has divulged his identity, Lohengrin must return to Montsalvat, the castle where the Grail resides, and neither Elsa's remorse nor his own regret can alter his course.
I FIRST SAW Seattle Opera's production of "Lohengrin" in 1966. We were new to Seattle, having arrived in this fair city in 1963. We were also new to the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA), a group of wonderful people dedicated to reenacting the best of the Middle Ages with all the pageantry and order of precedence of European feudalism. We arranged for a group of the SCA's gallant knights and their ladies to attend a dress rehearsal. They arrived resplendent with glory, wearing chain mail (handmade out of key rings), to present banners and pennants to their knightly counterparts and a garland of fresh flowers for Elsa's hair. The pennants were actually used in the production, though I don't think Elsa's flowers survived.
"Lohengrin"'s appearance at Seattle Opera in 1994 prompted the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to observe, "[The production] can take its place in the company's pantheon of triumphs." And they were right. The mysterious knight's entrance in a boat drawn by a magnificent, lifelike white swan was a sight long remembered by the enthusiastic audiences, and I was right there with them, joining in the standing ovations.
The unknown knight's feathered guide over many years of "Lohengrin"'s production had been portrayed by an abstract reference or beam of light. This was not good enough for Speight Jenkins, Seattle Opera's general director, the man who made horses fly. It was clear to Jenkins that rather than a beam of light, a wing, a boy wearing wings or a tiny swan in a glass box, a recognizable swan must appear on the stage of Seattle Opera's new 1994 production. Jenkins went to work with the production team of scenic designer Thomas Lynch and stage director Stephen Wadsworth. What if Seattle Opera Scenic Studios could build a prop that looked like a real swan? The technical director proposed a radio-controlled, animatronic swan. The production went for it.
Concerned about authenticity, scenic artists took a field trip to wildlife biologist Martha Jordan's swan resource center to learn about the proportions, movements and visual details of swans. Carpenters brought these details to life with helicopter parts and latex, among other oddities, creating the illusion of a graceful swan at 140 percent life size.
The end result - the swan swimming up the river among the field of tulips - was truly magical.
For the past 10 years, the "Lohengrin" swan has been cooped up in "props" among pillows, torches, a box of swords and two stage pianos on the second floor of Seattle Opera's administration building. In December 2003 the Technical Department freed him from a black box marked do not feed and helped him shake out his feathers. To prepare this animatronic swan for a return to Seattle Opera's stage, master stage carpenter Charles T. Buck and his crew installed new motors and made improvements to the mechanics and controls. The swan makes his McCaw Hall debut July 31 for the 2004 production.
The award-winning director and design team - Stephen Wadsworth, Thomas Lynch, Martin Pakledinaz and Peter Kaczorowski - that created Seattle Opera's exceptional 2001 "Ring" has united to take a fresh look at their original production. Asher Fish, who led "Parsifal" last summer, returns to conduct. The dynamic cast features the Dutch tenor Albert Bon-nema, making his Seattle Opera debut in the title role. Also included is Marie Plette as Elsa, Greer Grimsley (who played the par in 1994) as Telramund, Gidon Saks as King Heinrich (another Seattle Opera debut) and, as a special treat, Jane Eaglen singing her first-ever Ortrud.
The 2004 production has everything going for it: an award-winning production team to provide the spectacle, a brilliant conductor to interpret the majestic music, Seattle's own Jane Eaglen and a stellar cast (all billeted around Queen Anne, incidentally) to provide the singing, helped by a nearly 100-strong chorus and a wonderful new hall in which to present the production which promises to be another great success for Seattle Opera. This one is not to be missed, ideal entertainment for the whole family.
While you are at the opera house, do not forget to look into the Amusements: Gift of Artistic Expression boutique. They have a wonderful assortment of shawls, gifts, jewelry, CDs, books and videos. "Lohengrin" runs July 31 to Aug. 21. Tickets and times can be obtained online at www.seattleopera.org, Ticketmaster, or by phone at 389-7676. TTFN!
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