Jun 21, 2022 5pm, Oper Leipzig
Wagner: Das Liebesverbot
Cond: Matthias Foremny, Dir: Aron Stiehl
Manuela Uhl (Isabella), Tuomas Pursio (Friedrich), Nina-Maria Fischer (Mariana), Dan Karlström (Luzio), Mirko Roschkowski (Claudio),Stefan Sevenich (Brighella), Magdalena Hinterdober (Dorella)
(scroll down for English review)
《戀愛禁令》是華格納第二部歌劇，他在1836年完成後雖然得到上演機會，但只演到一場。故事改編自莎士比亞《一報還一報》，西西里國王有事離開，把政事交給德籍的攝政王Friedrich，並着他整頓一下島民的傷風敗俗。Friedrich推出三不准：戀愛、開嘉年華會（包括面具舞會），以及飲酒，違者處死。青年Claudio犯了色戒被捕，即將被處決，他想他在修道院做修女的姐姐Isabella向Friedrich求情，便托好友Luzio送信給Isabella。原來Friedrich是偽君子，他對Mariana始亂盡棄，追逐榮華富貴，Mariana就是在Isabella同一間修院。Isabella向Friedrich求情時，他要求她獻身去換取弟弟的自由。
昨天看的《妖精》出奇地聽得過，更有《羅恩格林》的味道，殊不知一看《戀愛禁令》，才知我對《妖精》的要求可能太低。我一直都喜歡此劇的序曲，它很雀躍、無窮動、很意大利，全劇的錄音是聽過，但現場還是第一次。沙華利殊在華格納逝世100年時在慕尼黑上演此劇時（也留下廣播錄音），大力推薦，並希望觀眾忘記對華格納的印象去欣賞。此言非虛，假如你願意花幾分鐘試聽序曲的話，我會說它是這齣歌劇很忠實的縮影，輕快得不像華格納，就連《名歌手》也沒這麼輕快。
我說序曲很意大利，整齣歌劇都很意大利，尤其像唐尼采弟的歌劇，歌唱及樂隊的寫法都是。華格納這次的劇本遠勝《妖精》，也把場面的鋪排寫得很好。人物出場前，不會像《妖精》那樣廢話一輪，倒是先好好唱一輪，才放鬆一點談談話，又轉成另一種曲風再唱過。如是者，第一幕雖然有96分鐘（這場的長度），場面卻寫得很順，有這種長度的《羅恩格林》第二幕也未必處理得更好。華格納也把詠嘆調、二重唱、三重唱、合唱分配得很好，想不到只相隔兩三年，他便有這麼大的進步。沙華利殊叫人忘記印象中的華格納，多少是因為你愈喜愛華格納，愈有可能覺得這不是華格納，還好我在華格納之餘，也聽多了意大利美聲歌劇，也就在本劇找到另一棰親切感。此外，第二幕（即是最後一幕），實在和莫扎特《費加羅婚禮》有很相似之處。
這個劇本寫得好的一項，就是配角寫得恰到好處，又緊扣劇情。另外，所謂「戀愛禁令」，其實也就是「性愛禁令」吧。Friderich無疑是奸角、偽君子，佰Luzio及Claudio也不算甚麼正人君子，只是一對玩家，至於Isabella為甚麼在修院，雖然沒說清楚，其實知道過去歐洲習俗便明。姊弟的父母已死，其實就是父親沒有留錢給Isabella，她不會有嫁妝，就只好在修道院渡過餘生，Claudio和她其實沒幾多骨肉之情，但Isabella還去幫他。而Isabella也知道了Friedrich和Mariana的舊情，她也很明白到去求Friedrich，對方也一定會要求她付出。
這場跟昨晚的《妖精》另一不同處，是有一線女高音Manuela Uhl飾演Isabella。開場前有人上台宣佈，Uhl的聲音出了點問題，但會盡力演出。她果然在至少兩首二重唱中，避唱最後的高音，但大致上她的確交足表現，滿足到這個重要角色的要求。此劇真的不能當成青澀作品，雖然還是有沙石，但如果更冷門的歌劇也會有歌劇院上演，華格納這齣已很有趣的作品，這麼少地方上演實在說不過去。
The second Wagner opera had just one performance in his lifetime. I was already content with last night’s Die Feen. After watching this I felt I might have set the bar too low. I’ve already had a liking for the overture, but listening to the opera on disc left me indifferent. But what a difference a live staged performance made! The boisterous, Italian overture is an accurate representation of the full opera. It really has so much fun, and the Italian style is most reminiscent of Donizetti, although the final act’s plot is like a rip off from Mozart’s Figaro. Wolfgang Sawallisch programmed this work in Munich for the Wagner centenary in 1983. He sincerely recommended the work yet asked opera lovers forget what they thought about Wagner and savour this opera. Very true, Wagnerians are very prone to consider this work utterly non-Wagnerian.
I don’t know how the Shakespeare original (Measure for Measure) unfolds but I really admire Wagner’s libretto which is way better than Die Feen. What I love most of all is its infinite subtleties. The ban of love is indeed a ban of sex, or unwedded sex. The fact that Isabella is in a cloister implies their animosity because their deceased father obviously hasn’t left anything for her and therefore she is doomed to end her life as a nun. Still she chooses to help his brother who is actually a playboy like his buddy Luzio. Isabella knows about Mariana’s sexual liaisons with Friedrich so she knows the implications of pleading with Friedrich.
Unlike Die Feen last night, tonight’s Das Liebesverbot had a front rank soprano Manuela Uhl singing the role of Isabella. Before the curtain went up it was announced that Uhl had something wrong with her voice but she woud try her best. She did leave out at least two top notes at the end of their respective duets but she really delivered the power of a Wagnerian and brought justice to this neglected early Wagner opera. If opera houses are putting on rarer, less deserving operas, it’s a shame that this very well-written, funny early Wagner is overlooked by so many houses, big or small.