Wagner โ Tristan und Isolde. Stage director โ Daniele Menghini. Teatro Massimo, Palermo, Italy. Wednesday, May 29th, There are evenings that write the history of a theatre.
Tonight, at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo was one of them. This new production of Tristan und Isolde marked the farewell of Nina Stemme to the title role, perhaps the role she has been most identified with over the years โ and undoubtedly one that has helped her pay her bills. The house chorus and orchestra were placed under the direction of house Music Director, Omer Meir Wellber. The staging was confided to Daniele Menghini.
My only other experience of his work was a rather dreadful Carmen in Macerata last summer. Menghini began his staging with an interesting premise. He opened the evening with a bare stage, suggesting a rehearsal room.
The cast began to sing their roles with scores from music stands, the ladies in pants suits, the gentlemen also in suits. A naked man wearing wings, who gave us a lot to look at, perambulated around the stage. Menghini filled the stage with constant movement โ a ballet corps rehearsing in the background, stage hands adjusting the stage furniture. Although no doubt many would have been entranced by the naked angel. In Act 2, Menghini staged the love duet as a relatively traditional version.
Yet even here, he was unable to avoid the temptation to add extraneous action, with figures presumably representing Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, also perambulating around the stage. It was a shame to have Urmana float her warnings from on stage, having her so close meant they lacked the magic of distance that moment should have. As Marke entered, the rehearsal room reappeared, complete with stage crew disemboweling the Romeo figure and handing his organs to Tristan to give to Isolde.
