FoBoBlo

Two of the biggest events in the Washington classical season come to FoBo this weekend, and they are both limited-run performances. Are these two of the best events in the season? On paper, and in my mind, no. But they will both be sure to be something of a show.

On Friday, the NSO welcomes superstar pianist Lang Lang to the Kennedy center in a rare program that features two concerti. If, after reading the San Fran Chronicle’s description of the pianist as “sparkling and dramatic,” you find yourself expecting Edward Cullen, disappointment is in your future. However, I find that my views of both Lang Lang and the shiny vampires are similar. Though I haven’t read Twilight, I gather (from even it’s biggest followers) that it is short on depth and high-sheen. This is exactly what I see in Lang Lang. Certainly, he is technically proficient, but he lacks any real expressiveness. Every recording of his that I’ve heard has left me flat, and the one chance I’ve had to see him in concert (Chopin’s 1st Concerto) did little for me.

Nevertheless, there must be something there for him to be so wildly popular and he will certainly have a chance to put that on display. He begins with Beethoven’s 1st Piano Concerto, op. 15. It’s a fairly standard late-Classical work, but you can hear the beginnings of what would later become Beethoven’s “heroic” style, especially in the first movement. The real dazzling work for Lang Lang, though, is Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3. A high-energy tour-de-force, the piece will be sure to let us see Lang Lang jumping around his bench and playing with more outward emotion than is ever needed. (I don’t mean to sound like the “get off my lawn” guy of classical music, but performance prowess based on charisma isn’t what we should desire. Who cares if our classical soloists are dreamy, or if they bounce around like a 5-year-old in a McDonald’s PlayPlace? Do they perform the piece with any depth? Insight? Character? Novelty? My bias against Lang Lang is based mostly on the idea that he is all charisma and no music. I hope he can prove me wrong.) If you go, you will get treated to a pair of overtures by Weber and Glinka as well. Glinka doesn’t come up all that often in the concert halls, so it might be worth going to hear this.

The other big event of the weekend is the WNO’s unstaged version of Götterdämmerung on Saturday at 5 PM (and again on the Sunday the 15th at 2 PM). (Edit: turns out writing a post early messed me up on dates. Only this Sunday the 15th is left, here. A good review of the event can be found here, and it really does sound fantastic.). This is what’s left of the plans for the company’s first attempt at a Bayreuth-style Ring cycle. The plans got scrapped due to the horrible economy. Staging all four operas in a row is a drain on any company, and the WNO just couldn’t handle the bill. Now this isn’t something to get into lightly. The run time is 5 hours including one 30-minute and one 25-minute intermission.

It’s worth noting that when WNO was doing these operas 1/year, the first two got really good reviews, so I expect a lot from this. If you’re not familiar with Götterdämmerung, (“Twilight of the Gods”) it is the final of four operas in Richard Wagner’s monumental Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). The story is based on a hodge podge of myth and legend, mostly Scandinavian. It’s really an impressive work if done right and if heard on a great recording or live. Don’t bother with recordings that are anything but good sound for your first listen. In that vein, I’d recommend the James Levine/Metropolitan Opera version (though if you’re forking out that much, it can’t hurt to get the whole cycle in one box). This rendition is simply stunning, and it’s what finally opened my eyes to how great Wagner can be.

Tickets are still available for both concerts. Lang Lang is not on the Attend plan, but you can purchase regular tickets ($65-125) here. Shockingly, the opera is a better deal for your money. Tickets can still be had for as little as $25 (Edit: $40) (though they go all the way to $210).