The BBC Philharmonic's all-Wagner programme reunited the orchestra with its former principal conductor, Edward Downes and starred the two foremost British Wagnerian singers of our time, Anne Evans and John Tomlinson, who performed samples of their most celebrated roles.
It is unlikely that either artist will ever be heard again singing Wagner in a British opera house. But this was never just an exercise in nostalgia. Even towards the end of their Wagner careers, Evans and Tomlinson continue to set extraordinarily high standards, as well as providing a demonstration of the sterling virtues of clarity and directness. Anyone aiming to follow in their footsteps (whoever they may be - with one notable exception the UK's cupboard is pretty bare at that the moment) will have an extremely tough act to follow.
Tomlinson set the benchmark with the Fliedermonolog from the second act of Mastersingers. He reminded us that his Hans Sachs was always a bluff man of action, more the practical cobbler than the dreamy poet, and that in his Wagner singing communication mattered more than subtle vocal nuances and graded dynamics. Evans followed him with the Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, savouring every word, and colouring them all indelibly. She has never been a singer with an armour-piercing power, and just at the climax Downes allowed the orchestra to overwhelm her. Otherwise the balance was beautifully judged, and detail glinted in the cushioned accompaniment, just as it had in the Tristan prelude that preceded it.
The last scene of Die Walküre made up the second half, preceded by a Ride of the Valkyries that Downes unleashed with real theatrical vividness. Steadily unfolding drama was also the key to the evening's opening, with Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine Journey from Götterdämmerung. Evans and Tomlinson appeared together as Brunnhilde and Wotan in the Harry Kupfer Ring at Bayreuth and the much maligned Richard Jones Ring at Covent Garden. In the Symphony Hall they rekindled more of that stage intensity and psychological depth than one would have thought possible in a concert setting. Evans majored on Brunnhilde's compassion and all-encompassing loyalty, Tomlinson on her father's rage and hopelessly compromised love; it's still an unfailingly powerful combination.
