The spirit may be willing, but the flesh is still weak in Tannhauser, Wagner's stirring tale of profligacy and redemption which the Metropolitan Opera has returned to the stage with a top-notch cast and a magnificent performance by James Levine and the Met Orchestra.
With the excellent South African tenor Johan Botha in marvelous voice in the title role and the admirable Dutch soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek singing Elisabeth, it is a thrilling revival of Otto Schenk's 1977 production that audiences around the world will be able to see on Oct. 31 when the Met simulcasts a matinee performance to over 2,000 theaters in 70 countries as part of its Live in HD series.
Wagner worked on Tannhauser on and off for most of his life, starting with some rough drafts in 1842 when he was 29 years old and still tinkering with it shortly before he died in 1883. The premiere was in Dresden in 1845, but the composer added ballet music and beefed up the role of Venus for a Paris production 16 years later.
The story is set in medieval Germany and involves the spiritual progress and backsliding of Tannhauser (a k a Heinrich von Ofterdingen), a minstrel-knight who ran away from the community of knights at Wartburg and has been living in Venusberg, the underground world of the goddess of love, and freely enjoying its lustful indulgences.
But Tannhauser longs to return to the real world, and despite some angry resistance from Venus he makes his way back to Wartburg and Elisabeth, his true love. When he enters a song contest, he still sings of the joys of physical pleasures he learned from Venus, much to the opprobrium of the other knights, especially Wolfram, who also loves Elisabeth and extols purity in love.
Only Elisabeth still has faith in Tannhauser and saves him from being killed on the spot. Her uncle, Landgraf Hermann, the leader of the knights, says he must go to Rome on a pilgrimage and be pardoned by the Pope for his sinful behavior.
The Pope, however, is not forgiving and Tannhauser returns from Rome dejected and determined to retreat back to Venus and her underworld pleasure palace. It is the death of Elisabeth, who has been waiting in vain for his return, who provides his salvation. Wolfram, trying to dissuade Tannhauser, invokes Elisabeth's name and Tannhauser, with his own dying breath, prays for her to intercede for him in heaven.
If the plot is steeped in myth and fairytale legend, the music is close to divine. The joys of this Tannhauser begin with Wagner's famous Overture. Levine has shaped the Met Orchestra into one of the finest in the world and it is never more evident than in the opening bars of the glorious Pilgrim's Hymn theme. By the time the marvelous Met Chorus gives full voice to that hymn in the third act, one can only say "Hallelujah" for both orchestra and chorus.
The chorus is no less grand in the big second-act Hall of Song scene, as they march in to trumpet blasts from a gallery, carrying banners and standing before murals depicting saints and religious scenes seemingly inspired by Ravenna's mosaics.
The expanded Overture includes the ballet sequence in which flimsily clad denizens of Venusberg cavort and slither across the stage in various poses of sexual coupling. Fortunately it is not enough to distract from the sublime Met Orchestra performance of Wagner's majestic music.
Botha has a strong, robust voice that meets all the demands of a demanding role. His opening act paean to Venus, beautifully accompanied by the Met Orchestra harpist Emmanuel Ceysson, is a delight. And his third-act "Rome Narrative" is moving.
Westbroek has a vibrant soprano that is full of joy in her salute to the Wartburg Hall of Song, "Dich, teure Halle," and achingly poignant in her prayer at the end. She has a rich, plush sound of great clarity that perfectly captures Elisabeth's torn allegiances.
The Swedish baritone Peter Mattei is outstanding as Wolfram, and his Act III "Evening Star" song is one of the highlights of this Tannhauser. Michelle DeYoung, a dramatic mezzo and Michigan native, is sultry and seductive as Venus, and Ying Fang, a member of the Met's Young Artist Development Program, delivers a lovely solo as the Young Shepherd