Schöpflin and Martin in Death in Venice at Munich's Gärtnerplatz © Ida Zenna 2009

Death in Venice might seem a strange choice as the last new production of a lengthy opera season at Munich's Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz. Benjamin Britten's final opera is extremely difficult both to cast and to play, presenting a formidable challenge for singers, conductor and stage director. It is also not easy fare, even for experienced operagoers; it was a courageous choice for production at the Gärtnerplatz — a theater known essentially for its light opera repertoire. That the performance of July 7, sung in English with German titles, was a huge success is a credit to everyone involved, on both sides of the curtain.

Immo Karaman's production was ingenious. He utilized the entire stage as a unit set, letting partitions descend from above to mark off scenes that called for smaller dimension. One of these was Aschenbach's green paneled room in Munich, which conveyed in a moment the poet's claustrophobic anxiety, as well as his burned-out state of mind. An upholstered chair served as the only prop in that room and, symbolically, reappeared in Venice. The hotel in Venice, which reflected Aschenbach's growing degree of conflict, altered from scene to scene, degenerating from the elegant to the shabby. The costumes of Nicola Reichert were of great variety, ranging from classic evening attire to the surrealistically nightmarish. The choreography, so important to the scenes with Tadzio, was classically seductive. In fact, much of the staging was in the form of choreography, with only Aschenbach left out of the undulating rhythm.

It is vital to cast the central role of Gustav von Aschenbach from strength, and the Gärtnerplatz found a superb singing actor in tenor Hans-Jürgen Schöpflin. Schöpflin became Aschenbach: his impassioned singing and fervent acting hypnotized the audience, drawing them like a magnet into his psyche. The opera calls for a number of singers to assume multiple roles. Baritone Gary Martin, in a variety of parts, proved his worth once again through superb vocalism. More than that, he varied both his vocal color and his stage personality for each of the roles. There was, in fact, no weakness at all in the large cast. Tenor Florian Simson (Hotel Porter/Young Man) and soprano Sibylla Duffe (Strawberry Seller, among others) merit special mention. The chorus (under Jörn Hinnerk Andresen) and ballet acquitted themselves admirably in their myriad functions. The dancing of Tadzio (Anton Bolvaschenkov) and Jaschiu (Indra della Porta), both teenaged students of Munich's Heinz-Bosl Ballet Academy, was exceptional.

At the heart of the work stood conductor David Stahl, whose gift for inspiring his orchestra to exceptional playing has never been better exemplified. In addition, Stahl molded the delicately sculpted, often diffuse score into a seemingly ever-increasing crescendo of tension, leading to the work's inevitable, shattering ultimate tragedy. The visibly moved audience in a nearly full house rewarded singers, orchestra and conductor with prolonged applause.

JEFFREY A. LEIPSIC

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