Director Kasper Holten's thought-provoking Lohengrin returns with superbly sung performances at Deutsche Oper Berlin

In 2026, it will be 150 years since the Bayreuth Festival was inaugurated. To celebrate the anniversary, the entire Bayreuth canon — the last ten of the thirteen operas that Wagner completed — will be performed. Further north, in a city boasting three major opera companies and, in a sign that Wagner’s works continue to inspire examination and be perceived with relevance, Deutsche Oper Berlin (DOB) is currently on their way to doing just that.

Jennifer Davies as Elsa, Davic Butt-Philip as Lohengrin and
Ryan Speedo Green as Heinrich with Deutche Oper Berlin Chorus

Given that 2023 marks the 210th anniversary of Wagner’s birth in 1813 and 140th anniversary of his death in 1883 (just shy of his 70th birthday), one could assume that, unofficially, here is reason enough for the undertaking. Following on from the opening of Der fliegende Holländer the previous evening, director Kasper Holten’s now more than 10 year old production of Lohengrin offers ample thought-provoking satisfaction once the tide turns after an initially languorous Vorspiel and generally lacklustre Act 1. 

That’s not to say the music followed suit on opening night. Excellence from the DOB musicians throughout and conductor James Conlon’s fine leadership and attention to textural richness and emphatically shifting dynamics ensured Wagner’s score was brought to radiantly transcendent life. The crescendos notably stood out for their detailed and rousing affect, not least the first emotionally charged one in the Vorspiel, which Holten matches to the scream of a young woman after having found her dead loved one on a corpse-strewn battlefield. And the majestic, glinting quadraphonic brass sound reverberating from all corners of the theatre in the final act as Lohengrin fronts the king, Heinrich der Vogler, to divulge his identity before all is certainly worth a mention. 

What Holten does best is seize upon and question the broadly iterated concept that faith in god in particular and loyalty and love for the homeland as being paramount should neither be blindly accepted nor go unchallenged. After the heroic Grail knight Lohengrin (David Butt Philip) arrives in a backlit haze wearing a long white skirt and shouldering giant white feathered wings to intervene and come to the rescue of the falsely accused noblewoman Elsa von Brabant (Jennifer Davies), the aura of an allegorical Christ figure becomes increasingly fixed by the text and disturbingly dubious in reality in Holten’s alternative interpretation. Elsa, who must never ask Lohengrin’s name or where he is from must rely on the faith in love she has for him. 

But that faith is poisoned by the devil-like Ortrud (Yulia Matochkina) and her manipulated husband Telramund (Jordan Shanahan) to the extent that, like the sinful Eve she is portrayed to be, she is banished from the love she believed in and seeks forgiveness in her plea of “Eternal God, have mercy on me!”. Holten clearly asks the rational question, what grave wrong has Elsa done and he does this by audaciously shaping a Lohengrin, angelic as the portable wings make him so, a less kindly and sincere type. Holten’s ongoing questioning is always omnipresent in a time and place that is seemingly purposely fuzzy as part of set and costume designer Steffen Aarfing’s muted coloured world and Jespe Kongshaug’s low-intensity lighting. 

At a stretch, a World War I era flavour hangs over it. Brabant’s men are injured and weary, its women desperate and, in spite of the king (Ryan Speedo Green) they honour, all are ready and willing to cling to, in trance-like collectivity, the mystique of Holten’s saviour — secretive and potentially dangerous but which the people fail to see. Holten makes his point but the constant and clumsy marshalling and insincere hand gesturing of the men and women of the chorus are hard to take seriously. The all round high quality singing never falters but the six principals, including Dean Murphy as the King’s Herald, virtually sing on their own deserted island and barely find a connection in Act 1. That the Act 1 finale concludes in a feeble strike of light and duel of swords, resulting in Lohengrin sparing Telramund’s life before being surrounded in an arc of comical outstretched arms haling him as their trusted hero, leaves much to be desired. 

Julia Davies as Elsa, Yulia Matochkina as Ortrud an the Deutsche Oper Berlin Chorus

But the dramatic pulse fired in Act 2 and beyond. It is no accident that against the drama, a massive angularly suspended cruciform looms over Ortrud and Telramung while simultaneously appearing to test faith as the symbol of a fallen cross, before becoming the foundation for Lohengrin and Elsa’s wedding when laid to the floor. With Lohengrin and Elsa’s wedding interrupted twice, first by Ortrud and then by Telramund, Holten firmly cements the authority of his saviour. 

The ongoing imagery is powerful. In Act 3, with Elsa’s persistence to know Lohengrin’s identity in the privacy of the bridal chamber, comes the idea that Elsa’s fate appears sealed as bed becomes tomb. And later, not for the first time, Lohengrin reacts with quick aggression towards Elsa before abandoning the people who so expected him to lead them to a victory. Holten’s brilliant shock denouement comes with Elsa carrying the decomposed body of her brother Gottfried, who she was accused of drowning, and laying it atop the tomb. Mercy sought, one could surmise, derives from the guilt of responsibility for his death, not in the sin of demanding to know who Lohengrin is. 

English tenor David Butt Philip meets the complexities of both the diversely expressive vocal palette and characterisation of Holten’s Lohengrin, mining a chameleon quality of sorts from the golden and lyrical aspects of the voice to its demonstratively hefty limits. Irish-born Jennifer Davies’ pure, rounded and impressively tempered soprano and expression-rich portrayal of sensitivity of heart and strength in the face of doubt brings much agency to Elsa’s buffeted trajectory. Together, Butt Philip and Davies create a memorable duo in realising the beauty and nuance of the sung text and elevating underlying tensions not commonly encountered. 

Jennifer Davies as Elsa, Yulia Matochkina as Ortrud and 
Jordan Shanahan as Telramund

Russian mezzo-soprano Yulia Matochkina manifests everything desirous of a scheming and dark-souled Ortud, her considerably striking and full-bodied sound blotting the drama with exciting impact. As Ortrud’s submissive and honour-stripped Telramund, Hawaiian baritone Jordan Shanahan is especially successful in combining every ingredient for a convincing performance with effectively wrought acting and incisive vocal effectiveness. 

If Holten’s Heinrich is intended to look dignified but lack absolute authority — and the idea certainly suits his questioning perspective — Ryan Speedo Green’s grand, rumbling and thoroughly captivating bass resonates otherwise. An affable air accompanies Dean Murphy’s resplendent sounding Herald and there is ample opportunity for the DOB chorus, despite their often automated-like direction, to highlight their polished harmonies to music that beautifies and propels Wagner’s score. 

 In some way, Holten takes the position that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is and makes both an absorbing and appealing contribution to Wagner’s briefly described title as simply being a Romantic opera in three acts. 

Lohengrin 

Deutsche Oper Berlin 

Reviewed 29th October 2023 

Also on 19th and 25th November 2023

Production Photos: courtesy of Deutche Oper Berlin