Gothic Opera is one of those invaluable small companies that give audiences the chance to see rarely performed operas at affordable prices — and offer young singers the opportunity to take on roles that both test their talents and showcase their strengths. The company’s niche lies in uncovering operas with a supernatural element, and this intriguing piece was, most appropriately, performed in Battersea on Halloween.
The opera, by Jacques Offenbach — best known for The Tales of Hoffmann — shares some musical and dramatic themes with that masterpiece. Die Rheinnixen was Offenbach’s (ultimately unsuccessful) attempt to write a patriotic German Romantic opera. It was first staged in Vienna in 1864, as a substitute for the “unperformable” Tristan und Isolde. The original production was set during a period of civil conflict in the sixteenth century; this new version relocates the action to the upheavals in Germany following the 1918 surrender.
The peasants of the Rhine Valley near Hedwig’s farm long for peace but fear the roving bands of soldiers. Her daughter Armgard sings of the people’s yearning for national reconciliation and remembers her lost love, Franz. A group of mercenaries arrives, led by the brutal Conrad, and Armgard recognises an injured Franz among them. She sings a song about her homeland and collapses, apparently dead — her spirit, according to local legend, destined to join the Nixies (water spirits) of the Rhine. But she is not dead, only in a trance. Revived, she helps to foil an attack planned by the mercenaries on the nearby castle, and she and Franz are reunited. Hedwig then reveals that Conrad is Armgard’s father. Ultimately, with the supernatural aid of the Rhine spirits, peace is restored.
There are five principal roles and two alternating casts. On the night I attended, Mae Heydorn sang Hedwig and provided the emotional anchor around which the drama revolved. Her rich mezzo voice was both flexible and powerful, and her revelation that Conrad is her daughter’s father was vocally thrilling. Alice Usher sang the ill-fated Armgard with dramatic finesse — especially moving in the first act, despite a costume that somewhat overstated her “outsider” persona.
There was less scope for the three men to convey subtle characterisation, as they represent familiar operatic archetypes. Tenor Sam Utley was a bedraggled but convincing Franz, the hero struggling to save his beloved. Owain Gwnfryn made a suitably swashbuckling villain as Conrad, while Harrison Gration brought nobility to Gottfried, who saves Franz’s life despite being his rival for Armgard’s love.
The small orchestra, conducted by Hannah von Wiehler, played with energy and admirable sensitivity to the singers’ needs. With the audience seated on three sides and the orchestra placed in a central pit, the cohesion between soloists, chorus, and players was all the more impressive.
The main problem lies in the opera itself — its plot is incoherent. Despite some clever touches from inventive director Max Hoehn, the uneasy blend of nineteenth-century romantic conventions, supernatural mythology, and bursts of German nationalist fervour never quite coalesces into dramatic unity or a comprehensible ending. The updated setting in 1920s Germany provides some striking visual symbolism and contemporary resonance but sits uneasily alongside the Rhine legends.
This is the third Gothic Opera production I have seen, and all have been brave and imaginative. Offenbach’s Die Rheinnixen proves a worthy addition to their repertoire, offering a feast of fine music — if not quite a dramatic masterpiece.
Composer: Jacques Offenbach
Libretto: Charles Nuitter and Alfred Von Wolzogen
Conductor: Hannah Von Wiehler
Director: Max Hoehn
Performers incl: Mae Heydorn, Alice Usher, Sam Utley
Running time: 2 hours 30 Minutes
Until 2 November
Photographs: Craig Fuller