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– Now there should be 1.60 meters between the noses of the musicians, says Helga Hencz, violinist and one of the three security representatives of the Gothenburg Opera orchestra.
He looks around at the empty chairs of his colleagues.
The five main rows of chairs behind the orchestra pit have been folded over to provide enough space for the orchestra to record Richard Wagner’s “Siegfried”, the third and penultimate part of the gigantic work Nibelungen’s ring.
The floor of the gutter has been raised so that musicians can more easily see the conductor who is further away than usual.
Helga Hencz is a violinist at the Gothenburg Opera and a security representative.
Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
– I think it is very boring to be sitting away from my colleagues. I miss feeling his energy. It helps a lot when you play Wagner, says Helga Hencz.
In a typical year, Wagner plays just over 50 sets worldwide, if you count little. But 2020 is the year of canceled sets and there has been no Wagner on stage. But when DN visits the Gothenburg Opera in early December, the dream lives on. The plan, as still seen when DN is in place, is to record the three acts of “Siegfried” in three different rounds, then edit the entire work in a five-hour presentation that will air from the end of December.
However, that will not be the case.
The orchestra pit of the Gothenburg Opera House was rebuilt in mid-November to ensure a safe distance between the musicians.
Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
After months of corona pandemics, the Gothenburg Opera prepared to open to 300 people in early fall. But instead of opening the doors, they were forced to close them even more in November. At that time, the audience ceiling was set at a maximum of eight people. All employees were sent home, fired. A 23-page document was drawn up indicating who and who can enter the facilities. There are a total of 1117 rooms. Sets cannot be mixed.
During the spring, the Gothenburg Opera had invested mainly in digital production. In the fall it was in production that received the most attention: the completion and execution of “Siegfried.”
– You don’t just move Wagner forward, Henning Ruhe states as he moves freely around the small stage.
Daniel Brenna as Siegfried and Dan Karlström as Mime.
Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
He is the artistic director of opera and drama at the Gothenburg Opera and for a few more days he will be allowed to live with the belief that Siegfried will get away according to his plans. When Henning Ruhe receives DN inside the opera, disaster is still in the future.
– We can broadcast Siegfried to our audience. The pandemic has forced us to think creatively. I think it will turn out very well, he says.
Production has repeatedly had to find solutions to problems it has never had before. For example, how is a sword safely delivered for the crown? (Answer: One person puts the sword on the table, the other passes and picks it up. Many of those on stage also have gloves).
Backstage at the Gothenburg Opera during the filming of “Siegfried”.
Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
December 14th is the accident ahead. So it is clear that almost half of the Gothenburg Opera choir has been infected with covid-19. There is no chorus in “Siegfried”, but it still means a stop for Wagner’s production.
The orchestra may no longer meet in the rebuilt orchestra pit. New plan: Existing recordings of “Siegfried” will be pasted together in a final version.
Stephen Langridge is the director behind “Siegfried”, and he’s in England when DN catches up with him. He speaks convincingly about how flexible you always are in the culture industry and has been forced to be even more so during the pandemic.
– It is always the budget, or time, or other factors that limit it. As a director, you can play by the rules of the game, even in crown times. It is important to find solutions, to be flexible.
Mats Almgren as Fafner.
Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
– But of course, I swore a little to myself when the news of the choir infection came, and we were not allowed to film again. But now I think we have a version of Siegfried that is ready to be released to the audience this weekend, he says.
But it won’t come true either.
Christina Björklund is CEO of the Gothenburg Opera. She has called 2020 a “terrible year” and the restrictions that were tightened in the fall for “darkness 2.0”.
When we meet, the horrors have reached a new level.
Just two days before the broadcast of “Siegfried”, everything is canceled.
The reasons are various, according to the direction of the Gothenburg Opera. Among other things, recorded material needs to be edited further.
Christina Björklund, executive director of the Gothenburg Opera, calls the year “terrible.”
Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
– It’s very boring, of course. But we had no other choice. And there will be a spring where we can send it. In January, February or March hopefully, says Christina Björklund.
The Gothenburg Opera is 70 percent financed from tax funds, through the owner Västra Götalandsregionen. The rest comes, for example, from ticket revenue.
How do you see the tax money going to running an opera house that doesn’t have performances?
– I can guarantee to all the contributors that we have not been lying on the couch waiting, but working hard with our voices, bodies and instruments and other things to be ready when we open again. If people are not allowed to rehearse, they lose quality.
Alberich is played by Olafur Sigurdarson.
Photo: Veronika Ljung-Nielsen
In the spring, the opera posted about 100 films to its site. The site’s movies alone totaled around 80,000 views, and Christina Björklund notes that that number is “significantly higher” if you include all social media broadcast traffic. She is happy with the result. She calls spring “instructive” when it comes to digital production.
– We are preparing for a sprint race this spring, and we summoned all our energy and strength to secure and do everything right this spring. Now it turned out that it was a marathon we were running.
