Opera on the Move in the Nordic Countries during the Long 19th ...

210 Joakim Tillman
because of his dependence on Wotan, Siegmund was not the necessary free
hero. The cut in the dialogue contained this crucial information. Therefore,
according to Lindgren, more than one spectator must have asked himself or
herself: “But why on earth does Wotan surrender to Fricka?”
The performance
In one of the Harald Viking reviews the critic mentions two obstacles
against performing works following Wagnerian principles on the Swedish
stage (StD 25/2 1884). First, Sweden had no singers who were able to do
justice to the declamatory phrases, and secondly, “because of its raised and,
against Wagner’s instructions, prominent position, the orchestra was not
able to achieve the subdued volume a Wagner opera demands in order to
achieve the proper effect.”
When Die Meistersinger was premiered on 2 April 1887 the Royal Swedish
<strong>Opera</strong> was still located in the old Gustavian opera house. However, no
critic mentioned any problems with the balance between the singers and the
orchestra. Because the orchestral forces required are somewhat smaller in
Die Meistersinger than in Wagner’s other music dramas, it is possible that
the problem was not as prominent in this work. According to an account of
the rehearsals (SDS M 29/3 1887), however, the orchestra was as large as
the space allowed: “that is, eight first and eight second violins, six violas,
six violoncellos, and so on.” Die Walküre was staged in Svenska Teatern
[The Swedish Theatre] on Blasieholmen, which was the site of the opera
house in 1891-98 during the construction of the new premises. The new
Oscarian <strong>Opera</strong> House provided Stockholm with a stage and an orchestra
pit that were more suited to the demands of Wagnerian works (even though
there is not enough space for the number of strings Wagner prescribed).
The Swedish tenor Leonard Labatt (1838-97) sang the title role in Harald
Viking, and was praised by all the critics. He appeared as Tannhäuser
a month after the Harald Viking premiere. He had returned to the Royal
Swedish <strong>Opera</strong> in 1883 after 14 years at the Hofoper in Vienna (1869-83).
He had sung Tannhäuser in November 1875 with Wagner conducting, and
had also studied this part and that of Siegmund in Die Walküre, coached by
the composer himself (Hofsten 1977-79, p. 19). According to Percy (1936,
pp. 241ff), his interpretation of Tannhäuser in Stockholm convinced Swedish
critics that a new way of performing the big Wagnerian roles was necessary.
Following a disagreement with the new opera management, Labatt left