Lohengrin by Richard Wagner Seattle Opera 7 August 1994 We had flown to Seattle for the weekend mainly because the opera was Wagner, and because Ben Heppner was singing. By the end of the evening Andrea Gruber had eclipsed them both. Heppner sang well, and the opera, like all the Wagner I have seen performed, was rewarding. There was no cause to be disappointed on either account. Instead, our delight in Gruber came solely from her performance-a powerful, open, warm tone that handled all the demands of Elsa with ease. Hers was easily the most beautiful voice on the stage, flawless to my ear and seemingless effortless throughout the range. Heppner, who so impressed us in Meistersinger in San Francisco, was in good voice, his tone clean and pure, a sweet rather than powerful sound. He sang confidently, but was a less commanding presence than before. The overall impression was of very high quality. Greer Grimsley's Telramund was especially striking: a lean, elegant, whip-like presence with a strong voice and compelling stage presence. It's easy to picture him in many villan's role: Scarpia or Sparafucile especially. Hermann Michael's conducting was confident and the playing altogether adequate. I thought Carol Yahr was overmatched by Ortrud, her voice badly strained at several key moments, especially her big emotional aria in act 2. The chorus was rich and full, very consistent; Barb thought they overpowered the orchestra at times, but I was so thrilled at the vocal music holding its own against the players that it didn't bother me a bit. I liked the set, a very plain flat wooden wall with balcony that transformed easily into more intimate settings. The use of the balcony in the first act was especially effective, keeping the chorus onstage the whole time but allowing the principals their own spotlight on level one. Lohengrin's entrance worked well; the background of sky and clouds behind a field of live tulips was particularly striking. The mechanical swan was just good enough not to be awkward. The costumes were rich and pleasing. It was interesting to watch Heppner and Gruber in their bedroom scene-two fat people in nightclothes cavorting on their bed. Surprisingly, it worked pretty well. I remember thinking that the set construction must have taken special care to strengthen the bed frame for that scene.