ZURICH (AP) — In an age of radical reinterpretations, conductor Gianandrea Noseda and director Andreas Homoki created a counterrevolutionary version of Wagner’s four-night, 15-hour Ring Cycle that sparked 13 minutes of applause at the Zurich Opera House.
Noseda, conducting Wagner’s epic for the first time just after his 60th birthday, was drenched in sweat as if emerging from a swimming pool when he invited the entire Philharmonic Zurich on stage to join the cast for curtain calls on Thursday night.
Wagner has been dominated by regietheater since Patrice Chéreau’s seminal staging for the 1976 Bayreuth Festival recast the story of gods, humans, giants and dwarfs through the lens of the Industrial Revolution. While avoiding a strict adherence to Wagner’s original instructions, Homoki used relatively minimal if dull scenery to allow a psychological focus without distraction. His Wotan is a self-loathing head god who collapses, his entire body shaking, realizing the disasters are of his own doing.
“For me this Ring here is one of the most intelligent Rings because we tell the story, and the story is really not that stupid like the modern directors think,” said bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny, who has sung Wotan in 20 different productions.
Noseda committed to the Ring with Homoki in 2018 as part of an agreement to succeed Fabio Luisi as music director. Noseda studied in 2020 during the pandemic for five hours daily in segments, at 3 a.m. and 2 p.m.
“The world of the Ring is an ocean. It’s not even a Mediterranean Sea,” Noseda said. “You have to be able to dive, to get up and to swim and to feel yourself at ease.”
Noseda took advantage of the venue, an 1,100-seat house less than half the size of other major theaters, to create an eloquent environment in which Wagnerians used to belting for the rafters could sing softly at each other. He used two harps instead of six for “Das Rheingold,” the opening night of “Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung),” and four double basses rather than eight.
“You don’t need more in this hall,” Noseda said. “The pit is not hugely big, so you can fit a certain number of musicians. In a way, it makes the flavor of the experience more intimate.”
The second of the two cycles will be streamed live for free on the Zurich Opera’s website from May 18-26 and then be available for replay, with additional distribution on the Medici streaming service and a DVD release.
Homoki was met with only one or two boos during curtain calls in an age when a sizeable segment of the audience often jeers Wagner directors. He had spent three or four hours on Skype daily with dramaturg Werner Hintze in early 2020 discussing ideas.
“We understood this piece as being just a story about human nature, about society, about us,” Homoki said. “I don’t want to be misunderstood as somebody who is trying to object to contemporary, interpretations. I think a contemporary interpretation is this. It just has to work.”
Collaborating with set and costume designer Christian Schmidt and lighting designer Franck Evin, Homoki placed all four nights on a turntable shifting from forest to a Valhalla mansion. Whimsical elements included Valkyries with horses' heads as helmets and Rhinemaidens in pajamas with Marilyn Monroe platinum wigs.
They configured the gods Froh (Omer Kobiljak) and Donner (Xiameng Zhang) as toffs in boating blazers with cricket bats, and Gibichung twins Gutrune (soprano Lauren Fagen) and Gunther (baritone Daniel Schmutzhard) in groovy red jackets that would have fit in Austin Powers’ movies. Loge (tenor Matthew Klink) could have been a body double for Johnny Depp.
“It’s just space as if you are in heaven, where there’s not time,” Homoki said. “The piece is conceived for a stage esthetic of 170 years ago. You don’t want to see any of those performances that people saw at the time. You have to see it from today’s eye. Sometimes you have to just clear away the rubbish and then people say, oh no, it was just the rubbish that we loved so much. OK, then too bad.”
Wotan is on stage for the opening of “Die Walküre,” an act earlier than Wagner wrote, making sure Siegmund and Sieglinde meet in the forest, then handing mead to her to give to her brother and future lover. For the Immolation Scene that ends “Götterdämmerung (The Twlight of the Gods),” Brünnhilde imagines Siegfried coming back to life and accompanying her to his funeral pyre.
“This was a big gift, that I don’t have to do crazy things but only the things that fit to my character,” said tenor Klaus Florian Vogt, who sang a robust Siegfried.
Konieczny was a commanding Wotan and soprano Camilla Nylund an endearing Brünnhilde (this production was her role debut). Soprano Daniela Köhler was a vocally gripping Sieglinde and bass-baritone Christopher Purves a menacing Alberich, their acting and singing riveting in the compact space. Bass David Leigh (Hagen) showed to be a top emerging talent.
Siena Licht Miller (Flosshilde) and her fellow Rhinemaidens added comic touch. She appreciated Homoki eschewing gimmicks.
“He’s really interested in every person in the audience understanding the piece and in particular with the text in a German-speaking country,” she said. “Eurotrash — we make fun of it, and we watch in school. There are moments where you can see that it really works, but if it’s just trying to help the audience be more entertained, it’s a cop out."
This image released by the Zurich Opera shows a rehearsal of Andreas Homoki’s production of Wagner’s “Das Rheingold” at the Zurich Opera. (Monika Rittershaus/Zurich Opera via AP)
This image released by the Zurich Opera shows Camilla Nylund, left, as Brünnhilde in a rehearsal of Andreas Homoki’s production of Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung” at the Zurich Opera. (Monika Rittershaus/Zurich Opera via AP)
This image release by the Zurich Opera shows Tomas Konieczny, left, as Wotan with Valkyries in a rehearsal of Andreas Homoki’s production of Wagner’s “Die Walküre” at the Zurich Opera. (Monika Rittershaus/Zurich Opera via AP)
LONDON (AP) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal an extradition order to the United States on espionage charges, a London court ruled Monday — a decision likely to further drag out an already long legal saga.
High Court judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson ruled for Assange after his lawyers argued that the U.S. government provided “blatantly inadequate” assurances that he would have the same free speech protections as an American citizen if extradited from Britain.
Assange, 52, has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over his website’s publication of a trove of classified U.S. documents almost 15 years ago.
Hundreds of supporters cheered and applauded outside court as news of the ruling reached them from inside the Royal Courts of Justice.
Assange’s wife, Stella, said the U.S. had tried to put “lipstick on a pig — but the judges did not buy it.” She said the U.S. should “read the situation” and drop the case.
“As a family we are relieved but how long can this go on?" she said. “This case is shameful and it is taking an enormous toll on Julian."
The Australian computer expert has spent the last five years in a British high-security prison after taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years. Assange was not in court to hear the ruling because of health reasons, his lawyer said.
American prosecutors allege that Assange encouraged and helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to steal diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks published.
Assange’s lawyers have argued he was a journalist who exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sending him to the U.S., they said, would expose him to a politically motivated prosecution and risk a “flagrant denial of justice.”
The U.S. government says Assange’s actions went way beyond those of a journalist gathering information, amounting to an attempt to solicit, steal and indiscriminately publish classified government documents.
The brief ruling from the bench followed arguments over Assange’s claim that by releasing the confidential documents he was essentially a publisher and due the free press protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The hearing was a follow-up to a provisional ruling in March that said he could take his case to the Court of Appeal unless the U.S. guaranteed he would not face the death penalty if extradited and would have the same free speech protections as a U.S. citizen.
The U.S. provided those assurances but Assange’s lawyers only accepted that he would not face the prospect of capital punishment.
They said the assurance that Assange could “raise and seek to rely upon” the First Amendment fell short of the protections he deserved. Further, they argued that the prosecutor refused to say he would not challenge Assange’s right to use such a defense.
“The real issue is whether an adequate assurance has been provided to remove the real risk identified by the court,” Fitzgerald said. “It is submitted that no adequate assurance has been made.”
Attorney James Lewis, representing the U.S., said Assange would be “entitled to the full panoply of due process trial rights” but said some of his conduct was “simply unprotected” by the First Amendment.
“No one, neither U.S. citizens nor foreign citizens, are entitled to rely on the First Amendment in relation to publication of illegally obtained national defense information giving the names of innocent sources, to their grave and imminent risk of harm,” Lewis said.
The court ruled that Assange could appeal on two grounds, both of which were related to the free press issue.
The judges said if he was deprived of a First Amendment defense then his extradition could be incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights, which also provides free speech and media protections. Secondly, if he can't rely on the First Amendment because he's not a U.S. citizen then he could be treated unfairly because of his nationality.
Assange's lawyers say he could face up to 175 years in prison if convicted, though American authorities have said any sentence would likely be much shorter.
Assange’s family and supporters say his physical and mental health have suffered during more than a decade of legal battles, which includes seven years spent inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London from 2012 until 2019. He has spent the past five years in a British high-security prison.
Commuters emerging from a Tube stop near the courthouse couldn’t miss a large sign bearing Assange’s photo and the words, “Publishing is not a crime. War crimes are.”
Scores of supporters gathered outside the neo-Gothic Royal Courts of Justice chanting “Free Julian Assange” and “Press freedom, Assange freedom.” Some held white flags aimed at President Joe Biden, exhorting: “Let him go Joe.”
Biden said last month that he was considering a request from Australia to drop the case and let Assange return to his home country.
Officials provided no other details but Assange's wife said it was “a good sign” and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the comment was encouraging.
Assange’s U.S. lawyer, Barry Pollack, said the ruling was “a significant milestone” in the long-running case.
“I hope that the United States will take a hard look at this decision and maybe reconsider whether they should be pursing this fundamentally flawed prosecution,” he said.
Associated Press journalist Kwiyeon Ha contributed to this report.
A protester stands outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. A British court has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against an order that he be extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
This court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of barrister Edward Fitzgerald KC, centre, standing, Julian Assange's father John Shipton, second left, and Julian Assange's wife Stella Assange at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday May 20, 2024. Assange can appeal against extradition to the United States on espionage charges, a London court ruled Monday — a decision likely to further drag out an already long legal saga. (Elizabeth Cook/PA via AP)
A poster of Julian Assange is left by protesters outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. A British court has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against an order that he be extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, sits in a taxi as she leaves the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. A British court has ruled that Julian Assange can appeal against an order that he be extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A protester stands outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A protester reads a newspaper outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. A British court has ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against an order that he be extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A protester stands outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Protesters hold placards outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Protesters hold placards outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
A protester stands outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, arrives with the legal team at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Stella Assange, wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, addresses the media as she arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Protesters hold placards outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Protesters hold placards outside the High Court in London, Monday, May 20, 2024. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange faces a hearing Monday in the High Court in London that could end with him being sent to the U.S. to face espionage charges, or provide him another chance to appeal his extradition. The outcome will depend on how much weight judges give to assurances U.S. officials have provided that Assange's rights won't be trampled if he goes on trial. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
FILE - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange being taken from court, where he appeared on charges of jumping British bail seven years ago, in London, Wednesday May 1, 2019. Assange faces what could be his final court hearing in England over whether he should be extradited to the United States to face spying charges. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)
London court to decide whether WikiLeaks founder Assange is extradited to the US
London court to decide whether WikiLeaks founder Assange is extradited to the US
