Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen"

[DG]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 1:03pm

Starting this Friday, we’re attending a performance of the full Ring at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. It is part of the Minsky Theatre’s participation in the opening of the new concert hall (complete with Domingo singing Siegmund.) I have listened to audio recordings before, but never seen live productions. Apparently, this is only the second time the full cycle has been presented in SoCal.

I’ve been trying to do some reading in preparation, but the amount of information available is absolutely overwhelming. Norse mythology, political and social commentary, religious stance – not to mention the VOLUMES of material on the actual musical composition. I’m afraid I’ve given up – it’s just too much to try and take in all at once. I’m just going to sit back and enjoy the spectacle, and then have sense memory at my disposal when I follow up with some reading later.

Has anyone else seen the whole cycle? The impression I’ve always gotten is that it’s one of the most complete sensory experiences you can expose yourself to.

And, FYI – this production will also be presented next spring at the Met.

Updated On: 10/2/06 at 01:03 PM

[judy_in_disguise]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 1:06pm

I'm a poor student, so I missed it, but they just did the entire Ring Cycle at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 1:45pm

DG--we did it at the Met last year, spread over a few weeks. By the time you get to the end of Gotterdammerung, you ARE a different person.

I gave up on reading about it and decided to follow the advice of Leonard Bernstein, who said that the best way to experience Wagner was to "Let it wash over you."

[hannahshule]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 2:56pm

My grandfather used to tell me stories of seeing Kirsten Flagstad or Birgit Nilsson as Brunhilde. The Ring sin't for the light of heart, but if you're willing to sit through it, than it's truly an out of this world experience.
I would HIGHLY suggest trying to locate the family tree of the Gods for the cycle, it'll make it much easier to understand.
(Wotan at the top as papa-god, than work all the way
down to Sieglinde, Siegmund and finally Siegfried)

Sir Dennis Forman wrote a book called " A night at the Opera", with a very good chapter on the Ring Cycle.
Enjoy!

Posted: 10/2/06 at 3:31pm

I've seen two complete cycles now, and I did no prep whatsoever for the first one- but after the first "Rheingold" I was bitten. Let it happen. It's absolutly like nothing else you will ever see.

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 3:35pm

I did the whole RING CYCLE about 15 years ago at the Met. I did a series of Saturday matinees.

It was a stunning experience.

[GClef2]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 3:42pm

I love Wagner so much. Im singing in a recital of only his music next month!!!

[DG]

Posted: 10/2/06 at 3:57pm

"I would HIGHLY suggest trying to locate the family tree of the Gods for the cycle, it'll make it much easier to understand."

I did print out synopses for all of them, which inluded those trees, as well. Even just at the end of reading those I sat back and took a DEEP breath.

PJ - you've just GOT to love Lenny

These performances are all in the span of 6 days, so I plan on being drowned - but what a way to go! The longer ones also include dinner breaks during the first intervals, so it will truly be an 'immersion' experience.

[DG]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 5:26am

OMG, we start this tonight! I am absolutely consumed with anticipation, which makes me a little nervous. I'm fully acquainted with the experience of expecting too much. I'm truly trying to just relax and let the experience speak for itself. But, when you have an awareness of when something is 'special', that becomes a difficult task!

I just want to have one of the most memorable experiences of my life - is that too much to ask?

[hannahshule]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 5:44am

I'm so jealous! Tell us how it went, (when you are able to think straight again that is)

[DG]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 5:46am

Hannah - thinking 'straight' is not one of my forte's, but I'll let you know how it goes

[JasonM12480]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 9:54am

Try and find the plot to "Das Barbecu" which is a take off of Wagner's Ring Cycle. It's the same exact story, except condensed into 2 hours, and set in Texas. Hysterical, and great music. Yes, it's confusing, but quite a work of art (the Ring Cycle - not Das Barbecu) :)

[JailyardGuy]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 10:07am

The only primer you need is Anna Russell's synopsis

Posted: 10/6/06 at 11:44am

There was a book-on-tape of "Listening to the Ring" that I found very helpful-- To hear the music as the commentator walked you through it was wonderful.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 3:02pm

Judy....man oh man do I hear you. I wanted to see it so bad, particularly for Michael Levine's sets, but what student can afford that.

Akiva

Posted: 10/6/06 at 4:36pm

Who's the Brunhilde?

[DG]

Posted: 10/6/06 at 5:12pm

Beer - this is all they have said in the press releases, but I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

"Adding additional excitement to the performances will be Plácido Domingo starring as Siegmund in Die Walküre. Incorporating performances in the new Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall and Samueli Theater, as well as the existing 3,000-seat Segerstrom Hall, the Celebration 2006 will feature the North American premiere of the Kirov Opera’s production of Richard Wagner’s epic Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). The four-opera production, which debuted in Germany during 2004, was hailed by The New York Times as “historically significant, epochal even,” will feature many of the Kirov’s top stars and will be conducted by Valery Gergiev, artistic and general director of the Mariinsky Theatre."

Posted: 10/6/06 at 5:28pm

Oh, those Russians. Should be good though. We've got some unknown Kirov star in town over here doing Lucia with Richard Bonynge conducting, and apparently he's so blown away with her that he wants to revive all that Sutherland repetiore for her. They tend to have rock solid techniques that can belt on forever.

[DG]

Posted: 10/9/06 at 6:14pm

Beer – we’re getting three different Brunnhilde:

Die Walkure – Olga Sergeyeva
Siegfried – Milana Butaeva
Gotterdammerung – Larisa Gogolevskaya

Domingo’s Siegmund was quite simply astonishing – and when his age is taken into account (65!) it becomes preternatural. He was paired with Mlada Khudoley as his Sieglinde, and she was lovely. She seemed a little waif-like, but then opened her mouth, and effortlessly drowned out that huge expanded orchestra going at full throttle – quite thrilling, indeed.

Overall, the company's women seem to be stronger than the men - we've had a couple of real standouts. And when the Valkyries all let loose together, it was electrifying.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 10/9/06 at 7:52pm

Did anyone around here see the Ring Cycle in Toronto? I would love to hear your thoughts. (The designer I will soon be assisting was the Assistant Designer on it).

Akiva

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/9/06 at 7:54pm

Ya gotta love them Valkyrie Gals.

TOYA-TA-HO!

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 10/9/06 at 8:08pm

I saw the Met Ring Cycle back in the 80s and was completely blown away. All I did to prepare was go through a list of all the leitmotivs (about 2 dozen as I recall) I found in a book on Wagner and play them out a few times each on the piano. It helped give me a deeper understanding of the psychological complexity within the music itself throughout the operas. He uses them in so many different ways -- sometimes alone, sometimes in combination with each other, sometimes in counterpoint, sometimes just as subtle underscoring -- and so cleverly that you can almost follow all of the action just through the music, without even reading the surtitles.

It's arguably the greatest artistic achievement of the 19th century. I hope you find it to be as sublime and enriching an experience as I did.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/9/06 at 8:14pm

Speaking of sublime and enriching experiences, Margo, PalJoey'sPal and I just got off the plane from Italy and last night we went to La Scala, (at your suggestion, although we probably would have anyway).

There was no opera playing, but we saw Felicity Lott and a mezzo named Ann Murray (!) in recital. Exquisite.

[hannahshule]

Posted: 10/9/06 at 8:18pm

i love Placido, I can't wait to see him conduct La Boheme later on this year.
So glad it was a great experience. When a Ring Cycle is done well, it's truly astonishing.

[DG]

Posted: 10/12/06 at 11:34am

Just a couple of thoughts, having now made it through the entire thing:

I’m not sure how this production will fly in NYC. There is no director listed – and the staging looks like no director was involved. It was unbelievably static – and at times, what little action there was seemed to have nothing to do with the book or music.

The design ‘concept’ is perplexing, at best. Apparently, the designer has been quoted as saying that he wanted it to evoke things from all the mythologies of the world - to look like something ‘dug up.’ Unfortunately, much of it looked like what cats are famous for burying immediately – not really something you’d WANT dug up.

The singing and orchestra were uneven throughout. When it worked, it was thrilling – and when it didn’t, well, it REALLY didn’t.

As I already stated above, Domingo was astonishing (especially for his age, which is essentially unbelievable by what we saw.) However, it did tend to make the rest of the company pale by comparison. His performance did elevate that particular cast, though – with especially the women rising to the occasion.

Overall, I’m certainly not sorry to have done it – it seems to be one of those things that you feel you ‘should’ do at some point. But this was hardly a definitive RING – in some ways, it barely registered as representative.