Being stuck at home, I decided to watch the Metropolitan Opera's HD broadcasts

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

of Wagner's entire Ring cycle - maybe just so I could say I've done it (I've just started the last of the four, Götterdämmerung), but even though these operas are crazy long there's some good stuff - and the singers are phenomenal. The stamina a singer needs to get through just one of these four-hour operas is enormous; watching these performances is kind of like watching the Olympics. But the thing apart from the music that's so weird is that there's more incest going on than with the extras from Deliverance. Sieglinde and Sigmund are fraternal twins fathered by Wotan and separated in childhood, and although Sieglinde is already married to Hunding they fall in love and even after they figure out they are siblings they get it on and produce Siegfried, who eventually marries his aunt, Brünnhilde, who is Wotan's daughter. Freud would have a field day with this stuff, and all the phallic imagery of piercing with swords and spears. Weird shit but great performances (Deborah Voight, Bryn Terfel, Jay Hunter Morris).

[MyOwnPeace]

1. Yeah............

the 19th century Trump family!

(Seriously, you deserve a pin to proudly wear: "I survived the Ring!" )

[fierywoman]

2. I've heard stories of bass players dropping dead in the pit while performing Wagner.

[thucythucy]

3. About a billion years ago my sweetie and I

saw a performance of "The Magic Flute" by the MET. The singing of course was wonderful, but for me the best part was that the sets and costumes were designed by Chagall.

"The Queen of the Night" aria was amazing.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. One of my favorites!

I've seen some of the Chagall posters and other art from that production. It must have been fun.

[wackadoo wabbit]

5. Lucky you! I love The Ring

Actually, I love all of Wagner's operas (except Die Feen, but, hey, he was only 20 when he composed that one, so he gets a pass).

After you're finished with The Ring, try Tristan und Isolde, but only if you don't mind getting a little teary. Isolde's Verklarung is probably the most beautiful (albeit the most sad) piece of music ever written.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. They showed Tristan on Monday, before the Ring on the following days.

The staging was kind of odd, but the performance was excellent. Tonight they are doing Die Meistersinger (I might skip that one; it seems to go on forever) and tomorrow night it's Tannhäuser. I was hoping they would do Parsifal, which I especially like but I don't see it on the schedule, which is here: https://www.metopera.org/user-information/nightly-met-opera-streams/ I'll definitely watch Dialogues des Carmélites and Nixon in China.

[wackadoo wabbit]

7. Thanks for the link!

I'll definitely use it!

[Roland99]

8. Is this the one from like, oh, 20-25 years ago?

I remember a local PBS station pledge week showing them throughout the week

Really enjoyed those

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

9. More recent, the 2011-12 season.

Last edited Sun Mar 29, 2020, 12:18 PM - Edit history (1)

Very interesting staging.

[Aristus]

10. The Met production, with The Machine, is what got Mrs. Aristus interested in opera.

I'd been a fan of The Ring since I was thirteen, but she was new to it.

I was captivated by the Met's new Ring as soon as the overture to Das Rheingold started. But I knew it was a candidate for greatness during the third act of Walkure. The Machine solved the problem of portraying the flying horses of the Valkyries without being needlessly literal.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. That's the production they broadcast. That was some clever stagecraft

even aside from the amazing singing.

[Aristus]

12. I love that nowadays, with improved vocal training, good nutrition, and proper exercise,

the Valkyries can be on stage the ravishingly beautiful warrior maidens they're supposed to be, instead of the plodding, overweight caricatures they've been for over a century.

The fourth Valkyrie in the video is Wendy Brynn Harmer, who also sang Freia and Gutrune in the cycle. She's lovely.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

13. We don't have to wait for the fat lady to sing any more,

because you won't find many fat ladies in opera these days. Deborah Voigt, Brünnhilde in this production, was once very overweight and was losing gigs because she was so heavy. She had bypass surgery and lost about 100 lbs., and got her career back on track. An overweight singer also might have less breath control, and you need a lot of endurance to do opera, especially Wagner. Modern productions also seem to have a lot more physical stage work than in the old fat-lady days, and if a singer is overweight that's much harder to manage.

[Aristus]

14. Yeah. They used to call the old 'stand and sing' tradition "park and bark".

Now most producers and directors require that their singers be able to act, as well. I think it has improved opera immeasurably.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

15. If they rebroadcast this year's production of "Agrippina," you should see it!

It's the most athletic opera production I've ever seen. The singing was just fabulous, and it was obvious that the singers were in great physical shape. No fat ladies or gentlemen anywhere, except for Claudius, who was kind of portly. Male singers seem to be able to get away with a bit more padding (e.g., Pavarotti), just as in real life.

[elleng]

16. Certainly great performers!