Saturday, August 22, 2009

Seattle's Ring Cycle - short update


I have been in Seattle this week to experience the Seattle Opera’s production of Richard Wagner’s “Der Ring des Niebelungen," which means about 18 hours of music and drama spread over four operas ("Das Rheingold," "Die Walküre," "Siegfried," and "Götterdämmerung") that started on Monday and ends tonight. This weeklong series is the second cycle and there’s one left after tonight. I think that very few tickets are still available for those of you who want to hear any of the remaining performances. Because I was at a music critics conference last weekend, I am just now catching up with my reviews of what I’ve seen and heard here in Seattle. For those who want to know how Stig Andersen is doing. I can report that the viral infection that plagued him last week is gone, and he is singing gloriously as Siegfried. For others who want to know about Janice Baird, the vocal problems she had last week seem to have vanished, and she is creating a remarkable Brünnhilde. Of course, her biggest challenge in that role comes up this evening with Götterdämmerung, and I’m eager to find out if she continues to win over the audience.
More soon.

No comments: