All the story's threads started coming together: the rampant greed of the characters, their betrayal and incest, the corruption of power on grand display. The musical motifs overlapped on each other, and began triggering emotional synapses that I couldn't deny. What the hell was happening to me? The fantasy-saga of The Ring —about an actual ring, made from stolen gold, that grants power over the world—is not something I normally enjoy.
The ring changes hands between gods and mortals and giants and mythical creatures, over three generations. Visualize me, twirling my index finger in the air and rolling my eyes. And yet I stumbled out of that third night's production and onto Van Ness Avenue, with lunatic Wagner-worshipping fans all around me in lederhosen and horned helmets, and typed into my phone:. I'd come into it ready to quit at the first moment of boredom, and now nothing, not even a giant death robot with steel claws, could stand in my way of seeing the The Ring to completion.
I t helps that San Francisco Opera's current Ring —similar to its production, and again under the direction of Francesca Zambello—is not what newbies think of when they think of opera. Rather than vikings and braids and portly sopranos in breastplates, it opens like a psychedelic light show from the s Fillmore, with a low-octave rumble as slow, formless swirls undulate on a massive projection screen.
When the curtain comes up, it's as if teenagers have been Juuling on stage, smoke spilling into the orchestra pit.
From the start, you know this is something different. Technically, the set is a marvel. Giants enter on a hanging I-beam. The Valkyries enter on parachutes. Two live dogs race across the stage. An oversized hammer spews fireworks. A long bridge descends from the wings. A huge Cypress Structure-like freeway looms large. Lights projecting from the floor create eerie atmospheres.
Thematically, in , there's a lot to chew on. It's quite a thing to see an opera about the corruption of power during a week when the U. And while Zambello has remarked that her Ring is a lesson in environmentalism , beginning in pre-Gold Rush California and spanning into the future, the production's degradation of people's living environments brings to mind those same child tent camps on the border—if not conditions in Puerto Rico, or even Division Street right here in San Francisco.
Perhaps this is the abiding achievement of The Ring , this ability to reflect current events years after its premiere. It has Siegfried dunking a man's head underwater until he gets what he wants, a reminder of Bush-era waterboarding. Mention The Merchant of Venice and change the subject.
There was also a penchant for sci-fi Rings in the s. Basically anything goes, except the characters in bearskins and horned helmets that Wagner seems to have had in mind.
Wall Street is the current flavour of the month, but expect a "war on terror" Ring soon. As well as the usual Volsungs and Valkyries, it features the cheerleaders of the Dallas Cowboys football team.
It also comes in at a sharp two hours, which shows what can be done with a bit of Broadway actually, off-Broadway rigour. OK, that's a wild guess, but it often seems that way. Scottish Opera did a splendid one in which left the company almost bankrupt ; English National Opera's is ongoing; the Royal Opera's is about to begin; Adelaide has a new one; Bayreuth unveils its next in He had just reached the immolation scene when the curtain started to descend.
He rang the bell in the pit for it to be raised again, and up and down it went while the fire raged. Afterwards, he went backstage to berate the curtain-puller, a gnarled old operative who told him in no uncertain terms: "Anyone who can't finish a piece before 11 o'clock shouldn't be working in the theatre!
This is of no relevance to the Ring, but you try doing one of these "50 things. In any case, bass-baritones who have to sing Wotan insist that Wagner was a bastard. Enjoy it! And that's not including the salmon sandwiches. Box office: returns only. Search Arts.
Scottish Opera's Das Rheingold. Is there a short Wagner opera? My only real annoyance at Wagner is that his operas are around 3 hours long, and I was wondering if there was a shorter opera that was worth starting out on? May, 2.
Dutchman and Rheingold are about 2. Tannhauser and Lohengrin 3 to 3. Walkure, Tristan, Siegfried usually around 4. This is pure running time, no intermissions. May, 3. Even a 10 minute Wagner opera would seem like 10 years. Badinerie liked this post. May, 4. Originally Posted by Polednice. May, 5. Originally Posted by Couchie.
SixFootScowl liked this post. May, 6. Originally Posted by Manok. May, 7. Originally Posted by AmericanGesamtkunstwerk. May, 8.
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