Richard Wagner, born on May 22, 1813, is arguably opera’s most famed revolutionary. His music creates a wide range of emotional reactions from his audiences. Some people are completely obsessed with his music and can’t really consider anyone near his level. Other enjoy it in bits and pieces but might find the lengths of his works challenging. Others still outright {…}
Another big season at the Metropolitan Opera has come and gone. The 2018-19 was a rather fascinating one from a repertory perspective, offering up a wide range of music from some of the greatest composers. The year wound up being a mixed bag of sorts from a quality standpoint with the best performances arguably taking place once the calendar turned {…}
On April 14, The Metropolitan opera opened the third opera in Wagner’s tetralogy, “Siegfried.” Perhaps the least performed of the four operas due to its nearly impossible tenor role, the Metropolitan Opera landed one of the best performances of the season and with it saw a heroic and historical debut. A Heroic Performance In his Met debut, Stefan Vinke got {…}
The Longborough Festival Opera is set to launch a new Ring Cycle in 2019. The cycle will kick off in June 2019 with a new production of “Das Rheingold.” Per a press release, this first installment will feature showcases on June 5, 7, 9, and 11. In June 2020, Wagner’s “Die Walküre” will get a new staging, followed by “Siegfried” {…}
The final two installments of Wagner’s famed Ring Cycle will be live streamed via the Vienna State Opera’s live streaming service. “Siegfried” will be showcased on Jan. 16, 2019 with Stephen Gould in the title role. Evelyn Herlitzius will perform the role of Brünnhilde with Tomasz Konieczny appearing as the Wanderer. Herwig Pecoraro completes the cast. Axel Kobler conducts the {…}
We had the unexpected pleasure of attending the last Cycle of the Keith Warner production of “Der Ring des Nibelungen” at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (September 26 through November 2, 2018). Warner’s production, like most modern productions, had several insightful touches and many silly ones. The performance begins and ends with the Rhine Maidens in a “natural state” {…}
“Siegfried” may be the most underappreciated among the operas of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle. In many ways, it advances the plot minimally compared to the others and has the feature of being musically distinct within itself because Wagner composed its third and final act 12 years after the first two. Yet crucially, it serves to unite the love duo of {…}
Wolfgang Windgassen, born on June 26, 1914, is one of the greatest heldentenors of all time. He was actually born in France to two singers. His father Fritz Windgassen was a well-known heldentenor and his mother, Vali von der Osten, was a coloratura soprano. His aunt, Eva von der Osten, was the singer who created the role of Octavian in {…}
Siegfried Jerusalem could not have been better named. The Oberhausen native, born on April 17, 1940, would grow up to be one of the great 20th century interpreters of his namesake in Wagner’s famed “Der Ring des Nibelungen.” The tenor actually studied piano, violin, and bassoon in his formative years and started his career as a bassoon player. Eventually, at {…}
Wagner’s “Ring Cycle” will continue to take over Vienna State Opera’s live stream service this week with two major performances. The cycle’s third installment, “Siegfried” gets the spotlight on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, at 5:30 p.m. local time. The performance is slated to run until around 10 p.m. That’s around 12:30 p.m. EDT and 9:30 a.m. PST for the start {…}
Anytime the Metropolitan Opera puts on a new production of Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen,” you better believe that it is a major event. The tetralogy will reappear in 2018-19 for the first time since the 2013 season, and as might be expected, there aren’t very many opportunities to check it out. So here is a rundown of the essential {…}