The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Category: Das Rheingold
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* Notes * An exuberant orchestra and strong cast in Das Rheingold opened a revival of Francesca Zambello's Der Ring Des Nibelungen (Scene 4 pictured, photo by Cory Weaver) last night at San Francisco Opera. It is a joy to hear Maestro Donald Runnicles conduct the orchestra, which sounded driven and robust. The brass, though…
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* Notes * The second cycle of Frank Castorf’s Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuther Festspiele opened yesterday with Das Rheingold. The production is a hodgepodge of Americana that does not give the characters any place to go. The action takes place at a Texan motel and gas station, all carefully arranged on a turntable.…
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* Notes * A second Ring cycle began with Das Rheingold (Scene 4 pictured left, photograph by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera) last night at the Met. Robert Lepage’s production involves a series of about 24 jointed panels that can be arranged in many different configurations. Known as “The Machine,” Carl Fillion’s set is not unlike a huge…
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Tenor David Cangelosi (pictured left in Siegfried Act I, photograph by Cory Weaver) sings Mime in San Francisco Opera's current Ring production. Cangelosi has been blogging himself since 2009, and graciously agreed to meet with The Opera Tattler and Miss LCU before the final dress rehearsal of Das Rheingold last month. What are your dream…
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* Notes * The third and final Ring cycle of the season at San Francisco Opera started with Das Rheingold (Brandon Jovanovich, Elizabeth Bishop, Melissa Citro, and Gerd Grochoski in Scene 4 pictured left, photo by Cory Weaver) last Tuesday. Maestro Runnicles had the orchestra sounding noticeably cleaner this time around, especially the brass. The…
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* Notes * The Ring at San Francisco Opera began anew with Das Rheingold (Štefan Margita and Mark Delavan in Scene 2 pictured left, photo by Cory Weaver) on Tuesday. Everyone sounded more comfortable and relaxed. There were fewer issues with moving the sets, though there were still audible thumps and bangs as things were…
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* Notes * Francesca Zambello’s “American” Ring opened with Das Rheingold Tuesday night at San Francisco Opera. Many of the video projections (by Jan Hartley) had been changed. Instead of reminding one of screen-savers, they look more like scenes from a Lord of the Rings video game. The projections for the beginning were a vast…
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* Notes * The final dress rehearsal of San Francisco Opera‘s Das Rheingold (Mark Delavan, Jennifer Larmore, Tamara Wapinsky, Charles Taylor, and Jason Collins pictured left; photo from the 2008 production by Terrence McCarthy) was yesterday. Nearly 70% of the cast has changed from the opening San Francisco performances of this production three years ago,…
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This month tenor Brandon Jovanovich (pictured left, photograph by Peter Dressel) has role debuts of Froh and Siegmund in San Francisco Opera‘s Der Ring des Nibelungen. In August, Jovanovich sings Věc Makropulos at the Salzburg Festival. Next season he performs in Cologne, Munich, Chicago, Berlin, Houston, and Washington, DC. The Opera Tattler spoke to Jovanovich…
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An account of the final performance of Das Rheingold this season at the Metropolitan Opera from the Unbiased Opinionator. * Notes * Director Robert Lepage gave an extensive interview in New York City last fall about his conception of the Ring. He spent considerable time in Iceland, and said that no one who lived in the…
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