The production of Tristan at the Washington National Opera (Philippe Auguin conducting, Neil Armfield staging) featured an interesting interpretation of the scene in Act II in which the lovers are betrayed by Melot and discovered by King Marke. I am accustomed to Tristan and Isolde being surprised, humiliated, embarrassed, and eventually ashamed in the course […]
The second half of the Seattle Ring was cause for more reserved admiration. The scenic wonders continue,d but to a great extent repeated themselves, as sets were re-purposed from the first two works, resulting in some interest but much more disappointment. And the performances, while vocally very strong, seemed to hit dead-ends in their characterization. […]
Halfway through the Ring at the Seattle Opera, there is nothing to report but bliss. The settings are lushly romantic but at the same time not clichéd or illustrative. Great handsome vistas, massive rocks, gnarled tree limbs, impenetrable forests — they invite you to lose your bearings and enter into a world of mythical creatures […]
I treat myself pretty well when it comes to attending Wagner performances. But in 2011, when I had a ticket to see Gerald Finley perform Hans Sachs at Glyndebourne, I just couldn’t afford the ticket, the flight over, the hotel, the time to do it, or even maybe the bananas and grapes during the interval. So […]
Readers of this blog will know that the broad condemnations of Peter Gelb’s leadership at the Metropolitan Opera seem to me like warnings of falling asteroids — they simply don’t conform to my personal experience. And the just-closed run of Parsifal is in keeping with this record. It was impeccably cast, ravishingly played, movingly conducted, thrillingly […]
The Wagner Blog is a forum for discussion of contemporary themes arising from the works of Richard Wagner. Discussions relating to Wagner’s musical, literary, theatrical, philosophical, political and theoretic work are all appropriate for this forum.
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