Rather than repeating the why, how and context of watching The Ring by Richard Wagner via the amazing Metropolitan Opera's digital preservation in the theatre, check out my blog post written before this saga began. Meanwhile, let's move forward to the experiences of watching all four productions that make up The Ring.
It was freaking amazing!!!!!
The stage work blew me away. I felt that this was maximised in the most beautiful and dramatic ways in Die Walkure, but I'm not about to suggest it wasn't amazing for all four productions. The singing bird in Siegfried? Unbelievable. They used GPS technology to have the bird respond to the singer's lip movement. Seriously? Technology in the hand of artists is truly an amazing result. The double walking stairs in Das Rheingold? The forestry in Die Walkure? The representation during The Ride of the Valkyries? All of it, unforgettable.
But let's look at the other, more visible, artists. My favourite voice was Fricka for clarity and downright voice beauty, but really, can we start down that line? Siegfried and Brunnhilde were absolutely stunning - one couldn't begin to guess they had not previously worked together and that Siegfried was rather last minute. However, my emotions stirred the most, falling prey to continuous tears, with Wotan and Brunnhilde's work in Act III of Die Walkure.
The producer explained it so well during the intermission interview when he discussed the value of maintaining the classic opera yet utilizing the available technology to enhance the presentation. This strongly resonated with me as an instructional designer who relies on classic education theory but presents the learning and experience in continually improved environments now available through technology. An insight that the producer also shared was his amazement into not only the incredibly progressive and "ahead of his time" nature of Wagner's music, but also his natural cinematography before cinema. How true, as we sit in amazement with his work 130 years later, and requiring five years of invested work to create this masterpiece.
My utter gratitude is to the Met for preserving this incredible work as I stalk the Fall releases for the DVD set. My only recommendation is to not watch it on a small screen. The larger your viewing space, the more justice that can be done for it. Buy a projector and screen too; it's worth it!
Meanwhile, now that I know Fathomevents.com exists, my operatic experiences will not longer be cringing through much poorer local productions. Granted, the popcorn and Chuck Taylor's remove a certain craved ambiance, but I'll take the production quality over my outfit any day. A good production of Don Giovanni and Tales of Hoffman, here I come.
