I started off the 2010-2011 Metropolitan Opera season at my local theater. This was my first visit to a theater to see the Met's high definition broadcast of a Met performance. The performance was of Wagner's Das Rheingold which is the first of the three operas in "The Ring."
Thus far, the story appears to be an earlier version of "The Lord of the Rings" in which a ring of gold brings much power and riches and also a lot of grief. The grief in part arises from how people covet the ring and do crazy things to acquire it. We'll see what happens in the later segments.
The opera marked the return to the podium of James Levine who is noted for his conducting of The Ring. The audience at the Met showed its appreciation for him both before and after the opera. Maestro Levine was returning from a long series of back operations and did look a little peaked. However, based on the performance, he seems to be in top shape.
Unlike the operas of Mozart, Puccini and to some extent Verdi, there are no arias in this opera. The singing and music continue throughout the opera in one steady flow. There is literally no interuption in the music. There was also no intermission. Writing such an opera as well as performing it seems to be a formidable achievement. This is especially true for the singers because this is no light vocal exercise.
I really appreciated being able to see the singers close up which is a benefit of the broadcast version. I am sure that the actual ring worn on the finger of Alberich and then Wotan would not have been visible from the Family Circle where I usually hang out at the Met.
I thought Bryn Terfel as Wotan, Eric Owens as Alberich, Stephanie Blythe as Fricka, Richard Croft as Loge and Wendy Bryn Harmer as Freia were all wonderful. Since this is the first Wagner performance I have been to in decades, I have no comparisons to go by. However, as much as I could tell via this broadcast mode, I was quite happy with their performances.
The staging of this opera by Robert Lepage was incredible. The staging made use of computer and mechanical technology and did so in a very visually appealing manner. The entire setting was a series of platforms that opened and closed. This required the singers to perform in an almost Circus de Soleil environment. They often had to walk up a very steep incline which was assisted by various cables to which they were attached. The Rhinemaidens did their singing either perched on top of this moving platform or suspended by wires in front of it. In spite of all of this, I did not feel that the technology overwhelmed or detracted from the performance.
There are benefits to seeing the opera in person as well as in a broadcast mode. The broadcast medium strangely enabled me to feel more a part of the music drama (as Wagner calls it) than I would have at a live performance. This is likely because you are much more up close and personal to the action. I felt like I was "hanging" out with the Rhinemaidens.
Another explanation of this up close and personal experience may be due to the music drama itself. I think as the audience it is easier to have artistic distance or to see the performance as object in the case of traditional Italian or German opera which places the observer in the position of watching segmented performances of aria and recitation. The movement by Wagner to the ongoing flow of instrumental music and singing may weaken this idea of performance as object. Whether from this aspect of the music drama or my hi-def performance seat, I felt more pulled into the music drama and pleasantly adrift in the ebbs and flows of the music than I normally do. While I usually feel exhilarated by a performance, here I felt exhilarated by the experience.
If there is a question raised by the drama, it might be about the impact of the pursuit of power and when the pursuit of power trumps normal human and familial feelings and relationships. I guess I will find out more about this during the second part of the Ring in the spring.