A Modern Bayreuth At The Met

The Metropolitan Opera opened it's season with a new Ring cycle, beginning with "Das Rheingold".  A lot has been written about the production, with it's elaborate 45-ton set, and the modifications to the stage that needed to be done to accommodate it.  A lot of money went into this production - very high tech stuff.  And yet from the photos posted, it still looks very traditional.  Robert Lepage has transformed the Metropolitan Opera House into a New York version of Bayreuth.

The jury is still out after some opening night snafus, but we are interested in seeing how this comes off.  Bryn Terfel is Wotan, and instead of the traditional eye patch, he seems to have a "hair" patch.  Stephanie Blythe plays Frika.  And there are a lot of body doubles who interact with the technically challenging stage - no sense in risking harm to a singer.

 We certainly appreciate the fresh take on Wagner the Met is going with this season.  While we applaud the effort and look forward to watching (maybe at a Met Matinee, or whenever they show it for free on PBS), we will stick to using A/V equipment and strategically placed screens.  Unless we have a generous donor out there who would like us to try something like this...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703882404575519793866405582.html

And to see the behind the scenes of all the technological hanky panky, click on the Met link below... Pretty impressive!

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/season/production.aspx?id=11052