# Die Walküre at The Met (25 March 2019)



## chalkpie (Oct 5, 2011)

I saw my first Wagner opera last night at opening night for Die Walküre at The Met. Sat in the side Parterre - had great close views of the stage action plus amazing views of the orchestra, and especially Phillipe Jordan. Overall it was an intense, amazing experience! The orchestra sounded great save for some clams in the lower brass at points (and some intonation issues as well). 

I really loved/liked most of the cast, especially Christina Goerke - she was fabulous - maybe as good as Debra Voight for me. Greer Grimsley wasn't my favorite Wotan if I'm honest - he didn't seem to really carry his voice as well as Morris and Terfel before him - but don't get me wrong - he did a fine job. Eva-Maria Westbroek also did a tremendous job as Sieglinde. 

The Machine was very cool live in person and seemed to work really well. My only qualm was that I didn't have a straight on view so it wasn't as effective from an angle, but still very very cool. 

Phillipe Jordan is an AMAZING conductor - I had a clear, straight shot of him, and I was watching him for many minutes at a time. He is a superb technician - super clear in his patterns, cues, emotions, etc. I am a 22-year veteran orchestra teacher/player, and this guy really blew me away. I am an instant huge fan of his. 

The place was PACKED and it was really funny seeing some Wagnerheads walking around with viking helmets during intermissions 

Not 100% perfect but what an evening! I may have try and see Götterdämmerung now on 27 April!


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## marceliotstein (Feb 23, 2019)

Yes! I was there too, and was as enraptured as you were.

I had a midpriced seat in the back of the orchestra and snuck up to, yes ... the second row, like I always like to do. Easy enough when you attend operas as a single. Couple of pictures from the curtain call here:

__
http://instagr.am/p/BvdZPx1nwrR/

I loved Greer Grimsley's Wotan, though I have no previous Rings to compare any of the performers too. No doubt, though, Christine Goerke was the star. She had the stage presence and the emotion as well as the voice. I also liked "the Machine" - breathtaking at moments. To me the biggest mechanical mistakes were when they were moving objects (like Fricka's throne) and the motion was start-stop jerky. They should know that this really breaks the illusion when they don't move stuff smoothly. Minor complaints, though, about a great evening of opera.


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## Barelytenor (Nov 19, 2011)

I'm really pumped about seeing this Live From the Met this Saturday in my local movie theater (we don't call them cinemas around here, y'all hear?). I'm still trying to decide how much I like (or not) Christine Goerke ... I guess this should certainly help me decide. 

Kind regards, :tiphat:

George


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

I listened to the live stream last night and was pleased, especially with Christine Goerke and Jamie Barton. Everything went together quite nicely!

I am also seeing the Live in HD on Saturday morning; and am looking forward to it. I saw this Ring in the house 7 years ago, but I was quite the novice. I'm really interested to see what I think of the broadcast (my seat was in a back corner of the orchestra; I knew there were people on stage but I couldn't see much in terms of acting).


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

chalkpie said:


> I really loved/liked most of the cast, especially Christina Goerke - she was fabulous - maybe as good as Debra Voight for me.


Voigt is a terrible Brunnhilde by almost all accounts. I hope Goerke was significantly better than that.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

This is being streamed in UK at 4pm on Saturday. I don't know whether I can be bothered to spend 5 hours at the cinema. I'll see. NY Times review here

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/26/arts/music/met-opera-die-walkure-review.html


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Goerke's hyotohos:

https://www.metopera.org/discover/video/?videoName=die-walkure-hojotoho&videoId=6017868929001

Goerke Act 3:

https://www.metopera.org/discover/v...ct-iii-christine-goerke&videoId=6018138706001

Westbroek 'Du bist der Lenz':

https://www.metopera.org/discover/v...t-i-eva-maria-westbroek&videoId=6018134832001

Skelton's Wälse cries):

https://www.metopera.org/discover/v...om-act-i-stuart-skelton&videoId=6018133578001


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

People talk about the improvement of the cast over the 2013, and rightfully so I expect, considering what I've heard of the current cast in other productions, but the upgrade in conductor may end up being even more significant--Philippe Jordan is twice the Wagnerian Levine was on his best days, and Levine was far from his best then, and Luisi is no Wagnerian at all.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

Luisi didn't even conduct the entire cycle I saw in 2012. Musical assistants conducted the latter two operas, since Luisi had a prior engagement.

Edit: To be clear, it was still impressive. I was in no position to judge anyone's conducting in this rep, so.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Bonetan said:


> Goerke's hyotohos:
> 
> https://www.metopera.org/discover/video/?videoName=die-walkure-hojotoho&videoId=6017868929001
> 
> ...


Oh dear! Who can take this seriously as drama? A Brunnhilde who looks older than her father and an overweight Siegmund bellowing his guts out. As Marilyn Horne said once, HD certainly does the singers no favours.


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## interestedin (Jan 10, 2016)

chalkpie said:


> Christina Goerke ... maybe as good as Debra Voight


I sincerely hope she was not.

Does anyone know if Götterdämmerung will be recorded?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Bonetan said:


> Skelton's Wälse cries):
> 
> https://www.metopera.org/discover/v...om-act-i-stuart-skelton&videoId=6018133578001


This is alarming. Since Melchior it's been customary to extend these notes far beyond their written values. Skelton apparently thinks that even that isn't enough and that yelling is necessary. It's repulsive and vocally dangerous.


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

interestedin said:


> Does anyone know if Götterdämmerung will be recorded?


I know of no plans for video for any of the operas other than _Die Walküre_ this Saturday. But two performances of each of the remaining operas in the cycle will be available by audio.

The Saturday matinee radio broadcast of _Götterdämmerung_ is April 27th. _Siegfried_ is April 13.

There are also live audio streams on the website on May 9th and May 11 (from the final cycle).


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> This is alarming. Since Melchior it's been customary to extend these notes far beyond their written values. Skelton apparently thinks that even that isn't enough and that yelling is necessary. It's repulsive and vocally dangerous.


Eh. He extends the notes beyond the written values by a bit, nothing compared to how absurdly Melchior did it.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

DavidA said:


> Oh dear! Who can take this seriously as drama? A Brunnhilde who looks older than her father and an overweight Siegmund bellowing his guts out. As Marilyn Horne said once, HD certainly does the singers no favours.


Are you under the impression that only Wagnerian productions have middle-aged or overweight singers on stage?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

howlingfantods said:


> Eh. He extends the notes beyond the written values by a bit, nothing compared to how absurdly Melchior did it.


You must have stopped reading after my first sentence. The next two were: "Skelton apparently thinks that even that isn't enough and that yelling is necessary. It's repulsive and vocally dangerous." Melchior actually _sang_ the notes through to the end and, approve or not, the effect was not absurd but thrilling. The sounds Skelton forces his voice into are not thrilling. They're also vocally dangerous.


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## JoeSaunders (Jan 29, 2015)

Agreed with Wooduck there, that was a very ugly way of finishing off the Walse cry. I don't recall Skelton stretching it out quite so absurdly during the Royal Opera House live stream of Die Walkure last year (though my memory may be failing me), so maybe he just misjudged it?

But yeah, I'm looking forward to the stream when it arrives in the UK. I've heard Goerke live at ROH for last year's lohengrin and I enjoyed her voice greatly. My main quibble would be that her lower register was much more penetrating than the upper, and consequently I'm not sure if her Brünnhilde would quite feel right - but maybe that's just my desire for Nilsson-esque _piercing _high notes kicking in. In any case, it's very refreshing to have a strong soprano singing the role that doesn't sound particularly strained.

(Yes those last sentences speak volumes about the quality of dramatic singers these days, but hey ho!)


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

howlingfantods said:


> Are you under the impression that only Wagnerian productions have middle-aged or overweight singers on stage?


No but it reminds me of a production of La Boheme in Italy where Mimi's tiny hand was as big as a dinner plate. I'm afraid in HD we must do better. Like it or not, just the voice is no longer good enough if we want music drama. We must have singers whose looks approximate to the part. I probably won't see the Walkure as I might laugh in the wrong places. The excerpts just made me grin. Only Westbrook looked anything like.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

JoeSaunders said:


> (Yes those last sentences speak volumes about the quality of dramatic singers these days, but *hey ho*!)


Didn't you mean "hojo"? :lol:


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Becca said:


> Didn't you mean "hojo"? :lol:


No he's quoting from Snow White! :lol:


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## JoeSaunders (Jan 29, 2015)

DavidA said:


> No but it reminds me of a production of La Boheme in Italy where Mimi's tiny hand was as big as a dinner plate. I'm afraid in HD we must do better. Like it or not, just the voice is no longer good enough if we want music drama. We must have singers whose looks approximate to the part. I probably won't see the Walkure as I might laugh in the wrong places. The excerpts just made me grin. Only Westbrook looked anything like.


Whilst I agree that it would be nice for all the singers to look the part, these days I don't think we're really in a position to choose! I'm personally more worried about the seesaw ride of the Valkyries when it comes to giggles.

But it would be nice if costume designers were a bit more flexible, however (should the director allow it). I've seen far too many costumes obviously designed for a slender figure donned by someone larger, and it just looks awful. I'd rather they redesign their attire from the ground up rather than extend the dimensions of the old costume.



Becca said:


> Didn't you mean "hojo"? :lol:


D'oh! Missed a trick there


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

JoeSaunders said:


> AI've heard Goerke live at ROH for last year's lohengrin and I enjoyed her voice greatly. My main quibble would be that her lower register was much more penetrating than the upper, and consequently I'm not sure if her Brünnhilde would quite feel right - but maybe that's just my desire for Nilsson-esque _piercing _high notes kicking in. In any case, it's very refreshing to have a strong soprano singing the role that doesn't sound particularly strained.


Those of us who grew up with Nilsson as our Brunnhilde are spoiled. Fortunately the _Walkure_ Brunnhilde doesn't lie particularly high once the battle cry is out of the way. There is something constricted about Goerke's high notes, and that could be more of a problem in _Siegfried_ and _Gotterdammerung._ But at least she's a real dramatic soprano, unlike Voigt.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

JoeSaunders said:


> Whilst I agree that *it would be nice for all the singers to look the part*, these days I don't think we're really in a position to choose! I'm personally more worried about the seesaw ride of the Valkyries when it comes to giggles.
> 
> But it would be nice if costume designers were a bit more flexible, however (should the director allow it). I've seen far too many costumes obviously designed for a slender figure donned by someone larger, and it just looks awful. I'd rather they redesign their attire from the ground up rather than extend the dimensions of the old costume.
> 
> D'oh! Missed a trick there


It is possible. Take the 1976 Gotz Friedrich Walkure which had Gwynneth Jones as a handsome Brunnhilde and Alymeyer and Hoffmann as the twins.






Sadly this is not in HD

But for the most part Wagner sabotaged his own performances by writing parts for singers who mostly could only manage them in their maturity. I suppose it doesn't matter that much at the back of Bayreuth but it does in HD.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

As for the Valkyries ride, they look to me to be surfing rather than riding horses! :lol:

Neat idea that doesn't quite work.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

DavidA said:


> As for the Valkyries ride, they look to me to be surfing rather than riding horses! :lol:
> 
> Neat idea that doesn't quite work.


That was by far my least favorite thing about how they deployed The Machine last time around; I was hoping they wouldn't do the same again this time around but I haven't seen it.

Jones was great looking but had a wobble you could drive a truck through. I personally prefer great singing coming from someone with less stage presence, but I haven't heard Goerke in a full Ring yet so I can't judge how they compare.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> You must have stopped reading after my first sentence. The next two were: "Skelton apparently thinks that even that isn't enough and that yelling is necessary. It's repulsive and vocally dangerous." Melchior actually _sang_ the notes through to the end and, approve or not, the effect was not absurd but thrilling. The sounds Skelton forces his voice into are not thrilling. They're also vocally dangerous.


Eh. Again, it's not great, and Skelton is far from my favorite singer, but this sample strikes me as a minor misdemeanor. Compare to Di Stefano yelling in every performance. At any rate, I don't think I feel like I've heard enough of the performance from this 40 second sample to evaluate his performance as a whole--he was pretty decent on the Simone Young Ring recording but of course that was over a decade ago.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

howlingfantods said:


> That was by far my least favorite thing about how they deployed The Machine last time around; I was hoping they wouldn't do the same again this time around but I haven't seen it.
> 
> *Jones was great looking but had a wobble you could drive a truck through.* I personally prefer great singing coming from someone with less stage presence, but I haven't heard Goerke in a full Ring yet so I can't judge how they compare.


Yes that is true sadly. By that time her voice was not what it had been. Just shows you can't have everything in Wagner - he was too demanding. When viewing I find it very difficult to take opera seriously if the singers don't at least approximate to the look of the part. The audio experience is, of course, different


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## marceliotstein (Feb 23, 2019)

howlingfantods said:


> That was by far my least favorite thing about how they deployed The Machine last time around; I was hoping they wouldn't do the same again this time around but I haven't seen it.


I had a great seat at the Met for Die Walkure - managed to sneak up to second row orchestra, side - and from where I sat the horses were cool as hell. I love "the machine". The only moment it disappointed me was not the horses but the great ash tree. I have seen many pictures of past productions. I love that tree and was really curious how this staging would present it. It turned out to be just a single column of that 24-column machine, with a video of tree bark projected on it. Disappointing for sure.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

howlingfantods said:


> Eh. He extends the notes beyond the written values by a bit, nothing compared to how absurdly Melchior did it.


The G flat and G natural half notes both have fermatas, so it's not a question of extending the notes beyond their written values, but of extending them beyond the bounds of good taste.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

amfortas said:


> The G flat and G natural half notes both have fermatas, so it's not a question of extending the notes beyond their written values, but of extending them beyond the bounds of good taste.


It isn't a question of how long one holds the notes, but of what one's vocal muscles are doing. Skelton pushes so hard that by the end he's merely yelling, not singing. I don't know whether he thinks the music sounds more dramatic that way or whether he doesn't think his voice is naturally big enough, but if he keeps up that sort of thing he'll ruin his voice the way so many other "heldentenors" do. A former singer myself, I find my throat tightening as I listen.

Singers who think they need to push the voice out of focus, shout, declaim, scream, or depart from the written pitches in order to be "dramatic," as opposed to finding the expression inside the voice and the musical line, generally annoy me. Melchior, Vickers and other fine Siegmunds never did anything musically inappropriate or physically risky. If a tenor wants to make a long fermata on "Walse" an obvious way to do it is to start the note at less than full volume. Vickers made the interesting choice to pull back slightly after hitting the note, giving him room to make an exciting crescendo.


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## sharkeysnight (Oct 19, 2017)

JoeSaunders said:


> But it would be nice if costume designers were a bit more flexible, however (should the director allow it). I've seen far too many costumes obviously designed for a slender figure donned by someone larger, and it just looks awful. I'd rather they redesign their attire from the ground up rather than extend the dimensions of the old costume.


I don't usually pay too much attention to stuff like this and I think it's nice that opera offers these wonderful roles to people who might not be considered in other mediums, but I did worry for poor Johan Botha when they made him stand on that frail little table in Meistersinger.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

Woodduck said:


> It isn't a question of how long one holds the notes, but of what one's vocal muscles are doing. Skelton pushes so hard that by the end he's merely yelling, not singing. I don't know whether he thinks the music sounds more dramatic that way or whether he doesn't think his voice is naturally big enough, but if he keeps up that sort of thing he'll ruin his voice the way so many other "heldentenors" do. A former singer myself, I find my throat tightening as I listen.
> 
> Singers who think they need to push the voice out of focus, shout, declaim, scream, or depart from the written pitches in order to be "dramatic," as opposed to finding the expression inside the voice and the musical line, generally annoy me. Melchior, Vickers and other fine Siegmunds never did anything musically inappropriate or physically risky. If a tenor wants to make a long fermata on "Walse" an obvious way to do it is to start the note at less than full volume. Vickers made the interesting choice to pull back slightly after hitting the note, giving him room to make an exciting crescendo.


All good points, though I still maintain that taste, or if you will dramatic fitness, comes into play. No matter how well-produced and thrilling Melchior's "Walse" cries may have been, when held as long as he sometimes did they were clearly just showing off.

Not that that's always a bad thing.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Interesting that the Met advertising video has Kaufmann as Siegmund


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> but if he keeps up that sort of thing he'll ruin his voice the way so many other "heldentenors" do. A former singer myself, I find my throat tightening as I listen.


Skelton is in his early 50s and has been performing Wagner on stage for decades now, and from recent sound samples, his voice is in pretty good shape for his age. I think it's fair to cavil at his artistic choices but concern for longevity seems pretty irrelevant here.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

howlingfantods said:


> Skelton is in his early 50s and has been performing Wagner on stage for decades now, and from recent sound samples, his voice is in pretty good shape for his age. I think it's fair to cavil at his artistic choices but concern for longevity seems pretty irrelevant here.


He's a strong fellow then. That's good.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

howlingfantods said:


> That was by far my least favorite thing about how they deployed The Machine last time around; I was hoping they wouldn't do the same again this time around but I haven't seen it.
> 
> Jones was great looking but had a wobble you could drive a truck through. I personally prefer great singing coming from someone with less stage presence, but I haven't heard Goerke in a full Ring yet so I can't judge how they compare.


I think you're being a bit hard on Gwynneth. I have been listening to the OperaDepot '76 Walküre from the opening night and Jones sounds pretty good. The wobble is there certainly, but it's hardly intrusive and she is light years better than Voigt. Jings, I think at her worst she was still streets ahead of Voigt!:lol:


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Barbebleu said:


> I think you're being a bit hard on Gwynneth. I have been listening to the OperaDepot '76 Walküre from the opening night and Jones sounds pretty good. The wobble is there certainly, but it's hardly intrusive and she is light years better than Voigt. Jings, I think at her worst she was still streets ahead of Voigt!:lol:


That was 1976. I'm going to guess that howlingfantods is referring to later performances by Dame Gwyneth. I heard her Brunnhilde at the Met in 1993, and the wobble was pretty horrifying.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

wkasimer said:


> That was 1976. I'm going to guess that howlingfantods is referring to later performances by Dame Gwyneth. I heard her Brunnhilde at the Met in 1993, and the wobble was pretty horrifying.


Jones started out in the '60s with a beautiful sound, but the wobble was already intruding in her 1970 Bayreuth Kundry under Boulez. I never understood why Jones was so fully employed until I saw her acting - just superb. Does Voigt's acting similarly make up for vocal problems? A singing competition between late Jones and late Voigt is one I'd rather not have to adjudicate!


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

wkasimer said:


> That was 1976. I'm going to guess that howlingfantods is referring to later performances by Dame Gwyneth. I heard her Brunnhilde at the Met in 1993, and the wobble was pretty horrifying.


I kind of thought that Howling was referring to DavidA's post #23 which references the '76 Walküre. But if he was indeed talking about performances some seventeen or so years later then I would be inclined to agree. But in her pomp Jones was a superior artist to Voigt. IMHO of course:tiphat:


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

wkasimer said:


> That was 1976. I'm going to guess that howlingfantods is referring to later performances by Dame Gwyneth. I heard her Brunnhilde at the Met in 1993, and the wobble was pretty horrifying.


I was talking about the video release of the Boulez--that was the one that David was approvingly citing. I believe that was filmed in 1980.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

Barbebleu said:


> I kind of thought that Howling was referring to DavidA's post #23 which references the '76 Walküre. But if he was indeed talking about performances some seventeen or so years later then I would be inclined to agree. But in her pomp Jones was a superior artist to Voigt. IMHO of course:tiphat:


Ah, I see the confusion. David referred to the 1976 production, which is when the Chereau Jahrhundertring production itself debuted--but the video recording was done in 1980. David confusingly talks about Jones's looks but links a youtube video of the Du bist der Lenz, and also confusingly gives Gotz the credit for the Chereau Ring.... perhaps he was thinking of that famous Gotz production of Tannhauser where Jones strips naked? I think that was 1972 or 73 though. Or perhaps he was thinking of the Colin Davis ROH Ring? I don't believe that was filmed, in HD or otherwise.


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2019)

.................................


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## apricissimus (May 15, 2013)

DavidA said:


> No but it reminds me of a production of La Boheme in Italy where Mimi's tiny hand was as big as a dinner plate. I'm afraid in HD we must do better. Like it or not, just the voice is no longer good enough if we want music drama. We must have singers whose looks approximate to the part. I probably won't see the Walkure as I might laugh in the wrong places. The excerpts just made me grin. Only Westbrook looked anything like.


I once attended a performance of Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet, where the part of Romeo was played by a short, fat guy who looked to be about 45 years old, with a full beard. Okay, it was a small local production and possibly they were hard up for good singers for the role. But come on, at least shave the beard.


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## MarioDelMonacoViva (Apr 1, 2019)

chalkpie said:


> I saw my first Wagner opera last night at opening night for Die Walküre at The Met. Sat in the side Parterre - had great close views of the stage action plus amazing views of the orchestra, and especially Phillipe Jordan. Overall it was an intense, amazing experience! The orchestra sounded great save for some clams in the lower brass at points (and some intonation issues as well).
> 
> I really loved/liked most of the cast, especially Christina Goerke - she was fabulous - maybe as good as Debra Voight for me. Greer Grimsley wasn't my favorite Wotan if I'm honest - he didn't seem to really carry his voice as well as Morris and Terfel before him - but don't get me wrong - he did a fine job. Eva-Maria Westbroek also did a tremendous job as Sieglinde.
> 
> ...


I also went to see Die Walkure on Saturday, but I was in the cinema. It was also my first Wagner opera, and I really enjoyed it. I'm only 17 and Puccini and Verdi have been more my thing up until, but now I'm absolutely hooked on Wagner. I think the entire cast was fantastic, but Christine Goerke was the true star. Her stage prescence was phenomenal, but just as incredible was her ability to penetrate through that 70+ orchestra, especially during her "Hojotohos". I'm definitely looking forward to the screening of Der Fliegende Hollander next year!

Funnily enough, in the cinema, there were literally 9 or 10 people. Also, I think "The Machine" was an incredible feat of engineering. I'd never seen anything like it. I absolutely loved it. One of my life goals now is to take my parents to Bayreuth!


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

howlingfantods said:


> Ah, I see the confusion. David referred to the 1976 production, which is when the Chereau Jahrhundertring production itself debuted--but the video recording was done in 1980. David confusingly talks about Jones's looks but links a youtube video of the Du bist der Lenz, and *also confusingly gives Gotz the credit for the Chereau Ring.*... perhaps he was thinking of that famous Gotz production of Tannhauser where Jones strips naked? I think that was 1972 or 73 though. Or perhaps he was thinking of the Colin Davis ROH Ring? I don't believe that was filmed, in HD or otherwise.


My apologies. Friedrich and Chereau are two producers I mix up. Put it down to old age. It was, of course, Chereau who produced the 1976 Ring. The clip I gave is from that production and when I saw it Jones was the Brunnhilde. Must confess that nothing was further from my mind than Jones stripping naked! In any case, I thought that was Salome not Tannhauser! :lol:


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## OperaChic (Aug 26, 2015)

apricissimus said:


> I once attended a performance of Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet, where the part of Romeo was played by a short, fat guy who looked to be about 45 years old, with a full beard. Okay, it was a small local production and possibly they were hard up for good singers for the role. But come on, at least shave the beard.


Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet is a symphony with no part for Romeo. Do you mean Gounod's opera?


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## apricissimus (May 15, 2013)

OperaChic said:


> Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet is a symphony with no part for Romeo. Do you mean Gounod's opera?


Yes. Thank you.


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## kineno (Jan 24, 2015)

Placido, welcome to the Wagner cult. There’s no turning back now!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

PlacidoDomingo said:


> I also went to see Die Walkure on Saturday, but I was in the cinema. It was also my first Wagner opera, and I really enjoyed it. I'm only 17 and Puccini and Verdi have been more my thing up until, but now I'm absolutely hooked on Wagner. I think the entire cast was fantastic, but Christine Goerke was the true star. Her stage prescence was phenomenal, but just as incredible was her ability to penetrate through that 70+ orchestra, especially during her "Hojotohos". I'm definitely looking forward to the screening of Der Fliegende Hollander next year!
> 
> Funnily enough, in the cinema, there were literally 9 or 10 people. Also, I think "The Machine" was an incredible feat of engineering. I'd never seen anything like it. I absolutely loved it. One of my life goals now is to take my parents to Bayreuth!


Speaking as one who was totally hooked at your age and am still hooked fifty years later, I welcome you to Klingsor's magic garden. There's a lot more to do on this forum than talk about Wagner, but who cares?

:tiphat:


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## sailboats21 (Apr 2, 2019)

I was there [at the Met] on the 30th and loved it. I didn't care for how the sword was pulled from the tree, though.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

sailboats21 said:


> I was there [at the Met] on the 30th and loved it. I didn't care for how the sword was pulled from the tree, though.


How was it pulled from the tree?


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