# Will we ever see a traditional Ring?



## Admiral (Dec 27, 2014)

As I read through the "regie/traditional" thread a thought occurred to me: almost half of the operas that I have seen live have been performances of the Zeffirelli Boheme, about 6/14.

Yet it's likely that I'll never see a "traditional" Ring cycle.

The reasons for the popularity of the Zeffirelli Boheme are well-known, and it never fails to please. Yet, I'm ready for a new and inventive production of Boheme, precisely because I have that base of an established, traditional production. That will never happen with the Ring, because I will never see a traditional production, much less 6 performances of one.

Thus I have almost no basis against which to weigh these newer productions. Yes, there are photos of a winged-helmet Flagstad that establish something of a base, but I don't know of any traditional production that is available on video.

Will someone - in the remaining years of my life - give us a text-based Ring that is as wonderful as the Zeffirelli Boheme? Wouldn't we all flock to it if they did? 

The Copenhagen Ring proved that a company can do a musically-satisfying Ring without spending millions assembling a dream cast - is there a company out there that will take up this challenge?


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## gardibolt (May 22, 2015)

Details are still scant about the upcoming Chicago cycle, but at least it sounds as if it may not be too offensive:



> The conductor, David Pountney, described his vision for Lyric's Ring in broad terms. It wouldn't take the tack of radical interpretations that relocate the action to a historical time and place. Wagner produced this sweeping musico-dramatic landscape over 25 years of mulling and creating, Pountney says. "To narrow the vision that yielded is an incredibly stupid thing to do," he says. "The aim should be to open doors, not close them."
> 
> It also won't use "fancy machinery," and video will be employed only sparingly, Pountney says, a not-so-subtle reference to the temperamental, noisy rotating machine and the liberal use of video projection from the Metropolitan Opera's recently completed Ring. "Our Ring will be characterized by its use of naïve theatrical devices and its avoidance of high-tech solutions," he says. "We're focusing on the element of 'Once upon a time.'"
> 
> Denni Sayers, the team's choreographer, says that, for example, if a character flies in, you'll see the person who hauls the rope. As a sort of parable, Pountney sets the scene: On a simple, empty stage of wooden boards, a person walks out, alone. He sets down his hat on the stage, and out of the hat flows the Rhine River. From here, the story spins out in all its gargantuan glory. At the close of the fourth opera, the man retrieves his hat and walks off into darkness.


http://www.chicagomag.com/arts-cult...era-Hints-at-How-Theyll-Stage-the-Ring-Cycle/


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## Admiral (Dec 27, 2014)

I got all excited because I'm only 3 hours from Chicago.

Then I saw this:

https://www.lyricopera.org/concertstickets/calendar/2016-2017/productions/lyricopera/das-rheingold

But I still might go and thanks for the head's-up


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## Balthazar (Aug 30, 2014)

Admiral said:


> ..., but I don't know of any traditional production that is available on video.


Have you seen the 1990 Otto Schenk productions from the Met conducted by Levine?








These offer very traditional staging. I am not so fond of the realistic fantasy atmosphere -- I much prefer the Chérau/Boulez realization. But that's what makes a market...


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## Admiral (Dec 27, 2014)

They might have it at my library - hopefully not on VHS only; I'll check it out, thanks.

This just in: the Chereau production is now 40 years old.


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## superhorn (Mar 23, 2010)

Many critics and other disliked the recent Met "Machine" Ring intensely . I was not one of them and thought it a revelation , mixing traditional elements with bold innovation . Yes, the machinery was problematical and caused some problems during performances, but the use of a unit set which could 
be changed instantly with laser technology to fit each act and scene struck me as inspired !
No ridiculous arbitrary gimmicks with anachronistic sets and costumes which had absolutely nothing to do with the Ring's actual setting in a primitive , imaginary pagan Teutonic world of giants, dwarves, gods and goddesses etc . It works for me .


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

The Ring performed every 4 years in Seattle is traditional. It does take cues from the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest but it is very very traditional.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Solti and Peter Hall tried to do a traditional Ring at Bayreuth but it apparently sank like a stone. The stage apparatus was not up to demands made on it.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

It's getting so bad these days with opera in general, traditional stagings are becoming "radical chic".


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

When it comes to The Ring I am happy as long there are swords and shields and Wotan is one eyed and have a spear.


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## Loge (Oct 30, 2014)

What with Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones over the last 15 years, medieval fantasy is very popular. Always wondered why directors still go with the dated Wotan in a business suit. I realise directors want to say something about the piece. But isn't it a bit tedious trying to do the same thing again and again. The recent Met Ring was a good atempt of doing a tradtional version with modern effects. But the machine did get in the way of acting and movement.

The 80s Met Ring did it right, off the back of Conan the Barbarian, Excalibur, Labyrinth, Never Ending Story, it used the latest film, tv makeup and costume techniques to create Wagner's world. There are some problems with the production, mainly lack of movement of cast. But for the time it was the most popular Ring in the world.

Directors claim that they want to make Opera relevant to young people. But when I was young and read books about Opera I was always disapointed by photographs of the Wieland Wagner productions, they looked so boring. Lets put it this way, if Disney tried to make the Force Awakens relevant, by setting it in New York with Kylo Ren as a stock broker, Han Solo as a drug smuggler, Finn as a Gulf War veteran, Rey as an occupy protester, would that have appealed to the youth?


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

The Lepage Ring certainly qualifies as traditional, and is of course available on video. New stagecraft with the Machine, but the narrative and costuming were literal and traditional, and had some lovely and striking scenes. I have hopes that they revive the production in a few years with much better singers and improvements to some of the awkward and cheesy staging (see-saw Ride of the Valkyries for instance).


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Balthazar said:


> Have you seen the 1990 Otto Schenk productions from the Met conducted by Levine?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Hear, hear.


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

Should Wagner knew that his masterpiece would have been put on a par with Conan the Barbarian, Excalibur, Labyrinth etc.., he would turn in his grave.

And Zeffirelli is too old for staging a new Ring....  Thank God


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

GioCar said:


> Should Wagner knew that his masterpiece would have been put on a par with Conan the Barbarian, Excalibur, Labyrinth etc.., he would turn in his grave.


How do you know?
I like both Conan the Barbarian and The Ring.
Everyone except opera directors like dramas in historical settings.


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

Good for you, I'm not arguing on personal tastes. I like Excalibur and Games of Thrones as well.
But the Ring is a bit more than a medieval fantasy. Just a bit. Isn't it?


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## Admiral (Dec 27, 2014)

howlingfantods said:


> The Lepage Ring certainly qualifies as traditional, and is of course available on video. New stagecraft with the Machine, but the narrative and costuming were literal and traditional, and had some lovely and striking scenes. I have hopes that they revive the production in a few years with much better singers and improvements to some of the awkward and cheesy staging (see-saw Ride of the Valkyries for instance).


I guess for me all of the hype about the Machine obscured the more traditional elements, but I see your point


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