2016 Bayreuth Ring on Sky Arts

[Richard Tarleton]

Fascinating review. So far I've only dipped in, preparing to watch on a wet day. Gunther (to start with) channeling the Fonz from Happy Days, or possibly John Travolta in Grease.

[DracoM]

Love the use of 'interesting'.

[Bert Coules]

These curtain calls are odd. It's strange enough that they happen at all after each act, but if they are going to take place why no solo bows, I wonder?

[ARBurton]

Maybe edited out by Sky for timing reasons?

[Bert Coules]

Possibly, I suppose, but I have the feeling not.

People have mentioned the TV direction. The camera angles for the death of Siegfried were especially unfortunate, though again, that could have been deliberate, given the rest of the nonsense: Hagen learns that Siegfried can be killed only by a stab in the back, so naturally he whacks him over the head with a baseball bat. Or doesn't. But he conveniently dies anyway, the obliging chap.

Ah - solo calls at last. No sign of Castorf and the rest of the production team, though.

[Bert Coules]

Did I blink and miss it or did Sky really not credit any of the singers?

[DracoM]

No, they didn't.
AND
we had no appearance of the much booed design team. Luckily for them.

That Gotterdammerung design was an absolute travesty of meretricious, cluttered, inauthentic and deeply unhelpful claptrap.
Thank God for decent leads and the band.

[ARBurton]

Despite the countless flaws I'll be putting a set in the Wagner Society dvd library in due course along with the new Parsifal.

[gurnemanz]

Whatever the merits or flaws of the production, I would have thought that an aberrant staging such as this is not a suitable introduction for those new to the work, which Sky seemed to be assuming their transmission would be.

[DracoM]

Exactly: how the heck any incoming Wagnerian-wannabe could get any sense of the huge legend/mythology/roots culture behind Wagner's project utterly defeats me. In an age in which Game of Thrones has gone global, Tolkien Hobbitry pervasive and Harry Pottery, the depths of this productions misjudgement of where the next generation of culture vultures are likely to be eagerly looking for sustenance truly blows the mind. It was a production stuck fast in the tinselly, instant obsolescence trash of the 1950s in every way and what on earth [literally] it could speak to in our day eludes me.

Yes, do archive it of course, but as a production to stir the soul, ignite a lifelong passion..........erm......I think not.

Thank God for Kirill Petrenko, I say.

[LHC]

Exactly: how the heck any incoming Wagnerian-wannabe could get any sense of the huge legend/mythology/roots culture behind Wagner's project utterly defeats me. In an age in which Game of Thrones has gone global, Tolkien Hobbitry pervasive and Harry Pottery, the depths of this productions misjudgement of where the next generation of culture vultures are likely to be eagerly looking for sustenance truly blows the mind. It was a production stuck fast in the tinselly, instant obsolescence trash of the 1950s in every way and what on earth [literally] it could speak to in our day eludes me.

Yes, do archive it of course, but as a production to stir the soul, ignite a lifelong passion..........erm......I think not.

Thank God for Kirill Petrenko, I say.

Petrenko conducted the Ring last year. The performances broadcast on Sky were conducted by Marek Janowski.

Ironically, Janowski usually refuses offers to perform in opera houses as he hates modernist productions, and will normally only conduct operas in concert performances (when Jennifer Ann Wilson was asked to withdraw from the part of Sieglinde this year, he told her that he no longer conducts staged opera because he hates the productions).

I understand he agreed to conduct the ring in 2016 and 2017 because he wanted to conduct at Bayreuth, and for no other reason. I can only imagine what his views on the 'Castorf' Ring might be.

[ARBurton]

Mr janowski just went up in my estimation!

[DracoM]

And mine.........sorry for lousy editing!

[Bert Coules]

It's a shame in many ways that the Seattle Ring - which was very firmly traditional and, by all accounts, extremely successful - was never filmed. It almost happened, apparently, but fell through. And even more sadly it's never going to be revived, if reports are true.


Picture (c) Seattle Opera, no infringement intended

[underthecountertenor]

It's a shame in many ways that the Seattle Ring - which was very firmly traditional and, by all accounts, extremely successful - was never filmed. It almost happened, apparently, but fell through. And even more sadly it's never going to be revived, if reports are true.


Picture (c) Seattle Opera, no infringement intended

Horses (Grane etc) for courses, but that looks risibly old-fashioned to me.