ROH: Ring 2018

[DracoM]

Lundgren and Connolly stars for me.
But that clumsy, p****ing set! Crikey. How the heck does he get paid for that?
And the staging of Valkyries - total joke. Produced instant laughter where I saw it.
Oh yes, and the grey wall and the chaise longue for B'hilde to wait for her hero on at the end?

[Keraulophone]

Nearly halfway through and loving every minute from five rows back from the front of the amphitheatre. The sound from up there is remarkably clear and well-balanced. Almost every syllable is audible at mezzopiano and above, even when the singers are at the back of the stage, and I’m pleased to have a good view of the remarkable bass trumpet. Having got to know a few versions on DVD and CD, going back to Varnay/Hotter/Clemens Krauss/Bayreuth 1953, I don’t think I have heard a cast as uniformly strong as this one, and Pappano keeps things moving without skimping on the big moments. Skelton, Lundgren, Stemme, Connolly and Davidsen have been absolutely glorious, and I count myself very fortunate to have witnessed this particular cast in action. Producer Keith Warner mentioned in an interview on YT that he had seen sixteen complete Ring cycles, but that in his opinion this cast had come closest to the ideal. Although I’m not a huge fan of the production, it hasn’t so far got in the way of experiencing the work as the supreme ‘stage-festival-play’ that it is.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Agreed some really excellent singing from Stuart Skelton, DSC , and Nina Stemme in particular - slightly surprised that Stephen Fry thought some of the singing underpowered - perhaps it was in the auditorium . The first act was a bit quiet but then the cinema people kindly turned the volume up for us!

[DracoM]

Found it VERY difficult to imagine the massive, floundering about bulks of Mr Skelton or Ms Magee as skipping about on the run from Hunding in that absurdly tangled, clumsy stage setting. Hunding with stately leather sofas and business exec desk........... I mean, come on....! As said, when the Valkyries stuff came on a real ripple of mockery and laughter went round the cinema. I shared it.

Closed my eyes to listen for much of the showing. Cinema gets you so much closer to the principals than being in the house. Phew!

Stemme's stamina and power impressive, Pappano and the ROH Band in terrific form, but I keep coming back to that colossally silly production / set design........... I mean...crikey.

[gurnemanz]

Although I’m not a huge fan of the production, it hasn’t so far got in the way of experiencing the work as the supreme ‘stage-festival-play’ that it is.

I agree there. We saw the previous cycle which finished last Sunday. A particular delight for me as seasoned Wagnerian was to go along with my daughter and her partner, both in their mid 30s. She bought our tickets, having taken priority booking to support her ballet addiction. When I asked her to book the Ring for us (we were also row 5 Amphitheatre) she amazed me by saying she had also booked on impulse for herself, thinking it too good opportunity to miss. They both work in the film industry, she an editor, he a director, and it was really interesting to listen to the comments of two people coming totally new to Wagner. Luckily, they loved it and were really grateful, saying they would never have booked otherwise. Not all our parental endeavours bear fruit (as Wotan might testify) but I feel I have fulfilled at least part of my fatherly role by passing on this particular enthusiasm.

[DracoM]

Oh, yes, and another mockery and groan went round in this cinema the minute Stephen Fry came on protesting about how sad it was he couldn't afford to go to so many Ring cycles............yeah right.

Partner him with the Burton-Hill OTT presentation where piling extravagance on extravagance of praise seemed to hint to me that ROH knew all too well that this was a 'curate's egg' production with a trail of adverse crits already public and it thus needed all the push and slaver they could hire.

[gurnemanz]

Oh, yes, and another mockery and groan went round in this cinema the minute Stephen Fry came on protesting about how sad it was he couldn't afford to go to so many Ring cycles............yeah right.

Partner him with the Burton-Hill OTT presentation where piling extravagance on extravagance of praise seemed to hint to me that ROH knew all too well that this was a 'curate's egg' production with a trail of adverse crits already public and it thus needed all the push and slaver they could hire.

The reviews I have read have been mainly very positive (some five stars) with misgivings about iffy set design with which most people seem to agree. The director's expressed aim was to bring us music drama as envisioned by the composer and I thought the characterisation, interaction, gesture, choreography and stage movement generally came across rather convincingly. That's why we go to live theatre. Closing one's eyes for much of the showing would not be the ideal way to experience this.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Oh, yes, and another mockery and groan went round in this cinema the minute Stephen Fry came on protesting about how sad it was he couldn't afford to go to so many Ring cycles............yeah right.

Partner him with the Burton-Hill OTT presentation where piling extravagance on extravagance of praise seemed to hint to me that ROH knew all too well that this was a 'curate's egg' production with a trail of adverse crits already public and it thus needed all the push and slaver they could hire.

These performances have been sold out for a year -so the scribblings of the critics is neither here nor there. Perhaps a bit of grit in the pearl of the opera going experience isn't such a bad thing. And it has been commented on, it takes time for the set/producer's concept to become accepted and, even, valued.

As regards the production (the four nights) - it had some pretty good/wonderful moments and I am aware that much worse could have been inflicted on us (although I am not sure how much the resident forces can or do restrain/influence a Director at ROH). As has been said a strong cast with hardly a weak link and numerous outstanding performances . Much to enjoy and be thankful for.
Skelton said on R3 (In Tune) this is the last outing for this production (stage director at the Insight evening said it hadn't been known it would be revived again, when it was put into storage after the 1st revival). No doubt it will be some years before we see The Ring again at the ROH - presumably it will start being built up, one of the four, per season?

[Darkbloom]

I expect a new Ring would be the main inducement for the next music director, whenever Pappano decides it's time to move on. It's such a demanding job that he must surely be looking to scale back a bit and hand things on to a younger man within the next few years.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Whilst the set and particularly props were a bit of a joke much of the acting was of a high standard and even withstood the close ups of the cinema relay. Having seen Rings since the seventies I would rank this as one of the best sung and acted Ive seen . I'm still not wholly convinced re Pappano as Wagner conductor . I can't put my finger on what isn't quite right. The Gibichung scene in Gotterdamerung really dragged but its not due to slow tempi - it's something to do a lack of string attack - Too smooth and Puccini- eque ? Last night's Die Walkure was something special though as was Act One Siegfried.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Oh, yes, and another mockery and groan went round in this cinema the minute Stephen Fry came on protesting about how sad it was he couldn't afford to go to so many Ring cycles............yeah right.

Partner him with the Burton-Hill OTT presentation where piling extravagance on extravagance of praise seemed to hint to me that ROH knew all too well that this was a 'curate's egg' production with a trail of adverse crits already public and it thus needed all the push and slaver they could hire.

Yep I laughed out loud when he said that- a pair of stalls tickets for the cycle was £2,000 - surely a drop in the ocean for a man with a net worth of $35,000,000 according to the fascinating celebrity net worth website . Bold of him to criticise the singing for being under-powered even though he admitted he was in the cheap seats at the back ( presumably back of Grand Tier not Amphitheatre )

[Conchis]

I was at the cinema relay, having seen this Ring twice in the theatre.

I liked the production no better this time and felt that only Stemme andConnolly impressed. The others were a very mixed bag, with Skelton and Magee a clunky (and - to be polite!- chunky) pair of Walsungs and Lundgren a Wotan who sacrificed line (and audibility) for acting. Possibly a fair trade off but he’s surely got too small a voice for this role.

The production was as irritating as I remembered it and very cheap-looking. In the pre-performance documentary, Warner helpfully explained that the blue wigs were ‘anti-love’- so, obviously , he was inspired by the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine Film.

Clemency Burton-Hill got royally on my mammary glands and when she introduced the egregious Fry, I couldn’t restrain myself from shouting, ‘Oh, God, NO....!’ I wasn’t alone, either...

Like the famous pudding, this is a Ring Without A Theme. Stephen Medcalfe’s ‘country house’ Walkure for Gramge Park last year was also high concept but at least that concept was intelligible.

[Darkbloom]

I

Clemency Burton-Hill got royally on my mammary glands and when she introduced the egregious Fry, I couldn’t restrain myself from shouting, ‘Oh, God, NO....!’ I wasn’t alone, either...
.

She's now working for WQXR in New York. I wish them joy of their bargain and hopefully it will keep her appearances here to a minimum. It seems that nobody else is allowed an opinion on Wagner apart from Fry now. If f they book anyone else they must fear an angry email from Norfolk. I thought it was amusing to read an interview with Tim Mcinnerny, who is appearing in the Peterloo film as the Prince Regent. He basically admitted that he based his characterisation of that appalling creature on Fry, who he worked with on the Blackadder series.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I thought it was amusing to read an interview with Tim Mcinnerny, who is appearing in the Peterloo film as the Prince Regent. He basically admitted that he based his characterisation of that appalling creature on Fry, who he worked with on the Blackadder series.

Ah - you read the Guardian?

McInnerny, 62, borrowed from real people in his own life. “Preferably not famous people, but Mike did allow me a little latitude with that because he said you are playing a prince so it is kind of appropriate that some of them are famous, who might be useful to use as sort of background fodder. I won’t say who those people are.”

Oh go on, why not? “Because … they’re not necessarily going to want to be associated with the Prince Regent,” he laughs. “Think of … ha ha ha, I don’t know … tall, overweight, intelligent people of my generation.” Ah-ha, and who you might have worked with early in your career? “Indeed, yes, and we’ll stop right there.” Who could he mean? Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson … none of them quite fits. Who could it be, I wonder? Whoever, McInnerny is keen to point out his prince is a mixture of many people, including contradictory versions culled from different biographies, lots of non-famous people, and a bit of himself too.

But perhaps it would be fair to point out that McInnerny doesn't share the low opinion of Fry expressed on this Thread: immediately before starting working on Peterloo, he had appeared in The Hippopotamus, based on Fry's novel, and about which he gave this interview (note particularly from 1min 40"):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVKUUVVjC_8

[Conchis]

Fry was in the audience at Grange Park last year. He was louder than any of the singers on stage!

The presentation of last night’s broadcast wa depressing and dumbed-down.. The Ring has to be described as ‘the original boxed set’ and related to Game of Thrones. Who are the idiots who write the scripts for these things?