Der Ring des Nibelungen by Richard Wagner Seattle Opera 14-19 Aug 1995 Coming to this second Seattle Ring, I am naturally full of memories from my first cycle, four years ago: of wonder and discovery as the cycle unfolded; of learning how the operas knit together in a single fabric; of my pal Don Hoak, who shared that first Ring with me but isn't around to come this time. The experience was so foreign the first time around. I had never heard Wagner on stage, certainly not in the four-opera package of the Ring. I was a little intimidated by the prospect: by the music, by the experience, by my expectations. I was already well in love with opera by then, but this was Wagner. I read librettos and essays beforehand and listened a little to recordings (although I didn't then own a whole cycle.) But I was very uncertain when I took my seat for Das Rheingold that August evening. It felt comfortably different this time around. Obviously I've seen the Ring now -- and Meistersinger, Lohengrin, Tannhaüser, and Tristan und Isolde as well. I've listened to the Ring operas a great deal more; the leitmotifs are familiar, the stories clear in my mind. I'm more relaxed, and that makes a difference. Missing, of course, is the sense of discovery and some of the anticipation. Four years ago I didn't have any idea the music would be this powerful or profound. Now I expect it to be, and even chafe a bit when it is a little less than that. Rheingold was an auspicious beginning for this 1996 cycle. I thought the voices were uniformly strong, better overall than in 1991. This is the same production (François Rochaix directing, Robert Isreal scenery and costume design, Hermann Michael conducting) so it feels familiar -- including much that I didn't like last time, either. I think the staging is at best inoffensive, and the costumes are too bourgeois for words. The high point of the opener for me is the new Wotan, Monte Pederson. I found Roger Roloff so disappointing last time that this strong, capable performance is even more appreciated. Pederson has command presence, a powerful (though not overpowering) delivery, striking looks. Even in his Lincolnesque frock coat, he brings the Fathergod to the stage in a way Roloff never once did. Best voice clearly was Nancy Maultsby's Erda: a rich, compelling textured tone and potent deliovery. Barb asked afterward whether she was like a relief pitcher, who knows he only has to throw a few pitches and so can afford to put everything into each of them. Whatever the reason: she's got a fabulous tone. Other key cast: Julian Patrick, Alberich; Joyce Castle, Fricka; James Patterson, Fasolt; Gabor Andrasy, Fafner (as last time, and also Hunding and Hagen); Gordon Harper, Mime; and Peter Kazaras,Loge. Kazaras worked hard at his Loge and played him with some style, but he just barely has the voice for it. Tim Tobin as Froh likewise was weak. I liked Andrasy a lot, as I did last time around. He combines a powerful voice and a compelling stage presence. The scenes in Neibelheim were so clearly more effective than most of Isreal's strained "post-modern" staging. The dramatic conceit is least evident in them, and the performance is consequently more transparent, less self-conscious. To my taste, it's much more effective that way, as well. I must admit that I do understand (as I did not after my first Rochaix-Isreal Ring) the value of having the characters played as a real-world people: the relationship between Fricka and Wotan is much more comprehensible with some context (human husband and wife) against which to measure them. I likewise was able to feel deeply for Wotan in his lament, "I of all men least free" -- in a way that would have been much harder to embrace had he been a distant, awe-inspiring god. The Valkuryies were a little slapstick for my taste this time around. I understand the desire to portray them with a kind of athletic team spirit, but this was too lockerroom for me. Post-modern staging or not, I want a little majesty in my immortal warrior maidens, thank you very much. Barbara (whose first Ring this was) expressed some disappointment at not being overpowered by the experience more often, a critique I share. That is the price you pay for a more human-scale production, I suppose. Perhaps it is worth the price in your third Ring or your fourth. I would much preferred a more traditional and grander staging. But I was again lifted by the experience. There is something about being engulfed by the full Ring cycle for a full week that makes it compelling in a way I haven't experienced otherwise. The music is so monumental and the themes so enveloping that the RIng comes to occupy your whole being for a while -- and that transcendence is, for me, the very best part of art. Afternotes: Peter Schrag and Trish Carnahan from Sacramento met us in Seattle for this Ring and it was fun to have knowledgable companions to share it with. We also encountered Anchorage friends (someone said there were 40-some Alaskans at the second cycle), notably conductor Gordon Wright. Some months later, Seattle Opera held "Brünnhilde's Fire Sale" and offered man of the props as souvenirs, inviting bids on everything from a block of fake Rhinegold to the famous flying horses. I didn't bid, but do tip my hat once more to the energetic Seattle Opera merchandising operation. I wonder what those horses fetched?