How long is Die Walkure?

[Ed Waffle]

It is really long which is a really good thing. I hadn’t planned to listen to “Die Walkure” on the Met broadcast earlier today but once I started it was difficult to stop. Since I was listening while doing typical Saturday running around I missed a lot but caught all of Act III and much of Act II.

I once planned my day around “Die Walkure” from the Met—it was the last Brunhilde that Hildegard Behrens was scheduled to sing (with Domingo as Sigmund) at the Met and her fans were worried if she could still handle the role. It was a much less anxious experience this time—from what I could tell Deborah Voigt just effortlessly rolled out the sound and was a very convincing Valkyrie.

Years ago the high point of Act III for me was at the beginning when the Valkyries ride in. Now it is at the end with Wotan’s Farewell. Bryn Terfel seemed right on the money—he might be a great Wotan for a couple of decades. I finished the day sitting in my idling car in the driveway while Wotan said goodbye to Brunhilde—as good a way to waste a few gallons of gas as any.

[dirac]

Hi, Ed. Good to hear from you. The music is ravishing, isn't it? Next time, turn your engine off, though. Sorry I missed the broadcast.

[abatt]

It is really long which is a really good thing.

It was even longer yesterday than usual. It started 45 minutes late because of computer problems involving "The Machine" (the massive set).

[dirac]

Years ago the high point of Act III for me was at the beginning when the Valkyries ride in. Now it is at the end with Wotan’s Farewell. Bryn Terfel seemed right on the money—he might be a great Wotan for a couple of decades.

He's new to the part and will only get better, I'm sure.

[Ed Waffle]

Years ago the high point of Act III for me was at the beginning when the Valkyries ride in. Now it is at the end with Wotan’s Farewell. Bryn Terfel seemed right on the money—he might be a great Wotan for a couple of decades.

He's new to the part and will only get better, I'm sure.

I think he said that this was only his second "Walkure" Wotan and that when he does the "Siegfried" Wanderer next year at the Met it will be the first time he has sung the role. Very impressive. For the longest time it seemed that James Morris was the indispensable Wotan for the Met and many of the big houses in Europe.

[Ed Waffle]

It is really long which is a really good thing.

It was even longer yesterday than usual. It started 45 minutes late because of computer problems involving "The Machine" (the massive set).

I finally checked some pictures and descriptions of it online, especially since Margaret Juntwait was describing how the horses for the Valkyries were "planks" that moved up and down while they stood on them. Even with the delay it must be pretty well made--it looks like a stage disaster waiting to happen.

[dirac]

Years ago the high point of Act III for me was at the beginning when the Valkyries ride in. Now it is at the end with Wotan’s Farewell. Bryn Terfel seemed right on the money—he might be a great Wotan for a couple of decades.

He's new to the part and will only get better, I'm sure.

I think he said that this was only his second "Walkure" Wotan and that when he does the "Siegfried" Wanderer next year at the Met it will be the first time he has sung the role. Very impressive. For the longest time it seemed that James Morris was the indispensable Wotan for the Met and many of the big houses in Europe.

This doesn't seem like the type of production where singers relatively inexperienced in their roles are best served, so it's all the more credit to Terfel, Voigt, et al. that they seem to be rising above the challenges.

[SandyMcKean]

......how the horses for the Valkyries were "planks" that moved up and down while they stood on them....

I didn't think that worked at all. It looked dumb to me, and IMO the strangeness of this image detracted from what should be one of the most dramatic moments in the entire Ring. At this point I'd be willing to dump "The Machine" on the scrap heap of history.

P.S. They didn't stand on the "planks" per se, but rather they sat on a ledge just above the "plank" while their legs dangled down the "plank" as it moved up and down like some sort of see-saw or Loch Ness monster. Most distracting of all, I thought, was the dismount when each Valkyrie slid down the plank like a 7 year old down a slide at the playground. All I could pay attention to was the relieved look on their faces once they hit ground without stumbling so they could go on with the show.

[richard53dog]

This doesn't seem like the type of production where singers relatively inexperienced in their roles are best served, so it's all the more credit to Terfel, Voigt, et al. that they seem to be rising above the challenges.

Voigt slipped and fell the night of the premiere and landed on her rear right at her entrance in Act 2.

In a subsequent performance one of the Walkueren fell off the machine after the big Act 3 opening. So there are definitely some hazards associated with this complex production.

[kfw]

......how the horses for the Valkyries were "planks" that moved up and down while they stood on them....

I didn't think that worked at all. It looked dumb to me, and IMO the strangeness of this image detracted from what should be one of the most dramatic moments in the entire Ring. At this point I'd be willing to dump "The Machine" on the scrap heap of history.

P.S. They didn't stand on the "planks" per se, but rather they sat on a ledge just above the "plank" while their legs dangled down the "plank" as it moved up and down like some sort of see-saw or Loch Ness monster. Most distracting of all, I thought, was the dismount when each Valkyrie slid down the plank like a 7 year old down a slide at the playground. All I could pay attention to was the relieved look on their faces once they hit ground without stumbling so they could go on with the show.

In the two operas performed so far, that was the one scene in which I disliked the Machine, and you've described why very well. I didn't see horses, I saw a gimmick and a trick I had to hold my breath through. I loved the end of Act 3, though. I think it was regarding this scene that one critic complained that the Machine overshadowed what should have been the focus, the intimacy between Father and daughter even as they're torn apart. I can understand having that reaction in the house itself. On the HD screen, where we'd seen their feelings for each other in close-up, I thought the spectacle evoked the grand scale of the tragedy.

[SandyMcKean]

I loved the end of Act 3, though.

I agree. The "fire on the rock" sequence at the end of the opera did work well -- especially at the very end when the "fire colored" lights shone thru the planks, but that only lasted for 20 seconds, and I felt some nervousness as they set the scene up while they locked Voigt down so they could start to tip her nearly upside down (that wasn't a double was it??).

I also pretty much liked The Machine in Das Rheingold. The decent into Niebelheim was fantasic, but even in that opera I was distracted by the clear discomfort of the human beings that played the Rhein daughters in the opening scene. They weren't comfortable, so I wasn't either.

No doubt some good uses of The Machine are yet to come, but after Die Walkure, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the upsides are not worth the downsides. But of course the jury is still out until the final curtain after Valhalla is snuffed out with fire and water .

[kfw]

I loved the end of Act 3, though.

I agree. The "fire on the rock" sequence at the end of the opera did work well -- especially at the very end when the "fire colored" lights shone thru the planks, but that only lasted for 20 seconds, and I felt some nervousness as they set the scene up while they locked Voigt down so they could start to tip her nearly upside down (that wasn't a double was it??).

It was a double, actually, but I was so caught up in the scene that I didn't wonder abut it until she was 90 degrees vertical.

[bart]

You all make me wish I had been able to get to the theater. Thank you.

Incidentally, this morning's NY Times mentions that there were 175,000 viewers worldwide in movie theaters. Plus 4000 at the Met itself. Not bad, especially for Wagner.

My feeling about the use of The Machine in Rheingold was that it might have been more effective in the Met auditorium than on the movie screen, where one has become used to this kind of high tech spectacle and where getting too close to the action can undercut the intended effect.

I DID see the Rheingold filming, and found myself distracted by the moving back and forth between closeup (almost TOO close) and long shots. This broke, for me, the sense of a single event unfolding. It seemed to violate the long lines and seamless flow of the music. From a distance, the set appeared to be lightweight and magical. Close up, it seemed ponderous, and even dangerous. Instead of thinking about the story, I found myself thinking about the physics.

[richard53dog]

I loved the end of Act 3, though.

I agree. The "fire on the rock" sequence at the end of the opera did work well -- especially at the very end when the "fire colored" lights shone thru the planks, but that only lasted for 20 seconds, and I felt some nervousness as they set the scene up while they locked Voigt down so they could start to tip her nearly upside down (that wasn't a double was it??).

It was a double, actually, but I was so caught up in the scene that I didn't wonder abut it until she was 90 degrees vertical.

Yes , it was in fact a double. Voigt/Brunnhilde is taken offstage not long before it and the double was placed upsidedown for the ending.

The question now is this this how Siegfried will find her in the last scene of Siegfried ?

[dirac]

This doesn't seem like the type of production where singers relatively inexperienced in their roles are best served, so it's all the more credit to Terfel, Voigt, et al. that they seem to be rising above the challenges.

Voigt slipped and fell the night of the premiere and landed on her rear right at her entrance in Act 2.

In a subsequent performance one of the Walkueren fell off the machine after the big Act 3 opening. So there are definitely some hazards associated with this complex production.

Not like the old days. I'm sure Flagstad would have greeted these stage directions with the Norwegian equivalent of "I am so not doing that."

[richard53dog]

Not like the old days. I'm sure Flagstad would have greeted these stage directions with the Norwegian equivalent of "I am so not doing that."

Or Birgit Nilsson, who made her displeasure plain at many levels.

At a rehearsal for von Karajan's staging of Die Walkure, she was unhappy with the dim lighting. (Von Karajan chose very powerful lights but covered them with a very dense gel, creating an extremely complex lighting effect but to many , it was just dim)

In any event, at one reheasal, Nilsson showed up on stage with a miner's helmet, complete with lamp.....

[abatt]

I thought that they devised a less than satisfactory method to have Stephanie Blythe interact with the rest of the cast on "The Machine". While Terfel, Voigt and others were willing and able to actually walk on the tilted boards comprising the set, I suspect that Blythe, who is not exactly agile (to put it nicely), said no way. They devised this chair lift so that her "throne" would glide along the boards of the Machine, and she would never have to actually walk on the set itself. In the house, it led to a very artificial look to her interaction with Wotan. She could get up from the chair to stand in place, but she could never walk away from the chair. It made the scene seem very artifical and deflated the drama. It may have looked better on film, where they could do close ups so that the audience would not be aware of the limitations of Blythe's movements.

[SandyMcKean]

It may have looked better on film, where they could do close ups so that the audience would not be aware of the limitations of Blythe's movements.

Naturally, I have only seen the production "on film", but I'd say you are right. I was slightly bothered by the fact that the 2 singers could not physically interact, but I think the close ups and the cuts back and forth btwn the two singers minimized the problem you saw.

Speaking of that scene, I did think Fricka's entrance and exit in her "chariot" was quite effective.