Wagner's Valhalla

[jlaurson]

All this talk about video productions of the Ring cycle finally pushed me over the edge.

Our third filmed cycle, after the first Levine/Met and Boulez/Bayreuth, and first on Blu-ray:

Terrific choice and terrific fit within those you already have!

[DavidRoss]

No doubt if little Dickie had lived a century later, he would have condensed the entire 15 hour extravaganza into this:

http://www.youtube.com/v/It7107ELQvY

[jlaurson]

No doubt if little Dickie had lived a century later, he would have condensed the entire 15 hour extravaganza into this:

http://www.youtube.com/v/It7107ELQvY

Oh boy, are those Rhine-Maidens or Norns, in the back?  Wait... am I drunk, or are those 4 girls, not 3?

Pretty heavy on the brass... Lots of similarities. I think you might be on to something.

[DavidRoss]

Terrific choice and terrific fit within those you already have!

Glad to hear you think so, Jens. Sooner or later I expect to acquire Lepage's, and the Copenhagen Ring sounds tempting, but what I'm really looking forward to someday is a filmed version with contemporary special effects bringing the world Wagner imagined to the big screen. 

[DavidRoss]

Oh boy, are those Rhine-Maidens or Norns, in the back?  Wait... am I drunk, or are those 4 girls, not 3?

Pretty heavy on the brass... Lots of similarities. I think you might be on to something.

We're on the same page, dude!

[Parsifal]

You forgot the Valkures...

http://www.youtube.com/v/SbyAZQ45uww

[DavidRoss]

You forgot the Valkures...

Was that Hullabaloo?  Funny how risqué that seemed in the '60s, and how tame -- even sweet -- it seems now.

No doubt Wagner would have approved.

Which reminds me: for the 4-part theatrical Ring extravaganza (directed by Peter Jackson?), if the Valkyries and Rhine Maidens are topless there's a much greater chance of commercial success. Hmmm...instead of Peter Jackson, maybe Ken Russell would be a better choice to direct!

[Karl Henning]

Which reminds me: for the 4-part theatrical Ring extravaganza (directed by Peter Jackson?)

Peter Jackson, do the Ring in only four parts?

16!  Incorporating material from Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Tristan, & Where the Wild Things Are!

[DavidRoss]

Peter Jackson, do the Ring in only four parts?

16!  Incorporating material from Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Tristan, & Where the Wild Things Are!

And changing the ending, no doubt, leaving out Siegfried's betrayal and death, and finishing with the Gods joyfully departing for Disneyland.

[Parsifal]

Was that Hullabaloo?  Funny how risqué that seemed in the '60s, and how tame -- even sweet -- it seems now.

In 40 years they'll be saying the same thing about the Paris Hilton sex tape...

[Karl Henning]

And changing the ending, no doubt, leaving out Siegfried's betrayal and death, and finishing with the Gods joyfully departing for Disneyland.

Turns out, too, that Brünnhilde was actually Wotan's mother.

[DavidRoss]

Turns out, too, that Brünnhilde was actually Wotan's mother.

Talk about a dysfunctional family ... no wonder those white folks are so messed up!

[Elgarian]

Full of optimism after our Valkyrie surprise, we turned to the Gotterdammerung from the Copenhagen Ring.

Oh, I can't cope with this. The Norns reduced the introduction to mere panto farce. And to see Siegfried and Brunnhilde pottering about watering their flowerpots during breakfast didn't improve matters much. The problem is one of artistic integrity - by which I mean the sense of wholeness of conception that's an essential component of great art. To put that music, and those words into a 'getting up and making the tea while pottering about the summerhouse' setting makes it impossible for me to take seriously what I'm seeing and hearing. Crushing disappointment.

[DavidRoss]

Aye. Wagner's unintentional trivializing of the story through dramatic incompetence is bad enough without further impeding suspension of disbelief due to intentionally trivial interpolations by "artistic" stage directors.

Re. the Norns: to be fair, there's not much one can do with this wretched scene, except perhaps to cut it altogether. Anathema to those who think every snot rag on which Wagner wiped his nose is a religious relic demanding worship, but there you have it.

Oh, dear ... am I mincing my words again? Let me know if my meaning's not clear and I'll try to be more direct.

[Parsifal]

The problem is one of artistic integrity - by which I mean the sense of wholeness of conception that's an essential component of great art.

You don't think skipping an entire opera (from Walkure to Gotterdamerung) might have some bearing on "wholeness of conception?"

[knight66]

The Norns in that production are my main disappointment, unlike David, that is a scene I would keep for its balefully beautiful music.

Mike

[Elgarian]

You don't think skipping an entire opera (from Walkure to Gotterdamerung) might have some bearing on "wholeness of conception?"

Oh come on. I've been immersing myself in the Ring periodically over a period of nearly forty years, and the drama, the music, and the sequence of those operas are embedded in my soul. I'm perfectly capable of remembering how it's glued together, and I've earned my right to skip among the operas in any way I choose without being patronised for doing it.

[Elgarian]

The Norns in that production are my main disappointment, unlike David, that is a scene I would keep for its balefully beautiful music.

Yes indeed. That's my view too.

[Parsifal]

Oh come on. I've been immersing myself in the Ring periodically over a period of nearly forty years, and the drama, the music, and the sequence of those operas are embedded in my soul. I'm perfectly capable of remembering how it's glued together, and I've earned my right to skip among the operas in any way I choose without being patronised for doing it.

I didn't mean to be patronizing or to question your knowledge of the Ring.  But I would think the Copenhagen production's treatment of Seigfried would have some bearing on how one would interpret their treatment of Gotterdamerung.  I have no opinion, since I've only made it through Wakure, so far.

[Elgarian]

I didn't mean to be patronizing or to question your knowledge of the Ring.  But I would think the Copenhagen production's treatment of Seigfried would have some bearing on how one would interpret their treatment of Gotterdamerung.  I have no opinion, since I've only made it through Wakure, so far.

I apologise. I've had a bad day, and was too sensitive. Rather than jump down your throat I should have explained more carefully that I was trying to describe my own personal response to the bringing together of such trite soap-opera visuals with such great music, and such a profound myth. I can't conceive of anything they could have done in the intervening Siegfried that could reconcile me to that particular grotesque juxtaposition. (I'm aware that others may not encounter this as a problem.)