With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today .
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Wagner's Ring Cycle at the LA Opera
by Ellen Reid for LAist
After all the buildup, the promotion and the hype, the stakes for the LA Opera’s first performance of Richard Wagner’s complete Ring cycle were equally high to the stakes that characters face within the opera. Do or die. Succeed or fail. Win all or lose everything.
With more than 115 cultural and educational institutions participating in the Ring Festival LA to celebrate this event, the recruitment of opera superstars such as Plácido Domingo, and the inevitable controversy that arises with the performance of any of Wagner’s work, it seems like it would be impossible for the production of the Ring cycle to actually fulfill expectations. So, the question remains: Does it or doesn’t it?
It dares to. The director and designer Achim Freyer and his collaborators Amanda Freyer (costumes) and Brian Gale (lighting) have created a hyper-stylized visual world that compliments Wagner’s musical world and captures the audience’s attention for more than 15 hours. This alone is quite a feat.
Support for LAist comes from
Each of the four productions (Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung) is full of optical illusions created by puppets, masks, a moving stage and a scrim. Opera singers are notoriously bad actors, but this is not the case in the LA Opera’s Ring cycle. Some of the performers are so compelling that at the curtain call, the audience hoots and hollers as if they were at a ball game--and this doesn’t usually happen at the opera.
If you like opera, or even wonder if you like opera, you would be a fool to not jump on one of the final performances of the cycle (get your tickets here http://www.laopera.com/ticketing/season/search.aspx). A four-hour opera certainly seems daunting, but the spectacle of the design, the scope of the event, the people watching and the energy of the performance together serve to make the LA Opera’s Ring cycle a worthy way to spend an (entire) evening.
Stay tuned for LAist’s take on attending one complete Ring cycle.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Users of the century old Long Beach wooden boardwalk give these suggestions to safely enjoy it. -
The Newport Beach City Council approved a new artificial surf park that will replace part of an aging golf course. -
The utility, whose equipment is believed to have sparked the Eaton Fire, says payouts could come as quickly as four months after people submit a claim. But accepting the money means you'll have to forego any lawsuits. -
The City Council will vote Tuesday on a proposal to study raising the pay for construction workers on apartments with at least 10 units and up to 85 feet high. -
The study found recipients spent nearly all the money on basic needs like food and transportation, not drugs or alcohol. -
Kevin Lee's Tokyo Noir has become one of the top spots for craft-inspired cocktails.
Best of LAist