INTERACTIVE FAMILY TREE:

Wagner's 'Ring' Cycle comes full circle

An interactive look at the interlocking relationships of the gods, giants, dwarfs, maidens and mortals in Richard Wagner's Four-part "Ring" cycle, as performed by the Los Angeles Opera.

Sources: Los Angeles Opera, "Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung" by Stewart Spencer and Barry Millington. Graphics reporting: Brady MacDonald. Design and Interactivity: Raoul Rañoa/Los Angeles Times

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bondsman at 9:46 AM June 04, 2010

part 2 of 2

On the Siegmund and Sieglinde, having them halves of the same whole was nice, but there were two groups of them out there half the time. Was one supposed to represent their inner thoughts and the other their external selves? What was the director going for? I sure couldn't tell, except since they always were on opposite sides of the stage, I couldn't make sense of it.

If you want to see what a city college art department could do with a Wagnerian opera - this is the series for you. It was a six hundred dollar learning experience to be sure, but that's about all I'd say for it. Having to do it over I'd avoid it like the plague.

bondsman at 9:45 AM June 04, 2010

I was shocked at how well the director managed to turn passion into a still life. To me opera is a trimumvirate of song, orchestra, and stagecraft coming together to form a whole greater than the sum of its parts. In this production the first two are impeccable, the stagecraft, however, is so awful it makes the production unwatchable. I saw die walkure in Los Angeles, and did something I've never done before -- I left at the end of the second act, it was that bad.

Yes, the idea of the stage as a ring was nice, and the timekeeper was a cute touch as well. the problem was that no characters ever, and I do mean ever, interacted with each other! How do you know that Hunding is a terrible guy? Like everyone else he just sits like a statue at the edge of the stage. His death in the second act? Boring. I wouldn't have believed it, but die walkure was *boring*! I could see someone complaining that it was over-the-top, violent, anything, but boring?!? Unbelievable.

part 1 of2

IMELDAOBOE at 5:09 PM May 12, 2010

Bravissimo!!

This is truly amazing! I have long thought that Wagner's Ring Cycle has been largely neglected when it comes to the possibilities available through modern media.

Thank you for putting this together! I will pass it along to my colleagues as well.

Susan Spector, Second Oboe

Metropolitan Opera Orchestra

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