Had the pleasure of seeing the great tenor Placido Domingo sing the shit out of the role of Siegmund in LA Opera's new production of Wagner's Die Walkure, part two in the epic Ring cycle. At an age when most of his contemporaries have long since retired, Maestro Domingo retains all the strength and beauty of his glorious voice.
Die Walkure tells the story of a wandering romantic hero (Domingo as Siegmund) who ends up seeking refuge one stormy night in the home of a young woman trapped in an abusive marriage. Her barbaric husband vows to kill the unwelcome stranger, who quickly falls in love with the repressed wife and promises to liberate her. The new lovers eagerly consummate their passion, only to realize they are indeed twins separated at birth. (I hate it when that happens!)
Much drama and intrigue follows, but most impressive is Wagner's incomparable score, so full of pathos, power and beauty. Yes, this includes the famous "Ride of the Valkyries" music, perhaps the most recognizable in all of opera. You've heard it in films like Apocalypse Now and the Warner Bros. animated short What's Opera, Doc?, with Elmer Fudd singing, "Kill da wabbit, kill da wabbit...."
Visually, the production was clearly based on Star Wars. All the characters had light sabers and wore futuristic makeup and costumes. The scenes were very darkly lit and a giant scrim hung in front of the stage where video projections of storm clouds and other mood-enhancing images appeared. The story was told mostly through symbols rather than dramatic staging, which at times seemed static yet psychologically deep.
The black stage was raked upward toward the house so the audience could see its entire depth and width (much like a version of Evita I did once). The performance area appeared as a circular clockface, including a long lightsaber that slowly rotated like a secondhand, even reversing direction counter-clockwise when the characters sang stories of their pasts.
It's interesting to see a Star Wars connection because I've always thought John Williams's film scores were strongly influenced by Wagner's music, especially in the use of leitmotif, a recognizable theme written for each character. Both composers also use heavy orchestration, soaring romantic strings and blaring horn sections with dynamic shades of color and timbre.
Wagner's 'music theater' is not for the faint of heart, but he rewards well those who give it their focus. Wagner requires the listener to commit to learning mythological stories and complex characters, especially in The Ring of the Nibelung, and a commitment of time -- Die Walkure requires at least five and a half hours! However, the Chandler Pavilion's sold out audience Thursday evening seemed prepared and eager, though there were some annoying amateurs near me in the nose-bleed section who restlessly kept whispering to each other. I tried to find an empty seat on a lower level for the final act, but people stayed for the entire performance, even though Act Three didn't start until after 10pm.
The orchestra played beautifully, though they were obscured by a black tarp covering the pit, to limit light leakage into the house is my guess. Against tradition, conductor James Conlon did not enter and bow before the acts. The lights simply went down and the music started. Instead of curtains, we saw video projections of swaying curtains that opened and closed. It really was opera as cinema.
Now I'm looking forward to seeing the entire Ring cycle a year from now, and I'll be sure to save my pennies for a better seat, just to witness Placido Domingo's brilliant performance as Siegmund. He was absolutely stunning, both his singing and acting. When Siegmund falls at the end of Act Two, Placido threw himself down to the foot of the stage in quite a risky stunt. I was afraid he might break a hip or something, but ever-the-professional, he stayed down until the scene's end, then jumped right up for his curtain call. The other singers gathered around him, either to make sure he was alright or to congratulate him on his final LA Opera performance of the season.
It's no wonder that Placido Domingo is generally considered the most accomplished operatic performer in music history, with over 130 roles in his repertoire. That's three to four times the professional average. Bravo Domingo!
