By Eric Pinder
Contributing Writer
You can experience live performances from the Metropolitan Opera without having to travel to NYC and you get the best seat in the house for a fraction of what it would normally cost! Have popcorn and a drink at your seat! Feel free to wear flip-flops because dress is completely casual! It's the HD transmissions of live Saturday matinees at local movie theaters. This is the fifth season for these presentations which provide multiple camera angles, subtitles (very handy since the operas are usually sung in another language), and backstage interviews with the artists and production team. If you've never been to an opera, this is the perfect way to enjoy your first time.
Starting the season this Saturday is Das Rheingold, the first opera in Wagner's epic four part Ring Cycle. Based on Norse mythology, the story encompasses Gods, giants, dwarfs, dragons, warrior maidens in breastplates, a cursed magic ring, and for a finale - the destruction and rebirth of the world. It is famously parodied.
As you can imagine, it's an amazing undertaking for any opera house. The Met's new cycle is being staged by Robert Lepage who has collaborated with Cirque Du Soleil on this production. They came up with a set consisting of twenty four planks which are controlled by hydraulics and can be moved together or individually to create all kinds of stage pictures. The crew refers to it as "The Machine" and it's so heavy that the Met had to reinforce the stage where it's stored with steel beams.
I've heard the opening night and this Monday's broadcast, and I've been very excited about Stephanie Blythe as the goddess Fricka, and Eric Owens as the dwarf Alberich who starts the plot rolling by renouncing love and stealing the Rheingold. Both of them have amazing rich voices which soar over the dense orchestration. Blythe in particular has a plummy, creamy sound especially in her lower chest voice. I look forward to seeing their performances.
To purchase tickets go here.
Contributing Writer
You can experience live performances from the Metropolitan Opera without having to travel to NYC and you get the best seat in the house for a fraction of what it would normally cost! Have popcorn and a drink at your seat! Feel free to wear flip-flops because dress is completely casual! It's the HD transmissions of live Saturday matinees at local movie theaters. This is the fifth season for these presentations which provide multiple camera angles, subtitles (very handy since the operas are usually sung in another language), and backstage interviews with the artists and production team. If you've never been to an opera, this is the perfect way to enjoy your first time.
Starting the season this Saturday is Das Rheingold, the first opera in Wagner's epic four part Ring Cycle. Based on Norse mythology, the story encompasses Gods, giants, dwarfs, dragons, warrior maidens in breastplates, a cursed magic ring, and for a finale - the destruction and rebirth of the world. It is famously parodied.
As you can imagine, it's an amazing undertaking for any opera house. The Met's new cycle is being staged by Robert Lepage who has collaborated with Cirque Du Soleil on this production. They came up with a set consisting of twenty four planks which are controlled by hydraulics and can be moved together or individually to create all kinds of stage pictures. The crew refers to it as "The Machine" and it's so heavy that the Met had to reinforce the stage where it's stored with steel beams.
I've heard the opening night and this Monday's broadcast, and I've been very excited about Stephanie Blythe as the goddess Fricka, and Eric Owens as the dwarf Alberich who starts the plot rolling by renouncing love and stealing the Rheingold. Both of them have amazing rich voices which soar over the dense orchestration. Blythe in particular has a plummy, creamy sound especially in her lower chest voice. I look forward to seeing their performances.
To purchase tickets go here.