Act I of Walkure is now done- brother and sister have fallen into each other’s arms in libidinous passion to the words “this sword that I now hold,” which is definitely in the top 20 best unintentional laugh lines in the Ring. All props to DB- the Bayreuth orchestra sounds absolutely first rate. It’s an entirely different standard of playing than the Liceu band, who did sound good.
Some good controversy brewing already about stagings. I’m preferring the starker, simpler style of this Walkure to the busy Rhinegold in spite of the fur-collared Marilyn Manson coats the gods wear in this one, but James prefers the grand opera approach.
So far, fatigue, both physical and musical is not an issue for any of us and we’ve only got about 14 hours to go, so we’re in good shape….
John Tomlinson’s Wotan (he sounds great, as always) is also wearing sunglasses (with one dark eye) instead of an eye-patch, but his 70s-ish pilots glasses are decidedly less hip than the Oakleys from Rhinegold.
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