BECAUSE OF THE UNUSUAL NUMBER OF EARLY
REQUESTS FOR ‘THE SEATTLE RING’, WE ARE INCLUDING
THIS TOUR IN OUR SPRING BROCHURE INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR OUR
SUMMER BROCHURE.
The Seattle Opera has achieved an enviable reputation for
its summer presentations of the major works of Richard Wagner.
In addition to sensational productions of ‘Lohengrin’,
‘Parsifal’, ‘Die Meistersinger’ and
‘Tristan und Isolde’ (starring Ben Heppner and
Jane Eaglen before either the MET or the Chicago Lyric), the
former presentations of the entire Ring Cycle have established
Seattle as a worldwide Wagner center unmatched by any other
company in the Western Hemisphere.
Seattle
only mounts the towering Der Ring des Niebelungen every four
years. The current production was newly staged in 2001 and
repeated in 2005, to unanimous critical and popular acclaim.
Every performance was completely sold out months in advance,
as Wagner aficionados congregated in Seattle from all over
the world. Now the next revival is announced for August 2009,
with many of the same linchpins which accounted for the success
of 2001. Seattle’s Ring Cycle performances are enhanced
by the company’s aesthetic and state-of-the-art theatre:
“In August of 2003, we introduced the world to our new
home, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall . . . Once again, opera fans
and critics the world over took notice, praising the proudciton
(‘Parsifal’), the hall’s striking design,
and its exceptional acoustics.” (The Seattle Opera).
The
Seattle Opera will be presenting three Cycles of The Ring
in 2005, and all three Cycles are already sold out. We have
fortunately secured our own top-price tickets for Cycle II,
beginning on August 17th and continuing through August 22nd.
General
Director Speight Jenkins has assembled an exemplary team of
artists to reveal the complex humanity of Wagner’s incomparable
music-drama, many of whom sparked previous ’05 revival.
The conductor will be the American Wagner specialist Robert
Spano, who has emerged as a major interpreter of the German
repertoire after his leadership as Music Director of both
the Atlanta Symphony and the Brooklyn Philharmonic. The director
is again the talented young American Stephen Wadsworth, who
has been consistently praised by critics for his superlative
work in the original ’01 production as well as in ’05.
The set designer Thomas Lynch has created “a Ring of
extraordinary beauty and theatrical vibrancy” (Associated
Press), with appropriately ‘green scenery’ in
contrast to some of the ugly ‘Eurotrash’ settings
which have recently alienated audiences at a number of premieres
in Germany, Austria and London. Today, the opera world should
be grateful for Speight Jenkins’ vision of the qualities
inherent in great music-drama: “Jenkins’s formula
is simple. ‘I try to emphasize opera as theatre, to
treat the audience as sophisticated . . . and to tell a story
in an interesting way. I don’t mind giving space to
avant-garde directors is they remain true to the spirit of
the piece – there are plenty who work in unusual styles
that succeed brilliantly.’ ” (Opera)
The
international cast will again include some of the foremost
Wagnerian singers of our time:
Brünnhilde:
Janice Baird, the American dramatic soprano whose challenging
repertoire embraces Isolde, Turandot and Salome.
Wotan:
Greer Grimsley, the charismatic American bass/baritone whose
recent Wagnerian portrayals in Seattle have included Telramund
in ‘Lohengrin’ and Amfortas in ‘Parsifal’.
Mr. Grimsley is justifiably a great favorite with Seattle
audiences.
Siegfried:
Denmark’s sought-after heldentenor Stig Fogh Andersen,
acclaimed throughout today’s leading houses as Tristan,
Tannhäuser, Walther von Stolzing, Parsifal and Siegfried.
Siegmund:
Australian tenor Stuart Skelton, “the finest singer
I’ve heard in this role since Ben Heppner or even James
King. . . the voice is gorgeous” (Stereophile)
Sieglinde/Third
Norn: American soprano Margaret Jane Wray, who effectively
‘stole the show’ as Sieglinde in both ’01
and ’05.
Hagen:
Australian bass/baritone Daniel Sumegi, whose Wagner credentials
include leading roles in ‘The Flying Dutchman’,
Die Meistersinger’, ‘Tannhäuser’ and
the MET’s ‘Götterdämmerung’.
Fricka/Waltraute/First
Norn: the MET’s Stephanie Blythe, a proven
Handel star in ‘Giulio Caesare’ and a thrilling
Wagnerian as Fricka in Seattle in ’01 and ‘05.
Alberich:
the MET’s versatile baritone Richard Paul Fink, as comfortable
in the repertoire of Verdi and Ponchielli as Wagner.
Gunther
& Donner: American baritone Gordon Hawkins, who
has recently triumphed in Seattle as Verdi’s Macbeth
and Amonasro.
Freia/Gutrune:
soprano Marie Plette, whose lyricism has shone in a number
of Italian and German roles throughout the U.S. She proved
to be a radiant Elsa in Seattle’s ‘Lohengrin’
last summer.
Loge:
South African tenor Kobie van Rensburg, who recently thrilled
MET audiences in the title role of Mozart’s ‘Idomeneo’.
