As an opera fan, I felt like I "had to" do the Ring Cycle at least once and I fell in love with it. It's an immersive experience and incredibly moving. Also reactionary and slyly white supremacist, but overall it's (in my reading) about the struggle to remain relevant in a changing world, the evils of greed, and, above all, the deep ambi…
As an opera fan, I felt like I "had to" do the Ring Cycle at least once and I fell in love with it. It's an immersive experience and incredibly moving. Also reactionary and slyly white supremacist, but overall it's (in my reading) about the struggle to remain relevant in a changing world, the evils of greed, and, above all, the deep ambivalence and emotional work of being a parent. I have now been to two complete cycles (Seattle and San Francisco) and will gladly do another when Covid gives me the opportunity.
I agree, Bayreuth would be the gold standard; 145 years of history! Not sure I could ever justify the trip just for that, but combined with other joys (read: things that would make my wife agree the trip was worthwhile) I might be able to do that. The problem being that for four or five days I'm sitting in an opera house and she is...doing what? Probably never happen.
it can be done mostly in the evenings and you get to dress up but 4-5 hours is a long, hard slog if you are not an afficionado. I must say , i had more fun doing a matiné of Madame Butterfly at Covent Garden or standing in the "gods" in Vienna to hear Ruggiero Raimondi in Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an exhibition" and being able to go have dinner somewhere after.
As an opera fan, I felt like I "had to" do the Ring Cycle at least once and I fell in love with it. It's an immersive experience and incredibly moving. Also reactionary and slyly white supremacist, but overall it's (in my reading) about the struggle to remain relevant in a changing world, the evils of greed, and, above all, the deep ambivalence and emotional work of being a parent. I have now been to two complete cycles (Seattle and San Francisco) and will gladly do another when Covid gives me the opportunity.
I find it a bit of a hard, long slog but would like to do it in Bayreuth if anywhere as there it's a "total happening" .
I agree, Bayreuth would be the gold standard; 145 years of history! Not sure I could ever justify the trip just for that, but combined with other joys (read: things that would make my wife agree the trip was worthwhile) I might be able to do that. The problem being that for four or five days I'm sitting in an opera house and she is...doing what? Probably never happen.
it can be done mostly in the evenings and you get to dress up but 4-5 hours is a long, hard slog if you are not an afficionado. I must say , i had more fun doing a matiné of Madame Butterfly at Covent Garden or standing in the "gods" in Vienna to hear Ruggiero Raimondi in Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an exhibition" and being able to go have dinner somewhere after.
The closest I will ever come to Bayreuth is my enjoyment at reading Artur Rubenstein's experience of attending in his "My Younger Years".