Last month I went to see the Portland Opera's production of Pagliacci and Carmina Burana, and as I stood in line waiting to purchase student/senior rush tickets, I was sincerely shocked by the audience that had gathered to attend this performance. There were middle-aged regular opera-goers, some children running around in little dresses, and a a line of around 200 students and senior (over 65) opera enthusiasts that wrapped around the corner of the block! There is a seat for everyone at the opera; a good production can move people of all different ages because the power of the music transcends borders of age and touches on something deeper inside all of us; bringing us all together to laugh and cry and listen.
The innovative approach Robert Lepage is taking in directing Richard Wagner's 16 hour epic opera the "Ring" cycle, will probably succeed in bringing together an even more diverse audience than the one I shared my experience with a few days ago. Is opera a genre restricted to a select few with some type of musical knowledge, or is it a more universally accepting form of art based on themes that resonate within everybody? Either way, by making something flashy and different you can't help but grab people's attention Intentionally or not, Lepage has created something that will most likely expose people to opera and to Wagner's music who may have other wise remained eternally despondent. The 24-stage-length planks that move and shift to form rivers and mountains, and the video projections that make dancers hung on wires look like mermaids swimming in water, among other visually captivating techniques will spike the interest of more than just the opera enthusiast.
The first opera of the cycle "Das Rheingold" opened last week at the Metropolitan Opera in New York where it is being put on. They had to reconstruct part of the stage in order to put on the show but even that didn't deter them from spreading it across the country; it is being filmed and screened at 650 theaters across the United States. I think this is an exciting moment for opera and classical music. In a society in which the appreciation for classical music seems to be a forgotten set of silverware only taken out at fancy dinner parties once in a while, this project is important and offers a glimpse into what the place of opera may be in the not-so-distant future.
One concern a Wagnerite or general music-lover may have is if the production stays true to Wagner's musical and conceptual arrangements. I have not yet seen the production directed by Lepage but here are my thoughts on the matter: I hope the production represents the true sentiments behind Wagner's work, but if it doesn't, what is music if not ever-changing? Susceptible to societal views and shifts and a product of prevalent mentalities? I hope the production does Wagner's work justice but in either case, I think Lepage has embarked on an important project that will excite and bring together a wider audience!
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