Das Rheingold
Melbourne Opera
3 February 2021
Regent Theatre
5, 7 February
21 February
melbourneopera.com
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| "Das Rheingold" Melbourne Opera. Photo by Robin Halls |
If you're going to be the first opera back and the first production in the re-furbished The Regent after a year that left us wondering who was in charge at Valhalla, you may as well go Ring.
And you may as well excel!
Melbourne Opera continue to dazzle with productions that are mostly funded independently and supported by sponsors and benefactors. Covid postponed Das Rheingold – twice – but the gods are back on side. And if you are unable to get to The Regent tonight or Sunday, Melbourne Digital Concert Hall are live streaming Sunday's performance. And there's a performance in Bendigo at the gorgeous Ulumbarra Theatre on 21 February.
Das Rheingold is the first part of Wagner's four-opera Ring Cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen. In its full 15 hours, it's been live binged since it was performed as a cycle at the first Bayreuth Festival in Germany in 1876. There are "Ring nuts" – people who travel the world to see ALL the cycles; passion for this story is obsessive – who are planning to be in Melbourne in 2023 for the full cycle, which will be the first Australian independent production of the cycle since 1913.
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| "Das Rheingold" Melbourne Opera. Photo by Robin Halls |
Based on a Norse saga (the same one that inspired Tolkien and his Ring stories), there are dwarfs, giants, gods, golden apples, and a magic ring. It begins when a creepy man wonders why content and happy women don't fancy him, and decides that his having wealth and power will change that. He steals their gold and makes a ring that will give its owner power over the world. The gods get involved and they aren't much better at dealing with power and greed. Trickery, anger, bargaining, a goddess speaking the truth, death, despair, and a rainbow bridge follow. And Part 1 is just the prologue!
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| "Das Rheingold" Melbourne Opera. Photo by Robin Halls |
The cast of Das Rheingold is relatively small but 140 Victorian performers and creators and technicians are involved (and Wagnerian conductor Anthony Negus from the UK). Covid restrictions meant casting locally and one of the exciting elements of this production is having singers from the company's Richard Divall Emerging Artists Program in principal roles.
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| "Das Rheingold" Melbourne Opera. Photo by Robin Halls |
Director Suzanne Chaundy's consistent vision is neither past nor future but clearly reflects on the mythology and now. This opera was first performed in 1869, but its themes of power and greed are sadly still contemporary. Chaundy consistently supports creative teams that surpass any expectations of having limited resources. This production has the fraction of the resources available to other opera companies but is emotionally engaging, musically commanding and visually stunning.
The design team especially excel in creating an integrated world, despite some distractions like stage sound being heard and polystyrene looking a bit too much like polystyrene. Andrew Bailey's sets fly from heavens to the darkest pits using lifts, swing poles and ring motifs; Tobias Edwards's video is used sparingly to create magic; Harriet Oxley's costumes define character; and Rob Sowinski's lighting connects all the elements and works with the music to support and the mood and momentum of the story. The holding back of some colours until the final act is especially wow.
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| "Das Rheingold" Melbourne Opera. Photo by Robin Halls |
Ring nuts need no convincing to see this production, but it's a remarkable opportunity for newbies to discover what the fuss is about. Or merely use the opportunity to hear opera singers and an 80-piece orchestra in an historic theatre that was built for opera.
