Ring Cycle By: David Barbour

OPERA Copyright Lighting &Sound America January 2011 http://www.lightingandsoundamerica.com/LSA.html Das Rheingold commences the Metropolitan Opera’s stunning new Ring Cycle By: David Barbour 52 • January 2011 • Lighting &Sound America he opera world loves a controversial the set function as required? And new production, and this season the how would the worldwide audience Metropolitan Opera has given it a of Wagner fans—an eccentric lot not real beauty in Das Rheingold , the known for being shy about their opener in its new staging of Wagner’s opinions—react? Ring Cycle . All the elements were in The answers are not yet final— place for a potential scandal: An there is no way to judge the whole internationally famous director, an cycle until all four operas have been ambitious set design that tested the staged—but the early signs are limits of the venue, interactive projec - promising. Das Rheingold opened to tions, and a staging that makes use raves for the cast and James Levine’s of acrobatic feats and body doubles. handling of the score. The production Oh, and a budget that reportedly garnered a broad range of opinions, reached $16 million dollars. most of them ranging from respectful Usually, the pre-opening publicity to favorable. At the very least, for a new Met Opera production everyone seems to agree that it is a focuses first on the stars, secondly fascinating combination of complex on the director, and, if there is any technology and aesthetic simplicity, a time or interest left, on the design that, above all, means to serve production. In the case of the Ring Wagner’s sprawling epic drama of Cycle, the design concept became a gods and humans locked in a major talking point months before struggle over a magic ring—a the curtain rose on Das Rheingold . struggle that will mark the end of one The New York Times sent a reporter world and the beginning of another. to cover the load-in. The New York According to Robert Lepage, who Post offered a detailed guide to the is staging the operas at the Met, “The set and how it functions. As the Ring is a revolutionary work of art. premiere approached, the level of You’re not the same person once chatter became deafening. Many you’ve done it.” By the time Wagner’s questions lingered: In this economy, cycle has been completed, one has could the Met afford it? Would the the feeling that the Metropolitan design overwhelm the opera? Would Opera may never be the same. a r e p O n a t i l o p o r t e M / d r a w o H n e K : s o t o h p l l A www.lightingandsoundamerica.com • January 2011 • 53 OPERA Above: The entrance into Valhalla. Previous spread: Wotan and Loge descend into Nibelheim. Boucher is especially proud of this scene, which he lit with one unit shining through the doorway. The Valhalla machine and a canvas for projections. The Wotan’s sister-in-law, as payment— The lion’s share of attention has been planks, driven by an old-fashioned the wall breaks into five parts. The focused on Carl Fillion’s set, or what spindle system, ripple like water or left, right, and middle sections lean the Times , in its feature story, called form giant hands for Fasolt and back at about a 45° angle. Between “The Valhalla machine.” Interestingly, Fafner [the giants] to stand on.” them are formed two platforms, it is meant to serve all four operas. It The figures are impressive: Each of lowered like drawbridges, on which that seems like an unworkable idea, the 24 planks is 2' wide, 29' long, and the giants appear. When Wotan, and rest assured that this is no ordinary weighs 726lbs. The axis is 5' wide. Loge, his servant, head to Nibelheim set. As described by Daniel J. Wakin The planks can revolve a full 360°. in order to obtain the ring that in the Times , it “consists of two 26'- The set, which sits directly upstage of Alberich, the dwarf, has stolen from tall towers holding an axis, which can the deck where most of the action the Rhinemaidens, the wall rises up move up and down driven by takes place, changes position every and spirals around, creating a winding hydraulics. Twenty-four planks, five to ten minutes throughout Das pathway that hovers over the deck. In actually in the rough form of severely Rheingold . The wall rears upward, this configuration, the set, rising up elongated triangles, are attached to with a slight buckle in the middle, to even further, provides the ceiling for the axis at their thickest point, like make the underwater home of the Nibelheim, where Alberich, drawing seesaws. When at rest, they create a Rhinemaidens, who are rigged to fly on the power of the ring, has platform that fills out most of the in front of their watery home. When enslaved a race of dwarves. At the stage. But the planks can revolve Wotan, ruler of the gods, confronts opera’s end, when the gods enter around the axis together or independ - the giants Fasolt and Fafner—the their new home by way of a rainbow ently, producing myriad shapes, and latter have built Valhalla as home for bridge, the wall rises up, and the they serve as both stage architecture the gods and they want Freia, middle portion provides a walkway, 54 • January 2011 • Lighting &Sound America Another shot of the rainbow bridge to Valhalla. The color effects on the upstage cyc are generated by ETC Selador Vivid LED units. shimmering with color, that provides production; he also staged The feel very organic. Very early on, we an entry point into Valhalla. Damnation of Faust at the Met two decided to create a spine to the set The setting has a stark and seasons ago, in a production that that allows us to move things and monumental quality that makes it made extensive use of interactive articulate things. So the set is actually more than suitable for a bleak and projections. And readers of this not only illustrating some of the ideas tragic drama about the lust for power. magazine will recall him as the director in the Ring , but it’s also literally Lepage, in an interview on the the Cirque du Soleil spectacle KÀ , supporting the characters and the Metropolitan Opera website, says that which also features interactive projec - ideas...it was important for us that the he drew inspiration for the production tions and a stage that is a remarkable set be very nimble, very flexible, very from a trip to Iceland, which he feat of engineering. Speaking specifi - adaptable, and alive, so that it not only describes as “a land of fire and ice cally about the set, Lepage says, “We moves, but it also breathes. and weird phenomena that you don’t were guided by Wagner’s use of Speaking of the design process, see anywhere else. It’s like another leitmotifs. He positions them in Fillion says, “From the beginning, we planet. And it’s a great place to build different relationships; sometimes he had the idea of the single set. But we a Valhalla. Because there are almost uses the same motif that he plays weren’t sure if it was a good idea, no trees or vegetation, you see the backwards, or in major or minor, so because, after all, we are talking weather formations for days and days the motifs are cousins. It was about 16 hours of music. It could be in advance…It’s a place where nature important that we create a theatre difficult to keep the audience’s speaks to you, so it gives you a machine that would be similarly interest over that amount of time. This plethora of ideas for image, set versatile—a set that had its own life was the big concern, an interesting design, music, sound effects.” and could actually go through different challenge to try, at least.” This is, of course, a Robert Lepage metamorphoses but, at the same time, Fillion, a longtime Lepage collabo - www.lightingandsoundamerica.com • January 2011 • 55 OPERA The Rhinemaidens. In Nibelheim, Alberich transforms himself into a dragon. rator, adds, “The idea of the planks under a tight deadline. The 65' I- and performing other tasks.” Of moving on the axis was there from beams, the sort used to build high- course, he notes, there are many E- the beginning of the project, although rises, were chopped into smaller stops built in the set, which can be it changed somewhat during the pieces, shoved through holes in walls operated by the performers. “There process of design. We always work of the rooms below the stage, and are other possibilities before the E- with prototypes in a laboratory; this is spliced together. They had to be stop,” he adds. “You can hit the stop how we have worked for many years. passed over gas, electric, water, and button the computer and it stops the You cannot just draw it, build it, and telephone lines that traveled below action until you hit ‘play’ again.” put it on a stage. You have to work the ceilings. Each end of the beams with prototypes and models, to do was attached to a load-bearing wall.” A world of elements the research to know if you’re putting The set was built by Scène Projections constitute a major aspect on something that’s completely Éthique, the Montreal-base scenic of the design, and, in fact, they break wrong.” He adds that the research fabrication company.

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