Wagner’s Ring Cycle for Dummies
We were having dinner with some friends the other evening and talking about opera when someone mentioned Wagner. The reaction was visceral. None of us liked Wagner, it turns out!
The consensus was that the Ring Cycle is way too long, way too Germanic and well, The Lord of the Rings for Intellectuals. However, one of our party felt that it’s one of those 101 things that you need to do before you die - go to see it at the holy shrine of Wagner, Bayreuth, and to sit through the whole cycle, however long it might take (15 hours, according to Wikipedia; 20 hours according to Anna Russell - see below - taking up 4 or more evenings).
But until then, we can watch it on Youtube, reduced to 30 minutes by fabulous diva Anna Russell:
First 10 minutes:
Second 10 minutes:
Third 10 minutes:
- Posted on
Mon, November 30th, 2009 - Author
Yang-May Ooi - Category
- 3 responses
- Leave a comment
November 30th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Wagnerians of the World Unite!
YM, I actually happen to LIKE Wagner …. Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin, …Valkyrie… the
lot… but it seems I’m in a minority of one or maybe just two among my old school friends….. an emeritus professor (of some serious intellectual stuff) that I
know doesn’t like it either …… describes it as a cacophony of sounds!
Wagner is an acquired taste - not to the liking of all serious classical music lovers, I’ll admit -
but it can grow on you given half the chance. I also like to have it on as background music
when I write or surf the net.
November 30th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
…but then I already liked things
German and Germany…. so my getting to like Wagner seems to be
a logical extension given my temperament OR at any rate
made that little bit easier.
There’s also a philosophy behind
the man.
November 30th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
OK to add ‘predilection and’ before
‘temperament’ word above?