![]() ![]() What is most remarkable about this ``Ring'' is the clarity with which it all unfolds. But by the end of the cycle, Alberich is once again facing the ring-bearing Rhinemaidens (as in the first scene of ``Das Rheingold''), only to realize that they have learned their lessons well and he will never get the ring. Wotan finally departs to await his end, leaving the stage for Alberich and his son Hagen (Siegfried's sinister counterpart) to win back the ring. This ``Ring'' comes together interpretively in the confrontation between Alberich and Wotan in the second act of ``Siegfried.'' The staging is at once unorthodox and yet deeply true to Wagner: unorthodox because Alberich actually touches the mighty spear (the source of Wotan's powers) and tries to wrest it from the god's hands true to Wagner because the composer/librettist refers to Wotan as the white Alberich, and here Rochaix gives us the thrilling impact of the two characters - two vivid aspects of the same lust for power and domination - wrestling with each other. evil, the corruptive aspects of power - take over as the sense of Wotan/Wagner the theater/stage manager fades. This imagery continues through the last two works, but the broader aspects of Wagner's drama - good vs. And one cannot overlook Joan Sullivan's impressive lighting.Īs reported last week, the overall visual theme of the Rochaix ``Ring'' is 19th-century theater. Throughout, Robert Israel proves himself to be a designer of remarkable effectiveness. (They will be staged again tonight and Saturday, respectively.) The most extraordinary surprise is the huge fire that appears to engulf - with great billowing balls of flames - the unit set of the last act of ``G"otterd"ammerung.'' But some of the quieter ideas - such as having the Forest Bird be manipulated with a long pole by Karen Hall while she sings the music - work just as tellingly. ![]() The ``Siegfried'' and ``G"otterd"ammerung'' that director Fran,cois Rochaix has devised for this wide stage are at once visually arresting and full of dazzling surprises. The Seattle Opera production of Wagner's mighty ``Ring'' cycle, unveiled last season, has clearly made this Pacific Northwest city an operatic and Wagner center.
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