It’s nice to know that in parts of North America, high culture
can still be a big deal. In the fall of 2010, New York was in a furor when the
legendary Metropolitan Opera debuted Robert LePage’s staging of Wagner’s Der Ring das Nibelungen. Opening night
drew out high society, in addition to the notorious “Ring nuts”, and luminaries
such as André
Leon Talley attended. Outside Lincoln Center, hundreds sat on plastic chairs in
the rain to watch the opening performance for free in as it was projected on
giant screens, which was also simulcast in Times Square. Despite being so close
to the Jersey “shore”, high culture can still command an audience.
The production of the most noteworthy Ring Cycle in recent years is the subject of Wagner’s
Dream. Directed by noted Quebecois stage and film director Robert LePage,
the massive undertaking involved a 90,000 pound (45 ton) stage, hydraulics, zip
lines, a frequent fear that the stage would injure the performers, and assembled
talent such as famed conductor James Levine. Director Susan Froemke had free
rein to follow every aspect of the production, much like last year’s
little-seen Wagner documentary The Singing City, a document on the staging of Parsifal
in Stuttgart at around the same time.
LePage is known for unconventional productions. He staged
Peter Gabriel’s masterful Secret World Tour from 1994, made the award-winning
film Le Confessionnel in 1995,
directed numerous operas and oversaw the Cirque du Soleil shows Ka and Totem. The Met had wanted to instill new life into a shrinking
subscriber base as opera was becoming more expensive, and their prior
productions had not been well-received. A production of the Ring Cycle in LA in
the spring of 2010 cost an astounding $31 million and failed to turn a profit,
not to mention having been criticized for its avant-garde staging, and with
lawsuits stemming from workplace injuries. Taking a chance on LePage meant they
wanted something fresh and exciting, and potentially ground-breaking. And they
got it in spades.
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| The Rhine maidens, suspended in performance |
LePage’s stage for the Met’s Ring Cycle consisted of one
giant piece. It is a set of overwhelmingly large planks spinning 360 degrees on
a long rod that ran the length of the stage. The planks moved independently of
each other and, with the right lighting, were able to stand in for the River
Rhine, the forests, the great palace of Valhalla, underworld caves and all
manner of hinterlands in between. The Rhine maidens were lifted on harnesses
and sang the challenging libretto while suspended in mid-air, adjusting so that
the safety wear did not prevent their diaphragms from being able to fully project.
We see the initial rehearsals where the sopranos worked with technicians to
ensure that they were positioned so that they could sing, and learning how not
to get caught in the set or plunge below should a harness snap. (And you
thought you had occupational hazards.)
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| Voigt, as Brunnhilde |
We follow LePage and other production heads as they
negotiate the set and reassure the performers that they will be safe. We meet
charming Deborah Voigt, the dazzling soprano who was famously dismissed from a
2004 production of Ariadne auf Naxos at
the Royal Opera House for being too fat for the title role, as she prepares mightily,
only to suffer an embarrassing fall on the set on opening night of Die Walküre.
Brünnhilde
is considered the ultimate test for sopranos and for many is the role of a
lifetime. We also learn that famed tenor Gary Lehrman bowed out of the
production four days before opening night of Siegfried and was replaced by Jay Hunter Morris on short notice.
And then there is the sudden exit of conductor James Levine due to ongoing
health issues. On top of this, that darn stage appears to have a mind of its
own and continues to be a potential safety hazard.
Nevertheless, Froemke’s assured hand as a director ensures
that we see the top players in the industry work their way through the difficult
material, breathing new life and vision into the work. This is a film not just
for Ring nuts or classical music lovers, it is an accessible story of
collaboration on a project everyone believes in. You will not find any diva
tantrums, All About Eve-style
backstage back-stabbing or petty squabbles here. We also see the perspective of
the New York Wagner Society, who traverse the world seeing different versions
of the Ring Cycle and warn the opera directors that the production should not
overwhelm or get in the way of the score. An usher tells us that purists want
to see the same play performed in the same way, time after time, without
deviation or. That Froemke’s camera is able to get behind the scenes and
capture the perspective of the vanguard who is the gatekeeper of the canonical
work shows that she understands the cultural value and interest in getting the
Ring Cycle done just right. (Those purists would no doubt have hated last year’s San Francisco production, which combined industrial art deco production design
with Jay Gatsby’s wardrobe.) They all know they’re embarking on a daunting and
slightly mad venture, but everyone respects the journey and take it seriously.
Wagner’s original composition in the 1870s could not have
been staged the way he wanted it, and he expressed unhappiness with the
original production at Bayreuth, declaring “next year we’ll do it differently”.
In an age when technology has finally caught up with the infinity of
imagination, LePage was able to realize Wagner’s dream.
Wagner’s Dream
played at the Vancouver International Film Festival and enjoyed a successful
art house run in Los Angeles and New York. The entire Metropolitan 2010-2012
Ring Cycle played on PBS and screened in cinemas in HD. For more information on
Metropolitan Opera productions in HD, head over to their site.
