Stuart Skelton (Siegmund), Margaret Jane Wray (Sieglinde), and Janice Baird (Brünnhilde). © Chris Bennion photo

On with the "Ring" cycle (see above post). Wagner's four-opera epic continued last night with the opening of "Die Walkure," to a rock-concert-style audience reception. The five-hour opera sustained the magic of the sets and special effects, while the music was outstanding and the acting mostly good.

Highlights were the set for Act I, with Hunding's house crouched Hobbit-style in a tangled, lowering forest, and the stark misty rock that was home base for the Valkyries, the flying female goddesses who fight at human battles and bring the dead to Valhalla. Singing-wise, Stephanie Blythe as Fricka took the prize, developing her role as chief goddess with might, morality and a phenomenally powerful voice. Stuart Skelton made a wild, tensely-wound Siegmund with astounding breath control. Margaret Jane Wray was a let-down as Sieglinde, a lovely voice but wimpy character. Janice Baird filled all expectations as a gutsy Brunnhilde, mischievous and full of life, and convincingly despairing at the fire-filled end.

The members of the Seattle Symphony played, for the most part, excellently, with tight brass and a lyrical cello/bass section (including a very beautiful Act I cello solo.) A disappointment was Robert Israel's costumes for the Valkyries: matching the other naturalistic robes, they were just too muted-green to live up to the fierce glee which these nine women brought to the roles. And the wings on the helmets were just long enough to look, unfortunately, like bishops' miters or nuns' wimples - not exactly warrior fashion.

The cycle continues with "Siegfried" on Wednesday, but tonight I'm going to "Das Barbecu," the ACT spoof about what the Norse gods do off-stage down on the ranch in Texas.

Dates for "Ring" performances are: “Das Rheingold”: 7 p.m. Aug. 17 and 25; “Die Walkure”: 6 p.m. Aug. 18 and 26; “Siegfried”: 6 p.m. Aug. 12, 20 and 28; “Gotterdammerung”: 6 p.m. Aug. 14, 22 and 30
Information: 206-389-7676, 800-426-1619, www.seattleopera.org

Jennifer Hines (Flosshilde), Michèle Losier (Wellgunde), and Julianne Gearhart (Woglinde) swim through the stage of "Das Rheingold," with Richard Paul Fink as Alberich. Rozarii Lynch photo

Last night I was at the opening of Seattle Opera's "Ring" cycle: the four epic Wagner operas telling the story of "Der Ring des Nibelungen," the Norse myth of a cursed golden ring that causes mayhem and destruction. You can read my Sunday story about the whole thing here.

And the first opera, "Das Rheingold," truly lived up to the magic of the ring. Telling the tale of how Alberich the dwarf stole gold from the river Rhine, forged a ring and then cursed it as the god Wotan seized it from him to pay for his new castle Valhalla, the opera wove a magic of its own through beautiful sets and even, strong musicianship.

Three sets make up the location for "Das Rheingold." The curtain opened on one of the best: underwater in the Rhine, created by shimmering blue-green lights on a gauze scrim, with strangely coiled rocks at the bottom. Through this watery expanse "swam" the Rhine maidens, attached at the hips to trapeze lines (which didn't distract too much) and outfitted with stunning midnight-blue mermaid dresses, sparkling and finny. What's amazing is not so much that Woglinde (Julianne Gearhart), Wellgunde (Michele Losier) and Flosshilde (Jennifer Hines) executed such impressive front and back flips between their ropes but that they sang so fluidly and harmoniously at the same time. A bit too giggly, perhaps, but the scene was delightful.

For the upper world, set designer Thomas Lynch created a perfect Northwest forest, full of conifers and mist for the gods to act out their destiny in. (The production is recycled from previous Ring cycles in 2001 and 2005.) Valhalla was a far-distant promise. Even better was the set for Nibelheim, the underground mine caverns where Alberich forged the ring and dominated his minions. Making excellent use of darkness, the slopes of the woodland became black tunnels with shimmering jewels, extremely spooky and great for the special effects of Alberich's shape-changing.

But you don't just go to opera for the sets, and this year's "Ring" sees some sterling singers. Stephanie Blythe shines as the sexy, worried Fricka, Marie Plette is suitably light and young as the ransomed Freia, while Greer Grimsley as Wotan and Kobie van Rensburg as Loge make a dramatically tense pair, Grimsley fierce and full, van Rensburg lyrical and light.

Everyone looks like they come out of a "Lord of the Rings" set but it's all so atmospheric you don't really mind. About the only disappointing thing is the static, stylized blocking for all the gods - let's hope that things move more in the next three operas. I'll be going to "Die Walkure" ("The Valkyries") tonight to see and hear those loud ladies riding through the clouds.

www.seattleopera.org

Just when you thought you couldn't afford any more classical music tickets for a loooong time, the Rainier Family Opera steps up to the pitch again for three evenings of opera that's not only affordable but enjoyable for kids, families and non-opera-goers as well.

The Rainier Opera started out a year ago as a way of giving local opera singers more stage time plus making opera accessible for both their young families and everyone else's. Since then, the RO has staged several concerts of concertized, semi-costumed arias and scenes, but they don't dumb it down. There are opera faves like the Habanera from "Carmen," and then there's opera you've probably never heard before, like Aaron Copland's "The Tender Land."

Huh?

Yep, in the early 1950s Copland was inspired to break away from instrumental music by those aching, bleak-eyed photos of Walker Evans of rural America in the Depression. He wrote "A Tender Land" for NBC TV, a musical portrait of the tough life farming in the Midwest farming during the 1930s. Says RO publicist Dana Kehr: "With themes of harvest, work, love, trust and family, this opera addresses many topics relevant to our modern circumstances."

Six members of RO will sing scenes from "A Tender Land" tomorrow night in the Tacoma Public Library Main Branch's Olympic Room. The free concert is part of a series of events surrounding the Tacoma Reads program, which this time involves Barbara Kingsolver's excellent eating-and-farming-locally book, "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle." The arias will be rounded out by other American songs about food, farms and animals.

Then, on Friday in Tacoma and Saturday in Puyallup, the RO singers will include the Copland in a concert of music from "Carmen" and "La Boheme," two of the best-loved and most romantic operas ever. Soloists include performers seen regularly in Tacoma Opera and other local companies: Nathan Barnes, Ryan Christopher Bede, Grant Drees, Erin Guinup, Katie Hochman, Dave Holden, Laura Loge, Holly Kara Mesarch, Marci Morrell, Greg Sojka, Ainsley Soutiere, Amelia Stagno, and Denes van Parys, plus children from the Tahoma Choirs. There'll also be educational explanations of the operas.

Rainer Opera performance times:

7 p.m. Tuesday: "The Tender Land and Other Songs of Farms and Food." Free. Olympic Room, Main Library
1102 Tacoma Avenue South, Tacoma.
7 p.m. Friday: "Selections from "Carmen" and others..." Suggested donation $10, $25 families. First Lutheran Church, 524 S. I St, Tacoma.
7 p.m. Saturday: "Selections from "Carmen" and others..." Suggested donation $10, $25 families. Puyallup High School auditorium,105 7th St SW, Puyallup.
Information: rainierfamilyopera.blogspot.com/

Well, if you've been following the blog, you'll have been wondering whether former PLU tenor Noah Baetge placed in the finals for the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. The finals for the international young talent search were held yesterday at 3 p.m. ET.
And no, Noah didn't win. The four winners, selected from eight finalists, were Paul Appleby of South Bend, Indiana; Anthony Roth Costanzo of Durham, North Carolina; Sung Eun Lee of Seoul, South Korea; and Nadine Sierra of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. All finalists performed two arias with the Met Orchestra, conducted by Patrick Summers. Each winner takes away a cash prize of $15,000.
But Noah and the other three runners-up still walked away with $5,000 each, not to mention the prize money they've won along the way at regionals and semifinals--plus the knowledge that they've performed on the Met stage in front of dozens of opera producers, critics and scouts. Way to go, Noah!
The MONC finals were recorded for broadcast at a later date, visit www.metopera .org for more information.

Tenor Noah Baetge. Photo: Bruce Tom.

Former Pacific Lutheran University tenor Noah Baetge has made it to the finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions in New York. Baetge, a recent Seattle Opera Young Artist, had won the regionals in Seattle in January, and on Sunday was one of just eight finalists selected from 17 semifinalists to compete on Sunday for the grand prize of $15,000 for each of up to five winners; runners-up get $5,000 each.
The MONC auditions are an international talent search. Finalists often go on to the Met’s Young Artist training program and roles in the company; past winners have included Stephanie Blythe, Deborah Voigt, Susan Graham, Samuel Ramey and Renee Fleming.
This Sunday Baetge and the other finalists will sing two arias accompanied by the Met orchestra, in a public concert beginning 3 p.m. Eastern Time. The concert will also be broadcast nationwide on the Metropolitan Opera Radio Network. For more information, visit www.operainfo.org, and for more details on the MONC, visit www.metoperafamily.org
We'll be rooting for Baetge, of course, who is obviously on his way to a stellar career.

Regional MONC winner, tenor Noah Baetge. Photo: Bruce C. Tom.

Tacoma’s newest opera star is on the rise. Noah Baetge, a tenor who grew up in Kent and graduated from Pacific Lutheran University last year, has just won the regional finals for the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, an annual national talent-seeking event for New York’s Metropolitan Opera company.

The Northwest regionals—covering 45 districts in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Western Canada and Alaska—were held on January 25 in Meany Hall, Seattle. Baetge’s first prize not only included $800 from the MONC, but $10,000 raised by its local Northwest Regional Council.

"I was surprised to win," says Baetge, who also competed three years ago, winning at district level. "There were some great talents at the competition and everyone sang so well."

So what happens now? Baetge, along with winners from the other 16 regions, will compete on the Met stage in New York on February 15 in the national semifinals, singing two arias with piano. If he’s one of the ten finalists chosen that day, he’ll go on to the grand finals the following weekend in a concert accompanied by the Met orchestra. The prize money for the (up to) five winners will be $15,000 each; runners-up get $5,000 each. Semi-finalists get $1,500 each.

But the big reward for winning the MONC auditions is a career. Finalists often go on to the Met’s Young Artist training program and roles in the company; past winners have included Stephanie Blythe, Deborah Voigt and Renee Fleming.

PLU’s Barry Johnson, who was Baetge’s vocal teacher, sees plenty of possibility for the 28-year-old tenor, who has spent the last two years singing with Seattle Opera’s Young Artists program. “Noah could go far, he’s extremely talented," Johnson says. "It’s a world-class voice, it’s got both beauty and power. And he’s a smart musician.”

For more on the MONC, see www.metoperafamily.org. For the complete regional results, see www.nwauditions.com

Wanting some opera to cheer up the winter doldrums? Tacoma Opera is presenting its 7th annual Young Artist Showcase this weekend with an evening of scenes from operas based on Shakespeare. Steamy love scenes from “Romeo and Juliet” segue into comic relief from “Merry Wives of Windsor” in a kind of Shakespeare-goes-to-the-opera mix.

Soprano Megan Chenovick. Photo courtesy Tacoma Opera.

Mezzo Stacey Porter. Photo courtesy Tacoma Opera.

As always, the Showcase features up-and-coming local opera stars: this year, mostly recent Tacoma university graduates. Soprano Megan Chenovick is a UPS grad who just made it to the Met Opera regional competition finals last weekend. Mezzo Stacey Porter is a new mom who’s getting back into singing. Tenor Robert McAulay-Barnts and baritone Jeremy Schilley are both PLU grads.

Baritone Jeremy Schilley. Photo courtesy Tacoma Opera.

Tenor Robert McAulay-Barnts. Photo courtesy Tacoma Opera.

Act I of the Showcase focuses on “Romeo and Juliet,”—mostly operas by Gounod and Bellini, plus Leonard Bernstein’s musical “West Side Story”—while Act II turns comic, with operas based on “The Merry Wives of Windsor” (often written as “Falstaff”—Verdi, of course, but also unknown gems by Nikolai and Salieri.)

As usual, the staging will be minimal, the plotline being a troupe of actors who are rehearsing and playing a Shakespeare show. Says TO director Kathryn Smith: “We start with a bare stage and build it as we go, pulling things out of trunks, bringing in scenery, taking it away. It’s definitely going to be creative.”

Part of the fun, of course, is that each composer involved chose to allocate the lead roles to a different voice part. Romeo, for instance, is a tenor in Gounod’s version, a baritone in Bernstein’s, and a mezzo in Bellini’s (yes, a woman—this is called a “pants role,” and was pretty common at the time.) In “Merry Wives,” roles generally stay with the same singers. But making the most of this identity-chaos, the singers and directors have written a dialogue around it, with actors discussing their own role-switching.

The excerpts will be sung in English, French, and Italian, with projected English translation.

Shows are at 8 p.m. Jan. 31 and 2 p.m. Feb. 1 at Theatre on the Square, 915 Broadway, Tacoma. Tickets $32. 253-627-7789, 253-591-5894, www.tacomaopera.com

The Valkyries (Stacey Rishoi, Marie Plette, Holly Hall, Sarah Heltzel, Caroline Thomas, and Luretta Bybee). © Chris Bennion photo

It's coming, folks, with blasting trombones, shrieking Valkyries and magical flames. Yes, it's Wagner's "Ring Cycle," and the Seattle Opera version is just nine months away. Devotees need no encouragement here. For the uninitiated, Wagner's four lengthy 19th-century operas concerning the German legend of a golden ring of the Rhine river are a mammoth opus, seminal in the history of opera and a very, very big deal for companies to put on.

Why mention this now? Because tickets have just gone on sale. And if you are really keen about the Ring, you'll know that Wagner fan worth their salt will be forking out hundreds right now to get the best seats. So you might want to, also--because when you watch fifteen hours of opera over four nights, you'd better hope the seats are okay.

It's hard to sum up four operas in one sentence. But here goes. In "Das Rheingold" ("The Rhinegold") the dwarf Alberich steals the Rhinegold to make a ring, which the gods steal despite the curse Alberich puts on it; in "Die Walkure" ("The Valkyrie") the Valkyrie Brunnhilde saves the mortal Sieglinde and her unborn child from a battle, for which the god Wotan puts her into a magical fiery spell (while the dragon Fafner gets the Ring); in "Siegfried" ("Siegfried") Sieglinde's child Siegfried slays Fafner and gets both the Ring and Brunnhilde; in "Gotterdammerung" ("Twilight of the Gods") everyone dies, while the Ring goes back to the Rhine.

Whew. If you like Norse sagas, endless German opera, melodramatic music and big BIG singing, you'll love the "Ring." Otherwise, stay away.

The only "Ring" I've endured completely was one I played double bass for, the first complete "Ring" in Australia, with the Adelaide Symphony and Australian Opera. Some of it was fun, but the rest was torture. We had masseurs backstage to prevent our muscles dying from the demanding parts. I did a lot of yoga, and tried to avoid Norse gods for a long time afterwards.

But Seattle Opera's known for its new productions every three years, and this one promises good singers (Janice Baird, Stig Fogh Anderson), good direction (Stephen Wadsworth) and a host of fun apres-Ring activities, like pre-concert talks, "Rheingold" champagne parties, and performances of "Das Barbecu" (the comedic tale of what the gods do in their non-opera lives, deep in the heart of Texas.)

If this is all too much for you, stick with the spoof versions: Anna Russell's classic rendition and the inimitable Bugs Bunny.

Wagner's "Ring Cycle" will be performed throughout August, 2009 at McCaw Hall, Seattle. Tickets start at $302 through $1508 for all four operas, though single tickets are available also. 206-389-7676, 800-426-1619, www.seattleopera.org

Rosalind Plowright (Klytämnestra), Kimberly Giordano (Confidante), and Dana Johnson (Trainbearer), with supernumeraries and actors in Seattle Opera's "Elektra." Photo Rozarii Lynch.

I went to the opening last night of Seattle Opera's "Elektra"--and it was worth every wait in the Seattle traffic.

Written by Richard Strauss, "Elektra" premiered in 1909, and though it had a hugely successful run it frightened a lot of people. It tells the tale of Elektra, daughter of King Agamemnon of Mycenae, who had been murdered by his wife Klytemnestra and her lover. Klytemnestra then banished her son Orest and spent 10 years beating and starving Elektra, who plots revenge--the point where the opera starts. It's a tale of obsession, insanity and murder, with music to match: stark dissonances and harsh brass convey Elektra's mania, unearthly effects hint at the looming presence of death.

Seattle Opera's production takes all this and drives it in to the hilt. Against a set as oppresive as a tomb (Wolfram Skalicki), the cast sing their 100 straight minutes of full-volume opera (there's no intermission) with a passion, led by the three main women. Soprano Janice Baird here makes her West Coast debut in a stunning fashion. Her Elektra is tragic and convincing, her voice sweet even at its most powerful. If there's a fault, it's that she's just too beautiful to be the crazy, rag-wearing hag that the text describes--maybe she needed a few more dreadlocks and dirt.

Janice Baird as Elektra. Photo Rozarii Lynch.

Mezzo Rosalind Plowright delivers a psychological masterpiece as Klytemnestra, agonized between killing and the ruin of her life. Costumer Melanie Taylor Burgess here creates a terrific wrap dress under the Queen's robes, which clings to her like a shriveled shroud. And as Elektra's sister, Irmgard Vilsmaier is the perfect example of someone who's retreated beyond reach into denial.

Rosalind Plowright (Klytämnestra) with Kimberly Giordano (Confidante) and Dana Johnson (Trainbearer). Photo Bill Mohn.

But the crowing glory of "Elektra"--and what sustains you through the interminable, action-less ranting, is Richard Strauss' score: big, demanding, difficult and disturbing. The orchestra's brass and expanded woodwind played cleanly and dramatically.

Baird returns next year as Brunhilde in SO's Ring Cycle--can't wait to see her then. Meanwhile, "Elektra" gives plenty of bang for the buck.

But wait, there's more! McCaw Hall just opened their new restaurant, Prelude. Be smart, and reserve way in advance (206-615-0404). I didn't, so I can't tell you much about it except that it looks more like German beer hall than fine dining. However, if you don't get a table you can still eat appetizers from the promenade level Barista cafe, sitting at nearby bar tables. The food's tasty-- our olives were piquant, the almonds brushed with oil, the Laura Chenel goat cheese excellent. The cheese platter was dry and rather similar-tasting, and the crostini a bit too crusty. Add in two glasses of tangy Fourteen Hands merlot, and you have a light meal for two for $40.

Other things on the menu are salami with apples and pumkin, albacore with egg and aioli, and pork rillettes with green tomato confiture. There's a good wine selection, and if you make it into Prelude there are six entrees (all meat) and five salads as well, plus dessert.

"Elektra" runs Oct. 22, 25, 26 (2 p.m.), 29 31 and Nov. 1, all evenings at 7:30 p.m. Tickets start at $25. 206-389-7676, 800-426-1619, www.seattleopera.org.

And the winners of the 2008 Seattle Opera Wagner Competition (a.k.a. Wagnerian Idol) are....Elza van den Heever, from South Africa, and Michael Weinius, from Sweden. Selected Saturday night from eight finalists singing Wagner arias accompanied by the Seattle Symphony, each winner received a $15,000 prize.

“All of the judges agreed that we had eight fine finalists. I feel that the level was even higher this year than the first year,” said Seattle Opera director Speight Jenkins.”It was a hard-fought decision for the two winners, but a great one.”

Van den Heever performed “Dich, teure Halle” (Tannhäuser) and “Einsam in trüben Tagen” (Lohengrin), while Weinius sang “Preislied” (Die Meistersinger) and “Amfortas! Die Wunde” (Parsifal).

Van den Heever was also voted Audience Favorite, from votes cast by the audience, and Nadine Weissmann won the Orchestra Favorite.

There's certainly a lot happening in Tacoma this Saturday arts-wise: Joel Myers dancing in Move!, a "Play Buffet" of local playwrights' new works, women's glass art at Traver Gallery. But for die-hard Wagner fans, Seattle is the place to be Saturday night, when the annual Seattle Opera Wagner competition hits the stage. Eight international singers will battle it out with orchestra-accompanied arias for two $15,000 cash prizes, plus an audience-vote and an orchestra-vote prize.

They nicknamed it "Wagnerian Idol" last year, due to the following (apparently) in the crowd. And actually, with the Wagner-mad friends I have myself, I can understand it. (Sort of.)

I'm not in the Wagner-mad category myself, but if I go, I'll put in my vote for fellow Aussie, mezzo Deborah Humble.

Other contestants are tenor Erin Caves from Stockton, California; tenor Jason Collins from Beaufort/Seneca, South Carolina; bass-baritone Darren Jeffery from Cambridgeshire, England; bass Peter Lobert from Jena, Germany; tenor Michael Weinius from Stockholm, Sweden; mezzo-soprano Nadine Weissmann from Berlin, Germany; and soprano Elza van den Heever from Johannesburg, South Africa.

The judges are made up of a handful of opera experts from around the world, including Stephen Wadsworth, frequent director of Seattle Opera productions, including the 2001 and 2005 Ring cycles and upcoming 2009 Ring; and Eva Wagner-Pasquier, daughter of Wolfgang Wagner and an artistic advisor to the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

The competition begins at 7:30 p.m. in Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, Seattle Center. Tickets 800-426-1619 or 206-389-7676 or www.seattleopera.org