Wagner in fat suits! Gott in Himmel! This production is one huge Freudian slip of a Sumo match ...

Beethoven's nine symphonies, Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel's Ceiling painting of the Creation of Man and the Bible's great events and heroes and its altar's "Last Judgment," Rembrandt's portraits, and Shakespeare's plays and sonnets define that plateau upon which Wagner's "Ring des Nibelungen" holds sway in its own metier, unsdurpassed. The performers, Linda Watson as Brunnhilde, John Treleaven as Siegfried, Michelle De Young as Waltraute, Erik Halvorsen as Hagen, Jennifer Wilson as Gutrune, Alan Held as Gunther and Richard Paul Fink as Alberich and James Conlon as the Maestro all deserve commendations, remembering also that they have the cachet of having performed their respective "roles" including Maestro Conlon many times in major opera companies. The male contingent in the longer roles early on had wobble problems which disappeared as their singing "warmed up." The female contingent was above reproach with text clarity and phrasing that gave the requisite emphasis to both words and music. Though the lead singers have big beautiful voices, no singer has the distinctive timbre, quality of voice, that an Alexander Kipnis, a Friedrich Schorr, a Lauritz Melchior or a Kirsten Flagstad had that one could immediately faultlessly identify. Shakespeare and Wagner NEED exceptional talents to fully explore their potential. Many may not like either genius's work simply because it was not properly performed. Caruso's singing could be enjoyed by everyone, even those that did not particularly care for the music they heard.

Goetterdaemmerung, after Walkuere, is one of the most dramatically complicated and excellent works ever created for the operatic stage. Plot alone does not drama make. The depth of the characters is what makes this one of the greatest of all operas, or Musikdramen, if you prefer. Then, there is the music. There is not one note to many. It's five and a half hours of genius. It requires a 19th century sensibility to appreciate it.

What a bonus! Wilson herself has sung Brünhilde in this opera, with great success.

The plot (in its basics) has been around for 1000+ years... Wagner took it and made it relevant to our modern era. Sorry, you don't like myth and profundity, but then you probably don't like Aeschylus or Shakespeare (two of Wagner's inspirations)... Meanwhile appreciate the ultimate musical experience. As for Mr. Bellini... well, envy makes a poor critic.

Everyone knows Wagner was influenced by Bellini and Norma was one of Wagner's favorites. No one forces you to be "tortured". Why knock other people's enjoyment? This opera is an overhwelming experience and transports one to new levels of enjoyment.

As Rossini put it so eloquently, "Wagner has his gloriious moments--and his dreadful half-hours

Other than the Rhine Journey that sounds like Bellini wrote it, this opera is a dog. A long boring wait for Siegfried's Funeral Music and the Immolation. Five hours of torment. But I have timed it perfectly, so that I get the great finale without the torture.
Woof, Woof.

This glorious opera, climax of the Ring cycle, shows why Wagner should be taken seriously as a composer but not a dramatist. The plot is so ludicrous that even those who defend Wagner as a dramatist would rather not discuss it. But the music is to be celebrated to the skies.