The New York Times: It was around the time when Brünnhilde summoned her horse to ride into a funeral pyre, setting off a world-cleansing fire and flood, that I found myself fighting back tears.
Perhaps it was this performance of the climactic Immolation Scene from Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung,” sung with a frightening blend of ferocity and euphoria by the soprano Christine Goerke.
4 comments:
Wow this opera in a parking garage sounds absolutely amazing, even the images were so striking. I think there was something so substantial and powerful there and they really leaned into the circumstances and I really dig it. It goes back to the idea I keep coming back to of trying to force what we know into the constraints we currently have seems like the wrong way to approach the situation in a way that is substantial and fulfilling. With that being said it takes a lot to completely diverge from the process we’ve become so accustomed to and rewrite how performing arts entertainment industry is surviving and creating. There is certainly a sense of unfairness in how different sectors of the industry are being regulated and I have not fully developed my own feelings around the process itself, the issues is so complex any generalized statements I’d make would inevitably be wrong in one situation or another. I’m skeptical of the speed that we’ll be rid of the pandemic and am starting to think that throwing out the rule book may not be the worst decision. Because as the article says we shouldn't feel like the art we're making is "the best we could do under the circumstances".
Not even two paragraphs in and I already wish I could see this show. The sheer concept of an actress driving off "stage" at such a dramatic moment just seems like a sight to behold. I think that using a garage is ingenious, especially for opera, because the acoustics are amazing, and I can only imagine the reverb and echo in the whole structure. I recently saw a video where music students where rehearsing opera in a garage and it was just outstanding to listen to it. I like how the company used the new structure to incorporate the city that is around them into the show, because the city is essentially their backdrop. The image of the Rhinemaidens with the blue backdrop gives such good imagery in a space that is stone and hard shaped, especially when it seems that set pieces were very minimum from the images provided. Keeping the audience in their cars is a great way to practice social distancing, and I like the fact that, to me, it provides a sense of going on the journey with these actors, giving an added experience to the whole thing, as opposed to sitting in your static seat in a theater.
I could only hope to imagine the amount of creative direction that had to go into planning and pulling off this show, but it sounds incredible. And I mean that literally because, as Taylor mentioned above, the acoustics in parking garages can often times be breathtaking. Between the vocals themselves and the instrumentation, this show must have been a sight to behold. However, I found myself wondering what the repercussions of having the audience in cars must have been. Are audience members required to park and turn off their engines during a scene? If there is a time where you have to move while listening to a portion of the show, what if someone has a very loud engine? Are there defined paths for the cars to follow through or do they have to be guided by the actors? If there is a car line, how do you make sure that those at the front have the same experience as those at the back? These are just a few of the questions that came to me, personally, but I'm sure that there were many other considerations by this show's team. For all I know, it may have been a better experience for the audience on account of the intimacy that moving with the show brought to the experience.
This is an awesome example of taking the most out of one’s current situation. I love this idea and the artistic teams vision and creative initiative to lean into their circumstances and use a resource that to them they’ve never worked with in the past to their advantage when trying to create in the current world climate. I know it must have taken a whole lot of time an effort from the team creating the project but wow the piece just from pictures at least looks amazing. I wish I could see more of this in the current theatrical world. With how we have to do theatre in the current world climate we are going to have to think outside of our traditional box. I think right now especially we as theatre makers are struggling to see how we can fit into the world and how we can continue to do what we love.
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