Wagner's Dream

Last updated
Wagner's Dream
Wagner's Dream.jpg
Directed by Susan Froemke
Produced by
  • Susan Froemke
  • Douglas Graves
Starring
Edited byBob Eisenhardt
Release date
  • 2012 (2012)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Wagner's Dream is a documentary film directed by Susan Froemke. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 25, 2012, and was shown in high definition in theaters across the United States and Canada on May 7, 2012. [1] [2] The subject of the film is the staging of a new production of Richard Wagner's four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Metropolitan Opera beginning in 2010. [2]

Contents

Description

Froemke, who has previously filmed at the opera house, claims that she was given no limits by the opera company in filming the documentary. [2] The documentary captures the challenges of creating the new production, including a complex 90,000 pounds (41,000 kg) set designed by Carl Fillion of Ex Machina (Robert Lepage's production company). [2] [3] The opera house had expected the set to weigh only 50,000 pounds (23,000 kg), [4] so it's only when the set was finally delivered that need to reinforce the floor of the stage's left wing (by adding beams under it) became known. Among the mishaps covered in the documentary are the failure of the set to work properly at the premiere of the first Ring opera, Das Rheingold , and Deborah Voigt in the role of Brünnhilde falling and sliding down the set upon her entrance at the premiere of Die Walküre . [3] The documentary covers other challenges faced, including the Metropolitan Opera's music director being forced to step down as conductor before the last two productions premiered and the need for tenor Jay Hunter Morris to step into the title role of Siegfried just three days before its premiere. [3]

The film avoids making Lepage or Metropolitan Opera general manager Peter Gelb scapegoats for the challenges. [2] [4] James R. Oestreich of The New York Times claims that "the tone is basically adulatory, apart from a few skeptical notes sounded by ticket buyers and audience members", and notes that Gelb and Lepage "cut heroic figures in an epic adventure." [2] David Patrick Stearns of The Philadelphia Inquirer was "charmed" by Voigt in the film. [4]

Cast

The cast of Wagner's Dream includes: [3]

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of Wagner's Dream incorporates Wagner's music. [2] Oestreich particularly praises the use of the music from the descent to Nibelheim from the end of scene 2 of Das Rheingold to accompany the production's move from Quebec to New York. [2]

Critical reception

David Patrick Stearns of The Philadelphia Inquirer stated that "the film is destined to be one of the classic documentaries about opera." [4] James R. Oestreich of The New York Times felt it was "a bit long" but "beautifully made". [2] Ronnie Scheib of Variety called it "a highly entertaining outing for operaphiles and operaphobes alike". [3] John Terauds of Toronto.com stated that "It's a high-stakes gamble that Susan Froemke has captured [it] in all of its breast-plate-and-spear glory in a two-hour documentary that has as many hair-raising, stomach-churning moments as a ride on Wonderland's new Leviathan." [5] Tom Huizenga of NPR called it a "meticulously unpacked if ultimately unmemorable diary of the company's high-stakes production". [6] Steve Smith of Time Out New York says "To its credit, Wagner's Dream includes revealing footage of Promethean labors undertaken by cast and crew, misfires included." [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Der Ring des Nibelungen</i> Cycle of four operas by Richard Wagner

Der Ring des Nibelungen, WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the Nibelungenlied. The composer termed the cycle a "Bühnenfestspiel", structured in three days preceded by a Vorabend. It is often referred to as the Ring cycle, Wagner's Ring, or simply The Ring.

<i>Das Rheingold</i> 1869 opera by Richard Wagner

Das Rheingold, WWV 86A, is the first of the four epic music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. It premiered as a single opera at the National Theatre of Munich on 22 September 1869, and received its first performance as part of the Ring cycle at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 13 August 1876.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Opera</span> Opera company in New York City

The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred to colloquially as "the Met", the company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as the general manager. The company's music director has been Yannick Nézet-Séguin since 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Lepage</span> Canadian writer, actor, director

Robert Lepage is a Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seattle Opera</span> Opera company in Seattle, Washington, U.S.

Seattle Opera is an American opera company based in Seattle, Washington. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of eight to ten performances each, often featuring double casts in major roles to allow for successive evening presentations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert and David Maysles</span> American documentary filmmaker duo

Albert Maysles and his brother David Maysles were an American documentary filmmaking team known for their work in the Direct Cinema style. Their best-known films include Salesman (1969), Gimme Shelter (1970) and Grey Gardens (1975).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Gelb</span> American arts administrator (born 1953)

Peter Gelb is an American arts administrator. Since August 2006, he has been General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

James Peppler Morris is an American bass-baritone opera singer. He is known for his interpretation of the role of Wotan in Richard Wagner's operatic cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen. The Metropolitan Opera video recording of the complete cycle with Morris as Wotan has been described as an "exceptional issue on every count." It was broadcast on PBS in 1990, to the largest viewing audience of the Ring Cycle in human history.

Deborah Joy Voigt is an American dramatic soprano who has sung roles in operas by Wagner and Richard Strauss.

The Tempest is an opera by English composer Thomas Adès with a libretto in English by Meredith Oakes based on the play The Tempest by William Shakespeare.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanche Thebom</span> American opera singer (1915–2010)

Blanche Thebom was an American operatic mezzo-soprano, voice teacher, and opera director. She was part of the first wave of American opera singers that had highly successful international careers. In her own country she had a long association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City which lasted 22 years. Opera News stated, "An ambitious beauty with a velvety, even-grained dramatic mezzo, Thebom was a natural for opera: she commanded the stage with the elegantly disciplined hauteur of an old-school diva, relishing the opportunity to play femmes du monde such as Marina in Boris Godunov, Herodias and Dalila."

<i>Opera News</i> American classical music magazine

Opera News was an American classical music magazine. It was published from 1936 to 2023 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to promote opera and also support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City. Opera News was initially focused primarily on the Met, particularly providing information for listeners of the Saturday afternoon live Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts. Over the years, the magazine broadened its scope to include the larger American and international opera scenes. Published monthly, Opera News offered opera-related feature articles; artist interviews; production profiles; musicological pieces; music-business reportage; reviews of performances in the United States and Europe; reviews of recordings, videos, books and audio equipment; and listings of opera performances in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Kelley</span> American opera singer

Norman Kelley was an American operatic tenor who had an active international career during the 1940s through the 1970s. He was notably a regular performer at the Metropolitan Opera between 1957 and 1961, and he sang in several world premieres with the New York City Opera. He also notably translated Engelbert Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel into English, a version first performed in 1967 and used by opera companies to this present day.

Jay Hunter Morris is an American operatic tenor. He is best known internationally for the role of Siegfried in the Metropolitan Opera's 2011–12 series of Wagner's Ring Cycle, performances of which were cinecast and radio broadcast live worldwide, aired on U.S. television, and released on DVD.

Cold Mountain is an American opera in two acts and an epilogue, with music by Jennifer Higdon and the libretto by Gene Scheer, based on Charles Frazier's 1997 novel of the same name. The opera is a co-commission between Santa Fe Opera, Opera Philadelphia and the Minnesota Opera, in collaboration with North Carolina Opera. The opera received its world premiere at Santa Fe Opera on 1 August 2015. This production coincided with the 150th anniversary of the ending of the American Civil War. Opera Philadelphia gave its first performance of the opera, in a slightly revised form, on 5 February 2016. North Carolina Opera gave the opera its home state premiere on 28 September 2017. The Minnesota Opera staged the opera in 2018 as part of its New Works Initiative. The Virginia Opera also featured performances of the opera during February 2021 as part of its themed "Love is a Battlefield" 2020–2021 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Radner</span> German opera singer (1981–2015)

Maria Friderike Radner was a German contralto who performed internationally in opera and in concerts. She studied at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf. She was described as an "extremely talented interpreter of Wagner's music" by Stern magazine and Abendzeitung. Possessing the "rare pitch of a true alto", she frequently appeared as Erda in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Leipzig Opera, Schwertleite in Die Walküre at the Teatro Comunale di Firenze with Zubin Mehta, and in Mahler's Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) conducted by Antonio Pappano in Rome and Milan. Her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 2012 in Götterdämmerung was part of that company's documentary Wagner's Dream.

David Gelb is an American director of film and television.

Ryan Speedo Green is an American bass-baritone opera singer.

Günther Groissböck is an Austrian operatic bass. Anthony Tommasini, chief classical music critic for The New York Times, described Groissböck's "imposing and good-looking" portrayal of Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, as "a revelation". James Jorden of the New York Observer praised Groissböck's "innovative take" on the role and his "big, virile sound". A 2018 recording of the Met performance was nominated for Grammy Award in the Best Opera Recording.

Stephen Langridge is a British stage and opera director. From 2012-2019 he was Director of the Gothenburg Opera. He is the current Artistic Director of the Glyndebourne Festival. He has also staged works for several prominent opera houses and festivals internationally, including the Royal Opera House in London, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Nederlandse Reisopera, the Salzburg Festival, and the Staatsoper Hannover among others.

References

  1. ↑ "The Leonard Lopate Show: Wagner's Dream". WNYC . Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Oestreich, James R. (May 7, 2012). "Tale of the Met's 45-Ton Diva". The New York Times . Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Scheib, R. (May 3, 2012). "Wagner's Dream". Variety . Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Stearns, David Patrick (May 6, 2012). "Wagner's Dream, a struggle on Met stage captured on film". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on June 20, 2015. Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  5. ↑ Terauds, John (May 3, 2012). "Wagner's Dream review: Man meets machine at the Metropolitan Opera". toronto.com . Retrieved 2012-05-03.
  6. ↑ Huizenga, Tom (May 7, 2012). "Wagner's Dream: Is It the Met's Nightmare?". NPR . Retrieved 2012-05-16.
  7. ↑ Steve Smith (July 20, 2012). "Wagner's Dream". Time Out New York . Retrieved 2012-07-25.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.