Siegfried

Siefried is an opera, part of the Ring series by Wagner.  So far we haven't been distracted from the Italian or French romantic operas even with the expertise and explanations provided by Ron.  He is a big, big Wagner Ring series fan for a number of years.  Many years ago when he worked at a record store, he would educate store patrons on Wagner's operas selling more of his CDs than any other clerk at the store.  But we kept an open mind and we were looking forward to it.  

Ah, going to the opera in L.A. is always a treat.  We just love the whole experience and other theatre-goers seem to exude sophistication.  Okay, maybe I'm overdoing it, but I always feel elegant when we wander the plaza beforehand or in the lobby during intermission.  Perhaps it is because everyone else is dressed to the nines, surrounded by lights and glamour.   I digress.  Back to Siegfried.

Siegfried, the 3rd opera of the Ring Cycle was very interesting.  I enjoyed the arias myself, but I was somewhat distracted by the set and costumes.  Max liked it, but still prefers Italian over German operas.  

Siegfried is portrayed as the innocent hero who overcomes the trolls to release Brunhilde from the ring of fire.  He is a mighty warrior who is the only one worthy of the ex-goddess, Brunhilde.  He is wearing a purplish, muscle costume and wound up looking like The Hulk.  His blonde hair was spikey and that made him look like a character out of The Simpsons.  Meanwhile, the background set has lines made up of neon lights.  Then across the lines, black clad figures would slowly move across the stage carrying some sort of prop to illustrate the topic being sung by one of the characters.  For example, the troll Fafner is reminiscing about Siegfried's childhood and when he adopted the boy.  One of the black figures was carrying a purple, yellow haired baby across the stage.  It was funny when I overheard a guy during intermission say, "Damn, I saw a flying purple baby!  What was that all about?"

It was an experience and we were entertained.  But we still love our Italian operas where "boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back but girl dies" standard fare.