Latest news with #DieWalküre
San Francisco Chronicle
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Opera breaks out of the pit for hands-on orchestra showcase
This was no ordinary orchestra concert. Sure there was a seated audience in the usual place, in front of the performers, but on this sunny, breezy afternoon, there were patrons also behind the musicians — lounging on couches. Some stood on walkways overhead, while a cluster of three boys wandered around the performance space during the show. The concert, dubbed 'Soundcheck,' was so casual that two children even sat within the orchestra, one next to bassoonist Rufus Olivier, another next to oboist Gabriel Young. But that's how the San Francisco Opera wanted it to be –– unpretentious, relaxed, family-friendly. Music Director Eun Sun Kim had long wanted to get the San Francisco Opera Orchestra out of the pit at the War Memorial Opera House. And here they were on Saturday, May 17, at St. Joseph's Arts Society, a deconsecrated church on Howard Street, performing a free event for a crowd of 350 that welcomed everyone, from toddlers and Opera newbies to longtime patrons. 'People are aware that there's an orchestra without knowing very much about it. I want the orchestra to be seen,' Kim told the Chronicle before showtime. Indeed, the musician thought it was refreshing to perform in such a way where 'we're more out in the open and the audience is really focusing on just us,' noted Asuka Annie Yano, a member of the violin section. On the podium, with microphone in hand, Kim discussed the instruments of the orchestra, asking members of each section to play a short selection. Many in the audience recognized familiar tunes like 'Libiamo' from Verdi's ' La Traviata ' and ' The Ride of the Valkyries ' from Wagner's 'Die Walküre,' the latter a preview of what's to come as Kim plans to bring Wagner's epic 'Ring' cycle to the Opera House as part of her initiative to conduct Verdi and Wagner works each season. 'So often we only get to experience a live performance through a single vantage point. Eun Sun's invitation for the audience to move around the orchestra is an invitation to experience music-making in a dynamic, immersive relationship between artists and audience,' said Matthew Shilvock, the Opera's general director. To close out the hourlong concert, Kim thrilled the audience with Benjamin Britten's 'The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra,' conducting while simultaneously pointing to and calling out which instruments were playing. And what a way to close things out @SFOpera 🤯🎼🤩 — Mariecar Mendoza (@SFMarMendoza) May 17, 2025 Oscar Zheng traveled in from Oakland with his 7-year-old daughter Faith, who noted she particularly enjoyed the flutes. 'I like the tiny ones best,' she said, referring to the piccolo. The orchestra and attendees mingled before and after the concert, too, learning about instruments directly from the musicians. Double-bassist Shinji Eshima demonstrated his instrument to one group of entranced children, while a few feet away, Zachariah Spellman showed just how loud a tuba can be. 'It is vitally important that our young people get an education in music and this is the perfect place and a great location to do it,' said San Franciscan Chi Energy, who emphasized the value of exposing younger generations 'so used to synthesize sounds' to 'real instruments with real people playing them.' 'I thought it was a great use of the space and they were fun to see. It seemed like an educational event in a lot of ways,' said John Hunt, also of San Francisco, who plays jazz trombone professionally. 'I've never been in this space before and it was a revelation to come in here. I'm so glad I came.'
New York Times
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A Soprano Jumped Into the ‘Ring.' Now the Role Is Entirely Hers.
In Wagner's opera 'Die Walküre,' Sieglinde develops in the shadow of controlling men. 'This house and woman belong to Hunding,' she tells a stranger seeking refuge — who turns out to be Siegmund, her brother and lover, and the only man to show her true respect. But later, as Siegmund wonders aloud whether he will kill himself and his partner, rather than facing a future alone in the godly realm of Valhalla, she is fast asleep. Agency over Sieglinde's life choices passes from one man to another. How, then, does a performer make her mark while playing a character defined by absence? The Welsh-Ukrainian soprano Natalya Romaniw provides an answer in Barrie Kosky's new production of 'Die Walküre,' which continues through Saturday at the Royal Opera House in London. (It will be broadcast in cinemas on Wednesday.) She is offering a vividly psychological portrait of a woman whose spiritual core has been shattered, leaving behind a shell of a person, unable to settle in any emotional state. 'It's important to find the arc,' Romaniw said of Sieglinde's character development in a recent interview. From a starting point as 'the epitome of femininity (very caring, loyal),' the appearance of Siegmund prompts Sieglinde's 'reawakening.' Elation follows, then madness; when Sieglinde awakens from sleep in Act III, describing visions of Hunding's dogs — a symbol of potential retribution for her infidelity — the weight of guilt and shame drives her into despair. Sieglinde, Romaniw said, concludes by believing 'that dishonor is just the end.' Romaniw has become a regular at Covent Garden. She made her house debut in 2022 by replacing Anna Netrebko in Jonathan Kent's celebrated production of Puccini's 'Tosca.' Earlier this year, she portrayed a devastating Helena in Mark-Anthony Turnage's new opera 'Festen.' And for 'Die Walküre,' Romaniw is jumping in for another A-list soprano, Lise Davidsen, who has bowed out of her engagements because she is pregnant. Sieglinde is Romaniw's first major Wagner role. Historically, she has been known as a Puccinian, her lyric soprano more associated with roles like Tosca and Cio-Cio-San. By her own admission, 'Wagner's not something I think about often.' But for Kosky's production of the Wagner's four-opera 'Ring,' which is being rolled out over several seasons, the director has sought out singers making role debuts 'so they could come with absolutely no preconceptions to the rehearsal,' he said. Still, Sieglinde is not a role that singers take on at short notice. 'I've rarely seen a singer come in under that sort of pressure, doing that sort of role in this kind of production, and fearlessly and relentlessly work for seven weeks,' Kosky said. It's a risk that has paid off. The Times of London called Romaniw's 'O hehrstes Wunder' scene in Act III 'the most thrilling vocal moment in this 'Ring' so far.' Antonio Pappano, who is conducting the production, said by email: 'The evenness and warmth of the voice and her ability to inject each phrase with the right depth of feeling makes her ideal for this part.' Romaniw, he said, 'has made the role her own.' ROMANIW GREW UP near Swansea, Wales, and was raised by her mother, a police officer working on domestic violence cases, and her grandparents. Nobody in her family was especially musical, but there was something operatic about her Ukrainian grandfather, a confident, eccentric character who would break into song regularly while walking down the street. She moved to London to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama without having ever seen an opera. (Verdi's 'Falstaff,' her first, was a fun introduction. 'Then I saw 'Capriccio,'' she said with a laugh. 'I still can't get into it.') In just her second year of college, Romaniw represented Wales in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, next to singers with contracts at La Scala, the Bolshoi Theater and the Metropolitan Opera. 'What I had was fearlessness,' she said. 'And I was very, very gullible.' Romaniw was surprised, then, when she felt fear. While in Houston, on the Young Artist program there, sudden lucidity onstage led to major performance anxiety, she said. 'You can put yourself in some really crippling positions where you inhibit yourself, because you're too obsessed with wanting everything to be perfect,' she said. This anxiety, added to the feeling of 'too many cooks' involved with her technique, had her returning to Britain feeling like 'a nervous wreck.' It took six months to get psychologically ready to take any singing advice again. Romaniw has been an ambassador for the charity Help Musicians for the past five years, and is happy to speak about topics like stage fright, weight changes and mental health issues, which previous generations of opera stars might have shied away from. 'Selfishly, I used to quite enjoy it if I saw someone of quite high status making mistakes,' she said. 'I was like, 'See, they're human!' I would have given anything for someone to say, 'I sang Gilda at E.N.O. and I missed the top note.'' In recent years, Romaniw's voice has developed as her body has changed. When she was pregnant in 2023, she was singing Ariadne in Strauss's 'Ariadne auf Naxos' at Garsington Opera. Suddenly she felt her sound deepen. 'It was really refreshing and surprising to sink into these long, big, broad lines,' she said. 'My breath work got better, because I had that lower-down support that helped me feel like I could just soar over the orchestra.' Soaring over an orchestra is necessary to sing a Wagner role, and it's a perennial worry for performers who take on his operas. Romaniw's sound is lighter than Davidsen's, but at Covent Garden it traveled with clarity, across the register. 'With the whole Wagner thing, I've always known to be careful,' she said. In the future, she expects to take on two more lyric roles from his works: Elsa in 'Lohengrin' and Eva in 'Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.' She doubts, though, that Brünnhilde will come any time soon. 'I'm probably on this Wagner bus now,' she said, even if she is determined to get off that bus at regular intervals. 'There's always time for Wagner.'
Western Telegraph
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Western Telegraph
Torch Theatre: Royal Opera House screening in Pembrokeshire
The Pembrokeshire theatre is embarking on its 'cinema season,' which will kick off with a live screening of 'Die Walküre' (The Valkyrie) by The Royal Ballet and Opera. This opera-ballet extravaganza will be directed by Barrie Kosky and conducted by Antonio Pappano. The screening brings Wagner's tale of gods and mortals battling it out further, following the saga that began with 'Das Rheingold' in 2023. The storyline follows a love entwined with fate that could potentially be powerful enough to end the world. Meanwhile, an epic confrontation ensues between Wotan, played by Christopher Maltman, the king of gods, and his rebellious daughter Brünnhilde, enacted by Elisabet Strid. Viewers will be treated to a visually compelling stage setup by designer Rufus Didwiszus, with costumes by Victoria Behr and lighting by Alessandro Carletti. Critically acclaimed by the Guardian's Erica Jeal who gave the show four stars, the production will be sung in German with translated captions for English speakers. The show starts at 2pm on Sunday, May 18. Tickets are priced at £20 per person, with a concessional rate of £18. Those under the age of 26 can enter at £9 per head. Further information can be found on the Torch Theatre website or via telephone on 01646 695267. The Royal Opera House is renowned for its ballet and opera productions. For those in need of further assistance, contact the Box Office.
The Guardian
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Die Walküre review – Kosky's formidable staging is full of magic and menace
Four hours of music, and yet the most memorable figure in the Royal Opera's Die Walküre – the second instalment of company's new Ring cycle, directed by Barrie Kosky and conducted by Antonio Pappano – is silent. Just as in Das Rheingold, which opened here in September 2023, we are seeing events through the conduit of Erda, the ancient Earth Mother, who dreams this world into being as she slowly spins, naked, on a turntable at the front of the stage. It's no detriment to a singing cast that's very fine – and in the case of Natalya Romaniw's role debut as Sieglinde, outstanding – to say that this Erda, played by the actor Illona Linthwaite, is mesmerising. She's in every scene. She blesses the incestuous union of Siegmund and Sieglinde, strewing flowers like a figure from Botticelli's Spring. And when Fricka enters in a vintage car, all fur-coat and fury, who do you think is her chauffeur? It's almost as if Kosky is using Erda's physical presence to add to the network of musical themes used by Wagner to represent characters and ideas. But if Erda is a leitmotif, what does she represent? Perhaps Wotan's accountability; the world of mortals certainly isn't flourishing on his watch. And, if Rheingold was Erda's dream, Die Walküre starts off as her nightmare, with the orchestra creating a terrifying buzz in the prelude as Siegmund scrambles towards Sieglinde's door. Victoria Behr's costumes suggest a non-specific here and now, although Siegmund's blue top and yellow hoodie hint at Ukraine. Rufus Didwiszus's sets are dark and bleak: a wall of burnt planks for Sieglinde's house and, later, the felled World Ash Tree from Rheingold, which with the cast clambering through its holes and tunnels at times resembles a meerkat burrow. The almost feral Valkyries collect charred corpses which disintegrate into ash. Finally, every Walküre needs a good Magic Fire at the end, and this one doesn't disappoint. Kosky has said that this Ring was inspired by images of the aftermath of bush fires in his native Australia, and the idea of the despoliation of nature is suggested everywhere, without ever becoming a hectoring message. Instead there's an element of lightness, especially in the moments when we actually see the gods use their powers – the dispatching of Hunding is brilliantly done. This is put into relief by brute force elsewhere, especially from Christopher Maltman's Wotan, king of the gods, who since Rheingold has acquired a beard, a smugly full head of hair and a magnate's suit and tie. He, not Hunding, is the one who finishes off Siegmund, impaling him brutally on a shard of his own shattered sword – if you want a job doing, better do it yourself. If Romaniw's incisive Sieglinde is the standout – the Welsh-Ukranian soprano is gaining a more magnetic, energised presence on stage with every role – there are formidable performances all round: Stanislas de Barbeyrac's thoughtful but ardent Siegmund; Elisabet Strid's gleaming Brünnhilde, her glow dimming only at the end; Marina Prudenskaya's powerful Fricka; Soloman Howard's gun-toting cop Hunding, imposing if slightly unfocused of pitch. Maltman's baritone is full of velvet heft; though the sense of line falters in his quietest lines, the rest are thrillingly done, his voice soaring even when the orchestra seem to be playing at full tilt. This is all part of Pappano's sleight of hand: the quicksilver control of balance that centres the singers while bringing out layers of glorious orchestral detail. He conducts a performance bristling with tension, and the orchestra plays wonderfully. Once again, he brings them all up on stage to take the applause, each one an essential part of what is shaping up to be a very fine Ring cycle indeed. Until 17 May, and live in cinemas on 14 May
Times
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Die Walküre review — brilliantly imagined Wagner (with extra zombies)
Twenty months is a long time to wait for the second instalment of a serialised thriller. But even before the music of Die Walküre starts, Barrie Kosky — directing the Royal Opera's unfolding cycle of Wagner's Ring — reminds us of the main talking point of Das Rheingold, the first instalment. That naked old lady, representing Earth in all its exhausted vulnerability, is back. Again she covers her eyes in despair. Again she will be a mute witness on this epic journey to the world's end. And again that journey is evoked by Kosky with a startling theatricality that goes hand in glove with Antonio Pappano's vivid conducting of the music and the Royal Opera orchestra's magnificent playing. There's not much scenery, and certainly
