Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Met 2010-2011

In researching for my next couple of Fantasy images, The Brunnhilde Projekt, the base photos for which I'll be taking this Sunday, I stumbled across these beautiful stills from the Lepage production currently premiering in New York at the Metropolitan Opera.

This of course, is one of the publicity stills of the Wotan of Bryn Terfel.  I loved the fact that the costumes are somewhat of a modern take of the classic Wagnerian costumes rather than a complete re-interpretation which has been the norm for Ring Cycles in recent years, for example the Victorian styled costumes of the Chereau, and more recently the post-modern La Scala costumes.

  

This is a technical rehearsal still of the Entry of the Gods into Valhalla, which accoding to the reviews didn't actually take place on opening night due to technical reasons, but on the broadcast looked spectacular and to this day remains one of the most incredible pieces of staging I have ever seen.

Next up we have a spoiler for the final scene of Die Walkure, in which Wotan put his beloved daughter to sleep on the rock surrounded by enchanted fire.  I cannot wait to see this when the Hi-Def version is screened in June, having been trained in scenery design, this looks like the stuff a designers dreams are made of.

I adore this still.  Debra Voigt has come a long way in the last decade.  I am very impressed, as shallow as this may sound, for the physical transformation she has undertaken in order to be taken seriously as a singing actress and now can do justice visually to the wondrous instrument she possesses.  If only she was wearing a winged helmet in this picture, and where is her spear?