BY MADELINE ROYCROFT
Seated in front of an assemblage of diehard, rather vocal Ring-goers, this operatic cycle’s full power dawns upon me. Here I am again, signing myself up for another evening of leitmotifs and non-stop chromaticism. Who would have known I was a closeted Wagnerian?
Siegfried is the third instalment of The Ring and it runs for just more than six hours (with intervals). I have upgraded to the real-deal performance this time, as opposed to an open dress rehearsal—which isn’t really that much of a big deal because the dress rehearsal was perfect and you would never have known.
Still, it is quite a different experience and this incredible production by Opera Australia continues to exceed my expectations and push my imagination. Here are six more things I learnt at The Ring Cycle.
1. Australianisms in opera are hilarious
You’d think it’d be tacky, but the fleeting Australiana references had the audience absolutely cracking up. Dressed as the quintessential Aussie dad in a striped polo shirt, saggy white sneakers and Wrangler jeans, Graeme Macfarlane’s character Mime cracks a VB after a long day of forging a sword, and plots to poison Siegfried with a drink infused with RatSak. It must take exceptional acting ability to execute little touches so hilariously without compromising serious artistic integrity, but that’s what makes this production so special.
2. Music can be legitimately terrifying
Jud Arthur is horrifying in his first appearance as Fafner the dragon, so when Siegfried loiters arrogantly outside the dragon’s den and a deep, ominous leitmotif begins, you know exactly what’s about to go down. We never actually see a dragon but the imagination can truly run wild with a theme as spooky as this one. I’ve never been so scared of a tuba before.
3. Nudity on the opera stage is every bit as surprising as you’d expect it to be
Can’t look away, can’t look away, can’t look away! Again, serious props to Jud Arthur who goes on stage naked, is stabbed naked, and lies naked on the floor for a whole scene covered in his own (fake) blood. He then takes a bow with a fresh pair of pants and his dignity 100 per cent in tact. They said it couldn’t be done.
4. Every one of these singers is really, really strong
Normally, you’d only think about the relative volume of singers and orchestra when it’s out of balance, but I suppose in a six-hour opera there’s plenty of time to consider details. As you may have already heard, the ensemble is huge, so it’s pretty darn impressive that you can hear the leads so clearly in the first place, let alone after hours (and I mean hours) of singing! It’s a real marathon effort.
5. Never watch a four-part opera cycle in reverse
If you can avoid it. Yeah, I think that one speaks for itself.
6. Open dress rehearsals are awesome
I mean, I kind of already knew that, because hey, I got to see something I never thought I’d be able to afford! But the overwhelmingly different demographic at Siegfried allowed me to appreciate going to the open dress rehearsal of Götterdämmerung even more. As much admiration as I have for the globetrotting Wagnerian who makes it to every production around the world, I notice there is still a lack of young faces at the official performance. For this reason, I’m retrospectively chuffed that so many students and members of Melbourne’s artistic community got the chance to experience Opera Australia’s incredible production. I’m already looking forward to the next one!
Images: Jeff Busby.
