I have seen segments of the Metropolitan Opera's latest production of Wagner's “Ring†cycle, directed by Robert Lepage, from various perspectives in addition to performances in the house: “Das Rheingold†projected onto large screens in Times Square (in a deluge) and in an HD screening at a movie theater in Ellsworth, Me.; “Die Walküre†in HD at a theater in Manhattan. Soon I will be able to view it in the intimacy of my living room, and you will too, on eight DVDS or five Blu-ray discs, to be released by Deutsche Grammophon on Sept. 11.
The problem is, it is not exactly an intimate production, relying as it does on a 45-ton machine that the Deutsche Grammophon news release describes as “an infinitely mobile, writhing, rotating raft of 24 individually pivoting aluminum planks†That's a lot of writhing for a living room. But the good news is that the various video presentations have in fact added intimacy , with close-ups of the characters, many of them portrayed by fine actors, that distract from the looming presence of the machine as it plots its next move, which so dominates in the house.
Deutsche Grammophon will also release “Twilight of the Gods,†a two-CD set of audio highlights from the Lepage production, on Sept. 11, and will follow a day later with “Wagner's Dream,†Susan Froemke's documentary on the making of this “Ring†production, on DVD.
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