{"id":9708,"date":"2014-10-15T08:37:20","date_gmt":"2014-10-15T15:37:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=9708"},"modified":"2014-10-14T13:42:47","modified_gmt":"2014-10-14T20:42:47","slug":"monster-truck-of-operas-das-rheingold-hits-town","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2014\/10\/15\/monster-truck-of-operas-das-rheingold-hits-town\/","title":{"rendered":"Monster truck of operas Das Rheingold<\/em> hits town"},"content":{"rendered":"

Richard Wagner\u2019s 1869 opera Das Rheingold<\/i>, <\/i>an epic in the same vein as The Lord of the Rings<\/i>, is a story of spurned lovers, stolen power, giants, gods, magic, and murder. Drawing on Norse legends of Odin (Wotan) and the gods, it tells the tale of Alberich, a dwarf who steals the Rhinemaidens\u2019 gold to forge a ring that will give him universal power.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, as just the beginning of a massively complex four-opera cycle (Der Ring des Nibelungen<\/i>),<\/i> Das Rheingold<\/i> has rarely been staged in Canada. In fact, in 1872, Wagner himself had the Bayreuth Festspielhaus purpose-built for performing his works in the style he intended.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Benjamin Butterfield sings the role of Mime in Das Rheingold<\/em> (photo provided).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Pacific Opera Victoria\u2019s Benjamin Butterfield, singing the role of Mime, explains that the decision to stage Das Rheingold<\/i> in Victoria was not as difficult as one may think.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a novelty for us,\u201d says Butterfield. \u201cThis is only the second time it\u2019s been done in Canada, and we\u2019re not doing it as part of Der Ring<\/i>, we\u2019re just doing it as its own thing. But that\u2019s part of Pacific Opera\u2019s mandate: to bring interesting things to this crowd and to make it accessible for Canadian singers to give it a shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The language barrier and culture surrounding opera can be intimidating to many young people, who see it as overly sophisticated entertainment for rich grandparents. But when one considers the popularity of books and movies such as The Lord of the Rings<\/i>, Game of Thrones<\/i>, and Thor<\/i>, <\/i>even newcomers to opera can find much in Wagner\u2019s work that\u2019s both familiar and exciting.<\/p>\n

Butterfield considers Das Rheingold<\/i> to be a great introduction for the first-time opera-goer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a better starter than the typical Italian operas, where you have people stand up specifically to sing a song, and either you get that or you don\u2019t,\u201d he says. \u201cHere, it\u2019s just constant drama, constant adventure, and the constant unfolding of a massive story that I think people relate to, because they read fantasy books and sci-fi.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike books and movies, the concept of \u201cspoilers\u201d doesn\u2019t really apply in opera; in fact, a little prep work beforehand can enhance the experience. One can always follow along during the performance with English surtitles projected above the stage, but reading an article on the work can illuminate the prospective audience member on complex musical matters, such as Wagner\u2019s use of leitmotifs, a technique frequently associated with his work.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery character has their own little tune, and every time that tune comes up you recognize that there\u2019s something to with that person in the story,\u201d explains Butterfield. \u201cThere\u2019s a theme for the gold, and a theme for the sword, and a theme for this and that character and location, and they get sewn together in a really incredible way that people just don\u2019t do anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not satisfied with an exciting story or an orchestral achievement? For the non-amplified singers, it\u2019s a feat of athleticism: two-and-a-half hours outsinging a Wagnerian orchestra, nary a mic in sight.<\/p>\n

Every possible aspect of a theatrical performance must come together to present this operatic spectacle, says Butterfield.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor people who like athletics, a good show, musical theatre, stagecraft… Wagner has everything. It\u2019s the pinnacle of the art form; it\u2019s like the Star Wars<\/i> saga,\u201d says Butterfield. \u201cYou can\u2019t get more excessive than this. This is like the monster truck of opera.\u201d<\/p>\n

Das Rheingold
\n<\/i>October 16, 18, 24, 26
\n$25 and up, Royal Theatre
\npov.bc.ca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Richard Wagner\u2019s 1869 opera Das Rheingold, an epic in the same vein as The Lord of the Rings, is a story of spurned lovers, stolen power, giants, gods, magic, and murder. Drawing on Norse legends of Odin (Wotan) and the gods, it tells the tale of Alberich, a dwarf who steals the Rhinemaidens\u2019 gold to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9709,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,133],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-october-15-2014"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9708"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9714,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9708\/revisions\/9714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}