Dear Sacto OperaFan, It was actually implied that Valhalla burned up. Did you see those head shots of the fallen soldiers raining down with the ashes? That was symbolic of Valhalla going up in flames and the souls of those heroes being set free. I thought it was a nice touch! LCU

In my initial draft of this review, I had qualified my assessment of Westbroek's performance with this: "But in her defense, I witnessed her deliver 3 commanding performances of this role last summer in San Francisco, so I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt and blame it on the cold or whatever lingering ailment she had on opening night." But since we try not to bore our lovely readers with long dissertations, edits were made and that bit got cut. I know she can sing this beautifully, but everyone has their off nights. And yes, I agree, it was a courageous effort! Regarding Kaufmann, I really think it's a matter of personal preference. I have always loved Jon Vickers as Siegmund with his heroic, bright, steely sound that, like Notung, can cut through anything. However, I enjoy Kaufmann just as much because he offers a different perspective on the character - less heroic, perhaps, but more romantic and sensitive, rendered by the dark coloring of his voice and his rounder, smoother diction.

Unfortunately, Herr Feldheim, a valkyrie DID slide off her plank! It was a terrible sight and I was afraid that the plank was going to come down and crush her to death. Thankfully it stopped just in time. The poor girl hobbled off stage, but made a valiant comeback and sang until the end of the scene. I didn't mention this in my review b/c it would just get me started on my Lepage tirade. There has certainly been no shortage of criticism in the press surrounding this production so I figured no point beating a dead horse. But that accident gave me terrible anxiety through the entire 3rd Act, esp at the end when they suspended Brünnhilde (a stunt double?) upside down from the planks a good 20 ft in the air.

Thanks, Robert! Only a month until our Ring. Looking forward to seeing you in SF.

Thank you, Chanteuse!

Well, at least it ain't ujjayi breathing.

Wait a second, I thought she was saying that shoe changers were GOING TO a "show after the show" since they were trading in their flip flops for 6 inch stilettos?

I would have definitely beat her up. Tattler has been doing too much yoga and has lost her angry streak.

It could be a good 1.5 to 2 hours including the Q&A and performances by the Adlers.

I have the biggest crush on Brunello. His imperfections were strangely beautiful and gave the piece character. The Haydn was my favorite piece out of the four. The 'stache was awesome.

I'm so excited about Rinaldo! YAY!!! FINALLY!!!

I am definitely going to see the Gluck and Attila, probably with you, Narwhal, if we can somehow manage to get our calendars coordinated. *HUMPH* Maybe Ernesto will let us crash with him!

He was god awful. I wanted to leave after the first 5 minutes, but sadly I was trapped in the middle so I tried to take a nap instead. Unfortunately the loud forearm banging of the keys didn't exactly make for good lullaby music. Also, I don't know any respectable musician who would play B's Hammerklavier with the sheet music in front of him. I mean come on! You should not be performing this piece if you can't even memorize it. The Stockhausen was also not memorized, but I let that one slide since it's hard to memorize a piece with no melody. His Beethoven was robotic and apathetic, with lots of mistakes in the first movement. This one did put me to sleep. *YAWN*

He's right, you know. Music is just like love!

Musicals, great! What's next? Hip hop concerts with 50 Cent and G Unit?

The first half was meh, but the Partita No. 2 in D minor gave me chills down my spine!

But Finzi does have "one thousand eyes and a long tongue."

Ai ya!!! Those obnoxious Chinese people! Why can't they bitch about who's fatter over post-performance dim sum? I am so ashamed. Must now go offer rice to ancestors.

Wow, one of the best eh? I'm impressed! Though I wonder if our dear discerning Maria would give the production her stamp of approval. Hmmm....

Thanks for the report, Hank! I'm so glad to hear that we have a competent Aida this second time around. Carosi was simply dreadful with her park and out of tune bark. I hope she never shows her face in SF again!

Thanks, Chanteuse!

I object! Danny Montenegro is visiting this weekend and coming with us to Terfel so it's going to be ÜBER rad!

Well if she were a shoe, she would most certainly be a Roger Vivier or perhaps a Nicholas Kirkwood!

OP & OT, you guys are so very nice. Usually when someone disagrees with me I just beat them up.

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