tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post949181945692159723..comments2024-03-15T21:51:30.609-07:00Comments on Iron Tongue of Midnight: Ein düst'rer Tag dämmert den GötternLisa Hirschhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-28641816949447003742010-10-13T20:28:41.316-07:002010-10-13T20:28:41.316-07:00YES...the Alberich duck n' cover routine was t...YES...the Alberich duck n' cover routine was totally painful. It just boggles the mind--how do you sit down to design a Rheingold with the understanding you are going to throw millions of dollars of technical fanciness at it and not make target #1 getting the Alberich transormation to not look dumb? Were they in tech later on and Owens was all "uh, what should I do for this snake part" and they were all "oh snap forgot about that...um...what happens if you crouch behind the lip of that thing?" Tarnhelm FAIL.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15748408812275965064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-60651421478988987232010-10-13T20:21:19.066-07:002010-10-13T20:21:19.066-07:00YES...the Alberich duck n' cover routine was t...YES...the Alberich duck n' cover routine was totally painful. It just boggles the mind--how do you sit down to design a Rheingold with the understanding you are going to throw millions of dollars of technical fanciness at it and not make target #1 getting the Alberich transormation to not look dumb? Were they in tech later on and Owens was all "uh, what should I do for this snake part" and they were all "oh snap forgot about that...um...what happens if you crouch behind the lip of that thing?" Tarnhelm FAIL.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15748408812275965064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-70537933698983037242010-10-11T16:00:33.162-07:002010-10-11T16:00:33.162-07:00Oh, man. Yeah, a bunker is exactly what I want to ...Oh, man. Yeah, a bunker is exactly what I want to look at for two and a half hours. That's not good.<br /><br />I've got one more problem moment: Alberich's transformations are less exciting when the tight focus lets you see Eric Owens ducking under the stage. I don't know how much is visible from the audience, but....in Seattle this is done using old, inexpensive, easy technology. Alberich is standing on the set right in front of the opening in a dark curtain, and there's a bright spotlight on him. They kill the spotlight, he takes one step backward and he's gone. Simple and extremely effective: I had no idea how it was done until I attended a tech talk where they discussed some of the stage magic.Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-88523079245746974572010-10-11T14:05:43.440-07:002010-10-11T14:05:43.440-07:00Great rundown of the problem moments. There's ...Great rundown of the problem moments. There's just no getting around the fact that a production aiming to thrill with beauty and stagecraft shouldn't suffer through this many clumsy moments. Too many of the potentially memorable elements were hamstrung by one thing or another. The rhinemaidens bit you call out is a great example. I don't know how clear this was from the moviecast, but the position the machine assumed for the bulk of the scene bore an uncanny resemblance to that bunker they are trying to break into at the end of Return of the Jedi. Sure, the moving rocks thing is neat, but is it going to make you forget that the entire stage is dominated by this huge characterless object? I'm afraid its pretty clear that at some point they were focused more on making individual elements work than on making sure the stage picture they were presenting worked as a whole and supported the momentum of the drama. <br /><br />Here's hoping they get their priorities back in line for Walkure...Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15748408812275965064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-222811366468614432010-10-10T19:31:28.990-07:002010-10-10T19:31:28.990-07:00Don't know - it's possible!Don't know - it's possible!Lisa Hirschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014924958428072675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8957911.post-72040976267822217852010-10-10T19:05:38.459-07:002010-10-10T19:05:38.459-07:00Is this Adam Diegel's Met debut? Could be why...Is this Adam Diegel's Met debut? Could be why he was a bit stiff. I saw him in St. Paul and Madison last year and he was great.Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17754362705965657383noreply@blogger.com