Robert Lepage's central conceit for this production of The Ring is to present it on a single set which consists of 24 slabs that can be rotated to form roads, bridges, staircases, even the bottom of the Rhine. I was reminded of Longborough's shoestring production of Rheingold where all the effects are produced by clever lighting and perspective on a sloping stage. This is basically what Lepage does although his production must have cost several million dollars more.
The sloping slabs make a very effective river on which the Rhine maidens slither in fishnet bodysuits and fishy tails. I particularly liked the way they coiled together for their ensembles. Eric Owens' Alberich is the standout success of this production, his powerful voice and physique making a change from the weedy Alberichs that we sometimes see. His dwarfism is suggested by his clever costume that has the effect of shortening his arms and legs.
Similarly successful are the giants who tower above the other characters simply by standing on the aforementioned slabs. This successfully allows Franz-Josef Selig and Hans-Peter Konig to delineate their characters as Fasolt and Fafner.
Rheingold has a large cast and I cannot mention them all by name but the standard is uniformly high. Tenor Richard Croft is deliciously funny as a Gary Glitter lookalike Loge although he does not quite steal the show as the very best Loges can. Bryn Terfel is surprisingly subdued as Wotan, although this is an opera in which Wotan's role is mainly to play straight man to Loge's comedian. Still, nobody sings quiet menace quite like Bryn.
The sloping slabs make a very effective river on which the Rhine maidens slither in fishnet bodysuits and fishy tails. I particularly liked the way they coiled together for their ensembles. Eric Owens' Alberich is the standout success of this production, his powerful voice and physique making a change from the weedy Alberichs that we sometimes see. His dwarfism is suggested by his clever costume that has the effect of shortening his arms and legs.
Similarly successful are the giants who tower above the other characters simply by standing on the aforementioned slabs. This successfully allows Franz-Josef Selig and Hans-Peter Konig to delineate their characters as Fasolt and Fafner.
Rheingold has a large cast and I cannot mention them all by name but the standard is uniformly high. Tenor Richard Croft is deliciously funny as a Gary Glitter lookalike Loge although he does not quite steal the show as the very best Loges can. Bryn Terfel is surprisingly subdued as Wotan, although this is an opera in which Wotan's role is mainly to play straight man to Loge's comedian. Still, nobody sings quiet menace quite like Bryn.