Category Archives: Wagner
Siegfried in HD – Walking the Planks
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 6th November 2011Before going to a performance of Wagner’s third Ring Cycle opera you should wear comfortable shoes, loose clothing, and drink no fluids starting six hours before the curtain. Thus prepared I got through Siegfried without losing consciousnesses more than two or three times. In fact I enjoyed the performance. Robert Lapage’s Rube Goldberg set consisting of a couple of dozen planks driven by…
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Das Rheingold in HD
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 10th October 2010On Saturday October 9 the Metropolitan Opera presented its first HD telecast of the 2010-11 season with its new production of Wagner’s Das Rheingold, the opera that opened the Met’s current season. Robert Lepage’s production which uses computerized projections, shifting platforms, and flashy lighting has attracted much attention. The set which is little more than…
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The Ghost in the Machine – A Cautionary Tale
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th July 2010It all started a couple of years ago on a Saturday afternoon. I turned on the radio to listen to the weekly Metropolitan Opera broadcast, forgetting that Parsifal was scheduled. Being comfortably settled in a stuffed reclining chair, I was too lazy to turn the radio off. Besides, nothing can put you to sleep faster…
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Anything But Wagner
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 5th October 2009The following was originally published at Grandi-Tenori.com, but it’s no longer available there. I wrote it 5 years ago. NK No great composer induces passion the way Richard Wagner does. Knowledgeable opera goers seem to be divided into warring camps, vigorously campaigning for and against the art of the egomaniac of Bayreuth. In 50 years…
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Parsifal Redux
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 14th January 2008Some years ago I wrote about my bout with Parsifal. I had become Parsifal positive. I was only exposed once. Most people can listen to Parsifal many times without becoming positive. What bad luck. After years of treatment, I licked it and have been Parsifal negative for more than five years. Obviously, I am not…
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