Freyer's "Ring" In The Red; Donations Needed

 

"Los Angeles Opera leaders concede that ticket income will fall $1 million to $1.5 million short of targets" and that donations are needed to save Achim Freyer's "Ring" from a small (Pacific) ocean of red ink, the LA Times reports. Even hardcore Wagnerians seem to have doubts about Achim Freyer's staging:

The nine days "is too long for everybody," said Kiyomi Lueck, treasurer of the Wagner Society of Hawaii, echoing officers from several other Wagner Societies around the country. And most of those Wagnerians say that Achim Freyer's abstract, symbolic, decidedly nontraditional approach to the "Ring" appeals to some but infuriates many, and may weigh into decisions not to set aside so much time and money.

"A lot of our members find the production a little too wacky," said Della Geffen, president of the Boston Wagner Society, where none of the 130 members signed up for a group offer for the L.A. "Ring." "People kind of scoff at it."

And prices are in the process of being slashed:

In response to lagging sales, L.A. Opera has offered deep discounts and far more flexibility. Until late March, buyers of non-obstructed seats had to purchase a full cycle for $350 to $2,200, which comes to $87.50 to $550 per show. Now, seats can be had for $50 to $275 per show, and you can choose a single performance instead of four.

Poor Achim!

Comments

[El Cajon]

This regie wedgie of a production might work in Europe; not in the U.S., where audiences are more conservative. Financially, L.A. is in the deep Freyer.

[Marshie]

Neither LA Opera nor its mafia godfather Placido Domingo are deserving of an extra penny from our pockets. Not when faced with another teenage puerile fantasy of a production and not when we are all facing one of the worst environmental and fiscal catastrophes in our own shores. It's all about priorities and justice.

[walter]

Fire the guy who runs the company!
As "per" his interview... If he can still "fill the houses" why is he offering free tickets to that Gluck opera he's going to fake his way through in DC when one subscribes to a series ticket? If he can still "sell'em out" he could do the role of Officer Krupke in West Side Story and people would come to see him!
So HE's gonna decide when to stop, eh?
A little subliminal message there for the "non believers"...

[Eyren]

Guess what, he IS going to be the one who decides when he'll stop, and that will be never. Not to be morose, but he will probably work his last day on earth; he wouldn't be the first person to do that. He lives in a privileged bubble and probably has not had to face the harsh realities of our current economy, either.

He should definitely bow out of these management positions, gracefully, and let others take over the reins publicly and get credit for their efforts. There are obviously hardworking proxies currently picking up his slack. As for his singing and attempts at conducting, well, that's pretty much his business. If houses want to hire him and hope for good box office, that is their prerogative.

Just don't get me started on that competition of his.

[Furst]

Not poor enough! Regietheater is one thing but hideous and obscene hallucinations that make significantly more difficult the already more than sufficiently challenging physical act of singing Wagner is entirely another.

We are well pleased by the magnitude of this disaster and hope that the ocean of red ink will be bigger than OC suggests and not so Pacific.

Certainly, if we were in LA, which we usually try not to be, we'd probably plop down the $50 a show. Particularly if the seats have an obstructed view. Kowaljov's Wotan, which we've heard in another setting, might be worth the trouble (musically at least, interpretively he's got a long way to go and might loose his voice by the time he gets there).

[Kevin Edmund Youkilis 4MVP]

Freyer looks like Ezra Pound.

[Cen]

A disgrace. Freyer was given a disgusting amount of cash for cheap puppet heads and cheap neon lights. I wonder where the REAL budget went?

[C'est Moi]

the mere fact that it "infuriates" many sounds like people need to chill the hell out. it doesn't look anywhere near as offensive, and looks sufficiently different from what we have had ingrained in our minds from the old fashioned, silly, 'horned' productions.

[Jenny]

Furst, if you're not on the west coast and try not to be, kindly stop acting like an expert on this Ring. I'm certainly not an expert on it, and am going to refrain from flinging "physical challenges" accusations that come from a singer who apparently insinuates them, but then gets quited basically only complaining about make-up and how his face is not seen.

[Starda Vanyra]

This will be the undoing of the LA Opera as it is now, but it's not Domingo's fault. He will be essential for the future when the company reorganizes.

[nick]

Off with his head!

[Oroveso]

Two items not to forget:

1) The Company, under the magnificent direction of PD, who is off everywhere else singing Boccanegra and opening restaurants, ran out of cash and needed the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to engineer a $14-million emergency bond sale on its behalf so it could stay in business.

2) The "old-fashioned, silly, horned productions" were what the Composer invisioned, asked for and sanctioned. Helmets and Spears may not fly nor be fashionable in 2010 but this Freyer production is an extremely expensive alternative that caused grave financial harm to the Company and for which they now have to discount tickets, in an economy where for American arts organizations, literally every penny counts.

[y2k]

LOL at the comment made by Della Geffen of the Boston Wagner Society. That's no surprise to me that no one signed up. I've attended several events held by the BWS (I'm not a member), and I am always completely surrounded by a sea of gray/mostly-white hair. My guess is the average age of the members are 70+. Of course they scoff at this type of Regie-lite stuff.

FWIW, based on what I've read/seen on web, Freyer's Ring is totally tame when compared to Barrie Kosky's Hanover Ring.

[Veloce49]

This production looks to be simply LAUGHABLE!!!
When are opera fans going to stand up and say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

[Veloce49]

One more thing. Is the RING a ring or a sequined glove (like the current Scala nonsense)?

[Veloce49]

re PD.
I live in DC and will at least give him credit for getting better singers to visit.

[Starda Vanyra]

There were protesters outside the LA OPERA tonight: a small chorus singing "Va Pensiero" and proclaiming that Wagner was a Nazi. Talk about mixing apples and oranges!!!

[Jeffrey Sarver]

Someday, Y2K, you too will have white-mostly grey hair, if you are lucky and are not bald altogether. This will not mean that you have become a fossilized idiot as you seem to think the members of the Boston Wagner Society are because they don't want to waste their time and money on a pile of b.s. 3K miles across the country from them.

Perhaps their white-mostly grey hair is indicative of the fact that they have gained some wisdom over their long lives as well as some good discrimination as to how they choose to spend what time is left to them on this planet. It's great to be young but don't be too smug about it.

Freyer is a fraud and those old geezers in Boston know it.

[soubrettino]

PD can help pay the whole thing out of his paycheck. Fitting as his penance.

[virgilio guardepassa]

Better yet, since PD green-lighted this project before the company could pay for it, and HE is responsible as he is the boss - take that Birgit Nilsson award and throw it into the pot. I'm sure she wouldn't mind, posthumously.

[Furst]

@Jenny

One need not be an expert. Seeing the photos and reading the odd review is more than sufficient to from a reasonably well based judgement, at least with respect to something as outrageous as the Freyer monstrosity. Looking at the costumes one can't help thinking of how difficult it must be to sing and move in them even without the complaints from the singers.

The management has more than enough warning form his prior work (e.g the Berlin Onegin, etc...) and if the wish to foist this on the public which sees a Ring so rarely they well deserve their comeupance.

Also, the disdain we express above was for "L.A." rather than the "west coast" which has any number of appealing features to recommend it. (Including some opera, e.g. Stemme as Brunhilde, Furlanetto and Harteros in Rosenkavalier).

Generally Regie in Europe and especially in Germany, where rings are a dime a dozen and people can Ring-hop, as it were, is more acceptable than in the U.S. and particularly on the west coast where the spaces are great and Rings relatively rare on the ground. (Of course there is something of a profusion - San Fran, Seattle - in the run up to the bicentenary and we know OC will make it her business to make a tour for the benefit of her loyal readers. Ha!!)

[vale]

@Jeffrey Sarver: Thank you for putting it so plain and simple.
I am old and have worked in theater all my life, seen the different takes on the Ring, on Verdi, on Puccini, on Mozart, on Baroque... well, right now my "mostly grey hair is indicative of the fact that they I may have gained some wisdom over my long life as well as some good discrimination as to how I choose to spend what time is left to me on this planet."
(Pardon the paraphrasing)
That is just the way I feel!!!

[Starda Vanyra]

I too decided that as nice as a trip to LA would be, it's not worth spending the extra days between the operas. There's only so much Jacaranda watching one can do. There are also using the reduced orchestration that does Wagner no favors.

[WILLYM]

I made the trip up from Roma to Milano for the (de facto because of the strike) opening night of the new Scala Ring. Frankly one of the most unexciting nights I've spent in a theatre in a while. At least if I had made the trip to LA I'd be be seeing something to either make me laugh, fume, scoff, cheer or boo - at La Scala all I wanted to do was get the hell over to Savrini and have a drink!±

[C'est Moi]

Yes older people have experience, but just like anyone, they can be donkey-stubborn on what they don't think they'll like while knowing nothing about it.

Oroveso:
'The "old-fashioned, silly, horned productions" were what the Composer invisioned, asked for and sanctioned. Helmets and Spears may not fly nor be fashionable in 2010'

If people can accept that they don't "fly" in 2010 then they can stop being "infuriated" at new attempts.

[Gary Campbell]

I saw 3 of the four operas & hated most. The "Siegfried" gave me hope for "Gotterdammerung", but that was unrealized.
Musically Conlin did a wonderful job and does not get the credit he deserves.
Even Freyer had some good ideas, but clearly not being a "theatre person" did not have the experience to fulfill them.
Though the overall physical concept would have been accepted anywhere in Europe, what REALLY KILLED IT, was the lack of rehearsal and total sloppiness of the technical organization, and the singers became sacrifices to the concept. Something was always going wrong on stage: It was like a high-school production!
Did anyone mention that the male chorus (magnificent vocally) had to stand, masked, on stage for ALL of Act II? I am amazed that no one fainted!

Comment heard after the "Rheingold" "Isn't it nice to actually see where the millions were wasted?!"

[Alexander]

Actually, if they had spent the entire budget for rather over-serious and gloomy Wagner (favourite Hitler's composer - it's a proven fact- just btw), they should have had a spot in their hearts to this. Speaking cynically they must have failed in their sales marketing when they aimed to hit the right nails in audiences’ heads. The heavier is the music the more cautious you should be with its performance. California is not Germany. Total mood is likely to tend to be Italian-like or Mozart at least. One Wagner (3 maximum)for the season is more than enough for the most world opera houses. So they just staked their ambitions and lost. It serves them right as them who likes their own selfishness instead of trying to cultivate some selfless and a little of understanding of the situation. For that money they could stage any opera with any stars to be financial afloat and enough 2-3 lovely Nibelungens to cherish their souls;)))
O'K;) I still remeber mr.Conlon's interview and his smart and altruistic ideas on culture development and its projection on human's ego;))) So, speaking even not so ontologically, just more practically - why don't try to eat more Donizetti's lazagna or Delibes salmon or Tchaikowsky beef-stroganoff than to stuff public with Wagner’s fruitcakes till that public got crazy and fruitcake-like;)))) But, to be unbiased – it’s their house and it’s up to them to decide what to do. Opera is a fish and then you cook it;))))

[MmarkK]

How is the "proven fact" that Wagner was Hitler's favorite composer relevant? Does it make the latter's crimes any less monstrous? Certainly not. Does it make the former's music any less extraordinarily beautiful? Definitely not. So, please forget about Adolf's musical tastes and just talk about Richard's music on its own terms.
Most of the dissatisfaction with Freyer's production (including mine) comes not from the fact that it is not the traditional "horned helmet" variety, but because, except for a few rare effective moments, it just does not look good and does not work well with the music. Those who have not seen this production should not assume that its opponents are all rigid "traditionalists". Most of us are not. We simply like this music a lot and are very disappointed when visual side of the production becomes an obstacle to enjoying the aural part of it.

[Ipomoea]

From a not-so-old incipient Ringhead in Boston:
I concur with my seniors in the BWS that a 3 thousand mile slog for 9+ days in LA and a megadose of Freyer do not inspire me to expend hard-earned bucks and time. Will wait and see on the new MET production and/or save the bucks for Seattle....

[Alexander]

Thank you, MMarkk, for your remark;) I have my own views on music, based on my personal perception of it. So, in this aspect, I don't care much what is onstage entourage if the music (singing) is in resonance with my own vibes. It's very simple;)))) I'm a person who likes belcanto and more "light" melodies ( light just means other frequencies than "heavy" Wagner).
Probably, other people have their own frequencies ( cause all people are different in part), but all people like the music ( cause all people resemble in general;))) This is about predilections in music. So, anyway, if the most part of the audiences ( for example, of cause for example;) will be people who live "in different inner tune" it will always be some disappointment among the audience. It can explain why one likes MC and another one likes Renata Tebaldi.
When you choose a wife or a friend for yourself, you will think twice or just listen to your "inner voice";), why don't try to listen to the inner voice of the public and take a note of their moods and predilections ( especially when you depend on some revenues and can easily be cash strapped).
You are writing on rigidity. Well, try to listen to the music more. If their performance is good, you will feel pretty also regardless of the environment. And, as my penguins at my farm told me, - "rigidity or intolerance is the first sight of the absence of the culture";))). So I just try to assume once more - if I like music I don't care where and in what entourage I listen to it. If I like Wagner less than Italians or Frenchmen or Mozart and Tchaikowsky;) I will respect those who tried to stage it and so on, but I will just miss it.
Just an instance - I like Renée's Lucrezia;)))) so much, that I can even get joy from listening her rendition at Scala on Y-tube ( I hope you understand what I mean;), because she has put something extraordinary in it( for me, of cause for me, cause she stated she was booed there). If you don't like LA opera Wagner it just means you couldn't find much extraordinary in the music performance (in spite of liking Wagner) than you dislike decorations (etc) too much. So, if they like to perform mostly Wagner at LA – let them do it. I wish them to have a full auditorium of happy listeners (and viewers) for every performance;)))) It is their house. As a folk wisdom says “Full cycle is in …LA opera and then you …go for listening it (or don’t go;)))) As to mr.Conlon – his interview showed him as a very smart and intelligent personality. Hopefully he is not rigid ( as mister Placidone and mr.Freyer ;)))) And , hopefully, many people will come to all their cycle to enjoy it and support them.

[El Cajon]

The fat is in the Freyer.... the cycle has opened and some of the natives are restless:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2010/05/las-ring-cycle-begins-with-protests-outside-mixed-reaction-inside.html

[Sherrylanne]

Only Seattle Opera can boast a Ring that appeals to audiences who appreciate Wagner's masterwork but also appreciate the beauty of nature, the only "Green" Ring in the world. In L.A. I saw Freyer's dreary and bizarre Rheingold featuring disembodied floating heads of the Rhine Maidens and I left.

[Mike]

I have tickets for the first cycle. This is my 6th ring cycle. And I love it. Walkure on Sunday was amazing. Staging is wonderful. And for the people with loud comments and are not here... are you serious? Really?

[MmarkK]

Please, Alexander, don't try to explain to me what i liked and what i didn't - i can tell rather well what my eyes are telling me as opposed to what my ears are telling me. Your phrase "try to listen to the music more" sounds quite funny to me since i have been a professional musician all my life and i've been living in music pretty much 24/7 for several decades now.
The musical side of LA Ring is a whole different topic that i have not discussed here yet. In a word or two, my impression of it was - uneven and unremarkable. But Kowaljow as Wotan sounded very good when i saw him in Sigfried last year.

[El Cajon]

Alexander, please listen to the Caballe recording of Lucrezia (esp. the live 1965 version), if you want to hear what bel canto singing is supposed to sound like. Renee's relatively recent Lucrezia was almost as disastrous as her even more recent Armida. Ms. Fleming can be wonderful in other repertory, but she is must definitely not an accomplished bel canto singer. Capriccio, yes; Lucrezia, no!

[FritzFAn]

I've dubbed this production "Der Ring dass niemand kam."

[Furst]

@El Cajon

Das ist richtig.

Which is fine with us but is frustrating in that she shouldn't be wasting her performances and her voice on this stuff.

[Wedja]

People who visit sites to stand in judgement of the posters, just so they can go back to their own favorite site where they can freely make fun of them and feel superior, are seriously bored - and that's being diplomatic. Lots of little pots running around, if you ask me.

[Alexander]

THanks to all who gave me advice on what to do and how to behave ;)))))
MMarkk, enjoy the music with the fundamental frequencies and overtones which are of your inner vibes and be harmonious end even. Your writing style proves 1000 times you are the person of intelligence and culture.
El Cajon ( may I kindly ask you whether this nick it somehow related to (singing)thorax or just to an ordinary chest;))) - I completely understand what you did mean, but this is a pure irrationality for me with Renée - as I have already said she is a witch, so she bewitches me to her Lucrezia (1998, never heard her in 2008 or so)/her chest creamy timbre and even her ornamentations + wonderful highs ( for me, not for you of cause) made me put her on the pedestal;)))))))) Yes, I know she isn't belcanto singer and not of much coloratura etc ( and may be she is even a b…tch for someone;)))). I don't care about it at all. I'm on my own and listen to her with my own ears and mood.
Tastes differ - and when OC changed her page design I first thought to myself - "it's like a price tag of a jeans of mine I bought last year (and I have a habit to throw price tags away into the trash bin after purchasing). Then I told to me -"Changes are the necessary part of evolution, so be evolved and stay involved (in this blog)". So, let’s go ahead, don’t be rigid and reactionary and never forget that (judging from the history of the opera) the opera was an entertainment rather than “haute musique” in 19 century and in 20 also ( till the era of electronic devices came). For me opera is just a music and (subsequently) organic part of the life;))) Hope you are not an elitist;)))))
O’K;) A lot of comments here. Not a bad promo for LA Ring cycle;)))))))

[C'est Moi]

Well, the latest influx of raving crazies among OC commenters deserves scorn, even though it's coming from a site with its own raving crazies.

[MmarkK]

Thank you so much, Alexander, for telling me exactly how i should enjoy music. Apparently, i must have done it all wrong for the past few decades. But you are flattering me - calling me "THE person of intelligence and culture" is overdoing it a bit.

[Bill Philin-Ploplis]

Just for the record, Hitler was crazy for Lehar's Lustige Witwe as demonstrated by Shostakovich.

[Alexander]

Why, MMarkk, I'm really delighted with your nice words;)))) Beg my pardons for many grammar and stylistic mistakes I've done in my previous posts. If I had written all flawless (like Renée did at Scala in 98;))) it would have been a real flattery. Unfortunately all went wrong for the past 2 days, so the only right thing was the encounter with "THE person of intelligence and culture". Hopefully really elite and exquisite culture :)))))
(it was)My pleasure(to tell you something), Mr.MMarKK;) Enjoy the music and be happy - never worry;). Saint Wagner to boot;)

[Wedja]

My comment was directed at those who are visiting but not posting here, and instead are holding a blog critique forum on their "regular" site elsewhere. It saddens me that they don't recognize the circumstances and would make fun of someone for their own amusement. If they do recognize the circumstances, as seems possible, then it's even worse. Opera Chic is to be commended for her sensitivity in this matter.

[Derek]

Some bloggers post long, exclusive interviews with Jonas Kaufmann, other bloggers post selfportraits of hairy readers. The Internet is so inclusive.

[Rogier]

@DEREK: LOL! Of those who say nothing, few are silent. -- Thomas Neill.

On the L.A. Opera's Ring, I was there for Gotterdammerung and if I shut my eyes it was sublime. Conlon and the orchestra surpassed my expectations. So the staging wasn't to my liking, but what can one do? It was still a unique experience that I'll never forget.

[El Cajon]

Alexander, we are indeed entitled to like who we like and if you like Renee, that's cool. In fact, I plan to hear her twice next year, in concert and in Capriccio.

Ones tastes evolve. Based on recordings, I used to adore Solti and dislike Von Karajan. But after hearing both conductors live several times, I completely changed my opinion. Karajan, whatever his faults as a person and a director, was an astoundlingly good conductor. Solti's conducting was too loud and even coarse in opera and in the symphonic repertory. Admittedly I heard him later in his career, but still....

And, please do listen to Caballe's Carnegie Hall Lucrezia. It's a marvel to listen to (the commercial recording is not quite as good).

Re: El Cajon, I'm partly of Hispanic ancestry and was looking at a map of California. I don't like El Segundo as a handle, so I chose El Cajon. (My admiration for Caballe has nothing to do with my ancestry. In her prime, she was something else. Just wish she would have retired 20 years ago.)

Para la Copa Mundial, ole, ole, ole, Espana!!

[Alexander]

Thanks El Cajon for enlightenment me on the subject. I hope I will do it one day, though I don't think it will change my predilections much.
It was interesting for me to be acquainted with the history of the origin of your handle.
Just for having some emollient effect of this rather long story with Wagner - here is an anecdote on ancestry theme, just from memory. Hopefully it will amuse you ( and OC, of cause;) a little:
WHERE DO RED-HEADED BABIES COME FROM?
After their baby was born, the panicked father went to see the Obstetrician. 'Doctor,' the man said, 'I don't mind telling you, but I'm a little upset because my daughter has red hair. ?
She can't possibly be mine!!'
'Nonsense,' the doctor said.
'Even though you and your wife both have black hair, one of your ancestors may have contributed red hair to the gene pool.'
'It isn't possible,' the man insisted. 'This can't be, our families on both sides had jet-black hair for generations.'
'Well,' said the doctor, 'let me ask you this.
How often do you have sex? '
The man seemed a bit ashamed. 'I've been working very hard for the past year. We only made love once or twice every few months.'
'Well, there you have it!' The doctor said confidently.
'It's rust.'

[Rogier]

WEDJA, what do you expect from a bunch of shut-ins? The indolent chatter of the same twenty people on a forum (that's disguised as a vulgar opera website) doesn't make much of an echo in my world.

[MmarkK]

Actually, "saint" alexander (whatever that was all about), worrying is absolutely essential for me in order to be happy, so i will have to ignore your invaluable advice. But thank you anyway.