“Ho jo, to ho!”
Walking past the Henri Moore sculpture at Juliard, a man walking the other direction sees our horns and sings again, “Ho jo, to ho!” which is the character Brunnhilde’s war song cry.
Everyone outside is bristling with energy when out of the blue a hip young woman in a pink patterned pant suit and green glasses grabs me, “Can I take my picture with you?” Our hats are definitely drawing attention and becoming a crowd favorite with lots of people commenting on them and giving nods of approval. I haven’t felt this popular; well, never. During intermission two people from the balcony yell down, “look up. Can we take your picture?” We look up and smile into the spring sky at them.
The man behind us in the theatre has a terrible sniffle that he repeats and repeats like his own personal leitmotif. The orchestra and vocals are sooooo big and strong he’s not as annoying to me as he normally would be.
Nothing can distract us from what’s happening on the stage.
Die Walkure is triumphant.
Christine Goerke played a spunky Brunhilde and starred in one of my favorite production of all, Elektra earlier in the year coincidentally the opera I was picking up tickets for when I decided to buy tickets for the ring. Brunnhilde hanging upside on the plank as the fires rage around her is an iconic moment of the production. A special shout-out here that this Jersey girl helped promote an event for my school once, and it always feels extra special when I can make a personal connection to the opera.
The famous song with the ride of the Valkyries was great but this was one moment where I thought the use of the apperatus took me out of the music.
Of all four of the operas in the Ring we think if you had to go to see one as a stand alone then this would be the one, though I also really like Siegfried.
So what is Die Walkure all about? It begins with Seigmund running thru the woods after being wounded in battle and laments that if only his weapons were as strong as he was, he would have won. He finds shelter in his enemies home where he finds his lost twin sister Sieglinde. Her husband Hunding comes home and says that duty dictates that he give Seigmund shelter for the night, but in the morning they will fight. Needing a weapon he finds a sword left by Wotan that can only be pulled out by a great warrior in need, who he is and which he does. When Wotan asks Frika to help Seigmund she refuses because she thinks that brother and sister sleeping together is wrong and lays down the line, “I’ll fight with you, but I don’t fight with mortals, I just punish them.” Wotan complains how tough it is being a god keeping up with treaties, being nagged by his wife, and preparing the future for them all. He tells his favorite daughter Brunnhilde to not help Siegmund because Frika will be mad, but she does help because of the true love she sees he has for Sieglinde. Wotan eventually puts an end to Seigmund himself when he breaks the unbreakable sword with his staff. This all sets up one of the most moving moments in opera where a conflicted Wotan has to punish the daughter that he loves for intervening to help Seigmund. He walks it back a little at the end by surrounding her with a fire that only the bravest warrior might cross.
Notes on the production
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Composer………………………. Richard Wagner
Siegmund…………………….…. Stuart Skelton
Sieglinde……………………….…Eva-Maria Westbroek
Hunding…………………….….….Gunther Groissbock
Fricka……………………………….Jamie Barton
Wotan………………….…….…….Greer Grimsley
Brunnhilde……………………….Christine Goerke
Gerhilde…………………….……..Kelly Cae Hogan
Helmwige…………………………Jessica Faselt
Waltraute………………………….Renee Tatum
Schwertleite………………………Daryl Freedman
Ortlinde………………………..……Wendy Bryn Harmer
Siegrune………………………..…..Eve Gigliotti
Grimgerde…………………………Maya Lahyani
Rossweisse……………………….Mary Phillips
Conductor……………………….. Philippe Jordan
Metropolitan Opera
3/30/19