After seeing and reviewing the Siegfried's performance I attended at Teatro Real, I had to look forward: life goes on. Recently, I discovered the videos of the remaining journeys from an interesting Ring production, whose first and last opera I had already seen and reviewed. So I got to the same work for those videos and now I will comment the complete cycle at last.
When we think about archetypal Wagner productions in America, the Met and its lavish productions come to someone's mind, like the old-hollywoodesque style ones like Parsifal, Tannhäuser, Meistersinger, the classical Schenk Ring or the "machine" Lepage Ring. However, a historical initiative took place recently in Newark, New Jersey, just an hour of distance of Lincoln Center on public transport. The non-profit opera company Trilogy:aoc, has performed the opera epic The Ring of the Nibelung, by Richard Wagner, for the first time in New Jersey's history between 2017 and 2020.
Kevin Maynor, Trilogy's director and manager
Trilogy, managed by the bass Kevin Maynor, is a company whose members are mainly African-American, whose repertoire is based on black composers, works, stories and historical events concerning African-American community. Maynor, himself a bass with a career in important opera houses, singing Wagner roles, believes in the contemporarity of Wagner's works, even stating he would recommend his dramas over Mozart's or Rossini's ones to introduce new audiences. This Ring took place, semi-staged, in different venues, like the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, excepting the 2020 Götterdämmerung,which took place in an open-air version concert in the University Heights Amphiteatre with social distances among the artists as well as among the audience, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For this occasion, it was presented in the reduced version by Jonathan Dove and Graham Vick, suitable for fitting into small stages, and performed in places like London or Strasbourg. This reduction could be controversial, terrible for the most orthodox Wagnerians because it leaves in 7 hours the original complete 15-hour cycle. However, it gives the chance to small theatres and companies to sing the Ring to audiences usually in far places from the operatic mainstream and major theatres. The event was even reported by the German radio channel Klassik Radio, whose noted anchor Axel Brüggemann interviewed Maynor.
For the scenical conception, Maynor chooses just few key elements which will be seen throughout the complete cycle. A big golden ring is omnipresent in the four operas. The depth of the Ring symbolized by a rock with the gold above, Freia's Apple in Rheingold, a sofa in Walküre, the sword Nothung with leaves spread all around, representing also the ash tree, as well as some props like the Helmet and sword in Siegfried and different dressing colours for Walkyries and Rhine Maidens. Projections of several landscapes were projected as a set. In Rheingold, the lighting did a good job by recreating intense ambiances with yellow, red, blue and green colours.
Die Walküre, Act 2
TAOCarkeste is the orchestra of the company, the little around 20 musicians ensemble which has the difficult task to cope with the majestic score, even in the reduced version. The orchestra was conducted by Julius Williams during the first two dramas and by Leslie Dunner in the remaining two. Both conductors have to their best to make justice to the work despite limitations and lack of experience. Williams gave an accomplished conducting in Walküre, maybe the most balanced Journey in this production in terms of singers and orchestra. Dunner had to cope with the social distance in Götterdämmerung, separating winds and strings at a long distance, with the singers in the middle, and as a result the sound seemed to be lost in some moments. Nevertheless, in Siegfried the strings did a good work in the Siegfried's monologue "Selige Öde". An organ was used in the Siegfried orchestration.
Siegfried (Kevin Courtemanche) crossing the Magic Fire in Act 3.
Before rewiewing the cast, I suggest to have a look to my articles about their performances of Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung
As usual, the Ring requieres a big cast, one of the most difficult tasks for any company to perform the tetralogy. As I mentioned before, almost the complete cast is African-American, with only four exceptions: Siegmund, the first Siegfried, and the Rheingold's Alberich and Mime. Some singers like Maynor had sung Wagner before, but another ones were singing his music for the first time, and sometimes they have to cope with the difficulties of German language. However, their effort, devotion and enthusiasm for taking part of such a work and such an historical performance is remarkable, since they seem to be really happy at performing.
Chivonne Perkins as Brünnhilde in Siegfried.
The main roles are sung by different singers for each title. Wotan is sung by the veteran Donnie Ray Albert (historical performer of Porgy) in Rheingold, with a matured voice but still high quality singing, Raemond Martin in Walküre sang the role with exquisite manner, and beautiful voice, and Maynor himself in Siegfried, which I will speak later. Brünnhilde was sung by Latoya Lain in Walküre, with a nice tone, specially her middle register and dramatic low notes, very moving in third act. Chivonne Perkins had a brief part in Siegfried, but her voice is powerful, big-volumed, as well as her shining high notes. Manna Knjoi had a dramatic voice too, but she reserved all her powers for the Inmolation scene, in which she gave a beautifully sung rendition. Siegfried was sung in the title-role opera by Kevin Courtemanche, who has a heroic-toned voice, clear and youthful. In Götterdämmerung the hero was sung by Rod Dixon (who sang Loge in Rheingold too), who has a darker, more baritonal, bigger-volumed voice for Siegfried.
Chantelle Grant and Kevin Maynor in the Act 3 from Siegfried.
Mauricio Trejo was a superb Siegmund, with a resistant, powerful, heroic voice. Marsha Thompson gave a nicely sung Sieglinde, with a tremendous dramatic diction in her final sentence "Dich segnet Sieglindes weh!", truly moving. Kimberly Lloyd was also a charming Gutrune, with a pleasant voice. One of the great surprises was to hear Chantelle Grant as Erda in Siegfried and Waltraute in Götterdämmerung. A contralto-toned dark voice, with amazing low register and notes, whose diction is dramatically effective, as a mystical Erda and as a Waltraute in despair. One of the best renditions in this Ring, by far the best female. Nicole Mitchell (with a tone reminding the wonderful Ronnita Miller) sang as well an amazing Erda in Rheingold, with voice, deep, and mystical formidable, seductive singing. Geraldine McMillan sang well the role of Fricka, with a nice mezzo-soprano tone, and as Flosshilde in Götterdämmerung her voice surpassed in volume the other Rhine Maidens. Pamela Jones was a nice Freia, and Greg Rahming a correct Gunther.
Alberich and the Rhinemadens
Kevin Maynor himself sang in all operas, as Fasolt in Rheingold, Hunding in Walküre, the Wanderer in Siegfried and Hagen in Götterdämmerung. Hunding is his best role here, with his remarkable deep low register, a powerful dark bass, giving the character the brutality it is supposed to convey. As the Wanderer, he has the authority in the first act, where his performance reached its peak. Alberich was sung in Rheingold by Benjamin Bloomfield, an experimented bass-baritone, and in Götterdämmerung by Jonathan Green, but it was Richard Hobson in Siegfried who gave the best rendition in this role with his great voice, with a big, dark volume who made the character more scary, evil, and making Hobson one of the best male singers in this Ring. Walter Jackson is one of the most pretty voices of the cast, even when playing a character which is not pretty at all: Siegfried's Mime. His is a nice spieltenor voice, with a youthful sound (despite the greedy dwarf is old), giving it a lilliputian touch, but without sounding ridiculous. Maria Marbet was a superb Flosshilde in Rheingold.
The rest of gods, characters, walkyries and Rhine maidens were at a good or correct level, but all of them devoted for the sake of this Ring as I mentioned before. For Götterdämmerung they used a choir of only six members.
Die Walküre, Act 3
To produce, sing, set and see the complete Ring is an extraordinary and titanic experience, a landmark cultural event for any city. All the kudos to Mr. Maynor and Trilogy for making New Jersey's turn to come, and to prove that Ring can be performed successfully by anyone who loves Wagner's music with passion, wherever the place is.
My reviews are not professional and express only my opinions. As a non English native speaker I apologise for any mistake.
Most of the photographs are from the internet and belong to its authors. My use of them is only cultural. If someone is uncomfortable with their use, just notify it to me.
Any reproduction of my text requires my permission.
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