Some people get terribly, passionately serious about Wagner. This shouldn’t be a problem: truly great music of all kinds tends to attract obsessive adulation, especially whenever the artist is a controversial, genre-breaking genius (cf. the recent press reaction to the death of David Bowie). But the sad fact is that too often, this fervent Wagner-worship…
“A Ring Cycle set in a launderette? Well, I’ve seen weirder productions…” Unexpected Opera’s approachable and slick reduction of Wagner’s epic starts on a characteristically unstuffy note, and proceeds to soften us up with disarmingly cheesy jokes, some ribald stage antics, and bags of energy. The Rinse Cycle cheerfully pokes fun at itself, as well…
Opera Naked is cool, confessional cabaret from a singer’s point of view. Absolute devotion and dedication to opera – in the face of financial disaster, parental disapproval, physical problems and even moral dilemmas – is what gives this production its passionate, beating heart. The whole thing rolls along at a lick; moments of pathos are…