Review: Union Avenue Opera's GOTTERDAMMERUNG Brings Home the Gold!

They've done it! Little Union Avenue Opera and its leader Scott Schoonover bring home the gold! They have triumphed over that colossus of all operatic colossi-Wagner's Ring Cycle! They entered the battle wielding the magic sword of talent and determination and, just like Siegfried, they have conquered this giant, this dragon of an opus and forced it to yield a pure golden "Ring"! Their current production of "Götterdämmerung", the final work in Wagner's vast tetralogy, is a showcase for some magnificent voices. Wagner would be pleased.

The Ring at the center of the tale is more cursed than Tolkien's ring. The Rhinemaidens cursed the gold that the wicked Nibelung dwarf Alberich stole from them to make a Ring of Power. Alberich cursed the Ring when Wotan stole it from him to give to the giants Fafner and Fasolt (who had a builder's lien on Valhalla). Fafner, after killing Fasolt, turned himself into a dragon to protect the Ring. When Siegfried kills the dragon we can be sure that it's last breath is used to utter yet another curse on the Ring. Yet innocent Siegfried gives the damned thing to his beloved Brünnhilde. (Such a naif!)

In "Götterdämmerung" the further and final adventures of Siegfried lead him to the castle of Gunther, king of the Gibechungs. Here Siegfried is given a drink-a sort of multi-purpose pharmaceutical: it is both draft of oblivion and love potion. He forgets Brünnhilde and falls in love with Gutrune. In the chaos that ensues Brünnhilde is kidnapped, Siegfried is killed, Brünnhilde lights his funeral pyre and rides her horse into the flames, the conflagration engulfs and destroys Valhalla, and the Rhinemaidens recover the Ring.

All curses are lifted. The old order changeth, yielding place to new. And all this in less than three hours in a gracefully condensed version by Graham Vick and Jonathan Dove.

Clay Hilley sings the role of Siegfried as he did in last year's production of the opera of that name. Again he shows himself a true heldentenor-that heroic tenor that this role demands; his clear, true voice easily fills the hall.

But "Götterdämmerung" is even more Brünnhilde's show than it is Siegfried's. Alexandra LoBianco sings this role, as she did last year. This time she is even more astonishing. Such power! Such purity! In her initial duet with Siegfried she has such easy access to that last very, very high note. Her long final aria at the funeral pyre is an amazing and memorable tour de force. And the lovely lady can act! She has intense, expressive eyes that convey Brünnhilde's despair and fury to the farthest row. She moves with a swift grace and light-footedness that belie her sturdy build. She is one of the finest Wagnerian sopranos you're ever likely to hear.

David Dillard, who sang Wotan last year, does beautiful work as Gunther, though his voice hasn't quite the power of some of the mighty voices around him. The wicked Hagen is sung by Neil Nelson who sings with such clarity and fine diction. Rebecca Wilson brings a rich, powerful soprano to the role of Gutrune.

Two others show real acting skills as well as fine voices. Timothy Lafontaine makes old Alberich the very essence of envy. With long thin lankey gray hair he carries just a touch of Gollum-but with a hint of Germanic swagger. And Melissa Kornacki as Waltraude, Brünnhilde's Valküre sister, fills the role with life and energy when she comes to beg Brünnhilde to give back the Ring.

Lindsay Anderson, Johanna Nordhorn and Lauren Wright do lovely work as the Rhinemaidens in the lilting, liquid song of these watery nymphs.

Conductor Scott Schoonover again draws fine work from his orchestra. Special praise should go to the horns-the iconic instruments in Wagner. The horn is a most difficult device, and Nancy Schick and Mary Swartzwelder play them flawlessly.

Teresa Doggett again does costumes, and here we see the various clans and species in differing garb. The Valküre and Alberich are in classic "timeless Medieval" dress; the Gibechung palace and costumes reek of 1930's fascism. (The vassals are the image of Brown-shirt troopers.) And Siegfried wears what looked to me like modern "cargo-pants".

Stage director Karen Coe Miller again uses the various spaces and levels well. But, as I've said about last year's "Siegfried",

"There are times when the stage was just empty for a little too long while the orchestra played-or when singers on stage seemed to be merely waiting for their musical cue. Whenever an actor is on stage he must be (even silently) acting. He needs something to do that will forward the plot or color the character."

(Ah, well, theatre people never listen to critics anyway.)

Often Ms. Miller employs what I call the "highwayman" style of directing: she places her singers down-stage center and orders them to "stand and deliver!" From an acting point of view this is less than realistic, but from a musical one it does indeed give the audience the full-blown benefit of these marvelous voices.

The set, by Patrick Huber, is the same as used in Union Avenue's other stagings of the "Ring" operas--clean steel girders and stairs. I applaud the economy of reuse, but I still think that this is far from the Romantic "feel" that is appropriate for "The Ring". Again there is a very rectangular central projection screen on which there is a constant flow of images and animation. Designed by Michael Perkins this complex projection plot is most impressive, though often too busy and sometimes distracting. The final moment, however, is stunningly beautiful. As Valhalla falls in flames the stars and galaxies of the world's rebirth spread beyond the proscenium and even flood the ceiling.

Lighting is also by Mr. Huber, and it's lovely and dramatic. I was particularly struck by the small single proud light on Brünnhilde's with the torch, and that final glow on her face as the flames rise.

It's a stellar production of one of the worlds most daunting operas. "Götterdämmerung" by Richard Wagner. It plays at the Union Avenue Opera through August 29.