This year’s Met Opera Ring Cycle must stay true to Wagner’s mighty vision

“Alexa, what operas are scheduled for the new Metropolitan opera season?” – “The Metropolitan Railway, subsequently the Metropolitan Line was built in 1863 ….. “. “Alexa, what OPERAS are playing at THE …. MET-RO-POLI-TAN ….. O-P-E-R.-A …. LINCOLN ….. CENTER ……. NEW YORK … this season?”. “The New York Mets won their latest match against the Atlanta Braves 3-0. The scorers were ……” “Alexa, **!!!****??!!**”. “Sorry, I don’t know the answer to that. Would you like me to tell you a joke?”

Oh, forget it. Back to the Met’s hard copy Season Calendar for 2018/19.

It is a cornucopia of new and old. It nearly always is. Four new productions – “Samson et Dalila” (Saint-Saens); “Marnie’ (Muhly); “La Traviata”, Verdi and “Adrian Lecouvreur” (Cilea); nineteen from the Repertory (you’ll have to ask Alexa what they are – or more profitably and less irritatingly check online); and the return of the four Ring Cycle operas.

This year the Ring – running from March 9^th to May 11^th in three Cycles – is the elephant on the stage. I shall come to some of the other goodies on offer later. The Met’s Ring Cycle, a reworking of Robert Lepage’s controversial 2013 production needs better reviews than it received last time – and to put more bums on seats. Shaky finances have to be bolstered – apparently the totemic Chagalls in the Lincoln Center lobby are in hock to a bank – walking that tense line between maintaining tradition and being, well, gruesomely wrong.

As was the Met’s last Mariusz Trelinsky “visionary” production of “Tristan”, staged on the bridge of a WW2 destroyer with pinging radars and high viz screens ….. ugh! “Visionary”, indeed, but not Wagner’s vision.

I think Met management just may have “got it”. For, tucked away in the Ring blurb is a line about Mr Lepage’s production, “which faithfully represents every detail of Wagner’s immortal libretto.” Speaks volumes, does that sly, phrase. Because, such was not the view in 2013. What does this all mean? Is there guilt at having traduced poor old Richard in previous assaults on his works in general and in 2013 in particular? Are there accusers out there waiting to pounce? You bet there are. The sounds of knife sharpening can be heard up and down Columbus Avenue – just waiting for another Wagner travesty.

Peter Gelb, the Met’s General Manager since 2006, can’t have missed the grumbles of discontent from regulars about his preference for cutting edge and shock to adherence to composers’ and librettists’ true purpose. When Mr. Lepage’s production first burst onto the Met stage in 2013 it was described as “witless and wasteful”, “merely adequate …… a theatrical concept that had no sustaining vision” and “one of the best achievements of the Met in recent years”. Take your pick. America is not divided only by the current incumbent of the White House. But, what the heck? Bring it on again.

Perhaps Mr Lepage’s rumoured rewriting of “Gotterdammerung” as “Brexitdammerung” – the timing works well – can be justified as fashionably topical, replete as the work is with acts of betrayal, murder, vengeance and, finally, the destruction of the European Commission, all as the aria “Twilight of the Freeloaders” fades to BrunnTheresa celebrating triumphantly ……. sorry, imminent Wagner always provokes a rush of blood to the head. If only, if only!

Unusually, Wagner is both composer and librettist of his Ring Cycle, such was the project’s fundamental, towering, life driving importance to him – nothing less than the creation of the perfect work of art.

So, introducing a lot of modern day themes, as many producers try to do to appear cutting edge is tosh, if Wagner’s concept of illustrating basically simple but fundamental forces with uncluttered sound and drama is traduced.

Utilise modern techniques to enhance the operatic experience, by all means. Par exemple, the seven stage lifts installed in the Lincoln Center stage allow some spectacular displays – the current repertory production of “Aida” deploys them with aplomb and to great effect – as apparently did the full blast performance of this year’s opening offering, “Samson and Dalila” – running from now until 20^th October and again from 13^th to 28^th March, supply of Philistines permitting.

The pairing of Elina Garanca as Dalila and Roberto Alagna as Samson is a reprise of their electrifying performance in “Carmen”. My spies (no, I wasn’t there for the opening, but plan to catch it before the run ends) tell me the singing was gorgeous, the interaction between the pair – critical to make the plot make sense – strangely unelectrifying, and Samson “didn’t actually bring the house down”, but quixotically stalked into the sunset through a towering, bifurcated statue of Dagon, in whose temple Samson crushes his Philistine enemies. More to follow on Samson’s hissy fit.

The Michael Mayer production of “La Traviata” – running from 4^th December to 27^th April promises to be tradition lit by modern technology – the plan being to change the seasons on the fly as the plot progresses within an 18^th C setting. Soprano, Diana Damrau, plays Violetta alongside tenor, Juan Diego Florez, who first captured the hearts of the Met audience in Donizetti’s “La Fille Du Regiment” playing Tonio, and takes the role of Alfredo.

“Marnie” – from October 19^th to 10^th November – is terra incognita for everyone. It’s the second opera of composer Nico Muhly, who has operatised – that’s my September ghastly verbalisation out of the way – Winston Graham’s gripping novel about a woman, Marnie, who assumes multiple identities – real operatic plot stuff here – played by mezzo-soprano, Isabel Leonard, who is resolutely (one must assume, if you’ve watched the film) pursued by baritone Christopher Maltman, playing Mark Rutland. From the promotional material this will be classic film noire, think Bogart chasing Lauren Bacall.

His first opera, “Two Boys” was a grizzly affair about two teenagers who meet online, one killing the other. It was received with mixed reviews – that’s me being really polite – and I await “Marnie” with, well, bated everything.

But what has really bugged me about Muhly, who I’ve never come across before, is that he addresses his Twitter fans as “Beloveds”. Yes, yes, I know that’s trivial, horrible, judgmental, reactionary, fuddy duddy, prejudice – but ……… yeuch!!!! Mr. Muhly lives on the Lower East Side, so I had better sip my coffee on the street incognito.

“Adriana Lecouvreur” – from 31^st December to 26^th January, set in the 18^th century is by the composer Francesco Cilea, set in the late 19^th. I have to confess that I have seen none of Cilea’s work, but “Lecouvreur” is a Met reliable, Renata Tebaldi, Monserrat Caballe and Renata Scotto having played her in previous productions. She will be played in this run by soprano, Anna Netrebko, currently at the full flood of her talent and the producer is the incomparable Sir David McVicar.

I made my mind up to go when I read the Guardian’s sniffy review of the Covent Garden performance as “a good night out”. How dismissive is that? Anyway, wild horses, etc…. I can’t wait to see Sir David’s working replica of a Baroque theatre.

So, they’re off! This is an ambitious programme and the Met needs it to succeed, rebuilding its audiences. Bravely, the untried is being woven with the familiar yarn of loved favourites. That has always been the way – and rightly so. Despite best efforts it is amazing how little new 20^th century opera has made it into the regular repertoire – a topic for another time. Maybe Alexa can tell us why …..”Alexa ……?”