Siegfried
Wagner’s interest in the shadowy world of myth and medieval history gave rise to all ten of his mature works. His first three thoroughly derivative works aped the mannerisms of German, Italian, and French opera, but then he got on his mythic hobby horse and never looked back. Viewed as a single work, the “Ring of the Nibelung” was Wagner’s greatest labor. The gestation was also prolonged; more than 25 years elapsed between the earliest prose sketches and the performance of the first complete cycle.
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Eric Halfvarson gave a good account of his low notes as Fafnir the Dragon, but the odd electronic treatment given to his voice when he was supposed to be deep within his cave was disappointing. The speakers distorted his voice, giving it an unpleasant effect that wasn’t at all the fault of the singer. Ekkehard Wlaschiha succeeded vocally and dramatically as the evil dwarf Alberich, making him more malignant than his brother Mime and far more menacing. Nancy Maultsby (Erda) and Olga Makarina (the Woodbird) were both good in their roles, which represent the extremes of the female vocal range. The Lyric Orchestra negotiated the long and complex score with scarcely an error under the baton of Zubin Mehta, who also kept the music from dragging.
