Friday, May 13, 2011

Deborah Voigt and Bryn Terfel Star in Met Saturday Matinee Broadcast of "Die Walküre"


St. Louis Public Radio will carry the Met Opera broadcast of Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre on their HD channel, KWMU-3 beginning at 11 a.m. Please note the one-hour earlier starting time. You may also listen to a live stream of the broadcast. Approximate running time 5 hours, 10 minutes.

The Metropolitan Opera's season comes to its conclusion this Saturday with a new production of Die Walküre, starring Bryn Terfel and Deborah Voigt.

In the April 23, 2011, New York Times, Anthony Tommasini said:
What moved me about this Walküre and made the five-hour-plus evening seem to whisk by was the exciting, wondrously natural playing that James Levine drew from the great Met orchestra and the involving singing of the impressive cast. Mr. Levine has had a rough time recuperating from back surgery. His conducting on Friday, if not as commanding as his work in Berg’s Wozzeck this month, was inspired and beautiful. Certain passages were perhaps not as together as in Levine Walküre performances past. But this one had fresh urgency and sweep. Taking bows onstage at the end, with the supporting arms of Mr. Terfel and Ms. Voigt, he looked frail. Still, he did superb work and was greeted with a huge ovation.

Among the cast Ms. Voigt had the most at stake. A decade ago, when she owned the role of Sieglinde at the Met, she seemed destined to be a major Brünnhilde. Her voice has lost some warmth and richness in recent years. But the bright colorings and even the sometimes hard-edged sound of her voice today suits Brünnhilde’s music. I have seldom heard the role sung with such rhythmic accuracy and verbal clarity. From the start, with those go-for-broke cries of “Hojotoho,” she sang every note honestly. She invested energy, feeling and character in every phrase.

The High Definition transmission of Die Walküre will be presented at AMC Esquire 7, 6706 Clayton Road; St. Louis Mills 18; 5555 Saint Louis Mills Boulevard; AMC Chesterfield 14, 3000 Chesterfield Mall; and AMC Showplace Edwardsville 13, 6333 Center Grove Road, Edwardsville, Illinois. Click here to buy tickets.

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