Tim Collins/Contributor
Pacific Opera Victoria is about to embark on the daunting task of presenting one of the most recognized and beloved productions within the catalogue of operatic works.
Die Walküre, by Richard Wagner, is a five-hour opera based on Norse mythology that contains some of the most recognizable songs in classical music.
Sure, the music has been used (and abused) by everything from the blatantly racist film Birth of a Nation to the village attack scene in Apocalypse Now. It also formed the backdrop for a chase scene in Blues Brothers and was the subject of the Bugs Bunny rendition of the production in a Merrie Melodies film entitled What’s Opera Doc (very funny and highly recommended as well).
Still, regardless of where non-fans of opera may have heard the music, they know it and it is undeniably fantastic.
Take The Ride of the Valkyries as one example.
That piece features an intensely riveting, literally hair-raising arrangement that accompanies the action as the mythical warrior maidens, the Valkyries, ride into battle. With brass fanfares, sweeping strings and powerful rhythm, the music embodies the heroism and adventure that is an integral part of the opera.
“This opera has an amazing musical score,” said conductor, Timothy Vernon.
“Wagner wrote this for a huge orchestra, and we, like most operas that present this work, are using a reduction of that original score that cuts it down to about 40 orchestra members. But, having said that, the music loses none of its power.”
A reduced score is necessary since most orchestras today are simply not equipped to play the scores as Wagner wrote them, Vernon said.
“Wagner wrote for an orchestra of 120 players…16 first violins, for example. That’s just not feasible for most productions. The music remains a powerful component of the production.”
But opera is and always will be about voices.
“People say that Wagner is hard to sing. For the right voices, it’s not. And we have the right voices,” said Vernon.
“For example, Jennifer Maines, who plays Brunhilde, is simply amazing. I knew her as a student, and she went to Europe and started singing these bigger roles. For her to bring it home is exciting for her and for all of us.”
But Maines is only one member of the astounding collection of talent in this production.
“Aviva Fortunata, as Sieglinde, has a true Wagnerian voice, and Allyson McHardy, in the role of Fricka is an incredible mezzo-soprano who has this great dramatic role. It’s a role that she delivers flawlessly,” said Vernon.
“In truth, the entire cast is wonderful.”.
But what about the storyline?
Well, anyone who thinks that they have a grasp on Norse mythology by virtue of having seen the eight (yes, we said eight) movies that feature the Norse god Thor, might want to reconsider.
“Wagner’s intention in composing the Ring Cycle (there are four operas in total, of which Die Walküre is the second) was to create a foundational myth for what was, at that time, a yet ununified Germany. He looked back and considered the foundational mythology of the Greeks and then drew upon Icelandic mythology as the basis for much of this work,” Vernon said.
“There’s a lot to get used to when considering the gods of the Norse. They are not eternal, to start – they go through a cycle. They are also flawed, in a very human way.”
The resulting storyline is both complex and enthralling and is anything but dull. It has action, love, hate, incest, and adultery within its narrative and completely draws the audience into a supernatural world of bravery and betrayal.
It opens with Siegmund, the son of Wotan, finding shelter from a storm in the home of Sieglinde, the wife of Hunding. Siegmund, alone, unarmed and wounded, falls in love with Sieglinde who, unbeknownst to him, is his twin sister from whom he was separated as a child.
Hunding returns and challenges Siegmund to a battle to the death.
The god Wotan first decides to help Siegmund, but when his wife, the goddess Fricka, finds out, she intervenes and makes him reverse his orders to Brünnhilde to intervene on Sigmund’s behalf.
Brünnhilde, one of the nine Valkyries, all of whom are also Wotan’s children, defies Wotan and … well you get the idea. You’ll have to see the opera to find out how it ends.
Suffice to say that the story is both complex and compelling, full of the kind of twists and turns only found in epic mythology.
Still, as enthralling as the storyline is and as unforgettable as the voices and musical score undoubtedly are, Die Walküre can seem daunting for some.
The running time for the production, after all, is just shy of five hours, which might seem a bit much, even with two intermissions.
“I think that the audience finds they lose themselves in this production. It’s like swimming in a river – the storyline takes you and carries you along,” said Vernon. And, when you’re truly engaged in something, you tend not to think about the time. In fact, you may find that you’re sorry when it comes to an end.”
That’s will certainly be the case for Wagner purists and, we suspect, for those who have newly come to Wagnerian opera. We’re willing to bet that they’ll be humming Ride of the Valkyries to themselves for a long time to come.
Die Walküre will be presented at the Royal Theatre on Oct. 12, 18 and 21 at 6 p.m. with a matinee on Oct. 15 at 12:30 p.m.
Tickets and more information are available at pacificopera.ca/event/die-walkure/.