By Gianni Truzzi, Seattle PostGlobe Theater Critic
For those, like me, who have never been to Seattle Opera’s weeklong marathon presentations of Richard Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen” (or “The Nibelung's Ring”), the lavish drama of the opening opera, “Das Rheingold,” makes clear what the excitement is all about.
From the vigorous and sustained audience response Sunday night, the initiated were more than satisfied as well.
As much as one can get lost in the elaborate Teutonic mythos and rapturous music, the truth is that “Das Rheingold” is really just a prologue. As the shortest of the four operas that make up the Ring Cycle, it’s all a big setup for everything that happens later.
This is the third design of Wagner’s pinnacle work (many even argue the peak work of the 19th century) at Seattle Opera since the first in 1975, and is a second restaging of the version that premiered in 2001. Seattle is one of the few venues in the world that stages the full cycle in festival form, over successive nights in a week, as Wagner conceived it.
Running at over 16 hours, that’s a whole lot of story and singing. So the first two-and-a-half hours are a mere ramp-up to what is to come. It’s here, in four scenes, that we learn how Alberich the dwarf stole the magic gold from the aquatic Rhinemaidens and forged it into the ring of power, how Wotan, lord of the gods, stole the ring in turn to pay the builders of Valhalla, and how Alberich cursed the ring as an object of desire and doom.
And if that sounds a bit Tolkien-esque, that’s because the Oxford don and Wagner drew upon the same 13th century Volsunga saga and older Norse Eddas, with their tales of gods, heroes and enchantment.
Wagner demands the impossible in his staging (where, for example, are you going to find a baritone dwarf?), but the design team meets the challenges beautifully with a Maxfield Parrish glow.
In the opening scene, the Rhinemaidens (Juilianne Gearhart, Michèle Losier and Jennifer Hines) float and swim on trapezes in their watery realm. Yet the illusion is made just as strong by Richard Paul Fink, as Alberich, scrambling and slipping on the rocks in pursuit.
Fink, who revives his 2001 performance, is a masterful singer and performer, reveling in the dwarf’s suffering and malice with powerful lungs.
Greer Grimsley is an experienced Wotan, his lush bass-baritone commanding the other gods. Set designer Thomas Lynch seems to nod to the Pacific Northwest in his stunning old growth timber, moss and rock-strewn set of the second and fourth scenes (in eye patch and long hair, Wotan could be Dale Chihuly cavorting at Pilchuk!). Lighting designer Peter Kaczorowski complements with the shifting shadows of sunlight through branches.
Among the notable newcomers are bass-baritone Andrea Silvestrelli as the giant Fasolt, who offers convincing pining for the love goddess Freia (Marie Piette), and tenor Dennis Peterson as the Alberich’s enslaved brother.
Kobie van Rensburg truly looks the part of the sly, trickster fire god Loge (also known in the mythology as Loki), as well as offering a smooth tenor.
Stephanie Blythe’s mezzo-soprano is resplendent as Wotan’s wife, Fricka, although her stiff physicality is decidedly old-school, and stands out amid the (slightly) more naturalistic style that director Stephen Wadsworth cultivates in his cast.
Despite the fabulist plot, it’s that genuine believability of the characters’ actions Wadsworth insists on that makes his production a true standout. Wadsworth keeps things moving, enough so that the running time is even a few minutes shorter than usual.
Only 14 more hours to go. If they can keep this level of charm and beauty up, I expect to remain enchanted.
Seattle Opera’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen” runs for three cycles through Aug. 30 at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, 301 Mercer St. Tickets: Limited availability for Cycle 3, Aug. 25-30; (206) 389-7676 or seattleopera.org.
