Wagner : Der Ring des Nibelungen. Haenchen.

   in Opera Now (May, 2013)
By reconfiguring the layout of the Musiektheater in Amsterdam, Pierre Audi’s 1999 Nederlandse Opera production physically involves the audience as surely never before. George Tsypins’s monumental sets sweep out into the auditorium, at times surrounding the orchestra and providing the performers with a catwalk that thrusts right out to the viewer. Experienced live this must have been overwhelming – on film it has pros and cons. The sheer scale is sometimes lost and the sound varies slightly between operas (Das Rheingold seems slightly less bright than the others). Effects that probably overwhelmed in the theatre can look overly artificial, for example, the opening scene where the Rhinemaidens look all too like …