Valhalla at the 'plex

Yesterday afternoon we went to the multiplex, a thing we rarely do. The occasion was the season’s first broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera: Das Rheingold, and also the first in the Met’s new production of the Ring . Gosh, what a great three hours it was! Mr. Lepage’s production has come in for mixed reviews, to say the least, but I was enchanted. I liked the effects. I even liked Bryn Terfel's greasy Wotan. And Jimmy Levine, now pale as parchment and as corpulent as Sarah Caldwell (and like Ms. Caldwell, his legs can no longer bear his weight, so that he must conduct from a chair), proves once again that genius can overcome all obstacles. Ah, the music!

And a tip of the virtual hat to Adam Diegel as Froh (on the left). He was the cleanest of the immortals, and a voice we will surely hear again. Blue skies! – Dan Ford