We listened to the BBC Radio 3 live webcast of the BBC Proms concert performance of Wagner's Götterdämmerung today, and the conductor, Donald Runnicles, acquitted himself most splendidly for the most part as did the BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Singers, and BBC Symphony Chorus. While we're not ready to declare Mr. Runnicles a card-carrying member of that rarest of conductor breeds, a possessor of the "Wagner Gene" (we'd need to hear his readings of the rest of the Ring and of Tristan before we could even consider doing that), his showing today was most encouraging in that direction.
As for today's solo singers (see above link for the cast list), they were all, also for the most part, just competent — when they weren't being thoroughly dreadful, that is. Their best showing was seemingly reserved for Act III in which all the solo singers did their very best work of the day.
As we've here several times before noted, in those cases where the opera is a genuine example of opera as dramma per musica and therefore more than merely a showcase for songbirds, we just know there has to be a way to do opera without any solo singers whatsoever.
We're still working on it.
Acting In Opera
Hillary
