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The Arts Intel Report

The Valkyries

Yuval Sharon at the Detroit Opera House.

Sept 17–20, 2022
1526 Broadway St, Detroit, MI 48226

Fresh from the Hollywood Bowl, More Adventures in Hip Wagner from Yuval Sharon. Remember Sharon’s recent 70-minute drive-thru Götterdämmerung, freeze-dried from the six-hour finale of the four-evening “Ring” cycle? Okay, now “the most visionary opera director of his generation” (Mark Binelli, The New York Times Magazine) morphs the full 70-minute third act of Die Walküre—the second installment of the “Ring”—into “a video game in real time,” mixing live action and greenscreen. (This is visionary? Wasn’t George Lucas supposed to stage a whole “Star Wars Ring” in Los Angeles a decade ago? The project proved cost-prohibitive at the time, but video costs nothing now.) The opening “Ride of the Valkyries”—Classical Top 40 with a vengeance—is sure to give Detroit audiences an adrenalin rush. The concluding “Magic Fire Music” is surefire, too. But what comes in between is dense stuff for die-hards, slice it as you may. Rather than Gustavo Dudamel, who conducted in Los Angeles, Sir Andrew Davis will do the honors. The warrior maiden Brünnhilde is once again Christine Goerke, Sharon’s go-to soprano in all things “Ring.” —Matthew Gurewitsch

Photo: © Nic Antaya/Detroit News