I'd heard about that but hadn't actually heard it. I'm going to search around on NPR archives.
I have to admit that there are many times when the ridiculous plot looks like it's going to teeter into slapstick--when there's all this buildup about Siegmund getting the sword, I so much wanted a Monty Python moment where he tugs and pulls but can't get it to come out. Also the extremely large Jane Eaglen didn't work too well as as a romantic lead, though I've certainly known some very sexy large women. She was about twice the size of the Siegfried singer, though.
I think all that is maybe why there was intentional comedy in the staging.
And let us not forget Elmer Fudd: "I killed the Wabbit! I killed the Wabbit!"
Also, by the end of the second opera, with 9 hours still to go, my husband mentioned that the fat lady had sung--why wasn't it the end?
no subject
I have to admit that there are many times when the ridiculous plot looks like it's going to teeter into slapstick--when there's all this buildup about Siegmund getting the sword, I so much wanted a Monty Python moment where he tugs and pulls but can't get it to come out. Also the extremely large Jane Eaglen didn't work too well as as a romantic lead, though I've certainly known some very sexy large women. She was about twice the size of the Siegfried singer, though.
I think all that is maybe why there was intentional comedy in the staging.
And let us not forget Elmer Fudd: "I killed the Wabbit! I killed the Wabbit!"
Also, by the end of the second opera, with 9 hours still to go, my husband mentioned that the fat lady had sung--why wasn't it the end?