The Valkyrie

We've been on a good run of late when it comes to performing arts. This weekend, our own local hall, the Fowler Centre, undertook Wagner's The Valkyrie. 

For this one-off performance, NZSO assembled a stellar cast and the largest orchestra it has ever assembled on its intimate stage. We arrived early and used the iPhone to snap pictures of the beautiful performance hall and the lobby.

We had seen Stravinsky's Prometheus here during the Summer Fringe Festival, but this piece was much more suited to the hall's acoustics.

It was full daylight (around 3PM) when we snapped this shot of ourselves getting ready to take our seats. The performance is a nearly six-hour affair, with a full dinner break between acts II and III. Speaking of dinner, Sir Ian McKellan was sitting right next to us at our favorite little hole-in-the-wall Malaysian place, Roti Chenai.

Both in terms of content and endurance, The Valkyrie is not for the faint hearted. The standing ovation was truly earned, for is spite of the absence of staging as such, this minimalist performance was absolutely engrossing.

We're hoping to catch the other three Opera's in the Ring cycle over the next few years; and what fun it would be to see Der Ring des Nibelungen across four continents!