Opera Underground From Twenty Ninth Street:
Wagner’s Die Walküre
Saturday, May 16 | 7 PM | $5–35
Twenty Ninth Street Parking Garage, 30th Street & Canyon Boulevard*
Tickets available at the bottom of this page
- WAGNER Die Walküre: Act I, arranged by Francis Griffin
MahlerFest Chamber Orchestra
Kenneth Woods, Conductor
Stacey Rishoi – Sieglinde
Brennen Guillory – Siegmund
Matthew Sharp – Hunding
“I saw the world end.” Richard Wagner
Inspired by a vision of the fall of the gods, Wagner embarked on writing of one of music’s most gigantic and powerful creations, the four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen.
This performance of Act I of Wagner’s Die Walküre will be immediate and visceral. Prepare to be blown away by the vocal power of elite soloists in the newest and most unique concert setting on the Front Range – an underground parking garage! With resonant acoustics and an edgy feel, underground parking garages are trending in Europe as an inspiring new venue for classical music. We are excited to bring this unusual experience to our audience!
Stacy Rishoi as Sieglinde
Brennen Guillory as Siegmund
Matthew Sharp as Hunding
What to Expect
This concert is in the underground parking garage at Twenty Ninth Street. You and the orchestra will be protected from the elements but it is certainly not climate controlled. In this setting, this concert will be informal. We will be capturing audio and video recording so keep that in mind when you dress for whatever temperature we get in mid-May.
When you arrive, you’ll have to find us in the back of the parking lot across from the movie theater. It should be obvious because that portion of the parking garage will be blocked off. The audience will be sitting in nice folded chairs. There will be coffee and some light refreshments for sale.
The first half of the concert will be a bit of introduction – who are the characters in this piece and why are we playing Wagner at a Mahler Festival. Of course, if you attended the symposium earlier in the day you’ll have a pretty good idea. The story is based on Norse mythology. This half will be short and then we’ll take a short break before playing Act I, which is about sixty minutes of continuous, fantastic music.
Die Walküre is the second opera in Wagner The Ring of the Nibelung cycle. The music is highly dramatic and reflects the emotional content of the text, Wagner’s specialty. As in John Williams’s music for Star Wars, Wagner identifies each character and many ideas and symbols with a musical theme to help you identify who is involved and what is going on at any given time. These themes are called leitmotifs and are very closely associated with Wagner, though he did not invent the idea.
Wagner does not use the typical opera pattern of choruses, arias, and vocal numbers. Instead, his operas unfold as a seamless drama. Like our beloved Mahler, Wagner pushes the boundaries of traditional harmony without breaking through them. Our version uses reduced numbers, roughly one of each woodwind and brass instrument and a medium-sized string section of about 22 players. Wagner writes big brass themes which will be preserved even with these smaller forces. The orchestra will be up on a platform so you can see them but the lighting will not be fancy, we’re in a parking garage after all.
There is not a recording of this reduced version but you can hear a classic recording of this below.
*In case of extremely inclement weather, this concert will be held at Grusin Music Hall on the CU-Boulder campus.