Last weekend, my husband and I went to the Santa Fe Opera to see Richard Wagner’s Die Walkure. For those of you who don’t know the opera I’m talking about, picture Bugs Bunny on a fat horse in female Viking attire. I strongly recommend listening to the music, but be warned: you’ll never be able to listen to a John Williams composition the same ever again. In light of the show we’re fresh off of, I thought it might be fun to break down both the opera (spoiler alert!) and the history of the venue.
Act One: Luke, Leia, and the Interpretive Death Eaters
My husband named this act, and based on the interpretation we saw, I found it fitting. For those of you Star Wars fans out there, the protagonists of Wagner’s opera, Siegmund and Sieglinde, were fraternal twins separated at a young age. When they meet again under stressful circumstances, they form a romantic bond – perhaps mistaking the connection they feel as twins – drawing a parallel to another set of star-crossed siblings in more recent pop culture. Sieglinde is trapped in a loveless marriage to Siegmund’s enemy, so naturally the twins/lovers run away into the night. As for the Death Eaters, they had nothing initially obvious to to add to the story, just the interpretation that the Santa Fe Opera chose, in which there were a number of dark, veiled figures flitting around the stage doing set changes, dancing interpretively with props that were not in use, and twisting literal ropes around the singers (I’ll never read Harry Potter the same way).
Interpretations of operas began at the Santa Fe Opera almost a year after its founding in 1957 with Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. The property was purchased by conductor John Crosby, who painstakingly surveyed the land (firing guns around the property to find the best acoustics, supposedly) that had been everything from a pinto bean plantation and pig farm to guest ranch in order to find the best place to build his opera house, with the help of an initial investment made by his parents.
Act Two: Little Red Riding Hood finds her Flowers in the Attic
As the primordial Luke and Leia run into the sunset, their father, the god Wotan, sends the goddess Brunnhilde to protect Siegmund in battle. Unfortunately, his wife, Fricka (the goddess of marriage) isn’t pleased that he’s showing favoritism to his bastard twins who happen to be (ahem) together. Wotan’s argument is basically, “Chill. Think about it my way: I love them, and they love each other… free love, man!” Needless to say, Fricka wins the argument, Brunnhilde is called back and given new orders to not help Siegmund – meanwhile Imperial Navy Troopers were wandering around the stage alongside other interpretive dancer type gods, adding to the distraction. Brunnhilde doesn’t like the new plan, finds Siegmund, tells him Sieglinde is pregnant with his baby, but “don’t worry bro, I’ve got your back.”
Brunnhilde’s scheme doesn’t go as planned, and Siegmund dies anyway, and the Father of the Year blames Brunnhilde for his plan… going exactly like he wanted it to.
As for the opera house, after a fire destroyed the original structure in 1967, it opened just one year later once more to Madame Butterfly. Crosby’s theatre was such a success the first ten seasons that this second build housed 1,400 more seats than the original 480. In 1997 the theatre was torn down and expanded into what the auditorium still is today, with 2,128 seats! The 1998 season opened with, you guessed it, Madame Butterfly.
Act Three: Phenomenal Song, but this could’ve been an email
One of the most iconic Wagner compositions opens the third act: “Flight of the Valkyries.” The orchestra did an amazing job, and I probably would’ve gotten chills if I hadn’t been so transfixed by the bizarre visuals happening on stage. Brunnhilde’s eight sisters, the Valkyries, were arriving at a mountain-top for what I can only assume was some much needed girl time. The goddesses take the stage with bloodied body bags in tow, from which equally bloodied interpretive dancers emerged and were tied up. Anyway, a scared-out-of-her-mind Brunnhilde comes flying in with a distraught Sieglinde and begs her hesitant sisters for help. Sieglinde is sent off to the mountains to protect her unborn child from the wrath of the gods….. but don’t worry, she’s got her brother’s broken sword for… warmth?
Wotan arrived and his drive didn’t help him calm down. He disowns Brunnhilde, takes her immortality, sends her into a Disney Princess-esque eternal sleep, and binds her to whatever schmuck can wake her up (I managed to sum the gist of it up in a sentence… Wagner stretched it out for the better part of a 45 minute act!).The End.
Crosby became the longest opera general director in American history, serving the Santa Fe Opera from 1956 to 2000. Since its opening, the Santa Fe Opera has had over 2,000 performances including “19 world premiers, 45 American premiers, and almost every opera by Richard Strauss, to whose works Crosby was devoted,” as stated on the Opera’s website.
I want to acknowledge that this post is silly, but trust my sincerity when I say that going to the Santa Fe Opera is one of the most amazing experiences. It’s open air, so each opera’s beginning is accompanied by famed New Mexican sunsets and sounds of a desert evening. The orchestra and singers always manage to leave me completely awed, and the stagecraft is always beautifully done. I cannot recommend enough to visit this venue… regardless of whether or not the particular interpretation is easily understood.
Farewell! Farewell! Farewell!
Mountain Girl
Mountain Girl Goes 
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