Der Ring des Nibelungen: Wandering through Wagner Last Updated: 12:01am BST 11/10/2007

Rupert Christiansen reviews Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden

The
Royal Opera has just presented the first complete cycle of Keith
Warner’s production of Wagner’s Ring, and the unmitigatedly good news
is Antonio Pappano’s conducting. Over the staging’s three-year
gestation, his interpretations of the individual episodes sometimes
seemed frenetic and breathless, as though he was racing to meet another
appointment, but now he has settled and focused.

	Lisa Gasteen presents a spunky Brünnhilde

I
don’t think as yet he would rank in the very highest class of
Wagnerians – one doesn’t sense the architectural majesty that Goodall
forged, or the warmth and fluency that made Haitink’s reading so
enchanting – but he commands the overall measure of the score and is
alert to the twists and turns of the drama.

He
drew sumptuous playing from the orchestra, particularly in Act 1 of
Götterdämmerung, and supported the singers sensitively. Over the years,
his reading will surely continue to deepen and refine itself.

Underpinned
by this strong pulse from the pit, the cast was more than the sum of
its parts: its members had been well-rehearsed, and there was no
phoned-in routine. Yet, from a purely vocal perspective, the
performance provided a pretty depressing confirmation of the current
dearth of Wagnerians.

RTRH

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How I would direct Wagner’s Ring

The world’s longest opera overflows with
thrilling drama and sublime music – so why is it so hard to get
right on stage?

As the Royal Opera mounts its latest cycle with
John Tomlinson as Wotan, we ask him and two other Wagnerphiles to
explain how they would like to see it done

John Tomlinson

In 2000, there were plans to do a Ring at Opera North, which I was
going to direct. I’m glad it didn’t work out because you can’t
combine singing and directing.

	Why is Wagner so hard to get right on stage?

If somebody said, “We’re inviting you to direct a new Ring in
2010”, I’d retire from singing now and spend a year thinking about
it in a creative way. I’d go to every musical and theatrical
performance, and I would immerse myself.

Some directors don’t do their homework. I’ve worked with directors
— and Germans, too — who basically don’t know the piece. You come to
the first rehearsal and the director has no idea what the piece is
about.

I have some framework of a vision. It would go in the direction of
straight theatre. I would definitely revert to more of a
responsibility on the singers for true acting performances. There
has been an increasing trend in opera generally to prevent singers
acting. Great expressionistic acting of opera singers was demanded
15 years ago. Now designers are getting stronger and singers are up
against more physical restrictions. Somebody like Robert Wilson
says: “I don’t ever want to see any expressionistic acting ever
again. I want singers to be like in kabuki.”

My whole career has been developing singing-acting. You are not
being showy; you are being convincing, and you are allowing the
piece to move the audience through your performance, and that’s what
I will continue to do whether anybody likes it or not really. The
Ring is a myth, and you can set it absolutely anywhere and do it in
all sorts of different ways. You could almost do it as a play within
a play.

RTRH

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“The 12 years felt like they were 10 minutes long, to be honest with  you,” Torre said, his voice breaking and his eyes glistening in front of the cameras.

Torre goes home now, to take some time with the family, weigh his options. “I’m not ready to move somewhere and not do anything,” he said.

He took a moment to wish the Yankees well, already sounding divorced. “They have a great future,” he said

But all eyes were on Torre going to the interview room, making the stiff walk to talk about the end of a season, probably for the last time as manager of the Yankees.

RTRH

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From The Times
September 28, 2007
The model of a modern major maestro
Maurizio Pollini, one of the greatest living pianists, has an unswerving passion for the contemporary
Maurizio Pollini
Richard Morrison

Maurizio Pollini is getting almost chatty these days. I first met him 20 years ago in his Milan apartment: part of a Renaissance palazzo, pristine white, exquisitely furnished. He was courtesy itself. Yet while his wife, as extrovert as he is insular, played with their son in the next room, I found myself spouting what was virtually a monologue in order to extract the odd precious monosyllable from the impeccably suited figure opposite.

Par for the course, I later discovered. Pollini might well be one of the greatest pianists of all time but, as far as interviewers were concerned, he has been an impenetrable enigma. For some concert-goers, too. There are morticians who go about their duties more chirpily than Pollini on the concert platform.

Yet at 65 he seems mellowed, relaxed, prepared to offer whole sentences, even short paragraphs, in reply to questions he deems interesting. He’s in London for two reasons. The first is to play two Beethoven concertos – the Emperor and the Fourth – with the London Philharmonic (the latter performance, on October 7, marking the orchestra’s 75th anniversary). The second is to take part in the South Bank’s celebration of the avant-garde Italian composer Luigi Nono, one of Pollini’s closest friends until his death in 1990. That concert, on October 31, will include . . . sofferte onde serene . . . – an astonishing work for piano and electronic tape specially written for him.

The model of a modern major maestro – Times Online.

IT IS considered one of Leonardo da Vinci's finest paintings and its theft from the Duke of Buccleuch's home in 2003 was one of the most audacious art crimes ever committed.

But last night, it was announced that the £37 million Madonna of the Yarnwinder had been recovered – and The Scotsman can reveal that alawyer working for one of the country's most successful and respected law firms was among four men arrested. 

The man, who was believed to be a partner in the firm but who had not been officially named, was arrested yesterday in the offices of HBJ Gateley Wareing in West Regent Street, Glasgow.

Police said the 16th-century painting – whose theft was regarded by the FBI as one of the world's ten worst art crimes – was discovered following a raid in Glasgow. The three other men arrested were said to be from the Lancashire area.

Last night, it was reported that the painting had been discovered by police at HBJ Gateley Wareing's offices.

The four men are due to appear in court today.

RTRH

A hugely valuable and rare link to genius of the Renaissance
ALASTAIR DALTON

MADONNA of the Yarnwinder is one of only a few paintings which have been authenticated as a Leonardo da Vinci.

Art critics have described the painting, which is just 19in by 14in, as one of his most interesting and complete sketches.

It is also regarded as one of the most important paintings to have been stolen in the UK in the past 70 years.

Brian Sewell, one of Britain's best-known art critics, said: "There
is so little that can reasonably be attributed to Leonardo, there are
only about 12 of his paintings left. As this one has been accepted as
one of his finished ones, it makes it very important and highly
valuable."

The 10th Duke of Buccleuch, who succeeded his late father this year,
said: "It's the most beautiful work of art by one of the greatest
painters in the world. It is a work of such peace and beauty."

He said the painting had been purchased in Italy in the 18th century
by the third duke and had been conclusively identified as a work by the
Renaissance master only in 1986 following scientific tests.

It was painted in about 1501 for Florimand Robertet, the secretary
of state to Louis XII of France, and symbolises the future passion of
Jesus Christ. Professor Duncan McMillan, the visual art critic for The
Scotsman, said: "It is incredibly important and contemporary with the
Mona Lisa."

Leonardo, born in 1452 at Vinci is often described as a "Renaissance
man", a genius who left behind a legacy of some of the world's finest
art.

Two of his greatest works were the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper,
which attract millions of visitors each year and are the most
reproduced artworks of all time. Their nearest rival is Michelangelo's
Creation of Adam.

Leonardo's drawing of the Vitruvian Man is also iconic.

He was also a scientist and engineer who designed prototypes for early "machines" such as helicopters and telescopes.

Scientists regard his research as unique and astounding for its
time. He compiled hundreds of notebooks containing 13,000 pages of
notes and drawings, many of which are a rare combination of art and
science.

Possessing a great deal of self- discipline, Leonardo spent hours
every day, whether at home or on his travels, recording his
observations and ideas for future projects.

The journals were mostly written in mirror-image cursive script –
some suggest that this was because Leonardo was left-handed rather than
a necessary precaution in a time when church authorities persecuted
free-thinkers who put science before religious beliefs.

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IT IS considered one of Leonardo da Vinci’s finest paintings and its theft from the Duke of Buccleuch’s home in 2003 was one of the most audacious art crimes ever committed.

But last night, it was announced that the £37 million Madonna of the Yarnwinder had been recovered – and The Scotsman can reveal that alawyer working for one of the country’s most successful and respected law firms was among four men arrested. 

The man, who was believed to be a partner in the firm but who had not been officially named, was arrested yesterday in the offices of HBJ Gateley Wareing in West Regent Street, Glasgow.

Police said the 16th-century painting – whose theft was regarded by the FBI as one of the world’s ten worst art crimes – was discovered following a raid in Glasgow. The three other men arrested were said to be from the Lancashire area.

Last night, it was reported that the painting had been discovered by police at HBJ Gateley Wareing’s offices.

The four men are due to appear in court today.

RTRH

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From IONARTS 

Most cell phone and Internet service in Burma has been disrupted, and the government is now going after bloggers, but there are many resources to follow the events: U.S. Campaign for Burma, the BBC, Flickr and the always thorough Newsgrist.

From IONARTS 

Most cell phone and Internet service in Burma has been disrupted, and the government is now going after bloggers, but there are many resources to follow the events: U.S. Campaign for Burma, the BBC, Flickr and the always thorough Newsgrist.