Seattle Opera turns to 19-year-old to vlog and tweet its 'Ring' cycle

As our city gears up for Ring Festival L.A. in 2010 -- centered on Los Angeles Opera's sequential presentation of Richard Wagner's epic four-opera "Ring" cycle, directed by Achim Freyer --  it is easy to forget that L.A. is, ahem, hardly the first city on the West Coast to discover that Wagner wrote this big old sprawling thing and to have the bright idea of staging it. Seattle Opera, founded in 1963, has made Seattle the "Ring" capital of the Left Coast: Since 1975,  the company has presented 35 cycles of the German composer's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" (three different productions). In fact, the company is "Ring"-ing again this summer, presenting the cycle Aug. 9-30. 

As will be the case when Los Angeles Opera presents the four operas May 29-June 26 next year, there will be occasional days off between Seattle Opera "Ring" performances, because this stuff is really, really hard to sing.

Now, Culture Monster would never provoke a coastal conflict by declaring a "Ring" war between the Northwest and the Southland, but it seems that Seattle is seeking to make its venerable "Ring" sparkle for younger generations with its reality-style video project "Confessions of a First-Time Opera Goer," which will chronicle 19-year-old Cassidy Quinn Brettler's first experience attending the "Ring."

Beginning in mid-June and throughout the performance schedule, Brettler will conduct behind-the scenes interviews with the artists, attend rehearsals and even meet with the so-called Ringies, the die-hard fans who follow "Ring" performances all over the world.

Brettler, a double major in acting and broadcasting at Boston's Emerson College, will post her updates on the action on her personal Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as tweeting on Seattle Opera's Twitter account.

The youthful host was chosen from 49 hopefuls in an online vote. More than 6,500 votes were cast for five finalists, whose videos were posted on the Seattle Opera website for a four-day voting period that began June 1.

Seattle Opera Executive Director Kelly Tweeddale confirms that the company is turning to social networking sites to sell old operas to a new audience: "What better way to put it into practice than to find an enthusiastic participant who is eager to share the opera experience from an authentic and engaged viewpoint?" 

The completed video will air on the Seattle Opera website and perhaps other web-based venues. We'll have to wait and see whether Brettler will like the Seattle production so much that she'll show up in L.A. to see it all again in 2010.

-- Diane Haithman

Photos: Seattle Opera's 2009 "Ring." Credit Chris Bennion. Cassidy Quinn Brettler, photo courtesy of Brettler.

   

    

Comments

[Marc]

Might be a hard sell, considering it's such a traditional production. It didn't get me off the couch.. but then I love the LA Ring. Now that's something that could get a younger audience in touch with Richard Wagner. Sorry Seattle, but all the twittering doesn't help - you look old.

[Fan of Wagner's Works]

I must say that I disagree with the comment that modern productions are the proper way to attract young audiences. What attracts "younger audiences" to see opera performances is identical to what attracts older ones: a combination of appreciation for the music and a desire to experience a dramatic spectacle. Furthermore, I fear that these attempts which many opera companies have been making to introduce opera to younger generations may actually be counter-productive. An example would be Los Angeles Opera's recent production of Madama Butterfly. If somebody who had never before attended an opera were to sit through Robert Wilson's production, it is very likely that they would not be as struck by the powerful masterpiece as they would had they attended a traditional production. Very few individuals, unfortunately, are able to develop a full appreciation for the music on its own whilst they are still young; thus it is essential that there always be standard productions available so that those new to the art may have the full experience. It seems more and more as though companies are trying to cater exclusively to the aged and jaded subscribers who have been attending for decades and who have become bored (unfortunately, I nearly must say that I consider the critic Mark Swed to be in this category) by offering "novel" stagings, yet at what cost? I am a recent high school graduate who fell in love with opera several years ago after attending a concert performance of the third act of Die Walkuere and it is quite fortunate for me that I was able to develop a strong appreciation for orchestral music, otherwise who knows what the productions of Tannhaeuser, Don Giovanni, Otello, Madama Butterfly, Der Ring des Nibelungen, etc. that Los Angeles opera has staged over the past years would have led me to conclude about the merit of opera as an art form.
I know from experience that the best way for anyone, whether young or old, to be introduced to opera is by experiencing it. Silly tactics, such as the one described above which Seattle Opera will attempt do nothing other than lessen the significance of the work itself.