French opera director forged legendary Bayreuth Ring.
by Paul J. Pelkonen
Patrice Chéreau, the French director who revolutionized the staging of Wagner operas with his 1976 production of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen died yesterday of lung cancer. He was 68.
Mr. Chéreau shot to international fame with his staging of the Ring, which re-imagined Wagner's medieval legends as a modern economic parable. Gods became greedy industrialists. Nibelungs: oppressed factory workers. As Das Rheingold opened, the Rhinemaidens were reimagined as street hustlers, plying their trade in front of a huge hydroelectric dam.
by Paul J. Pelkonen
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| A scene from Patrice Chéreau's production of Das Rheingold with Alberich (Hermann Becht) flanked by "working girl" Rhinemaidens. Image © 1980 Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Classics. |
Mr. Chéreau shot to international fame with his staging of the Ring, which re-imagined Wagner's medieval legends as a modern economic parable. Gods became greedy industrialists. Nibelungs: oppressed factory workers. As Das Rheingold opened, the Rhinemaidens were reimagined as street hustlers, plying their trade in front of a huge hydroelectric dam.
