Metropolitan Opera Preview: Das Rheingold

The Ring begins. (Do I really need to embellish more?)
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Wotan and Loge take the "Machine" express down to Nibelheim in a
key scene from Das Rheingold. Photo © 2010 The Metropolitan Opera.

Gods, dwarves, mermaids and giants on an enormous pinning mechanical stage set. What's not to love about the opening opera of Wagner's Ring?

"It Must Have Been the Wagner."

Opera, eroticism and the joys of Penny Dreadful.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Decadence: Eva Greene and Reeve Carney in Penny Dreadful. 

Image © Showtime Network, used for promotional purposes only.

The elaborate Showtime drama Penny Dreadful is a riot: a gleeful mash-up of Gothic literary figures. Framed as a horror/adventure show and taking its title from the cheap novels of the 19th century, Dreadful combines Frankenstein's monster, werewolves, witches, vampires and a possession case similar to The Exorcist into a heady brew of horror, sex and special effects. Now in its second season, the show has become notable not only for its  intense visuals but for its incorporation of the operas of Richard Wagner into its tapestry of Victorian decadence.