Opera singers seldom look their parts, an old problem with opera. Heavier people often have richer singing voices, so opera singers are often fat.

Nonetheless, The Ring is a cultural landmark, and was one of the joys of my youth. I listened to the recordings conducted by Georg Solti in the library, and later bought them. They're still among the best because they use Wagner's original orchestration, which included rare instruments or large numbers of instruments, e.g., 11 harps in Siegfried, and because they include some of the greatest Wagnerian singers of all time. Wagner was not just a composer. He aspired to create music-dramas, in which the two arts were intertwined. He used "leit-motifs" - musical passages which were the signatures of the various characters or themes - to infuse his scores with the drama of the librettos. That's why singers able to express character and to act are more important in Wagner's operas than most. At best, if properly performed, his work is sublime. If badly done, it can seem stilted and stentorian. Wagner's operas were so innovative in their day that he built a special theater for them in Bayreuth. The Bayreuth Festival is still an annual event for opera lovers.

Still, Wagner is made to be heard much more than seen. Just close your eyes and let your mind create the imagery.

The fat lady sang pretty well.

I've long thought that one trouble with the MET is that they have old expensive talent that they

are forced to cast into roles for young virile people. Luciano Pavarati singing a role in La Boheme

was ludicrous.

I saw a fantastic "Tristan und Isolde" in Houston about ten years ago, with singers who were convincing.

I must go now, Valkyrie will be riding through my area any minute now.

The third act Ride of the Valkyrie was one of the wildest and exciting scenes I've seen on what usually is a staid and stuff stage. Even the eight Valkyrie loved it because they are near the audience and just belt it out.

Bryn Terfel who plays Wotan was in three acts and at the very end of the opera when he says farewell to Brunhilde and summons the fire, he still had that big voice. His interpretation of Wotan telling his sins to Brunhilde was magnificent and heartbreaking.

I just adore the music in the first act when Siegmund finds the sword embedded in the ash tree and is reunited with Sieglinde. It's just thrilling music.

Tomorrow night is a tale of reforging the sword that was broken tonight. Always a crowd pleasing scene... It has Fafnir the Dragon, a singing forest bird, and the "hero without fear" ... not to mention lies, betrayals, and all sorts of fun.

The Pittsburgh Symphony under the baton of Lorin Maazel did Tristan and Isolde over three years (one act per year). The audiences loved it.

The music is sublimely beautiful is so many ways. I have no other way to describe "Tristan" as pure love set into musical themes. It is musically one of the greatest love stories in all of literature and art.

Grrr..... I was really hoping someone would be capping this amazing production, so that I could watch it at a more convenient time. Alas, nothing yet. Oh well.

I have COMCAST with two Pay services, all sorts of ON DEMAND, and streaming stuff and PBS will not repeat or put anything into PPV or into ON DEMAND. The only alternative seems to be to buy PBS' $150 set of DVDs

Tonight, Siegfried who is the son of the now dead Siegmund and Sieglinde comes to the stage.

Sieglinde died shortly after childbirth and Siegmund has been raised by MIME, Alberich of Nibelheim's brother.

It seems that FAFNIR the Giant is hiding with the RHEINGOLD in the forest with the ring having transformed him into a fearsome dragon.

That's part of Alberich's curse. The one who owns the ring will not enjoy the gold but will be consumed by envy and greed.

So Mime is raising Siegfried to kill the dragon and then he is going to kill Siegfried.

Wotan (As the Wanderer) still lingers. The magical Sword is still broken (the reforging of the sword is one of the most spectacular tenor arias in opera) and that dragon ain't going meekly.

And in the end when Siegfried succeeds, takes the ring, and gets to climb the mountain where a great treasure lies

(pssst here's a hint, it's Brunhilde)

And they fall in love, and the curtain falls with their hearts beating hot and heavy

But don't worry friends... Tomorrow night the circle closes and THE RING ends in spectacular drama - It's only THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS where everyone dies, sort of.

That Frika has her own version of DOMA. Kill them !!!

The guy singing Wotan is great, a fantastic voice and wonderful facial expressions.

I have Comcast but I am also able to get it in over-the-air HD, which is better.

This is TV that might make surround sound worth having.

The preview of the show said that some of the actors were terrified of that set,

but the MET sure knows how to use money to creat magic.

That set really shines in SIEGFRIED.

For those who are wondering, the set is a huge machine.

The stage laid flat looks like planking about 2 ft wide and each plank is a cam that rotate about the center. The entire stage lifts up and down and as the cams move, mountains form or slopes appear or in the descent to Nibelheim, the stage resembles steps leading from left to right and lit appropriately.

In Siegfried, the damn thing is moving during every transition and because the scenery is projected onto the stage, water flows, rivers appear, great walls of fire leap upward, forests move in the wind.

It's not static during the performance, it moves with the action of the opera. Siegfried had waterfalls. The Rhine is a great moving river. The sides of BRunhilde's mountain constantly moves with fire.

It's phenomenal to watch because now, the fantastical portions of THE RING actually appear. The Rhine Maidens swim in the water, ValHalla appears behind and above the stage and the singers walk up a vertical rainbow bridge to reach Valhalla.

It's run by a bank of computers, a huge hydraulic system, all sorts of electronic effects, and 33 backstage technicians to keep in working during the performance.

And tonight, the RING CYCLE comes to an end as all of the strange and disparate threads come together.

Yes, Götterdämmerung is a long opera. It has much to do.

This is one of those German words that carries not only the straightforward meeting like "Home" but also carries the extended philosophical discussion. It is like SchadenFreude or gemütlichkeit ... Those too carry emotions, philosophy and judgements of what is happening.

Tonight we see the two lovers Siegfriend and Brunhilde leave the peaceful confines of the fiery mountain and descend to the world. Siegfried has the sword of power, forged not by the gods but by his own hand, and becomes the worlds hero. Brunhilde, having defied the gods, is mortal and no one, none of the gods has power over them.

And so they encounter Gunther and Getrune, think brother Baron and sister Baroness who want power and influence.

Gunther and Getrune's advisor HAGEN, son of Alberich of Nibelheim, presents a duplicitous betrayal of all things friendship and honorable -- his plan is to win Brunhilde from Siegfried and marry her to Gunther while Getrune marries the hero Siegfried.

And (damn girl, snap) that plan works to the shame and disgrace of all involved.

But the Ring of enchanted gold is cursed and as we have seen before the Ring works its own devilment.

When the truth is laid bare and the deceptions revealed, it is twilight for the gods of Valhalla, the great power of Wotan, his spear with all the law, the mastery of the Ring of Power, the ruined love of Siegfried and Brunhilde (that's chivalric love and not the profane desires of Wotan who has sired so many offspring), and the power of the gods is at an end.

As Valhalla (built by the giants and paid for with the gold stolen from the Rhine) burns, as the Gold is returned to its proper place in the Rhine, and the old law crumbles -- all that is left on the stage is humanity, who must now begin to cope with all of the emotions and desires we have seen destroy the gods --

Humanity is on its own to create the world in its image and to succeed or fail in humanity's own ways.