COUNTDOWN TO “THE RING” — Part 7: Preparing for the “Ring” — planning your schedule

By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic
Pasadena Star-News/San Gabriel Valley Tribune/Whittier Daily News
________

We’re 11 days away from Los Angeles Opera’s first presentation of Wagner’s complete Der Ring des Nibelungen, which begins May 29 with three cycles of the four music dramas (to use Wagner’s own description) scheduled during the ensuing month (Click the LAO Web site link HERE for detailed information).

For LA Opera, the cycle is a landmark achievement, both because it’s actually getting done (as opposed, for example, to Washington National Opera, whose cycle has been stalled midstream, so to speak) and because of the high quality of the four productions.

This eight-part series — posts are every Tuesday — is examining the cycle from different angles, all of which are designed to help answer the question, “Why should I attend?” A list of previous sections is at the end of this post.
________

“Planning Your Schedule” — the headline sounds like a vacation trip or a military campaign, doesn’t it? However, the parallels have some validity, particularly if you aren’t used to attending an event at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion or driving in downtown Los Angeles rush hour traffic. Here are some tips to further your enjoyment of the LA Opera Ring:

THINK OF YOURSELF AS BEING ON A MUSIC VACATION
This may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience so try to treat it (and yourself) as if you had traveled to Bayreuth, New York City or San Francisco to see the Ring. Take time to relax and savor everything that’s going to happen. Try to take the day of each music drama off and grab a nap before the evening performances (rather than nodding off in your chair at the Pavilion). This is particularly critical if you’re attending the first cycle because Das Rheingold and Die Walküre are on consecutive days.

If you are from out of town and actually on a musical vacation (lucky you), welcome to L.A. The leisurely schedule gives you plenty of time for sightseeing, but avoid adding something else to a day when a performance is scheduled — they will be long enough!

SCHEDULE CONFLICTS
Although the Los Angeles Philharmonic will have finished its season by the time that LA Opera’s Ring cycle begins, it’s still a busy time at the Music Center. Among other events, the highly anticipated national tour of South Pacific will be playing at the Ahmanson Theater throughout the Ring run and Bengal Tiger, Baghdad Zoo will be at the Mark Taper Forum.

While not every Ring performance will be affected, some will. For example, Das Rheingold on May 29 at 7:30 p.m. will be essentially head to head with South Pacific and Bengal Tiger, Baghdad Zoo, both of which begin at 8 p.m. This means traffic and parking will be congested at the Music Center on that date and on others when conflicts occur (see a link to the complete Music Center calendar HERE)

The Ring schedule is:
Cycle I:
• Das Rheingold — Sat., May 29, 7:30 p.m.
• Die Walküre — Sun., May 30 — 6 p.m.
• Siegfried — Thurs., June 3 — 6 p.m.
• Götterdämerung — Sun., June 6 — 5 p.m.

Cycle II:
• Das Rheingold — Tues, June 8, 7:30 p.m.
• Die Walküre — Thurs., June 10 — 6 p.m.
• Siegfried — Sun., June 13 — 6 p.m.
• Götterdämerung — Wed., June 16 — 5 p.m.

Cycle III:
• Das Rheingold — Fri., June 18, 7:30 p.m.
• Die Walküre — Sun., June 20 — 12 p.m.
• Siegfried — Wed., June 23 — 12 p.m.
• Götterdämerung — Sat., June 26 — 5 p.m.

By operas, the schedule is:
• Das Rheingold — Saturday, May 29 at 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday, June 8 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, June 18 at 7:30 p.m.;
• Die Walküre — Sunday, May 30 at 6 p.m.; Thursday, June 10 at 6 p.m.; Sunday, June 20 at 12 p.m.;
• Siegfried — Thursday, June 3 at 6 p.m.; Sunday, June 13 at 12 p.m.; Wednesday, June 23 at 6 p.m.;
• Götterdämmerung — Sunday, June 6 at 5 p.m.; Wednesday June 16 at 6 p.m.; Saturday, June 26 at 5 p.m..

As has been noted previously, you can see the Ring as a traditional cycle (although the performances are spaced further apart than would be the case in Bayreuth). You can also see all four music dramas on weekends and two can be seen in the afternoon (a very civilized time, given the length of Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämerung).

TRAFFIC
Traffic in downtown Los Angeles can be very busy during weekday rush hours and even Saturdays can be dicey, so allow extra travel time when one of the operas begins at 5 or 6 p.m. — even 7:30 p.m. can be problematic at times.

PARKING
There is parking directly beneath the Music Center (the entrance is on the west side of Grand Ave. between Temple and 1st Streets (get directions and a map HERE)

Particularly on days when nothing is playing at Walt Disney Concert Hall, you might want to consider parking underneath that facility and walking a block north on Grand Ave. to the Music Center; getting out should be quite a bit easier. You can enter Disney Hall either on 2nd St. or on Lower Grand Ave. (see MAP)

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
The Metro Red and Purple Line’s Civic Center station stop is within a couple of blocks of the Music Center. If you’re coming from Union Station, use the exit toward the rear of the train (if you’re coming from the other direction, exit in the same direction the train is moving). NOTE: this is also the exit with an elevator. You can either cross Hill St. and walk up through the park to the Music Center, or you can walk ? block north to Temple St., walk west one block to Grand Ave. and enter the Music Center Plaza that way. When you’re leaving the Music Center, you can walk down 1st St. and enter the Civic Center station at 1st and Hill St. or simply backtrack on your original route.

Since all of the opera should be done by 11 p.m., all trains (Red, Gold, Blue, etc.) will still be running, although schedules are reduced at that time.

If you like walking and want to see some of the area’s sights (particularly in the daytime), consider using Angels Flight from the Red/Purple Line’s Pershing Square Station (LINK). Allow about 20-30 minutes (plus sightseeing) from the bottom of Angels Flight to reach the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

AT THE OPERA
All four segments of Wagner’s Ring are lengthy — even Das Rheingold, while only 2:45 is performed without an intermission. Die Walküre runs 4:50 in this LAO production, Siegfried takes 4:48 and Götterdämerung checks in at 5:20 (its first act takes nearly as long as all of Rheingold). A few suggestions:
• Dress comfortably — whatever that means for you. This is one advantage of not being in Bayreuth — Southern California comfortable works just fine. Horned helmets are optional.
• Bring a small pillow or a back brace, particularly if you often use one, e.g., on a long car trip.
• Make a bathroom stop before the first act and/or between acts (the intermissions are long enough for you to wait a bit before braving the lines).
• Bring a sandwich and your own bottled water in a small bag. There’s food available for purchase but lines can be long and the items are pricey.

PRE-OPERA LECTURES
LAO Music Director James Conlon will give a lecture one hour before each performance. If they follow previous form, the talks will be erudite, albeit a bit frenetic, and are worth hearing but they do add an hour to each performance, so be forewarned.

The talks are also available as podcasts on the LAO Web site (LINK). The way to find this is to click on the particular opera, then go to the bottom right below Conlon’s photo where it says “Click Here.” NOTE: In the upper right-hand corner of each opera is a link called “Podcasts.” Those go to interviews between Conlon and Brian Lauritzen called Behind the Curtain. The first set of podcasts is more basic (themes, the story, etc.). The second is somewhat more philosophical and detailed, particularly good for Ring veterans.

SYNOPSES AND ARTICLES
These are best read ahead of time but do take the time to review each act’s synopsis (see my post from last week HERE).

ARRIVE EARLY ENOUGH TO ENJOY THE ATMOSPHERE
This is particularly true if you’re coming to the first cycle. You’ll see interesting costumes and have a chance to meet people who travel from around the world to see the Ring. As noted at the beginning of this post, this may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for you, so enjoy it!

NEXT WEEK: Preparing for The Ring — final thoughts
PREVIOUS POSTS IN THIS SERIES:
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
_________

(c) Copyright 2010, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.