The international press praises Das Rheingold and Die Walküre and asserts that the Palau de les Arts has become a new operatic benchmark

21.05.2007

The international press has lavished praise on the operas Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold) and Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), productions that were performed in recent weeks at the Palau de les Arts, and points to the Valencian coliseum as a new benchmark in the operatic and musical field.
More than 50 international journalists were accredited to report on the first two operas of the Wagnerian tetralogy that the Palau de les Arts is hosting these days and which achieved a full house in all its performances.

Das Rheingold and Die Walküre will be performed next June at the iconic Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the same venue that co-produced Wagner's Ring Cycle with the Palau de les Arts. The performance of these two operas has generated considerable excitement among audiences and the press in Florence following their success at the Palau de les Arts.

In fact, major international newspapers have highlighted in recent weeks that the Valencian coliseum has successfully overcome the risky gamble of staging in its first season works as complex as the first two operas of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle.

Commitment to delivering great events of the highest quality

In this respect, the headlines could not be more complimentary. Italy's most widely circulated newspaper, Il Corriere della Sera, describes both operas as "a stunning spectacle full of theatricality. A challenge for people with broad horizons, something unfortunately not seen in Italy." It also highlights the Valencian Community Orchestra's interpretation of Wagner as "delicate, transparent, and Mediterranean."

La Repubblica, for its part, headlines: “Valencia, Mehta triumphs with La Fura” and adds: “A majestic and intense Wagner.” Another Italian newspaper, La Stampa, emphasizes in its review that the “vocal accompaniment has points of extraordinary excellence.” La Nazione also highlights that “Zubin Mehta is a driving force of absolute musical and poetic certainty, and the visionary creativity of La Fura dels Baus.” The newspaper further underscores the Palau de les Arts’ commitment to offering “major events of the highest quality.”

Productions of Das Rheingold and Die Walküre also dominate the headlines in the culture sections of major German newspapers. Die Welt, for example, leads with: “Valencia: Double victory with Wagner. Mehta and La Fura dels Baus tackle the first half of the Ring and win.”

Another of Germany's most widely circulated newspapers, the Süddeutsche Zeitung, highlights in its review that "with half of this Ring, Valencia has managed to place itself artistically among the great theaters of Europe."

The Frankfurter Rundschau also highlights the good acoustics of the Main Hall and points out that "the Palau de les Arts has very good credentials to compete with Madrid and Barcelona."

Furthermore, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung states that the staging of Das Rheingold and Die Walküre “takes Wagner’s concept of the total work of art to heart” and asserts that the high expectations have been met and that the artists are the real winners with La Fura dels Baus’ imaginative staging. Finally, the Financial Times Deutschland, in its review, gives the productions a five out of five and affirms that the productions “are, quite simply, worth seeing.”