It's over. Four trips to Lincoln Center over the space of a week, and more hours of serious drama and music than I can count with my fingers and toes. (My toes aren't very nimble, so for the purposes of counting, I effectively have four toes.) The live experience is definitely more rewarding than even the Live in HD shows where the connection is asymmetric. In the opera house, the performers give me their best, and I return my undivided attention and gratitude (in the form of applause). They certainly earned it these four evenings. After viewing it in person, I can say that this is a wonderful production. It is not perfect. No production of Wagner is ever close to perfect. But the embattled Lepage is actually the least of the production's problems.
