★★★★☆ The showgirls return as Ring revival kicks off in style.

Arts Centre Melbourne
November 21, 2016

Three years on from Opera Australia’s enthralling new staging of Wagner’s epic Der Ring des Nibelungen, this important revival gives audiences and performers a welcome opportunity to deepen their understanding of one of music’s towering works of genius. Critical reaction was mixed the first time around – and when is it not where Ring Cycles are concerned? – but Neil Armfield’s Das Rheingold certainly manifests a cohesive overview of where he sees this 16-hour work heading, and thanks to a hard-working cast of first rate singers and actors it is two-and-a-half hours of compelling music drama.

^{James Johnson as Wotan, Jacqueline Dark as Fricka and the Rainbow Girls. Photos by Jeff Busby}

Armfield’s vision revolves around questions of global resource and responsibility, while touching on modern issues of population movement and manipulation of the masses. Opening on a huge revolve, brilliantly reflected in Robert Cousins’ giant 45-degree segmented mirror, the bottom of the Rhine is given a peculiarly Aussie twist. This is a shallow, lethargic populace, idling its time away on beaches while the...