Jud Arhur's naked Fafner in Australian Ring Cycle

Jud Arthur as a professional model and as Fafner

Director Neil Armfield's Der Ring des Nibelungen at Opera Australia was quite the buzz even before it opened. Now that the first cycle is wrapped up the buzz has only escalated about this dreamlike Ring Cycle that pushes the imagination. All is all, it seems to be a critical success.

Of course, our readers are buzzing about barihunk Jud Arthur's surprising entry from his cave as the mortally wounded Fafner, splattered with blood and completely naked. Rather than feeling like German regietheater, our contacts in Australia said that it gave the moment a heartfelt humanity as Fafner, stripped bare, warns Siegfried of the Ring's power.

One reviewer called Arthur's Fafner a "Pagliacci vesti-la-giubba moment," as he's seen applying make-up in front of a dressing-room mirro. Fafner grimaces into a camera built into the mirror which projects his magnified image to the audience until he eventually appears before the naive Siegfried as a naked vulnerable man.

 Jud Arthur as Fafner with Daniel Sumegi as Fasolt

Jud Arthur was born in New Zealand, worked as a farmer in Mosgiel, and then began a career as a professional rugby player. He's been one of the most popular regulars at Opera Australia for a decade now and also moonlights as a professional model.

The rest of the all-star cast includes Terje Stensvold, Susan Bullock, Richard Berkeley-Steele, Stefan Vinke, Stuart Skelton, Daniel Sumegi, Miriam Gordon-Stewart, Jacqueline Dark, Graeme Macfarlane and Warwick Fyfe. 

Cycle Two begins on November 27 and Cycle Three begins on December 6. Call (03) 9685 3700 or visit the Opera Australia website.

 You can enjoy beautiful barihunks all year with our 2014 Barihunks Charity Calendar. It's the perfect gift for the holidays. Click below to order now. Every penny of profit goes to benefit young artists.

Greer Grimsley interview

You have now sung Wotan all over the world. What does this Ring mean to you?
I love this Ring. Since it is the first Ring that I ever did, it has huge sentimental value for me. I also believe in the production. I believe in the storytelling that we do. For all of its wonderful music, the Ring is also very text driven. The care that’s given to the text and to making sure that all intentions and relationships are clear—you don’t get that in all productions. That keeps me coming back.

Plus, I’m just so happy to be back in Seattle. I consider Seattle one of my home spots in the world.

When did it occur to you that someday you’d sing Wotan?
I had lots of folks telling me, ‘You might end up doing this,’ but it wasn’t until Speight gave me the opportunity to sing Telramund in Lohengrin. Prior to that, I was a victim somewhat of the very conservative nature of musical-vocal thinking in the United States: that you have to sing Mozart until you’re 45 and then you can do heavier things. That’s not how my voice worked. Early in my career on I was having trouble finding direction because that didn’t suit what I could do. It wasn’t until I sang my first John the Baptist that things clarified for me in terms of where I should find my niche in the opera business. Then that opened up other opportunities. And I would have to say, yes, of course I started thinking about Wotan, but I was thinking about other things as well, such as just getting hired. When Speight did ask me to do Wotan, I was ready to be asked. It happened exactly at the right time.

[CONTINUE READING AT THE Seattle Opera Blog]

Greer Grimsley can be seen in Wagner's Ring Cycle at the Seattle Opera from August 4-25. Visit the Seattle Opera website for additional information or tickets.

Greer Grimsley takes on Beethoven and Wagner at the Seattle Opera

Greer Grimsley as Wotan

Greer Grimsley has become the low voice of choice at the Seattle Opera and has developed a loyal following of fans. Tonight he closes as the villainous Don Pizarro in Beethoven's Fidelio. You can hear him discuss the role below on Seattle's ArtZone with Nancy Guppy [the clip begins at 5:30].

Of course, people on both coasts are excited about Grimsley's 2013 schedule when he showcases his heralded portrayal of Wotan in Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle.  On May 4th, he'll open in the Ring Cycle at the Metropolitan Opera before returning to Seattle on August 4th to reprise the role of Wotan.

Seattle Opera's award-winning production is inspired by the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest and has been a sold-out success in 2001, 2005 and 2009. Order you tickets online.

Das Rheingold

Rene Pape: A rare barihunk Wotan

Richard Wagner's "Das Rheingold" premiered on this day in 1869 at Munich's National Theater. The opera is the first of the four operas that make up "Der Ring des Nibelungen" (The Ring Cycle). It was originally written as an introductory piece to the Ring, but is now considered one of the four operas that make up the cycle.

The cast of the premiere included August Kindermann as Wotan, Heinrich Vogl as Loge, Emma Seehofer as Erda, Sophie Stehle as Fricka, and Karl Fischer as Alberich. Wagner wanted this opera to be premiered as part of the entire cycle, but was forced to allow the performance at the insistence of his patron, King Ludwig II of Bavaria. The entire Ring Cycle was first performed on August 13, 1876 at the Bayreuther Festspielhaus.

George London

George London singing "Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge" from Das Rheingold: 



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