Some talented Calgarians are bringing a traditional tale with some high-tech twists to life on the stage this week.
Cast and crew at Calgary Opera are preparing for their new production of Das Rheingold.
Written by Richard Wagner in 1854, it’s a remount of a production originally staged by Minnesota Opera in 2016.
“It’s a mythic adventure, characters fighting for gold and giving up love,” Calgary Opera CEO Sue Elliott said. “So it’s a story that’s common to Marvel movies, to Star Wars, to Lord of the Rings.”
Calgary Opera’s costume crew is busy tweaking some of the original costumes.
The costumes include gold-coloured sleeves that light up and also an eye-patch with lights attached.
The lights are controlled by the performer who wears those pieces while portraying the character Wotan.
“Wotan is the king of the gods,” Calgary Opera Head of Wardrobe Heather Moore said.
Moore and her team are enjoying working on the elaborate costumes.
“It’s very exciting,” Moore said. “We’re very happy with the way this is looking.”
Members of Moore’s team are making sure that the technical aspects of the costumes are functioning the way they’re supposed to.
“The last thing you want is for the singers to be distracted by these technical elements,” Moore said. “Because they’re like athletes — they have to concentrate on their performance.”
“It features a lot of special effects, fantastic video projections,” Elliott said. “And other tricks that we have up our sleeve.”
Calgary Opera’s production of Das Rheingold runs April 20, 24 and 26 at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.