why did i not know about this?

Oh my God you guys this is amazing.

This is part 1 of an animated version of Das Rheingold. I shit you not. Parts 2 and 3 are here and here.

Random thoughts while watching:

1. I should probably be offended at the idea of Wagner in English. However, since they've cut the entire opera down to 30 minutes, I don't think it actually matters what the language is.

2. That being said, I am not in the least surprised that the plot can be summed up in half an hour, although I suspect it would be a bit confusing for anyone that didn't already know the story.¹

3. Those familiar with the animated version of Lord of the Rings² will note that the same animation techniques are used here. Because nothing says class like heavy-handed rotoscoping.³

4. "Okay, so is this for the kids then? Wait, no, Alberich just asked the Rhine maidens to make love to him. Never mind."

5. Wotan is... Batman?

6. And Loge is apparently a conehead from Mars. I'm not very well versed in my mythology, but I think I would have remembered details like these. I don't know what the Nibelungen are supposed to be.

7. Pretty skimpy there, Freia. I'm just saying.

8. I do not remember Alberich losing a hand. I do like the way it magically stopped bleeding, though.

9. When one considers the amount of hacking and slashing that must have been done to the score, the music is put together surprisingly well.⁴ I might call it a pale gutted corpse imitation of the original opera, but it's probably not good for me to be so judgmental.

10. There were, however, a few moments in the orchestra that I would dearly like to blame on Youtube's sound quality. Pretend with me, won't you?

I would like to thank the Opera and Classical Music Lovers group on Ravelry for bringing this to my attention. Sadly, it appears that this was the only opera of the Ring Cycle to be brutalized condensed in this manner. It's a shame, since I imagine the other three operas would have been equally as laughable fascinating if not more.

Still, it's hard to beat the classics.

Better?

1. Granted, I suppose one could say the same of the opera.[↩]


2. another tour de force[↩]


3. Yes, I know it's a technique that can be used quite effectively, but... look, have you seen Bakshi's Lord of the Rings?[↩]


4. I imagine it would be like taking a battle-axe to an antique four poster bed and then attempting to make a chair out of the shattered remains.[↩]