crystal manich

Stage Director Crystal Manich returns to Opera Santa Barbara for the second installment of Wagner’s Ring Cycle after directing Das Rheingold in 2021. She gives us her vision for The Valkyrie ahead of the final opera of the 22|23 Season.

For this production of The Valkyrie at Opera Santa Barbara we have the pleasure of once again having the orchestra as a character onstage. The design relies heavily on lighting, which transforms the space from a rocky cavernous home to the walls of Valhalla and later to a dark forest. Our electric tree stands upstage as the main location for the most important plot points of the piece, notably Siegmund’s acquisition of Nothung the sword and the resting place for Brünnhilde’s final punishment.

Stage rendering by Scenic, Lighting, and Projection Designer, Francois-Pierre Couture

The costuming is rooted in the idea of a mythological time mixed with remnants of the natural world like fur and feathers. A little in the vein of Game of Thrones.  This production embraces this reduced version of the opera as an intimate father-daughter drama that seeks to enter your heart and continue to affect you for some time to come as it explores loyalty and love. Wagner’s music transports us to another world and with this cast of world-class singers it is not to be missed!

Don’t miss The Valkyrie, the second installment of The Ring of the Nibelung. Grab the best seats through the Lobero Box Office for Sunday, April 23 at 2:30 PM.