L.A. Ring Cast Lashes out at Director Freyer

[Flosshilde]

Achim Freyer, L.A. Opera's Inszenierung for Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen, has come under harsh, very vocal criticism, not from the press, but from the two stars - Linda Watson and John Treleaven.

Negative comments about the dangerously raked stage, restrictive costumes and physically taxing production requirements have been revealed in an article from the L.A. Times. Strife between Freyer and Treleaven sank so low that Treleaven resorted to responding only in writing to the designer/director Freyer.

Presently tickets go wanting for this $32 million production and the financially strapped company is madly trying to encourage patronage of the Ring Festival set to begin on May 29th. An army of people were enlisted to phone patrons in an a failed attempt to sell more tickets. Now the Opera has turned to NPR affiliate KUSC for help. KUSC, in turn, has begun "robo-calling" it's contacts in a furious attempt to try to drum up interest and generate ticket sales.

http://www.latimes.com/la-et-ring-probl ... 4255.story

Here is a link to a report by David Ng, an LA Times Arts Correspondent. Scroll down to Monster Mash: Discord Erupts over L.A.'s Ring.

Rather than dump the unsold tickets in the Rhine - Flosshilde suspects that LA Ring tickets will turn up shortly on http://www.GoldStar.com at a fraction of the cost subscribers paid. Flosshilde guesses that half price or LOWER will the the price point.

Not good news,
Flosshilde