That Time of Year

It was interrupted by COVID, but we’re back on track with our every-other-year productions of operas from Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. This collaboration with Den Ny Opera has absolutely been a career highlight for me.

Everybody has dreams, and one of mine has been to perform the bass trumpet part for the ring cycle. I’ve loved The Ring since I was a teenager, when I would join my dad in watching the operas on DVD together, following along with the full score. I got interested in the bass trumpet part when I lived in Seattle in the early 2000s. The Seattle Symphony’s first trombonist in those days was David Ritt. He played the bass trumpet in the Seattle Opera productions of the operas, and had also done so with the Metropolitan Opera. Hearing David play excerpts from The Ring and talk about his experiences performing it really inspired me. What a thrill to be able to have my own chance to play this wonderful music!

I’ve just uploaded a little excerpt from Das Rheingold, which we did a few years back. This year, it’s Siegfried. Time to get practicing!