“Wolfram, wake up!” came a shout from the highest box seats of the Metropolitan Opera.
“The spring is polluted!”At first, it seemed like an odd thing to throw at the character of Wolfram in Wagner’s “Tannhäuser,” which returned to the Met on Thursday night, with that role sung by the great baritone Christian Gerhaher in his company debut.
(Indeed, his arrival was what made the night notable to begin with.)
But that cry was the start of an unbroken stream of climate grievances, designed to coincide with Wolfram’s description, during the singing contest midway through Act II, of love as a miraculous spring.
“The spring is tainted!” the protester up in the Family Circle continued, then dropped a banner that said, “No Opera on a Dead Planet.”
Persons:
“ Wolfram, ”, Wolfram, Wagner’s “, Christian Gerhaher
Organizations:
Metropolitan Opera
Locations:
Wagner’s, ”