The Colón Ring: Wagner in Buenos Aires Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

The Colón Ring: Wagner in Buenos Aires Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 29, 2013

Argentina became rather infamous after World War II for having harbored at least a few prominent former Nazis, but my hunch is none of those fugitives ever matriculated into the world of professional opera. The famous German rigor for following orders and having obsessive compulsive systems in place to handle items both large and small seems to be almost a genetic anathema to the more laid back South Americans. And so it probably should come as no surprise that when a new slew of Germans, including one with a probably unwanted but undeniable Nazi connection, sought to collaborate with Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires on a new, supposedly improved, mounting of an opera which itself has a Nazi connection, the results were like mixing oil with water. The descendants of Richard Wagner have sought to extricate themselves from their ancestor’s rather spotty reputation with regard to anti-Semitism, and so it might seem odd on its face that Wagner’s great-granddaughter Katharina, current co-director of the Bayreuth Festival, would want to bring The Ring to a country which has its own spotty history with Nazis. And yet that’s exactly what happened. Or nearly happened.

Katharina Wagner has been approached repeatedly about staging a “condensed” version of The Ring, but had never before found a version she found palatable, until the one that she ultimately agreed to direct at Teatro Colón. This seven hour, one marathon day, mounting would have been difficult enough but upon Wagner’s arrival in Buenos Aires, things went from bad to disastrous. Wagner’s penchant for order crashed headlong into the “no worries” attitude of the Argentinians, and soon the famous director was on her way back to Germany, leaving Teatro Colón struggling to get the production up and running with precious little time remaining. This fascinating documentary charts it all, from Wagner’s rather petulant exit, halting re-entrance, and ultimate departure, through the frenetic rehearsal process. Some may question the wisdom of metaphorically pulling Yggdrasil out by its entangled roots, but this piece is a rather visceral look at theater triumphing over catastrophe—which, as anyone who’s ever worked in theater will tell you, is about par for the course.

The Colón Ring: Wagner in Buenos Aires Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Colón Ring: Wagner in Buenos Aires debuts on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in 1.78:1. This is about what you would expect from a piece which is largely cobbled together from interview segments, fly on the wall rehearsal footage, and, in one case, a so-called "private recording" that someone caught of Wagner informing the stunned cast that she couldn't "work under these circumstances". Colors and contrast are fine, if not exactly eye popping, and the entire documentary sports decent detail.

The Colón Ring: Wagner in Buenos Aires Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0 mix included on this disc might seem like a bit of overkill, given that the bulk of the documentary consists of talking (and only occasionally singing) heads, with only the final sequence showing anything approaching a completely staged version of this condensed Ring. That said, while surround activity is pretty limited, fidelity is fine. The documentary is multi-lingual, with everything from English to Spanish to German being spoken by various participants. (An LPCM 2.0 mix is also offered.)

The Colón Ring: Wagner in Buenos Aires Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

No supplements other than trailers are offered on this Blu-ray disc.

The Colón Ring: Wagner in Buenos Aires Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Stephen Sondheim wrote a famous song about crafting Art called "Putting it Together". The Colón Ring: Wagner in Buenos Aires is a really fascinating documentary about artists struggling to keep everything from falling apart. Recommended.