Ringing debut for COC's Wagner epic

The Canadian Opera Company appears to have a winner with its Toronto production of Richard Wagner's Ring operas, the first of which debuted Tuesday night.

Critics are giving good reviews to both the COC's production of Das Rheingold, the firstin Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen quartet,and the opera company's new home, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

The praise comes despite a last-minute hitch in the massive production, which has been four years in the making. British baritone Pavlo Hunka, one of biggest international stars scheduled to appear, was too ill to sing the role of Wotan, so understudy John Fanning took his place.

The Canadian baritone, a former member of the COC ensemble, appears to have been equal to the job, with theToronto Star pronouncingFanning's performance"magnificent."

"[General director Richard] Bradshaw would do well to keep him in the role for the balance of this opera's three-performance run," wrote critic John Terauds.

The Globe and Mail was less effusive, saying Fanning, who is scheduled to play Gunther in the final opera, Gotterdammerung, did "a difficult job with distinction."

"He seemed to grow into the part as the work progressed, though ultimately he lacked the vocal and physical presence required," Globe critic Robert Everett-Green wrote.

Both critics were impressed by the COC orchestra, conducted by Bradshaw, and said the acoustics of the new building seemed to enhance the sound and experience of the opera.

"I've never heard such a range of hues and intensities from this orchestra, or a more deeply grounded bass. The famous 163-bar opening elaboration on an E-flat major chord felt like the tuning of the building itself," Everett-Green said.

The acoustics of the hall seemed excellent on first impression, the New York Times critic wrote. He found the exterior of the Four Seasons Centre boxy and "uninviting," but said the front of the building is a "captivating wall of glass."

Critic Anthony Tommasini termed the orchestra performance "strong work" but founding some of the staging "heavy-handed."

The design and direction of Das Rheingold was by Michael Levine, who is also charged with unifying the four Ring operas, each of which is beingpresented by a different director.

"Inserting Wotan as an unconscious witness to the theft of the ring in the first scene may be a very heavy-handed idea," Tommasini wrote.

"Still, it immediately establishes the entire Ring story as a battle of wills between the corrupted head god and the relentless lowly dwarf."

The first opera in the series sets up the story of gods and mortals vying for control of a magical ring that can help someone rule the world.

Levine's design foreshadowed some of the eclectic styles that will be used by other directors, including filmmakers Atom Egoyan and François Girard.

Egoyan's Die Walkure debuted Wednesday night, with the remaining two operas set for Friday and Sunday.

The role of Wotan was sung by American baritone Peteris Eglitisin the Wednesday performance. Eglitis sang Wotan in Naples in 2004 and has sung it previously in Barcelona and Madrid.

The COC has not yet said who will sing Wotan in the rest of the performances.

Three full Ringcycles are planned in Toronto over the next three weeks, and Ring lovers are coming from all over the world to hear them.

CBC Radio Two's live broadcasts of the FourSeasons Centre'sdebutRing performancescontinue Sept. 13, 15 and 17.