Religion is never easy, and sometimes it’s hard to be a truly faithful Wagnerite

Two weeks ago, quite a few of us in London were at a religious occasion. On the face of it, this was unsurprising since it was just before Christmas. But few competing religious occasions would have had this one’s air of reverence. It was the first night of the first part of what will become a new production of Wagner’s Ring at Covent Garden.

Many of us arrived early just so that we could stand around and experience the mass expectation. Over the throng in the bars there was a sense that we were about to be admitted to something sacred. The seats had sold out within hours of going on sale months before. The sense of occasion was all around us. What would the production be like? What would be its ‘concept’?

At least two MPs were in the congregation, as well as conductors, singers and theatre directors, and the usual captains of industry — and captains of idleness. Michael Portillo had a thoughtful article in the programme: ‘The politics of Das Rheingold.’

A newspaper quoted a woman entering the auditorium as saying, ‘I want to be carried away.’ Traditionalist Wagnerites, once a modern production with a ‘concept’ gets under way, usually want to be carried out rather than carried away. But no one would have wanted to shake that woman’s simple faith in advance. After the house lights lowered, there was a pause of 30 seconds in the darkness before the music started. No one dared cough. Had a mobile phone gone off, its owner would have collapsed with shame. We were all preparing our souls for the two and a half hours without an interval.

Most of the critics wrote lukewarmly about the production, although they broadly admired the singing, conducting and orchestral playing.