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Home » Orchestra News » Performance of “Ring” Cycle Set to Digital Music Postponed


Performance of “Ring” Cycle Set to Digital Music Postponed

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Performance of “Ring” Cycle Set to Digital Music Postponed

A planned Hartford, Connecticut performance of Richard Wagner’s “Das Rheingold,” utilizing digitally-sampled sounds in lieu of a live orchestra, was postponed after several artists withdrew, some citing artistic reservations about the project. Singers, musicians, and fans objected to the idea of using sampled instruments in the traditionally acoustic art form. Many of them took to social media and the web calling for boycotts of the planned festival, which intends to produce all four operas comprising Richard Wagner’s “Ring” cycle using only a canned orchestra. 

Local 400 (Hartford, CT) President Joe Messina noted that poor fundraising and negative public feedback to the producers were also factors. “We would like to thank all who took the time to express their displeasure with this venture, especially those who also contacted us directly,” he says.







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