However, there was enough atmosphere left, even if for some tastes the staging will now seem too plain and static. That no doubt made for safer stage movements by the singers, though at some cost in mythic atmosphere. As in the past, the great rings and ramps move almost imperceptibly to effect the scenic transformations.Ĭompared to the early Karajan staging, this performance was played out in fairly light shades of gloom. But the Gunther Schneider-Siemssen sets hold up very well and continue to work their magic. Returning to the repertory Thursday night, ''Die Walkure'' seemed a trifle dated in some ways, what with its emphasis on stark, archetypal symbols rather than on the theatrical gadgetry that has lately been coming into Wagnerian fashion, most notably in the Patrice Chereau ''Ring'' now being shown on television. He made his Metropolitan debut in this ''Walkure,'' which was supposed to be the first chapter in a Karajan ''Ring.'' As it happened, a strike intervened with the project only half finished and the Met's ''Ring'' had to proceed without the Karajan presence.

This approach, originating in Wieland Wagner's stagings at Bayreuth, was followed by others, including Mr.

When it was new in 1967, Herbert von Karajan's production of ''Die Walkure'' gave the Metropolitan Opera its first look at the austere style that dominated Wagnerian productions in the decades following World War II.

Met opera schedule 1983