Unusual Circumstances Don't Stand in the Way of a "Heroic" Siegfried in Atlanta
- ebrown9879
- 18 hours ago
- 3 min read
When allergies sidelined renowned bass-baritone Greer Grimsley ahead of the opening night of Siegfried at The Atlanta Opera, the company had to act quickly to fill some rather large shoes. The role of Wotan is famously one of the most difficult in the repertory, so finding a replacement for Mr. Grimsley was not an easy task. However, some creative thinking and another talented UIA artist saved the day.
Bass-baritone Kyle Albertson was called upon to fly in the night before to sing the role for opening night while Mr. Grimsley walked the stage. While not typical, this arrangement is not without precedent, and turned out to be quite a successful solution.
"Despite his inability to sing live, Greer Grimsley’s portrayal of the Wanderer radiated authority through his physical presence, and Kyle Albertson’s noble, world-weary vocalization from behind the scrim was admirably secure and commanding given the last-minute circumstances. Together, they forged a surprisingly seamless portrayal of Wotan’s twilight struggle: the once-mighty god reduced to a seemingly powerless observer, orchestrating his own obsolescence."
"Wotan, the king of the gods who is prominent in the first two Ring operas, returns in Siegfried but in the guise of a mysterious Wanderer. The bass Greer Grimsley, whose commanding Wotan was one of the highlights of the Atlanta Opera’s earlier Ring operas, was set to play the Wanderer, but he has been suffering from allergies and was unable to sing on opening night. And it’s not easy to find a Wotan on short notice to step in. Such are the challenges of live theater. But the Atlanta Opera forged a creative solution: On opening night, Grimsley acted and lip-synced the role on stage. Meanwhile, the Wanderer was actually sung by bass Kyle Albertson, who stood near the stage to the audience’s left. Kudos to the Atlanta Opera and Albertson, who brought a big, resonant and emotive bass to the role. What seemed like a potential disaster turned out to be a coup de théâtre. (As this review was being written, Atlanta Opera announced that Grimsley would be able to sing on the remaining performances."
"The third key role in the opera is the Wanderer, better known as Wotan, king of the gods in disguise, and here the company ran into something of a problem. Bass-baritone Greer Grimsley was scheduled but was laid low by allergies and unable to sing, though he could still bring his well-practiced acting to the role. Luckily, another fine singer was available to be called in to sing the part from a box adjacent to the stage.
Kyle Albertson, who had sung the role elsewhere, did an impressive job in a situation that couldn’t have been easy for anyone involved: those who had to interact with Grimsley’s mime version of the role and Albertson’s performing in what amounted to a closet. He succeeded wonderfully in singing under challenging circumstances (and acting as well, for I could see him from my seat) and deserves his place in the sun sometime again soon."
Luckily after opening night, Mr. Grimsley was able to return to singing his signature role for the remainder of the run, receiving excellent reviews as well for his third installment in Atlanta's Ring Cycle.
"As he had in the first two Atlanta Ring outings, Greer Grimsley sang Wotan, in a masterful portrayal that evinced his long experience with the cycle. He brought powerful authority to every phrase and every gesture. He was indisposed for the April 26 opening night and ended up miming the role while Kyle Albertson "dubbed" him from backstage. But in this performance, his bass-baritone voice returned, its oaken majesty intact. The King of the Gods was here entrusted to a truly kingly singer.
Grimsley and contralto Lindsay Ammann made the Act III Wotan/Erda scene a dramatic highlight, establishing a wary intimacy between the two long-ago lovers as they contemplate the gods' impending doom..."
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