Union Avenue Opera closed their season on Saturday Aug. 22 with Richard Wagner’s composition of “Die Götterdämmerung- the Twilight of the Gods”. The show was the final part of “Der Ring des Nieblungen”, better known as “The Ring Cycle” series.

The 2015 festival season’s closer seemed to go as expected. Director Karen Coe Miller and Conductor Scott Schoonover managed to split the series into four equal parts, and have them performed over the past four summers.

The production staff chose to do the adaptation by Graham Vick and Johnathan Dove. This version is a shortened of the original to help with the patience of the audience. The opera itself may be directed towards an older crowd, but anything over three hours can be rough.

What really made the opera was what lies beneath the stage, the pit. UAO has been known to have a phenomenal orchestra to help accompany each of the powerful voices on stage. EHS’ very own Ms. Voumard, the orchestra teacher, played viola during the show.

Wagner had a way of creating a melody to go with each character. The story may have been in German, but the music was universal. Schoonover led an amazing talented group of individuals. No complaints were heard in the crowd.

To complement the instrumental aspect, UAO’s leading soprano, “Brünhilde” played by Alexandra LoBianco has a voice that is so powerful, it seemed to echo for hours after the show. LoBianco seemed to transform into the Walküre descendant, as if the character’s pain was her own. She showed her true talents and left the audience in awe.

Siegfried, played by Clay Hilley, shook the house with his tenor voice. He filled the role of the world’s hero and captured the audience’s hearts with his breathtaking ability to match LoBianco’s voice.  His presence was visibly taken with the crowd.

UAO wanted to take it even further during the production. The set itself was built to handle modern technological advancements. The technical crew was able to place projections on the screen and could do more with less work. Unfortunately, the projections were low quality and seemed to resemble a movie screen. If I would have wanted to watch a screen, I would’ve gone to the local AMC.

Overall, the production was worth it. The staff creates a personal atmosphere after each show. Each of the performers came out to talk for feedback. This let the audience know that even though the performers were extremely talented, they also cared about their supporters.

The show will be held again this upcoming weekend.

When: 8 p.m. August 21,22,28,29

How much: $30-52

Where; Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 N. Union Blvd St. Louis, Missouri