The 1984 Siegfried

The Dragon

I was the head of The Dragon for Siegfried in both 1984 and 2001. For this I was privileged to put on a weighty costume (much heavier in '84), sit on my knees and crouch down as far as I could go, and push myself forward with my hands to rise out of Fafner's cave in a haze of dry ice and stage smoke.

Then it was the super's dream - just Siegfried and I onstage, fighting each other, completely dependent on the musical and libretto cues (in German, of course) and each other. No stage manager's cues!

I'd snap at George Gray; he would  dance around me and swing Notung around menacingly. At one point we would actually grapple when he was disarmed (the sword, not the limb) and had to grab my jaws (Remember, Siegfried is without fear). We often popped a few rivets on that one...

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The Final Product

His better side

The backpack-like harness to hold him up

In repose

The business end

Some of the opera's creative forces - Bethany, Roberto, Christopher, and Daniel - in the Karayanis Rehearsal Center:

Preliminary Staging at the Rehearsal Center:

George Grey (Siegfried) at the moment of "Siegfried's Horn Call" (though the offstage horn player will be  doing all the work)

George looking down at Christopher (mimicking the Dragon)

Moving to the Music Hall:

Oswald, Alberich, Wanderer	Siegfried carves his flute with Notung
Lights, scrim - but no costumes yet	A little dental inspection backstage. Note the smoke tube.