…the building’s first full opera performance made it clear that as a chamber for music drama the 2,000-seat hall is a smashing success.
… The famous 163-bar opening elaboration on an E-flat major chord felt like the tuning of the building itself.
The orchestra played at the lowest point on the adjustable pit elevator, and the subtle blending of individual sounds so important for Wagner’s complex effects was beautifully evident. And yet almost every individual component could still be discerned within that lustrous, flexible whole.