Jonathan Sheffer.(On the Beat)(EOS Orchestra's production of The Valkyrie)(Interview)

JONATHAN DOVE and GRAHAM VlCK's reduction of Wagner's Ring cycle is not new: it was first revealed at Birmingham Opera back in 1990. But New Yorkers didn't get to experience it until 2002, when the EOS Orchestra, conducted by Jonathan Sheffer, presented Part I, The Rhinegold. Now it's time for the second installment, The Valkyrie, reduced to two and a half hours, on March 18 and 20 at New York University's Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. Like Rhinegold, Valkyrie is staged by CHRISTOPHER ALDEN. Sheffer says that Act I of Valkyrie is "arguably the most perfect act in all of opera," but he feels that Dove and Vick made a compelling case for shortening the work. Siegmund and Sieglinde's appearance in Act II is eliminated, and there are significant cuts in nearly every scene. Doesn't Sheller worry about the complex philosophical legacy of Wagner? Isn't he afraid that Wagner purists will turn out in force to protest? "No," he says. "I don't mind the heat. I like being in the kitchen."

Recently, a provocative essay in The London Daily Telegraph asserted that too much contextual explanation at concerts--the sort that EOS specializes in--prevents audiences from responding freely to the music. That's nice, says Sheller, but he doesn't agree: "I think that any traditional repertoire poses a very interesting problem for all of us who present and produce and interpret. How do we make the case that it matters to an audience that may not have the background that is required? At the same time, I try to take care of the experienced audience, to try to give them ...