Oh, what a neat experience; thank you for this review. I am kind of boggling at the idea of arranging Wagner for smaller orchestras, etc. at all, but it sounds like apart from some of the cuts, they did it well. (My father used to run a small regional opera company with a combination of minor professionals, music students, and local amateurs, and they would NEVER have considered Wagner within their reach!) I have actually heard of Wayne Tigge somewhere, maybe in William Murray's Fortissimo (a wonderful opera read if you're interested), I think he's supposed to be very good, as you say.
Putting the orchestra on stage, if acoustically odd, is a fascinating idea! I would love to see that. I wonder what the orchestra thought about it?