Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Bayreuth, 2025)

Richard Wagner - Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Bayreuther Festspiele, 2025

Daniele Gatti, Matthias Davids, Georg Zeppenfeld, Michael Spyres, Matthias Stier, Christina Nilsson, Christa Mayer, Michael Nagy, Jongmin Park, Martin Koch, Werner Van Mechelen, Jordan Shanahan, Daniel Jenz, Matthew Newlin, Gideon Poppe, Alexander Grassauer, Tijl Faveyts, Patrick Zielke, Tobias Kehrer

BR-Klassik Livestream - 25th July 2025

Matthias Davids' production doesn't look like any other production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg you might have seen. We expect that at Bayreuth of course, but we are definitely far removed these days from the more adventurous Meistersingers of Bayreuth in the recent past. Katharina Wagner's own controversial 2008 production was keen to genuinely tear down any familiar ground and truly put the work of German Art to the test just as Hans Sachs advocates, while last production by Barrie Kosky in 2017 had great fun turning the work inside out and putting Wagner on trial for antisemitism. Both were very much testing of Wagner's greatest expression of the power of art, the freedom of the artist and the artist as a revolutionary, as much in their conception as their adherence to the underlying intent of the work. Davids' view on Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg to see it as a paean to peace, love and understanding is not unreasonable and perhaps reflects our needs and desires in these troubled times, but it is a rather more limiting viewpoint on a work that contains so much more.

Better known as a director of musicals, Matthias Davids' lighter approach places emphasis on making the work look bright, colourful and comic. Those aren't characteristics that one typically associates with Wagner but Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is very much the exception to the typical Wagner music drama with its heavy emphasis on mythology. It's ambitiously expansive in its warmth, its humour, its insightfulness on a wider range of human experience and is more generously optimistic in its outlook. That's a lot to take in and consider, but it would be a mistake to emphasise the comedy and the romance to the exclusion of the opera's undercurrents of melancholy towards change and ...well, threats from 'outside'. I don't think Davids ignores this as much chooses to focus on the colour and setting and let Wagner's music fill in the rest. Wagner's miraculous music is more than capable of providing that with Daniele Gatti in the pit and a strong cast assembled for this production, but the production design and stage choreography does feel like a bit of a mess and distract from engaging with any deeper meaning in the work.

The best thing I can say about the first Act of the new Bayreuth Meistersinger is that it lays out the original premise of the opera clearly. It's not without a distinctive look and feel of its own with its long staircase up to St Catherine's Church in Nuremberg for the opening scene, the set revolving to a kind of lecture theatre setting for the marking of Walther von Stolzing’s first efforts at becoming a mastersinger. The street scenes for Act II look bewilderingly 'normal' as well, or not so much normal as picture book Nuremberg, an idealised non-period specific operatic setting the looks to tradition but modernises it to look bright and colourful. The buildings all look like the Keramikhäuser you find in German Christmas markets, or since this has a wooden appearance, more like a Christmas manger scene which kind of jars, in my mind anyway, with this being Midsummer's Eve.

The first half of Act II however is at least beautifully played, much more sensitively performed than Act I, but probably only because Wagner scored it with great warmth, nostalgia and human insight. Not so much in the acting, which is all broad gestures turning into slapstick inevitably by the end of the second Act. The director really hasn't got a handle on the nature of the people and the relationships between them as Wagner depicts them, or at least I never felt like these were real people with inner lives. It feels superficial, but Wagner's music soars under Daniele Gatti and has real heart and emotion behind it. It's not enough to carry the latter part of this act, and Beckmesser's wooing of Lena just feels agonising. It's surely impossible for this scene to be anything less than entertaining, but here it just drags with a lack of any kind of imagination or insight. The closing choral scene is chaotic, as it is supposed to be, but really shouldn't be this much of a mess.

Hans Sachs' workshop at the start of Act III brings a welcome change of tone; the spare set, the simplicity of the widower's home a wooden low wall circle, the loneliness of it all working with the melancholic tone. Georg Zeppenfeld can do deep melancholy well (not so great with humour), but his gestures remain broad. He is perhaps not everyone's ideal Hans Sachs, but his singing nonetheless carries the beauty and intent of this role in this scene. For me, these scenes with Eva and with Walther are the heart and soul of the work: they are filled with meaning, with the experience of life, looking back and looking forward and trying to come to terms with it all. Musically it's a marvel, the crowning achievement of Wagner's longstanding efforts to capture the essence of the German spirit through art, mythology and storytelling, but here without the usual grandiosity. He even quotes Tristan und Isolde (composed during the writing of Meistersinger), but instead of the despair of King Marke, Wagner's Sachs is inspired by or comforted by the optimism of youth and the new spirit of love in Stolzing, Eva, David and Lena. These scenes are beautiful and the best part of this new production at Bayreuth, as it ties in well with the director's approach and vision for the opera as a whole.

Of course it's nothing without the quality of the Prize song to prove it, and Michael Spyres brings out the full beauty of his Liebestraum. If Zeppenfeld's reactions of amazement and wonder at the knight's performance look a little exaggerated, you can nonetheless well understand it when you hear Spyres sing it like this. Although the poetry strikes me as rather flowery - literally - it still casts a spell of enchantment that is irresistible. It has to be believed that this song is near miraculous and Wagner composed it to have just that impact, more beautiful here in its moment of spontaneous creation than in the unnecessary spectacle of the final act performance - which of course Walther tries his best to reject. It can be just as wonderful at the conclusion, but it's not here and it's not because Walther and Eva do actually reject the nationalistic sentiments expressed by Sachs, but there are other issues with the staging of the scene that undermine it somewhat. Thankfully we have this 'demo' version before it becomes 'overproduced'.

The final scene suits the occasion to an extent, even if it is not particularly tasteful. The scene is set for a song contest in the style of Search for a Star, a regional Nuremberg heat of 'Germany’s Got Talent' or whatever the latest TV show incarnation of X-Factor is currently popular. It is indeed a popular scene involving the whole community so it is not inappropriate, even with a huge colourful inflatable cow canopy and bales of hay. Within that the concluding scenes play out in a fine if unexceptional manner and it's interesting that the decision to reject being the new idol of holy German Art is instigated or supported by Eva who whisks Walther off to seek to live the lives they want to live.

For all my misgivings about the production the scene was a moving one and, aside from the mixed response to the production team at the curtain call, the premiere performance of the new production appears to have been appreciated by the Bayreuth audience. I can't say it doesn't meet the intent of the work and do it justice, just that it felt unadventurous in not really interrogating the work, meaning we had some very dull passages, particularly in the first Act.

Lifeless scenes in the first half aside, musically and in terms of the singing performances this was indeed a very enjoyable production that took on a momentum of its own and made this just about a worthwhile experience. Aside from the capable performance of Georg Zeppenfeld and Michael Spyres' wonderfully sung Walter von Stolzing, the other performances all had much to admire. Michael Nagy sang well as Beckmesser, but deserved better than the role being reduced to little more than a sidekick for comic slapstick. Christina Nilsson's role debut as Eva was excellent. If she seemed occasionally overawed, that could also be attributed to her character's position in the work. She led the quintet in Act III beautifully. Matthias Stier made a strong impression as David and the reliable Christa Mayer was a fine Magdalena. Jongmin Park was a steadfast Pogner, and indeed all the Mastersinger roles (in their tea cosy helmets) were well defined and sung. The lightness of touch and warmth that Matthias Davids was aiming to achieve was certainly there in Daniele Gatti's conducting of the warm, luscious score, but somehow it never seemed to gel with any sense of genuine warmth and humanity reflected on the stage.

External links: BR-Klassik, Bayreuther Festspiele

Wagner - Der fliegende Höllander (Dublin, 2025)

Richard Wagner - Der fliegende Höllander

Irish National Opera, 2025

Fergus Sheil, Rachael Hewer, Jordan Shanahan, Giselle Allen, James Creswell, Toby Spence, Carolyn Dobbin, Gavan Ring

Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, Dublin - 23rd March 2025

After a number of ambitious productions in the seasons following their 2018 inauguration, it seemed to me that post-pandemic the Irish National Opera had settled down to productions that are a little less challenging and perhaps more accessible to a wider audience that might not regularly go to the opera. That would seem to continue to be the case with their latest production of Der fliegende Höllander, the most accessible of Wagner's works, although performing any Wagner opera can be seen as challenging enough really. While there was no extravagant contemporary reinterpretation of the meaning of the work or sign of any imaginative play on its themes, it can sometimes be enough just to let a 'respectful' production of Wagner's work speak for itself, and in the case of the INO's 2024-25 season Der fliegende Höllander, that proved to be the case.

Not distracted by trying to work out how the meaning of the work could be aligned with contemporary events, it struck me instead that there are two essential qualities that the INO's production chose to focus on for this Der fliegende Höllander. It was not really the commercial considerations of attracting audiences and filling the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, which is important evidently but that should ideally come naturally as a consequence of ensuring that all the other essential elements are right. To successfully achieve that in Der fliegende Höllander it's necessary to recognise above all the importance of the role of mythology in Wagner's world, and the two qualities that the Irish National Opera employed to achieve that were through the specific attention given to the musical treatment and, to a lesser degree, through the direction of the stage production. Getting the basics right, in other words.

I'll take the direction of the stage production first, since my initial impression was that Rachael Hewer didn't appear to have anything special to bring to the work. It was impressively designed and looked spectacular in places, but offering little in the way of commentary on the meaning of the work. The long overture is one way of introducing such ideas and it seemed that this one was heading towards what is now, in the United States anyway, a rather unfashionably 'woke' re-envisioning of the opera as a feminist statement. For those of us not under the influence of a resetting of the world to the agendas of rich white American billionaires however, it's an interesting idea that could have a certain validity if you can carry it off. I'm not sure that Wagner would have seen it that way, but it does reflect belief in the power of myth and art to offer redemption and transformation.

The overture sees a young child in a red coat - a familiar device it has to be said and you could confidently expect to see the older Senta sporting a similar one later - being introduced to all manner of women in traditional small community working roles from teacher to governess to the role eventually mapped out for her as a worker in a factory gutting and packing fish. Young Senta respects all these women's choices but she has other wild ideas for herself inspired by her book of fairy tales. She becomes obsessed with the myth of the Flying Dutchman, but really what she believes in is her ability to make her own choices, the myth giving her the courage to believe in herself, in her inner values.

These are recognised by the Dutchman when they meet, something he describes as a woman's greatest quality; her eternal fidelity. Whatever way you choose to see it however, it's essentially Senta's own self-belief in the value of a deeper truth, one which allows her to feel compassion for the injustice of the fate of the Dutchman. It's a minor distinction or small point used to bring the opera into focus, but it proves to be a critical one as far as the production overcoming its limitations elsewhere.

Fergus Sheils' musical direction and conducting of the INO however was simply masterful. There is no other word for it. Wagner's music for this opera - and indeed any of his operas - should hit you right between the eyes, in the ears and in the heart and that's what we got here. Musically of course Der fliegende Höllander is a bit of a curate's egg, the composer on his way to his long through-composition and radical reinvention of what could be achieved in music drama, but there are a few odd left-over elements like Daland's Bellini-influenced aria that breaks up the flow. Under Sheils this however had a coherence and consistency, the whole composition of the opera and its whole purpose being in the telling of myth through music and singing.

It seems self evident, but Der fliegende Höllander is a sung opera. By which I mean Wagner almost totally dispenses with any idea of naturalism and makes it a condition of the characters that they sing of their life. The Helmsman sings a song of longing for return to land and the love of the woman waiting for him, the women sing while they work, Senta relates the myth of the Dutchman in a song, Act III features a drunken boisterous singalong. It's a way of tying life up with myth in the ritual of song, because the opera is all about the power of myth (and Wagner) to change the world. That's what Senta recognises, that is what sets her apart from the other women - and indeed men, her father dreaming only of wealth - giving her the strength to believe in herself.

Sheil gets that and he gets that Wagner provides everything that is needed in the score. As conductor he gets the right mood for every scene, knowing when to slow the pace down for contemplation, when to let an edge of tension and horror creep in, and when to deliver an effective dramatic or emotional punch. That goes hand in hand with the stage direction here. The raising of the tattered, drenched red sails from the depths of the dark ocean below the stage, dripping water in an eery silence, is just such a moment. The choral challenge of the townspeople to the ghostly crew of the Flying Dutchman is another, loud and boisterous, resulting in a flaming torch being thrown and setting the sails alight. (The fire fortunately a projection this time after an earlier fire alarm resulted in an evacuation from the theatre during the interval). All of this - and elsewhere too - established a highly charged atmosphere, not least in the powerful conclusion with the child Senta being winched out of the sea.

All of which might raise a question over Senta’s lifestyle choices, but there are answers waiting to be found there if you want to take the time to think about it. But you didn't need to. The power of Wagner's opera (one that I'm increasingly coming around to consider underrated in as far as measuring up against his great masterpieces) needs no interpretation or translation. The strength of the singing is certainly another vital aspect in getting that across and Giselle Allen's Senta, Jordan Shanahan's Dutchman, James Creswell's Daland and Toby Spence's Erik all fulfilled all those roles admirably as did Carolyn Dobbin as Mary and Gavan Ring as the Steersman, but it's the INO's note-perfect account of the musical interpretation and the mood of Wagner's work - a supreme account of the power of mythology and practically a legend in its own right - that leaves the necessary lasting impression.

External links: Irish National Opera

Wagner - Siegfried (Brussels, 2024)

Richard Wagner - Siegfried (Brussels, 2024)

La Monnaie-De Munt, 2024

Alain Altinoglu, Pierre Audi, Magnus Vigilius, Peter Hoare, Gábor Bretz, Scott Hendricks, Wilhelm Schwinghammer, Ingela Brimberg, Nora Gubisch, Liv Redpath

RTBF Auvio streaming - 25th September 2024

Well this was unexpected, but in the end perhaps not totally surprising. Ring Cycles are notoriously complicated to stage and require enormous planning and resources. Sometimes they fail, sometimes they are abandoned before they start, sometimes mid-stream (as appears to be the case with the English National Opera production), but this the ambitious new production at La Monnaie in Brussels, the first two parts of which took place in the 2023/24 season with the remaining parts to be fulfilled in 2024/25, is the first I've seen where the director has jumped ship half-way through. La Monnaie issued a press statement advising that the remaining two parts would no longer be directed by Romeo Castellucci and that they had parted ways on this Ring Cycle by mutual agreement, unable to achieve what was planned within the planned timescale and budget.

The reason is probably more complicated than simply creative differences or even just budgetary concerns. It's not as if La Monnaie lack resources or ambition and have staged many extravagant Castellucci productions over the years, so his plans for the remainder of the cycle must have really been really out there. Considering the extraordinary visuals of what was staged the previous season in Das Rheingold and Die Walküre and that there was a proposal for a full length feature film using new untested technology to accompany Siegfried and a "double project" mixing theatre and opera for Götterdämmerung, it is genuinely feasible that the production team were indeed incapable of meeting the technological demands of Castellucci's vision for the remainder of the tetralogy.

The unenviable task of taking over the reins on a Ring Cycle in the middle of the race is handed to Pierre Audi, and it's not as if he even has any clear direction to follow. The horses of the Valkyrie have already bolted from this Ring stable, the previous two parts looking spectacular but having very little in the way of any coherent or even comprehensible intent to latch onto. There may have been ambitions (probably not) for the complete cycle to come together into something more thought-provoking rather than just appear as a series of bizarre visual ideas thrown out for each part by Castellucci, but either way I for one was looking forward to seeing where the director would take it next. It seems however that the next level was just simply unachievable, the artist's ambition greater than anyone's ability to realise its potential. Can Pierre Audi attempt to pull this together what has come before into something just as interesting, while at least remaining achievable?

There are maybe a few minor references to what has come before in the opening filmed footage that plays out before the opera, a group of schoolchildren putting on cardboard masks and wooden swords - a reminder at the surprising use of children to play the gods in one scene of Castellucci's Das Rheingold - and in one of children drawing a large circle - a reference found at the beginning and end of both parts directed by Castellucci. Or perhaps, like the childish drawing of a man with a sword that leads into the overture, it's more a sign that this is a return back to basics which, since that characterises Siegfried in Siegfried to some extent, is a reasonable way to approach it. The children's drawings however only make a reappearance as overlaid projections in the closing moments of the opera, so their inclusion - at this stage anyway - is a mystery.

But it's hard to find anything at all meaningful in Pierre Audi's Siegfried. It's true that he hasn't been given much to work with (apart from Wagner's account of the myth obviously) and it must be difficult to take over any project half-way through, but his style has always been for abstraction and bold grand symbolism. Not the obvious kind though. Here in Act I the scene consists of a wall of tarnished gold blocks (a familiar Audi image) with a huge jagged black ball hovering above it. You could potentially see this as representative of the two figures, one corrupted by desire for gold, the other an unformed ball of potential. You could however find a reason for reading this the other way around, so I may be giving the abstract design more credit for symbolism than it's worth, but it seems to be borne out when a long glowing spear descends and bisects the stage at the arrival of the Wanderer. On its own terms the staging is fine, the effective lighting capturing tone and mood, but it's not really enough to make the playing out of backstory between Mime and Siegfried and Mime and Wanderer any more interesting.

The credibility of Act II unfortunately suffers from poor choices in the combination of costume design and lighting. Alberich and the Wanderer skulk about the darkened stage wearing Judex capes and wide-brim homburg hats, their faces bathed in green light, making it looks like a casting session for Wicked. Perhaps that's not the worst image to hang on Alberich and Wanderer, but it looks silly and rather ruins the tone as they gather outside the formidable grotto of the dragon Fafner. The huge inflatable crumpled ball covered in heavy-duty black plastic sheeting sprouts lights for eyes as the dragon, but the spectacle is brief and the impact of Siegfried slaying the dragon is rather ineffective. There is added gravitas however when Fafner appears carrying the desiccated blackened and rotted remains of Fasolt, underlining the tragic end of the race of giants. That gravity is carried over into the scene between Erda and Wanderer but it has little else to offer, the confrontation and destruction of Wotan’s spear feeling somewhat routine.

It does however lead into a dramatic science-fiction-like Act III, the huge ball splintering or rather replaced with floating shards in a blazing red sky, before giving way to the coolness of the discovery of Brünnhilde in a frozen state in an abstract landscape of a blazing white dawn. That at least gives this scene its own distinct character and tone, although in its abstraction it could equally pass for a scene from Act II or Act III of Tristan und Isolde. It's an effective scene nonetheless on its own terms, held together by the sense of epic revelation and resolution to the tragic consequences of Die Walküre, the performance of the score and the singing all coming together to reveal the full majesty of the moment, which of course is built upon everything that has come before. It's a bit of a chore getting there, but almost worth it in the end.

Audi's taking over of Siegfried was undoubtedly a challenge and it at least looks the part, breaking away from the direction Castellucci was taking the cycle and focussing on just delivering a suitably bold spectacle with good singing. Personally I find that Siegfried needs a little more than that. Although you would be hard pressed to understand the direction Castellucci was taking this Ring des Nibelungen in, Audi's vision has no psychological or philosophical underpinning and doesn't invite one or even have any distinctive directorial stamp. It's just a routine performance, in as much as a challenging work like Siegfried can ever be 'routine'. Peter De Caluwe, the general director of La Monnaie prefers to rebrand this cycle now as two diptychs, the first two "allegorical" about the gods, the second two a "human" story about the love between Siegfried and Brünnhilde. It's a big disappointment however when you think that, however extreme and absurd his ambitions might have been, the reasons given for Castellucci's departure is an acknowledgement that his Siegfried would at least never have been dull.

There are no big gestures in the score, which is given a softer reading from Alain Altinoglu than I expected, making me think that La Monnaie were perhaps not using full scale orchestration. It's more likely however that the choices were made for the sake of dynamism, saving the impact for where it is needed and it fairly scaled up for the final scene. Another reason might be to give the singers room to be heard, but there were few problems on that front, although they were left with fairly standard characterisation with no obvious direction. Peter Hoare's Mime is excellent, but it was a familiar weasely and slimy semi-comic routine. Gabor Breitz is a solid menacing presence but brought little that was distinctive to his continuation of the role of Wotan/Wanderer. Scott Hendricks makes great efforts as Alberich but struggles a little. The Wicked outfits perhaps didn't help either of them. The best performance here comes from Magnus Vigilius as Siegfried, totally in command of the role, his voice approaching Klaus Florian Vogt lightness but with a little more steel and not so much softness, which seems ideal. Ingela Brimberg reprises her Brünnhilde from Die Walküre and sings it well, but just as importantly, captures the complexity of her condition as a formidable but now fearful Valkyrie.

External links: La Monnaie-De Munt, RTBF Auvio

Wagner - Tristan und Isolde (Bayreuth, 2024)

Richard Wagner - Tristan und Isolde

Bayreuther Festspiele, 2024

Semyon Bychkov,Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson, Andreas Schager, Günther Groissböck, Camilla Nylund, Olafur Sigurdarson, Birger Radde, Christa Mayer, Daniel Jenz, Lawson Anderson, Matthew Newlin

BR-Klassik - 25th July 2024

It's not often I am at a loss of words to describe or give an impression of a production of Tristan und Isolde, particularly one at the Bayreuth Festival which usually gives plenty to think about and unusual directorial touches to describe, but in the case of the new production that opens the 2024 festival I think this Isolde has taken all the words for herself. At the start of the opera we see her wearing a jewel encrusted fencing mask, dressed in a robe filled with words that spreads out around and covers the ground she lies upon, still scribbling more words onto the costume. For the remainder of the first Act however we see little more on the stage than an abstract impression of a ship with rigging sailing through misty waters. Already I'm beginning to suspect that director Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson is going to expect each person who views it to do much of the work for him on this one.

On the other hand, there is something to be said for reining in the traditional excesses seen at Bayreuth for something a little more low key than some of the wilder over-the-top productions seen there over the last few decades under the artistic direction of Katarina Wagner. You can take your pick at which is the most extravagant, whether Herheim's Parsifal, the Castorf Ring, the Baumgarten's industrial Tannhäuser… there are too many to choose from. Perhaps it's time to tone down on the distractions a little and let the music and the singing express everything that needs to be said, or at least everything that is important. In the case of Tristan und Isolde, it doesn't need a great deal of imagined action, elaborate stage sets or re-interpretation to bring out what it is about, but it should leave some openness that allows some of its mysteries to remain. There is at least a suggestion of something mystical and ambiguous in this production around the feelings that truly lie between Tristan and Isolde, even before the magic potion kicks in.

As for the magic potion, well even that is not deemed essential in this production for those feelings to well up and spill over. There is a phial, but neither seem to drink from from it, both already seemingly aware on some level of the feelings they have for each other, the simmering passions that they know are wrong, one a betrayal of Morold, the other a betrayal of King Mark. And yet despite Tristan studiously trying to avoid meeting Isolde on the journey from Ireland until she is delivered to the King in Cornwall, it just can't be avoided. When he does agree to take the drink, he appears to be well aware of Isolde's magical powers since they helped heal him while in Ireland (a source of guilt for both), and as such, knowing what is ahead, he seems willing to accept or unable to deny the fate she offers him, which is death. Isolde for her part, realises this at the last moment and casts the potion away, assuming her own share not so much of the poison as her share of guilt.

If there is not much in the way of pointers as far as the direction goes at this stage, at least there is much to enjoy in the singing. Andreas Schager and Camilla Nylund might not be the first choice singers for these roles, but there is no denying their experience in almost all the key Wagnerian roles for tenor and soprano. Schager is perhaps a bit too earnest, a little steely and overly forceful in delivery - and this becomes more of an issue in the second and third acts. Camilla Nylund is again excellent, following her recent performances as Brünnhilde in the impressive Zurich Ring Cycle. Both are well supported here by Olafur Sigurdarson's Kurwenal and Christa Mayer's Brangäne

Ok, so maybe I'm not left at a complete loss of words, but few of them point to any original observations about the work at this stage. The subsequent Acts don't add a great deal more, lack rigour and focus, but perhaps hint at the framework of an idea, with Semyon Bychkov bringing more to the musical interpretation to spur it along. The orchestral build up to the arrival of Tristan in Act II is furiously played, overwhelming, as you imagine it ought to be. The darkness enveloping Isolde and Brangäne is dimly illuminated at his arrival to show them in a rather more cluttered area in what appears to be the hull of the ship with pipes, gauges, wheels and dials, but also random luggage and objects: a globe, clocks, an urn, stuffed animals, statues and busts, pictures, Isolde's mask, all of it bathed in reddish golden glow.

All the rapturous sentiments are there in Act II, but there s little sense of it meaning anything or any sense of it being connected to the world outside - which is a valid view of two lovers for whom nothing else exists. In what becomes a running theme in this production - and hence where you suspect some intent of commentary or interpretation lies - is that the two lovers seem determined to consummate their love again though the imbibing of the death potion but are inevitably interrupted. Another attempt is made after King Mark’s speech, as Tristan holds the flask and invites Isolde to join him in his wondrous realm of night. Rather than Merlot striking him with sword, Tristan succeeds in drinking from the flask and Isolde is frustrated in her attempt to follow him by an intervention from Melot. King Marke's arrival however reveals that in the light of day, the hull of the ship is nothing more a rusted hulk. These are slim points of difference that don't seem to offer anything significant or new.

Andreas Schager is already feeling the strain a little in Act II through the sheer force of his delivery, pushing much too hard at the expense of a more nuanced interpretation of the dynamic. Camilla Nylund's lovely richness of voice is evident but she doesn't always have the necessary power and lacks any real direction from Arnarsson to help her wade through the text that spills onto her dress. It's probably about time that someone other than Georg Zeppenfeld was given the role of King Mark at Bayreuth (and every other important house in Europe performing this work), but it's only when you hear someone else sing it that you appreciate Zeppenfeld more. It's not an enviable role to enter at this stage in Act II and have to deliver a long monologue wallowing in disappointment and betrayal, but grimacing Günther Groissböck isn't able to make much of it and a section of the audience show their displeasure at the end of act curtain call.

The skeletal hulk of the decaying, rusting ship remains in Act III as Kareol, now even more disordered, with all the junk heaped together in a pile and the dying Tristan slumped against it. Again, it's a slim offering for this work and the failure to make anything significant of the circumstances that drive Tristan and Isolde to consummate their love-death, in as far as that can be done (and in Wagner's world, in his music at least it makes sense) means that it's hard to feel that the right tone has been established for this final scene. Schager gives his usual committed performance but it feels desperate rather than express desperation. His delivery then of Tristan's delirious monologue wavers, impressive in some respects, inaccurate in others as he flails around pushing his voice to its limits. Nylund at least brings a more delicate yet appropriate touch to what the director has been heading towards in the conclusion where she drains what remains in the flask and joins Tristan in death.

It's true that every director has their own interpretation of Tristan und Isolde and there should be no limits placed on that, but I can't help feel that from the small twists on the libretto that are applied here, it shows a fundamental misreading of the work or perhaps a very limited view of it. There is a suggestion that both Isolde and Tristan have deep emotional baggage or physical human limitations - one in Isolde's obsessiveness over trying to put her feelings into words, the other in the objects that almost smother Tristan in Act III - that holds them back from achieving the true transcendence they aspire towards together, both trapped within an imperfect decaying body of the ship. It's not a lot to go on, but with Wagner's remarkable score conducted by Semyon Bychkov and some good singing it's almost enough. Unfortunately with this work almost enough just isn't good enough.

External links: Bayreuther Festspiele, BR-Klassik

Wagner - Götterdämmerung (Zurich, 2024)

Richard Wagner - Götterdämmerung (Zurich, 2024)

Opernhaus Zürich, 2024

Gianandrea Noseda, Andreas Homoki, Klaus Florian Vogt, Daniel Schmutzhard, Christopher Purves, David Leigh, Camilla Nylund, Lauren Fagan, Sarah Ferede, Freya Apffelstaedt, Lena Sutor-Wernich, Giselle Allen, Uliana Alexyuk, Niamh O'Sullivan, Siena Licht Miller

Zurich Opera Ring für alle - 26th May 2024

If there's initially a sense that the 2024 Opernhaus Zürich's Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle is getting a little tired and lacking in surprises by the time we get to Götterdämmerung, it's probably as much to do with the opera itself as the production. When you get this far, it can sometime feel like a duty just to see the cycle through to the end rather than any expectation of surprises or twists being pulled out at this late stage in a production. But see it through you must, just for the powerful conclusion that the whole story had been moving towards from very early on, and even if those surprises are fewer, the quality and consistency that has characterised the previous parts is carried through here impressively.

The only ones indeed not able to predict how the remainder of the production play out are ironically the three Norns. The universe of this Zurich production remains within the familiar backdrop of a rotating stage of rooms, the high panelled walls white again after the darkness of Siegfried. Or a little off-white maybe. The world of Götterdämmerung looks worn and neglected, a little battered, the white paint yellowing, cracking and peeling. The three Norn struggle to hold the strands of the rope of fate together, the events that the gods have enacted have worn it down, their fate is now unknown. We on the other hand have some idea of what to expect, at least as far as how the colour schemes present it.

A Rasputin-like Hagen is most definitely dressed in black for this work's divisions of those who serve nature and those whose actions hasten its destruction. The Gibichung break the simple colour coding however; Gunther and Gutrune, wearing red jackets, are of a different mold to the grand mythical forces of black and white in conflict. The time of the Eternal Ones and heroes is past, Siegfried's grey turning into a black and white suit by the time of his wedding to Gutrune and betrayal of Brünnhilde. The thread has been broken, the Sacred Ash destroyed. the Norn perhaps colour blind and therefore unable to see into the unknown future where now only destruction looms.

In this world where we are heading towards the end of an era, the key scene of Siegfried's betrayal of Brünnhilde is crucial and achieved highly effectively here. Siegfried wears the Tarmhelm while Gunther shambles on like a monster version of himself in a mask. Brünnhilde’s horror is felt, but there is the suggestion when she accidentally tears off the Tarnhelm in a struggle for the ring and momentarily glimpses the true face of Siegfried, that she lets herself succumb to the curse that has befallen all of them, a fate that she has already been forewarned off by her sister Valkyrie, Waltraute.

Again, it's the smallest of touches that make the difference here, such as a dejected Wotan making a cameo appearance in Valhalla, Freia's golden apples untouched. It might look like it's just trying to fill out what otherwise looks fairly bare minimal staging, but it's not. Such little details count here, making it feel relatable, like something human is really at stake and not just a grand myth. If you want to see the destruction of the World Ash and demand of Waltraute that Brünnhilde abandon the Ring and all it stands for as a commentary of capitalism exploiting the natural resources and the end of that road leading to climate change destruction unless nature (the Rhinemaidens) is respected, it's there clearly if you want to see it that way, even if none of it is made explicit in the staging. Not that I'm claiming that Wagner was a very early advocate of Green policies, but it's a theme that is large enough to be held within the grand mythology of Der Ring des Nibelungen.

The singing keeps up the remarkably high standards and consistency of the previous parts of the cycle. And when you have good direction as you have here under Andreas Homoki, it means you can enter fully into the purpose and intent of the work. Klaus Florian Vogt can still get away with an ideal mix of youthful naivety and enthusiasm, if not quite the vocal force you expect (but which it rarely attains) for this role. There is an excellent performance here from Camilla Nylund as Brünnhilde, particularly in her confrontation and accusations of the betrayal by Siegfried. It's fitting that she outshines Vogt in this scene in her outrage. I was really impressed with her performance throughout the second Act, necessary to gives the opera the weight, grief and tragedy it needs at the tragic conclusion. David Leigh, who was the dragon Fafner in Siegfried, here takes the role of Hagen with great power and depth, his delivery clear and ominous throughout. Daniel Schmutzhard and Lauren Fagan sing the roles of Gunter and Gutrune roles well. Christopher Purves is once again brilliant as the dark and bitter Alberich.

Again, I am in awe of the musical performance here of the Philharmonia Zürich under Gianandrea Noseda. I've never rated Götterdämmerung all that highly compared to the more popular and widely performed parts of Der Ring des Nibelungen, once in jest unfairly and inaccurately suggesting that it was little more than as a compilation of variations of the leitmotifs from the earlier works, but the beauty and delicacy of the score, particularly in the linking orchestral interludes, is brought out wonderfully in this performance. The weight is perfectly balanced and emotionally attuned without ever slipping into bombast. Perhaps the close attention paid to the detail of the drama and singing help this, but that's not to take anything away from the quality of the musical direction and performance.

As the opera moves towards its conclusion it's clear that there are no major new ideas or grand concept employed here and that the success of the production lies rather in the fact that it is just very good direction that is completely in service to the drama. You look at the deceptively simple minimalism of the sets and colour schemes and wonder how it can still be so effective in establishing mood and drama, and yet it is indeed one of the most effective stagings of Der Ring des Nibelungen that I have seen. It doesn't put a foot wrong anywhere. The mood is right, the acting and singing is of the highest standard, it works hand-in-hand with the musical performance, but what really drives it is the interaction between all those elements. These are not individual performances or creative indulgences, it's a collective ensemble performance, interacting, giving and taking, acting and reacting. And maybe it's there, in how it finds a way for the spectator to connect meaningfully with this grand formidable work of mythology, that this Zurich Ring succeeds so impressively.

External links: Opernhaus Zürich, Ring für alle Video on Demand

Photos - Monika Rittershaus

Wagner - Siegfried (Zurich, 2024)

Richard Wagner - Siegfried

Opernhaus Zürich, 2024

Gianandrea Noseda, Andreas Homoki, Klaus Florian Vogt, Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke, Tomasz Konieczny, Christopher Purves, David Leigh, Anna Danik, Camilla Nylund, Rebeca Olvera

Zurich Opera Ring für alle - 24th May 2024

Following the first two installments of the Andreas Homoki Ring Cycle for Zurich there was good reason to look forward to their continuation of the epic work in Siegfried. That's not always the case for me. After Das Rhinegold and Die Walküre, I often feel it's more of a duty to see a Ring Cycle through to the end, and it can even be a bit of a chore in some rare cases. Not so here. Even if Andreas Homoki directing and Gianandrea Noseda conducting just continued along the existing path without feeling the need to add any other new ideas, such was the standard and quality of cast in the first two parts that I was confident that the remaining two long evenings of Der Ring des Nibelungen would continue to be hugely enjoyable and as impressive as the first two.

And indeed it does, at least as far as Siegfried goes. There is nothing exceptional about the opening scene other than a sense that it is as good as and consistent in tone with what has come previously inside the house of the Ring. What is noticeable is that the white panelled walls have been swapped for a darker rooms for what takes place in Siegfried. Act I's room contains oversized pieces of furniture (presumably since its inhabitants are dwarf and youth) that hasn't been well cared for, all of it dull, worn, upturned and scattered around. The set doubles up as a forge and workshop very effectively when it comes to repairing Nothung. It matches the sense of disregard of Siegfried by Mime, whose focus is single-mindedly on one thing; the Ring.

Appearances aside, the real attention is given over to the detail of the musical performance that matches the alternatively playful and sensitive sides of the scene, a tone that is likewise conveyed though consistently fine singing performances that have been a hallmark of this Ring Cycle. Here Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke reprises his anxious and animated Mime, Tomasz Konieczny again the Wanderer, and Klaus Florian Vogt is introduced as Siegfried, each of them solid, reliable and playing to their best. You have everything necessary here to engage you in the drama that is to unfold over the course of the work, while the recounting of what has come before is anything but a chore.

Set up as such, more than any other time I can remember (other than expecting to be taken aback by the unpredictable in Frank Castorf's Ring cycle - who can forget the Mount Rushmore of Revolutionaries in his Siegfried?) I very much looked forward - this time for consistency rather than surprise - to seeing how the subsequent Acts would play out. Of course, it helps that since Zurich are using the same cast in the same roles almost throughout, you have the return of Christopher Purves as Alberich to look forward to in Act II. As expected, he is fantastic again here. The scene of Siegfried's reflection on his mother and his failed attempts to communicate with the Waldvogel feel a little overplayed in Act II, but it presents a lovely little oasis of beauty within a very dark scene of greed, treachery and dragon-slaying.

While such touches and little details are well-considered to balance out the tone of the work, and the consistency of the quality of the musical and singing performances count for a lot, there remains a niggling feeling that they could do a little more, that the production could benefit from a deeper exploration of some of the themes typically found in this work. The stage direction, lighting and costume design do give some clues however, gentle ones maybe, nothing too imposing, and it's literally all spelled out in black and white. The use of black and white clothing is a fairly obvious convention, but it's how it is applied here that adds another dimension and gives the work a little commentary worth considering. All the figures here are mythological, but there are some who are closer to nature and purer in their motivation and duty than others, uncorrupted by greed for money and power. The Rhinemaidens, Erda, the Valkyrie, the Waldvogel all are pure white spirits within the context here, as does the change to the basic set colour scheme in the two halves of the tetralogy. That's a fairly strong adherence and visual representation of a central theme of the work.

You can see Siegfried (in shades of grey) in those terms, his refusal to accept the authority of Wotan, laughing at his pretensions that rely on a past reputation that no longer has any currency (literally) in a new world. In that light, it makes the confrontation between them as effective as it can be. Siegfried is not overawed by the golden majesty of the expensively built Valhalla shown to him. He has purer motivations, motivated by love for the mother he has never known and the promise of the maiden surrounded by fire. And, as far as those sentiments go, in Siegfried anyway, it's all about maintaining a coherence, a consistency, an equilibrium between the disparate elements and factors that come into play over the course of the opera, recognising the key scenes and giving them due attention in the direction of the performances.

I'm not sure you can extend this theory to the rapturous declarations of the final scene of Siegfried's awakening of Brünnhilde, but there's a limit to what you can do. Even as Klaus Florian Vogt and Camilla Nylund give it their all, it's all still a bit overly glorified, but in some ways you could look at this as perhaps a necessary scene to counterbalance what comes next in Götterdämmerung. As if recognising this, director Homoki includes some moments of fun - without making fun of it - when Siegfried and Brünnhilde get down to business in a playful clinch after Vogt shows his concern for the lack of respect shown to the hastily cast aside Nothung. 

Again it's a case of little details making a big difference, but aside from that it's left to the singers to deliver the impact of each scene in the opera, and there is no doubt they all carry it through brilliantly, as they did in the earlier parts. New here in the lesser roles are Rebeca Olvera as a bright Waldvöglein, we have a different Fafner here, but arguably he has transformed from Giant to Dragon and David Leigh sounds superb. Anna Danik's Erda makes the most of her brief appearances again here. What really counts of course is your Siegfried and while he might not be anyone's idea of a heldentenor, Klaus Florian Vogt’s unique voice yet again feels absolutely right for this production as it does for whatever Wagner tenor role he undertakes. He makes it seem effortless, which is quite an achievement.

External links: Opernhaus Zürich, Ring für alle Video on Demand

Photos - Monika Rittershaus

Wagner - Die Walküre (Zurich, 2024)

Richard Wagner - Die Walküre (Zurich, 2024)

Opernhaus Zürich, 2024

Gianandrea Noseda, Andreas Homoki, Eric Cutler, Christof Fischesser, Tomasz Konieczny, Daniela Köhler, Claudia Mahnke, Camilla Nylund, Sarah Cambidge, Ann-Kathrin Niemczyk, Barbara Senator, Anna Werle, Simone McIntosh, Siena Licht Miller, Michal Doron, Noa Beinart

Zurich Opera Ring für alle - 20th May 2024

Sometimes - not often but sometimes - you get the impression that as critical as the Siegfried and Sieglinde story is to Die Walküre and the impact it is to have down the line in Der Ring des Nibelungen, that it isn't always accorded the same attention or gifted with the quality of principal singers as is necessary for the undoubtedly important and rather more dramatic Wotan, Fricke and Brünnhilde conflict and the Ride of the Valkyrie centerpiece to come. Well, the opening of the 2024 Zurich Die Walküre confirms that the superb balance and attention that was paid to all areas in the preliminary evening opera (which itself is no lesser opera) carries through to the First Day of the Ring, and it pays dividends here.

It seems that the reason they are able to do this is in large part by stripping the work down to its essence, yet managing to do so without losing any of the epic mythological quality of the work. There are no indulgences, or none that are excessive or distracting, but the attention to detail is directed to the places where it should be. From those opening moments of Die Walküre, the whole production takes place in the same high white panelled walls of a mansion, where an invisible to the world Wotan is still seen to be playing an important part in the arranging and direction of events, his spear striking lightning bolts, leading the Wölfing to shelter unwittingly at the home of his sister and his enemy Hunding.

The set revolves to show the huge tree dominating the room where Hunding and his men have entered the house. Within the walls of the room, there is no other decoration of the set, yet everything that is needed (except the sword) is there and it still looks impressive, but it is the singers who are the vital element here in getting across the import of the scene. Eric Cutler and Daniela Köhler are so good here that the screen director is happy to draw in for close-ups to show how well they can carry this scene. Director Andreas Homoki is also brave enough to show the depth of the attraction between Siegmund and Sieglinde a little earlier and more intensely than usual, and it develops to close to Tristan und Isolde levels here. Both Cutler and Köhler are simply outstanding and more than capable of living up to that comparison. 

Another promising development is how Sieglinde relates the story of the sword in the tree as it plays out in the scene, the Wanderer’s presence felt again, placing the sword there at the moment of most need, and you can feel that need now. It's also promising because it suggests that the subsequent Act is not going to be as dry as it often can be, but from what we've seen so far, I think we knew that already. That is borne out fairly quickly with the way that Homoki depicts the arrival of Brünnhilde and all the Valkyrie to the gold table conference room style Valhalla, where Wotan is soon to have that long unwinnable dispute with Fricka. It fits perfectly with the aesthetic elsewhere, the Valkyrie wearing horse head helmets, both warriors and horses.

Again, rather than overwork the scene Homoki chooses to use only what is needed and with good direction of the performers and fine singers that is more than enough to deliver the necessary impact and import of the encounter between Fricka and Wotan. Fricka does not laugh or glory in the outcome, despite Brünnhilde's reading of what has occurred between her and Wotan. She knows she has struck a hard bargain and almost sympathises with her distraught husband. Little details like this count for a lot. There is restraint also in Wotan’s account of the origin of his woes to Brünnhilde needing little more than a rotation of the rooms to reveal Erda as her mother. I perhaps expected a little more from this pivotal scene, but can't fault what is presented here, and it seems a wise choice not to throw in too much and risk upstaging the action to come in Act III or indeed the subsequent scenes 3 to 5 in Act II.

In the brief interlude, the rotating set permitting quick scene changes, the room is occupied with a scene of snow flecked trees in dimmed light as Siegmund and Sieglinde reach the end of their flight. The remainder of the Act could hardly be more intense, the set hardly more beautifully decorated and lit (all credit to set designers Christian Schmidt, Florian Schaaf and lighting designer Franck Evin), as Sieglinde collapses and Wagner's stunning music introduces Brünnhilde, arriving to alert Siegmund to his terrible fate. This for me is the most moving scene in this production of the opera, testifying to the validity of the choices made in the stage direction, the overall approach taken and the build up to this scene. A split-screen effect is achieved by a semi-rotation between the cool blue of the dark forest to the gold conference room of Valhalla. It's in the Valhalla realm that Wotan's intervention in the heat of battle strikes his son the Walsüng down. It's devastatingly brilliant musical drama.

The subsequent Ride of the Valkyrie then is everything it ought to be. The voices of the Valkyrie are phenomenal, creating a formidable force as they herd the rightly terrified fallen heroes like sheep. Yet again the production continues to increase the intensity up to the next level. Act III doesn't need much in the way of set decoration either. Brünnhilde and Wotan’s confrontation takes place against the backdrop of the huge rock that will become Brünnhilde’s prison. Again, it's minimal to need, the direction leaving room for the music and the intensity of the scene to exert everything that is essential, and it's immensely powerful. The singing is fantastic, the direction perfect, the sets and lighting effective, the all-important musical drive under the direction of Gianandrea Noseda of the highest Romantic tragedy.

Camilla Nylund might not be one of the most forceful Brünnhildes, but her delivery is clear and lyrical. She comes into her own in Act III, fleeing Warfather and justifying her defiance of his will. Again, I can't fault Tomasz Konieczny’s performance as Wotan. It's sung with drive, passion and is technically impressive, but still not to my personal taste. Like Nylund, he really called on all reserves for the final scene of Act II and for Act III. We got another superb performance from Claudia Mahnke as Fricka and, as noted earlier, an impressive Siegmund and Sieglinde in Eric Cutler and Daniela Köhler. This is a superb follow up to everything promised in Das Rhinegold and it sets the scene for what will now be a highly anticipated Siegfried.

External links: Opernhaus Zürich, Ring für alle Video on Demand

Photos - Monika Rittershaus

Wagner - Das Rheingold (Zurich, 2024)

Richard Wagner - Das Rheingold

Opernhaus Zürich, 2024

Gianandrea Noseda, Andreas Homoki, Tomasz Konieczny, Christopher Purves, Claudia Mahnke, Matthias Klink, Xiaomeng Zhang, Omer Kobiljak, Kiandra Howarth, Anna Danik, Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke, David Soar, Brent Michael Smith, Uliana Alexyuk, Niamh O'Sullivan, Siena Licht Miller

Zurich Opera Ring für alle - 18th May 2024

Das Rheingold opens to what is a familiar Zurich opera ‘house’ style, certainly under the direction of Andreas Homoki, as in his Der fliegende Holländer, but also Orphée et Eurydice and I Capuleti e i Montecchi, which is to say it takes place in a revolving set of white walls of elegant rooms. The intent here is at least more readily apparent even if it takes place nowhere near the Rhine, the playful Rhinemaidens skipping through the rooms in white silk pyjamas, all of this appearing to represent an ideal, a freshness, a world as yet untainted. That's all about to change, and Alberich's appearance and presence does feel intrusive and dangerous, Christopher Purves just superb in this scene with the Rhinemaidens and later also in the Niebelheim scene. I'm already seduced by the beauty and relative simplicity of Homoki's approach to Opernhaus Zürich's Das Ring des Nibelungen.

I'm getting ahead of myself of course, always thrilled by the possibilities opened up in the "preliminary evening" of this expansive work and this one looks promising, not trying too hard and risking tripping itself up further down the line as some do when they accumulate symbolism and buckle under the weight of a concept stretched too far to remain coherent. As far as taking this stripped down elegant house idea through just within the span of Das Rhinegold - which is challenge enough - it succeeds marvellously, directing the focus onto the characters and the significant roles they play within the drama and in Wagner's musical telling of it.

Superficial appearances aside, although it contributes to the mood of the whole production, creating a wonderful unity with the lighting, the richness of the musical performance of the Philharmonia Zürich under Gianandrea Noseda and the distinct character that they are attempting to establish from the outset, the real strength here is the stage direction. It's immediately obvious that the singers haven't been left to their own devices, but have been given purposeful direction and given something to work with, bringing life, personality and motivation to the work. There are no 'park and bark' performances here. It makes it fully engaging and entrancing, not to mention that the singing is also uniformly superb. What you have here is the full package, a considered approach that brings this vast enterprise to life with a lightness of touch that is uncommon in this work, but which suits it very well.

Are we seeing or are we likely to see any new angle on the work or any new ideas proposed? Well, it's too early to say for sure, but this doesn't look like a Ring Cycle that is going to run away with wild ambitious concepts. If it doesn't at this stage appear to be proposing anything new, if it is successful even just for finding a core purpose, sticking with it and bringing it out clearly, then along with a solid musical and singing performance, this is really all you need. That's established straightaway with Wotan first appearance, gazing on a landscape painting of his Valhalla within it. The dream of asserting his will and presence within a perfect world of splendour and magnificence; a noble nation with Valhalla at the summit. The lust for power/money is never satisfied, always wanting more, and there is a high price to be paid for that.

The lesson is one that Alberich learns to his cost as well, abandoning any love for his fellow man (or dwarf), exploiting their labour to satisfy his own lust for power. Whether you want to paint this - as others have done - as the Earth paying the price for unregulated capitalism, there are other ways of putting this across. In fact, Das Rheingold is a moral tale on the same level as Tolstoy's novella, 'The Forged Coupon', powerfully adapted for cinema also by Robert Bresson as 'L’argent'. No good ever comes from a false act. In fact, the harm of the original act, the stealing of the Rhinegold in the opening scene, is multiplied in severity all the way through the acts of bad faith employed by Wotan and Loge's deception of Alberich and then Fasolt and Fafner. Handed down to Siegfried, we see how this original act leads to the ultimate collapse of the Gods. Money is the curse, the lust for it by individuals over love for one's brother, enslaving and corrupting, the world ultimately destroyed by it.

There is no cleverness or symbolism employed or required to make this point clear. Rather there is a balance between the literalism of the mythological setting and serving the intent underlying the myth. The set gives this world a feeling of solidity, of a drama played out in the real world (so to speak). The images employed by Wagner just as effective in this context as they are in the original, the Tarnhelm a hood forged out of gold chainmail, Alberich's transformations indeed into a dragon and a frog. The ring here is an actual ring, the misappropriated Rhinegold piles of large solid gold nuggets. In keeping with the late 19th-early 20th century setting of the stately house, Donner and Froh wear blazers and straw hats and wield cricket bats, all of this just adding to the richness, taking nothing away from it. The acting, with this music associated with the actions, just adds to the sense of their being something real and important at stake in this Das Rheingold.

Since the focus is firmly on the drama being brought out of the underlying motivations of the protagonists, it is essential that you have singers of sufficient quality to really bring this out. Personally, aside from the terrific performance already mentioned by Christopher Purves as Alberich really nailing this down from the outset, Claudia Mahnke is an outstanding Fricka and Brent Michael Smith a menacing enough Fafner without having any need of the giant's height. But really, there are any number of performances to enjoy here, including Matthias Klink's entertaining Loge, which he plays like Master of Ceremonies on occasion. It's wonderful that this Zurich Ring Cycle will also have a rare consistency of the performers in the same role all the way though. Personally, I still can't warm to Tomasz Konieczny's Wotan, but it's indisputably an excellent performance. All things considered, when a Das Rheingold is this good, it increases anticipation for how the rest of this Ring Cycle will play out.

External links: Opernhaus Zürich, Ring für alle Video on Demand

Photos - Monika Rittershaus