Metropolitan Opera Preview: Götterdämmerung

The last chapter of Wagner's Ring returns for another burn.

The Gibichung Hall in Act II of the Met's new Götterdämnerung.
Photo by Ken Howard © 2012 The Metropolitan Opera.

The six-hour final chapter of Wagner's Ring is in some ways the most conventional opera of the four. That's because Götterdämmerung (the title translates as Twilight of the Gods, though the opera was originally called Siegfried's Death) was the first libretto written. Twenty-four years later, this was also the last opera of the Ring to be completed, so it has the most complex music.
In Wagner's late style the famous leitmotivs are no longer just musical signposts. Instead, they comprise the very fabric of the work itself, moving like complex towers of sound built from different musical ideas. The first act is over two hours, with no stops. Act II is one of the most exciting acts in opera. And the third ends with the glorious double climax: the death of Siegfried and the suicide and redemption of Brunnhilde.
Deborah Voigt needs every bit of vocal stamina and tone to sing Brunnhilde and soar through the finale. She platoons with soprano Katherine Dalayman. Two tenors: Jay Hunter Morris and Claveman split the Siegfrieds. Hans-Peter König is fine casting as Hagen, the son of the evil dwarf Alberich (Eric Owens). The production concludes the adventures of the Machine set.
You can read a review of opening night from Jan. 11, 2012, here.
Götterdämmerung opens April 23, 2013.
Recording Recommendations:
Given its sheer epic scale, Götterdämmerung is a tough opera to record. But there are some good versions of the opera available. Here's two:
Vienna Philharmonic cond. Sir Georg Solti (Decca, 1962)
Siegfried: Wolfgang Windgassen
Brunnhilde: Birgit Nilsson
Hagen: Gottlob Frick
Often imitated, never bettered: this is the best chapter of the legendary "Solti Ring." Birgit Nilsson sings up a storm, opposite Wolfgang Windgassen, captured in his prime as Siegfried. The Gibichungs are very strong, with Gottlob Frick as the evil Hagen and Dietrich Fischer Dieskau as Gunther, the Gibichung king with the spine of a jellyfish.
Dresden Staatskapelle cond. Marek Janowski (Eurodisc/RCA, 1983)
Siegfried: Rene Kollo
Brunnhilde: Jeanine Altmeyer
Hagen: Matti Salminen
A strong entry from Dresden, with Mr. Janowski leading that fine orchestra in an idiomatic performance of the score. This was the first digital Ring. René Kollo is surprising as Siegfried. Jeanine Altmeyer, graduating to Brunnhilde, does a good job in the studio setting. The set also features Finnish bass Matti Salminen as Hagen, the embodiment of operatic evil. Available only as part of a budget box complete cycle, which is also pretty good.
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