Torch song tetralogy: Deborah Voigt as Brunnhilde in Götterdämmerung.
Photo by Brigitte Lacombe © 2011 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 means Twilight of the Gods, but the opera was originally titled Siegfried's Death) was the first libretto written. 24 years later, this was also the last opera of the Ring to be completed, so it has the most complex music.
Wagner's late style moves from using the famous leitmotivs as 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 long (over two hours, no intermission.) 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, immolation and redemption of Brunnhilde.
Deborah Voigt will need every bit of vocal stamina and tone to sing Brunnhilde and soar through the finale. Two tenors: Gary Lehman and Stephen Gould split the portrayals of Siegfried. Hans-Peter König is Hagen, and will hopefully be more menacing as the son of the evil dwarf Alberich (Eric Owens) than he was in last year's Die Walküre. And the Machine set will convolute itself into the Valkyrie rock, stately castle ramparts, and ultimately, the flooding Rhine river, in that order.
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 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 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. And Matti Salminen is superb as Hagen, the embodiment of operatic evil. Available only as part of a budget box complete cycle, which is also pretty good.
