Yesterday the Metropolitan Opera broadcasted the final segment of their new production of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, Götterdämmerung, via Fathom Event’s MET Live in HD Series. A daunting 5 hours and 50 minutes, the brilliant cast and luscious playing of the MET orchestra under Fabio Luisi, made every minute worthwhile. Still using the notorious “machine” for all sets in the opera, it was able to evoke some interesting moods with its shifting shapes, colors, and patterns, but was sometimes awkwardly barren.
Vocally and physically, Deborah Voigt seemed more at home with her role of the heroine, Brunnhilde, than in any of the previous engagements of the Ring Cycle. Voigt confessed in her brief backstage interview that the tessitura of Brunnhilde in the opera Siegfried was most difficult in that it sat in the higher side of her range. Whether it was the transition from challenging tessitura to a more comfortable range or not, vocally, Voigt was smoother and clearer than ever before. Not only did Voigt show a broader musical understanding of her character, but also brought a strong, expressive interpretation to her character, which she played true to the end. Voigt’s Brunnhilde is courageous, even in the face of death, which she welcomes; the fact that she cowers in fear only at the sight of the man she does not understand who has come to take her as his bride (Siegfried disguised as Gunther) is telling of her wisdom and the strength of her emotions.
Voigt and her counterpart, tenor Jay Hunter Morris in the role of the courageous hero Siegfried, showed outstanding stamina throughout this lengthy opera. As a climactic finale to this complicated opera cycle, many of the most moving scenes and arias are towards the end of the opera. Siegfried’s death scene in the final act, as he recounts his love for Brunnhilde after being stabbed by Hagen, is some of the most hauntingly beautiful music of the entire opera; despite being a good 5 hours into the opera, Morris maintained a beautiful sound until his dying breath. Commitment to character was not a problem for these two stars.
Hans-Peter Konig, in the role of the scheming Hagen, son of Alberich, is not nearly as convincing. Although not a bad performance, by any means, Konig’s relatively dry inflection of the foreboding lines are not nearly as haunting or menacing as the music implies.
Eric Owens, in the role of Alberich, makes a brief appearance at the beginning of Act II. With only about 15 minutes, Owens makes a lasting impression; his strong, menacing voice fit the disturbed, hateful dwarf whose ramblings penetrate Hagen’s dreams.
The two pawns of the opera are the siblings Gutrune and Gunther. Gunther, sung by Iain Paterson, and Gutrune, sung by Wendy Bryn Harmer are easily manipulated by their half-brother, Hagen. They give Siegfried a potion to make him forget Brunnhilde and fall madly in love with Gutrune. To win her hand, Siegfried gladly braves the fires to woo Brunnhilde for Gunther. The chaos that ensues results in Siegfried’s death which the two are quick to blame on anyone but themselves.
Harmer, whose voice was too sweet to ever consider sinister, played Gutrune as more of a woman in denial than simply naive. Blaming first her brother, then Brunnhilde, and finally Hagen for Siegfried’s death, she refused to implicate herself in the tragedy. Paterson’s Gunter was much more aware of the traitorous activities at hand than his sister. Gunter allowes himself to be pushed by Hagen farther than he was, perhaps, willing to go. A true coward, Gunter allows Siegfried to woo his own bride only to hand her over to him and allows Hagen to murder the, largely blameless, hero. Although Gunter does finally stand up to Hagen, it is only in a cowardly attempt to save his own reputation and shift the blame on Hagen.
The beautiful Rhinemaidens, who made some of the best use of the Lepage „machine“ in Das Rheingold, did so again in Götterdämmerung, as they climbed and slid playfully from the projected waterfalls. The trio sang as lusciously as ever, their three voices resonating seamlessly as one.
The MET orchestra, under Fabio Luisi, worked wonders with Wagner’s vivid score. Packed with ample opportuinity for the orchestra to shine, the MET orchestra did just that and elevated this glorious music to its full potential for the finale of this four-part epic.
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