This was a tremendously fine performance and makes me very optimistic for the whole cycle which I will see towards the end of the year.
Its greatest strength was musical – the orchestra was superb – almost world-class I would say and the conductor Kocsar was masterly in his control of the vast edifice. Vocally the stand-out performance was by Ralik as Brunnhilde whose gleaming and tireless voice never faltered and showed masterly control from first note to the last. – and she is a pretty decent actor too. A better voice than I recall Stemme, for example, a year or so ago in the role at MUPA. And it was good to have a Siegfried who did not look like a barrel with legs!
The production did not strike me, based only on this one opera admittedly, as embodying a central interpretative idea in the way that the best cycles have e.g. Cherau/Bayreuth, Herheim/Berlin but perhaos I should wait to make this judgment until I have seen the entire cycle. But I did not that, as did Herheim, both Siegfried and Gunther appeared on the rock at the end of Act 1. Great minds…?
Much use was made of screens with largely abstract designs on them which worked pretty well – they were not intrusive and neither were they naively illustrative but rather helped to give a general mood-enhancing sense e.g. with warm greens for the positive romantic elements and relationships. I also much liked the way that at times they layered 2 or 3 screens to give added depth and richness – a benefit of the upgrading of the backstage facilities perhaps?
The brilliant colours on the costumes, particularly the Gibichungs were very unusual for this work but they worked although I am not yet sure of their, if any, significance or symbolism. Likewise, while the more fluid and flowing designs on the screens were associated with Brunnhilde and Siegfried and their relationship, so, by contrast, the Gibichungs were visually associated with straight and right-angled lines with no fluidity and in harsh colours– a thoughtful way of illustrating an important aspect of their nature and role.
However, and this was a BIG flaw, there was the appearance towards the end of the Prologue of a feature that tragically, appeared in Siegfried (about which I do not seem to have written…) namely dancers in furry-looking animal costumes!!! I recall them ruining the climax of the end of Siegfried but, mercifully, they were not that obvious. But they could still be seen which was unacceptable. Are we with Siegfried and Brunnhilde or at a disturbing combination of Disney animals and a Berlin fetish party?