Götterdämmerung

Ulf Schirmer
Chor der Oper Leipzig
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Date/Location
15 April 2018
Oper Leipzig
Recording Type
  live  studio
  live compilation  live and studio
Cast
SiegfriedThomas Mohr
BrünnhildeChristiane Libor
GuntherTuomas Pursio
GutruneGal James
AlberichJürgen Linn
HagenRúni Brattaberg
WaltrauteKathrin Göring
WoglindeMagdalena Hinterdobler
WellgundeSandra Maxheimer
FloßhildeSandra Fechner
1. NornKarin Lovelius
2. NornKathrin Göring
3. NornOlena Tokar
Gallery
Reviews
SeenandHeard-International.com

Götterdämmerung Brings Wagner’s Ring in Leipzig to a Beautiful Conclusion

Leipzig’s Ring has come to a brilliant end with a remarkable performance of The Twilight of the Gods: an attractive production, excellent musical direction and a cast with two superb protagonists.

As on the previous days, the staging is by Rosamund Gilmore, with one basic set for the whole opera and a more prominent dance presence than earlier. There is a large room with tall pillars, to which props are added for the interior scenes, among them a white piano to be used as a bier for Siegfried’s corpse and to which Brünnhilde will ascend for her Immolation Scene. In the interior scenes the entire left of the stage is a large window, while for the outdoor scenes the window is closed and a smoke machine is used to create ambiance. In Act I, on the right of the stage, a terrace representing Brünnhilde’s rock is placed. The production works well in general, although Siegfried’s scene with the Rhine daughters is less successful. Costumes are modern and attractive, and the lighting is outstanding.

Overall, this has been a satisfying staging of the Ring; the only weak point was the first two acts of Siegfried. Perhaps it’s not an exceptional production, but it puts itself at the service of the plot and not the other way around, as so often happens lately.

Ulf Schirmer’s musical direction was excellent on this occasion, and one could say that it was the best reading of the entire Ring. The tension never waned, which is an additional merit in an opera as long as this one. The only downside is that there was a certain excess of orchestral volume in the wonderful music for Siegfried’s Funeral Music. But in general, it was a marvelous musical version that made the trip to Leipzig worthwhile. Both the great Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Leipzig Opera’s Chorus left a strong impression.

The role of Brünnhilde was once again sung by Berlin soprano Christiane Libor, whose performance was magnificent from beginning to end. She is one of the best interpreters of the character today and can sing it successfully in any top opera house in the world. Her voice is powerful, and she is an expressive actress on stage: in short, she is a great Brünnhilde.

Siegfried was sung by Thomas Mohr, who was Loge in Das Rheingold, where he gave a wonderful performance. I cannot say that his voice has all the characteristics of a heldentenor, particularly in terms of his timbre. However, he is a splendid tenor who sang convincingly throughout the opera, including the very difficult narration that precedes Siegfried’s death, where he showed that he can deal perfectly with that devilish tessitura.

Rúni Brattaberg was back on stage, this time as Hagen. He was more restrained than usual in the first act, while in the next two he exhibited a tendency to open sounds, as if he were afraid that he would not be heard. He also had some difficulty with the high notes.

Baritone Tuomas Pursio did very well in the part of Gunther, a role more appropriate to his voice than those of Wotan and Alberich, which he sang earlier in the tetralogy. Soprano Gal James was acceptable in the part of Gutrune.

Mezzo-soprano Kathrin Göring was Waltraute, and her performance was the best one she had given in these productions. Her scene with Brünnhilde had a great emotional charge, and both of them handled it well.

Bass-baritone Peter Sidhom was correct in the part of Alberich, and the Norns were nicely performed by Karin Lovelius, Kathrin Göring and Olena Tokar. I found the Rhine-daughters (Magdalena Hinterdobler, Sandra Maxheimer and Sandra Janke) less convincing.

José M. Irurzun | Leipzig Opera House, 13.5.2018

onlinemerker.com

In der „Götterdämmerung“ stellte Carl Friedrich Oberle eine imposante Gibichungenhalle auf die Bühne, die zwar als Einheitsbühnenbild diente, aber durch die facettenreiche Lichtregie von Michael Röger und den dezenten Einsatz von Bühnennebel sehr gut variiert wurde, sodass sie nie eintönig wirkte. Thomas Mohr sang nach dem Loge nun einen heldischen Siegfried, und Christiane Libor konnte mit großer stimmlicher und darstellerischer Intensität als Brünnhilde überzeugen. Tuomas Pursio gab nun einen sehr guten Gunther, und Gal James war ihm als Gutrune ebenbürtig. Rúni Brattaberg war ein stimmkräftiger aber niemals Furcht einflößender Hagen, der einen starken Chor der Oper Leipzig dirigierte. Katrin Göring war nach der Fricka nun eine engagierte Waltraute. Die Nornen- und Rheintöchter-Terzette waren ebenfalls einwandfrei. Leider gab es wieder mal mit den entsprechenden Mänteln und Dienstpistolen abgedroschene NS-Ästhetik zu erleben – musste das denn sein?! Auch die Hose von Siegfried bis zur Ersteigung des Walkürenfelsens war ein Kostüm-Ausrutscher.

GMD Ulf Schirmer dirigierte das Gewandhausorchester, welches ja weltweit ein großen Ruf besitzt. Umso mehr musste verwundern, dass er viel zu oft zu laut dirigierte, bis hin zum zeitweiligen Zudecken der SängerInnen. Diese hielten sich – man mochte manchmal meinen, genau deshalb – mit Vorliebe ganz vorn an der Rame auf, um über den Graben zu kommen. Zwar wurde ein intensiver und plastischer Klang erreicht, dessen Qualität trotz hervorragender Streicher zweitweise eben unter der Klangstärke litt. Vielleicht sollte man den Schlagwerker und die Posaunen weiter nach hinten setzen…

In jedem Falle ist dieser „Ring“ ein Erlebnis gewesen und der Oper Leipzig zu bescheinigen, dass sie auf einem ganz großen Weg zur baldigen kompletten Aufführung aller 13 Opern und Musikdramen Richard Wagners ist! Diese intensive Wagner-Rezeption steht damit in positivem Gegensatz zu der schlichten Bronzeplakette auf einem unschönen DDR-Kaufhaus und einer eher banal wirkenden Statue im nahe gelegenen Park, die im Gegensatz zu anderen in der Stadt auch optisch kaum wahrnehmbar ist.

Das Publikum war von diesem „Ring“ begeistert.

Klaus Billand | 14.05.2018

Rating
(5/10)
User Rating
(3/5)
Media Type/Label
Technical Specifications
320 kbit/s CBR, 44.1 kHz, 595 MByte (MP3)
Remarks
In-house recording
A production by Rosamund Gilmore (2016)