The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Wagner: Götterdämmerung (2006– ) Online

Robert Lepage's elegant set continues to impress with its endless transformations in this final part of the Ring. It can be Brünnhilde's abode, a boat on the Rhine, the Hall of the Gibichungs. In one stunning moment, when the 24 slabs become the Rhine, Gunther appears to wash his bloody hands in the water and the whole river turns red. There are some stunning performances too, particularly from the Gibichung trio. There is the voluptuous Wendy Bryn Harmer as Gutrune and the well-characterised performance of Iain Paterson as the diffident Gunther. Best of all is the wonderful portrayal of glowering menace from Hans-Peter König as Hagen. He even manages to outglower Eric Owens's Alberich in the brief scene that the Niebelung father and son have together.

In this 4½ hour epic there are scenes that I sometimes feel that Wagner could have trimmed since they just provide back story. I never had that feeling during this production. I loved the Norns scene that opens the opera and, because it is presented in such a dramatic and visual way I concentrated on the back story much more than usual. The Rheinmaidens are as ravishing as ever, although they appear to have lost their tails since Rheingold and Waltraud Meyer gives a barnstorming performance as the Valkyrie Waltraute. I even enjoyed the long scene where Siegfried, essentially rehashes the plot of the previous opera. Jay Hunter Morris's imitation of the woodbird was charming. Some of Morris's double takes are quite amusing although I think they would be better suited to a Hollywood romcom.

Neither Jay Hunter Morris nor Deborah Voigt as Brünnhilde quite attain the level of perfection that they achieved in the final act of Siegfried. I guess that they had performed that opera a couple of days earlier and were still suffering. If their performances were less than perfect they were still totally thrilling. Voigt immolation scene was a fitting climax to this 15 hour epic. At the end, she really does climb onto her horse and ride into the flames of Siegfried's funeral pyre. That is the first time that I have ever seen that particular stage direction of Wagner's taken so literally. After that, the end is an anti-climax. I fully expected Robert Lepage's versatile set to recreate Valhalla going up in flames but everything ends quietly.

As I've said many times, Wagner's Ring Cycle is the very definition of epic. Magnificent music, a compelling story and characters that live long in the memory(Brunhilde, Hagen, Alberich, Wotan) are just a few of the many amazing things about the four operas forming the Ring Cycle(Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried, Gotterdamerung). I found the Metropolitan Opera: Live in HD productions of the Ring Cycle very interesting, beautifully sung and often impressive in scale. Das Rheingold was a triumph, Die Walkure was just as impressive with a few problems and Siegfried had some of my favourite imagery of the four productions put together, on the other hand it contained the single worst scene of the four(Fafner's slaying).

Gotterdamerung is not my absolute favourite of the Ring Cycle, Wotan's Farewell in Die Walkure is such a monumental scene and my favourite single scene of the entire cycle, and Siegfried for me has the most beautiful music. But it is memorable for the evil-incarnate role of Hagen and of course the music is as thrilling as ever, especially Brunhilde's final scene and Hagen's call. This Met production is my least favourite of the four Met HD productions of the Ring Cycle. That is not to say it isn't good, it is, very good even.

Robert Lepage directs once again. His direction is very technical and ambitious(not so much to overshadow Wagner's music though), and overall he does a fine job, even if his directorial touches were inferior to the other three. The costumes are highly effective, and the sets and lighting give a real sense of atmosphere and foreboding. There are some memorable and impressive stage effects. Das Rheingold had the scene with the Rhinedaughters where the stage lifted up and turned into the sea, Die Walkure had the scene with the golden eye and Siegfried had the cinematic look of the forest rotating in the sky. Gotterdamerung also has a standout, the Rhine turning red from Gunther washing his hands of Siegfried's blood, quite chilling and very well done.

Unfortunately, there is one scene that does underwhelm, though not as badly as Fafner's slaying in Siegfried. I didn't think the destruction of Valhalla was as spectacular as it could've been. That scene should be like an apocalypse but the scene here seemed as it had been hindered by costs or something, it just didn't have the impact. Musically, it impresses. Maybe there are times where Fabio Luisi's conducting is too light for Wagner's score, but it is overall fluid without being too hectic or plodding. The orchestra's lushness and power helps too.

The singing is generally wonderful, Gotterdamerung may lack Bryn Terfel's authoritative Wotan/troubled Wanderer and Stephanie Blythe's vocally colourful Fricka, but there is much to compensate. I got much pleasure from Eric Owens' Alberich and especially Hans-Peter Konig's Hagen. Owens' voice is sonorous in tone and deep in texture, and once again his presence has such a skin-crawling feel to it. If he were a bass rather than bass-baritone, I wonder how effective he would be as Hagen. Konig is vocally booming and dramatically towering(think of his Fafner, but Konig's Hagen is even more evil) as the evil-incarnate character of Hagen.

Wendy Bryn Hamer's Gutrune shows sorrow and outrage over Siegfried's death very effectively. Waltraud Meier as Waltraute is well-acted, but the voice is not as beautiful as it was when she was singing Kundry, Eboli, Santuzza and especially the best Isolde perhaps on DVD. Iain Paterson is a strong Gunther, much more powerful than his I think underpowered Amonasro in Aida. Jay Hunter Morris still sings powerfully and lyrically and acts with enough passion and empathy, however I found him better in Siegfried, where the character goes more on a journey(youthful to masculine) than what is seen here.

Although Brunhilde is a wonderful character and has much great music(her war cry in Die Walkure for example), I find that the character doesn't properly come into her own until Gotterdamerung. Deborah Voight certainly sings magnificently, singing thrillingly and never holding back, though I found her more nuanced and in more beautiful voice in Siegfried. Her middle is much more appealing than in Die Walkure though. Her acting is thrilling in the final scene especially, evoking passion and heroism. I'll be honest on the other hand and say I think Hildegard Behrens captures the ecstasy and abandonment of Brunhilde and of the final scene a little better.

In conclusion, though, while flawed it is a fitting conclusion to an operatic epic. 8/10 Bethany Cox