Story. See previous post.
Conductor - Sir Donald Runnicles. Siegfried - Clay Hilley, Mime - Ya-Chung Huang, Der Wanderer - Iain Paterson, Alberich - Michael Sumuel, Fafner - Tobias Kehrer, Erda - Lauren Decker, Brunnhilde - Elisabeth Teige, Ein Waldvogel - Cornelius Park.
Both Wotan and Brunnhilde are sung by different artists.
Of the four operas in the Ring cycle, the one that's usually the most challenging to sit through is Siegfried. The Heldentenor is asked to carry most of the show. The singing in each of the three acts is substantial, and he has to portray Siegfried correctly. There are various ways to do the latter, but how the character of Siegfried evolves from a petulant or lost young man in the initial scene to someone lost in regret at death (in Gotterdammerung) is a major arc in the plot.
The first act is basically carried by Siegfried and Mime. Wotan, as the Wanderer, did make an appearance. The dialog between Wotan and Mime is used to provide more background to the story. For instance, the different realms of beings (gods, giants, and Nibelungs), and it is nice to hear the leitmotifs associated with them. If Wagner had an editor (I assume he didn't, or was his own editor), the editor should have encouraged him to excise this segment as by now there is already considerable clarity. And the clarity is not really necessary anyway, the audience still has many other aspects of the story to muddle through. One example is how Wotan manages to father so many children with different women; somehow Fricka is okay with that, but breaking up a marriage (Siegmund) is a capital offence.
The "forging song" sung by Siegfried is the highlight of Act 1. While it was generally done well by Hilley, the volume was not uniform. And up to that point I still wasn't sure whether I was looking at a petulant, strong-willed, or naive character. Overall, I thought I had seen better Act 1s.
My reaction to the set design has been "silly, but works" up to this point. One notable exception until now was the effigies of Fafner and Fasolt in Das Rheingold. I give the nod again to how the dragon (Fafner) is portrayed. Mostly, anyway. For lack of a better description, the way the dragon was slain was by its shining teeth pulled out by Siegfried.
The way the Waldvogel is portrayed is unusual, and original, but not necessarily clever or effective. When I saw the name "Cornelius" as the bird, I naturally assumed it would be a counter-tenor singing in the background. What happens is a boy soprano (again dressed in white underwear) singing it on stage. The idea should work, and worked to a certain extent. The voice was a bit on the harsh side, not quite the elegant tone of the flute which announced the melody. The boy has a loud voice, though.
End of Act 2. Siegfried, Alberich, Waldvogel, Fafner, Mime and Wotan. Wotan is sung by same artist who was in Das Rheingold. Don't understand why the Waldvogel is covered in blood.
For the third act, the awakening of Brunnhilde remains a dramatic event. Some (as CS did) may wish for a more singable tune, but the words "hail sunshine, hail light" were good enough for me. The role for today was sung by Elisabeth Teige. Brunnhilde becomes a mortal when she is awakened, and that is realized by her taken her wig off, revealing white short hair. From our seats she aged considerably with that. Great dramatic effect, no doubt; but not so flattering for the actress involved. (People .sitting closer to the stage may not have seen such a dramatic transformation.)
Elisabeth Teige appeared as Brunnhilde in this opera. She sang the role of Sieglinde in Die Walkure, so resting her voice was probably not a consideration here. By taking her wig off, Brunnhilde aged considerably (compare with photo from Die Walkure, although Brunnhilde was sung by Trine Moller).
Erda, Wotan, Brunnhilde, Runnicles, Siegfried and Alberich at curtain call. The refugees/spectators have a proclivity to strip down to their underwear, conveying a message that's lost to me. Don't know what the two people dressed in black are. Notice also the music score held by a woman on the left.
Speaking of slowly unfolding plots, I went to listen to this aria "heil dir sonne, heil dir licht" on YouTube again, it took two minutes of orchestra music before the words came on. So Wagner needed more than just a libretto editor. If extras (or refugees in this instance) were ever necessary, this opera could use the distraction they provide.
My earlier opinion that Siegfried is the most difficult one to sit through is again confirmed. Siegfried has a lot of singing to do - he has 90 to 100 minutes of singing, while all the other characters combined do 75 to 85 minutes. A heroic and admirable attempt by Hilley, but the quality slipped every now and then. What you don't want is pity creeping into the equation, but there were moments I felt that way.
One last note. Deutsche Oper Berlin seems to always provide English surtitles, which is greatly appreciated. Now if they can just make the font a little bigger (well, a lot bigger), that would be much appreciated. Many couldn't read from where we sat, and those who could had to concentrate, thus missing some of the actions on stage. (One can see how small the surtitles are by looking at the first photo in this series.)
A lot of complaints, I know. But there is also a lot of appreciation on how well the performances have been put together.
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