Götterdämmerung

I love all four parts of the Ring Cycle, and Gotterdamerung is just as thrilling as the other three parts before it. This 1992 production is truly excellent, with my only real complaint being the very end, what was thrown in here seemed so superfluous that it pretty much single-handedly ruined the effect of the scene. Otherwise, it is a production that is impressive in visual scale, and musically magnificent with the orchestra playing with lushness and power and Daniel Barenboim providing an enigmatic reading. The singing is wonderful. Siegfried Jerusalem's Siegfried is both heroic and tender, and Waltraud Meier's Waltraute shows why she is today among the finest female contemporary Wagnerian singers(with the best Isolde and Kundry on DVD). Bodo Brinkmann and Eva Maria Brundschuh sing Gunter and Gutrune excellently, evocative and amusing, Phillip Kang is evil-incarnate as Hagen and Gunter Von Kannen is in booming form as dwarf Alberich. Anne Evans is a vocally and dramatically thrilling Brunnhilde, really coming into her own in her final scene. Overall, excellent even with the ending. 9/10 Bethany Cox