The first act of Die Walküre is not easy - with lots of dialogues and monologues. We had, on Sunday night, the perfect match. Placido Domingo sang a world-weary yet lyrical Siegmund while Eva-Maria Westbroek gave a stoic yet passionate portrayal of Sieglinde. The drama, lyricism and music fitted perfectly together. John Tomlinson was on good form as the War-Father. Lisa Gasteen was not a bad Brünnhilde, though I was a wee bit worried about her getting the high notes ... Pappano kept the tempi up and everything moving!
Carl Fillion's set design for The Ring at The Met caused a real stir at the premier. Though not having the luxury of seeing the whole Ring, I managed to get a ticket to see Götterdämmerung. Fabio Luisi at the helm of the large Met orchestra kept everything going. There was enough breathing space for the drama to unfold, and there were muscular moments that needed to punctuate the drama. Probably not as poised as Bernard Haitink at Covent Garden many years ago, or as gutsy as Antonio Pappano this season in the same house. But nonetheless very good. Deborah Voigt was a fine Brünhilde - as the role demands from beginning to end. Lars Cleveman was quite a believable Siegfried - youngish looking, jumps about, looking slightly naive on stage. Hans-Peter Köonig was OK - none of his phrases sent shiver down my spine as there was not enough evil. Back to the set. The rotating 'fingers' really worked (you can see them in this pic - sitting above the performers), especially...
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