Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Royal Opera

It was an epic journey. Having seen the complete Ring a few times now, I still found myself completely immersed in the experience. Here were some memorable moments (good and bad):

Sarah Connolly as Fricka was a surprise. Having seen her mainly in trouser roles, she was a convincing Wagnerian mezzo!
Bryn Terfel as a less bombastic and more pensive Wotan. His best yet.
The ring of fire had a hiccup at the end if Die Walküre - but the fire came on eventually so all as well.
Simon O’Neill was super as Siegmund, and well matched by Eva-Maria Westbroek as Sieglinde - their duet at the end of Act I was exhilirating.
It took me a long time to get used to Stefan Vinke as Siegfried - there is something odd in the way he shaped the beginning of the words. Then again, you can't beat him for the stamina he'd demonstrated throughout Siegfried.
Woops, Wotan's spear was shattered before Siegfried got there ... there was this collective gasp in the audience!
Susan Bullock was fab as Brünhilde - so much poise, so much emotion in this enormous role.
Sir John Tomlinson's Hagen was pretty evil. Just what the plot needed.
The orchestra was by and large very good. Needless to say, Pappano held everything together. Though the brass section (and in particular horns) could be better - not sure whether it was the heat or the playing but the sound lacked sonority.
As a whole it was still a wonderful experience to see the complete Ring.

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