DIE WALKÜRE Opera North, The Lowry
One effect of
experiencing the Ring Cycle as a continuous whole is heightened awareness of
the differences between its four parts, as well as their continuities.
There is a distinct
change from Das Rheingold to Die Walküre: fewer characters in most of the
scenes (even the eight Valkyrie sisters of Brünnhilde operate as a unit much of
the time), events in the story proceeding at a slower pace, more discursive
writing in both text and music so that it functions not so much as an exposition
of plot and place but as both a literary poem and a tone poem.
And there’s only
(relatively) brief reference to the subject we thought until now that the cycle
was about – the power of the Ring and the gold that goes with it. That’s one of
the pleasures of the work as a whole: its shape-shifting as it goes on.
There was a
transformation, too, last night in the performance. The orchestra played
superbly for Richard Farnes from start to finish: his attention to the detail
of the score and the romantic, emotional sounds it creates in the love scenes
of Siegmund and Sieglinde, and the father-daughter dialogue of Wotan and Brünnhilde
was rewarded with music of subtlety and beauty.
Comparing this
emanation of Die Walküre with that of 2012, when Opera North first presented it
in Salford, the most striking thing was the difference in casting (unlike in
Das Rheingold, where many roles had the same exponents as in the first outing).
Out of 14 named characters only two Valkyries were the same.
And most effective of
all were the young singers embodying Siegmund and Sieglinde: Michael Weinius
and Lee Bisset. She has grown from the promising RNCM student we remember to an
artist of depth, personality and richness. He had all the big voice and heroic
demeanour required. James Cresswell, switching from the previous night’s Fasolt
to the nasty and small-minded Hunding, continued to sing with incisive power.
Yvonne Howard’s Fricka
again had the individuality, intensity and tonal fulsomeness she displayed in
Das Rheingold, and Robert Hayward made a fine Wotan for her – a portrait of
ageing authority rather than brazen power.
But the jewel in this
piece was Kelly Cae Hogan’s Brünnhilde. She saved the performance in Leeds on
its inception in Leeds in 2012, flying in at short notice when sickness struck,
and the brightness and fluidity she brought to the role then were every bit as clear
now, allied with remarkable strength.
And the Valkyries –
including Giselle Allen and Sarah Castle from the night before and uniting some
of Opera North’s best female solo voices – were magnificent.
*****
Robert Beale
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