Wagner: Die Walkure - Boulez Ring Cycle Part 2
by Brian Large
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DVD details
Actor: Elisabeth Glauser, Ilse Gramatzki, Jeannine Altmeyer, Katie Clarke, Peter HofmannDirector: Brian Large
Brand: Universal Studios
Cinematographer: Peter Czegley
Writer: Richard Wagner
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); German (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); German (Original Language), DTS 5.1
Format: Classical, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 216 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-08-09
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
DVD Reviews of Wagner: Die Walkure - Boulez Ring Cycle Part 2
DVD Review: An estimable version of a great opera
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a well done version of "Die Walkure," perhaps the most compelling of the four "Ring" operas. Patrice Chereau's production is well done. From Hunding's house to the Valkyries' rock, the scenes work. Pierre Boulez does a fine job conducting the Bayreuth Orchestra. And, finally, the cast does its job well. Peter Hofmann (as Siegmund) and Jeannine Altmeyer (as Sieglinde) are credible lovers (and twins) and sing their roles well. Wotan (Donald McIntyre) captures his character well and has the voice to make his part work. Gwyneth Jones is a good Brunnhilde. Matti Salminen provides an appropriately dark characterization of Hunding. Thus, major characters are up to the task of making this a strong version of "Die Walkure."
This is a dark version of the opera, with many of the scenes in shadows and without much light in them. This also fits the tonality of those scenes. Act I is in a dismal place, under dismal circumstances, for example. Hunding is out to "get" Siegmund and the mood is gloomy. However, Act 1, Scene 3 is one of the great moments in all of opera, and the cast, production, and music come together for some unforgettable moments. After giving Hunding, her husband, "knock out drops," Sieglinde and Siegmund confide in one another, sing some ravishing arias, fall in love, and set the stage for the tragic dénouement of "Gotterdammerung" in the future. Hofmann and Altmeyer look credible as lovers; their voices blend well. Siegmund's "Wintersturme" is well sung; Sieglinde's "Du Bist der Lenz" is most affecting. However, the heat really builds from Sieglinde's "Doch nein" until the conclusion. The two sing rapturously, come to realize who they are, who their father is, and what lies ahead of them. Siegmund pulls the sword left by his father (and Sieglinde's father), Nothung ("needful"), from the tree. The scene unfolds most nicely.
Not to prolong this review (read other reviews for scene by scene descriptions), let is take a quick look at two other scenes. Act Three Scene One is the old chestnut, featuring "The Ride of the Valkyries." But the scene is staged well, sung well, the orchestra plays well, and it is high music drama. One sees the Valkyries (fathered by that unfaithful Wotan) bringing dead heroes to their rock. They then note that things do not appear aright. Soon we know why. Brunnhilde has ignored her father, Wotan, and rescued Sieglinde after (it's a long story; read other renderings) Wotan ended up conspiring in his son's death (Siegmund). Brunnhilde understood Wotan's plan to grab the Rheingold and the Ring, and rescued Sieglinde so that her son (who would be Siegfried) could still carry out Wotan's plan. Jones does a fine job expressing herself to her sisters and convincing Wotan that he should moderate her punishment to some degree. Donald McIntyre as Wotan (in his business suit; I'm not sure that the effect works that well) is in good voice.
Then, the final scene, featuring the "Magic Fire Music." Wotan lights a fire around Brunnhilde, puts her in a deep sleep, and commands that only a hero brave enough to go through the fire will win Brunnhilde. McIntyre's lugubrious singing demonstrates his (Wotan's) foreboding of what lies ahead. This is a well sung and good visual scene.
In the final analysis, this is an estimable version of "Die Walkure." Well worth considering as an addition to one's library.
Description of Wagner: Die Walkure - Boulez Ring Cycle Part 2
WAGNER:DIE WALKURE - DVD MovieWagner's ideas of "racial purity" reach a logical conclusion in Act I of Die Walküre, powerfully performed in this Bayreuth production. Siegfried, the tragic hero of the cycle, is begotten in an adulterous, incestuous mating of Siegmund (Peter Hoffmann) and Sieglinde (Jeanne Altmeyer), a twin brother and sister. No miscegenation here.
Siegfried will not be seen until the next opera in the cycle. For now, the Valkyries (after their famous, musically spectacular ride) are asked to protect Sieglinde, his pregnant mother-to-be, until he can be born. His father is killed in a fight with Hunding, Sieglinde's brutish husband, with Wotan intervening against his will to help the wronged spouse. Wotan has been forced by his wife Fricka, who is the goddess of marriage, elegantly played by Hanna Schwartz. Her victory is a striking display of Wotan's diminishing powers. Brunnhilde, Wotan's daughter and leader of the Valkyries (Gwyneth Jones), disobeys a paternal prohibition, rescues Sieglinde and hides her in safety to wait out her pregnancy. For this, she is punished by losing her divine status and being left asleep for years, surrounded by a circle of magic fire, until a hero (Siegfried, who has not yet been born) will come to rescue her.
This episode is extremely well-sung, with particularly notable work by Hoffmann, Altmeyer, Schwartz, Jones and Donald McIntyre as Wotan, while conductor Pierre Boulez and director Patrice Chéreau work smoothly together to define the opera's overall form and continuity. --Joe McLellan
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