Wagner: Siegfried - DVD

ENGLISH

Wagner: Siegfried (OA0912D) (2004)<br /> <br /> John Treleaven (Siegfried); Deborah Polaski (Brünnhilde); Falk Struckmann (Wanderer); Graham Clark (Mime); Günter von Kannen (Alberich); Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu; Bertrand de Billy<br /> <br /> In the third work of Wagner’s epic cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Siegmund’s shattered sword is forged once again and kills the dragon that guards the ring. When Siegfried seizes the ring, he also receives its curse as he continues his fiery adventure of discovery and love. Filmed at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu in 2004, Harry Kupfer’s stunning production, first staged in Berlin, numbers among the greatest productions of modern times and is recorded in sumptuous surround sound.<br /> <br /> "With Siegfried (May 16) and Götterdämmerung (May 23), the Liceu crowned the Ring cycle begun last season with complete success at all levels, beginning with Harry Kupfer’s clever production from Berlin. Bertrand de Billy, in his last performances as music director of the theatre, enjoyed a well-deserved personal triumph:...he found the grandiosity and nobility inherent in Wagner’s music as well as its lyrical qualities, and drew a fine response from the orchestra. Deborah Polaski (Brünnhilde,with a moving Immolation) and Falk Struckmann (Wanderer and also a wonderful Gunther) were the prime assets of the cast, but we should not overlook the vocal endurance of John Treleaven, a lyrical Siegfried, Graham Clark’s hyperactive Mime, or the luxury casting of Matti Salminen as Hagen." (Opera)<br /> <br /> "Its darkly gleaming hi-tech settings centre around the massive limbs of the World-Ash, invaded and withered by technology as the curse advances." (BBC Music Magazine)