Wagner - Götterdämmerung 3 DVD SET 2005 / Der Ring des Nibelungen / Bertrand de Billy, Harry Kupfer / Deborah Polaski, John Treleaven, Matti Salminen, Falk Struckmann, Günter von Kannen / Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona

UPC 809478009139

Region 0 NTSC DVD (ALL REGIONS)

Made in the UK

Audio: German 2.0, German 5.1

Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Catalan, Italian

Playtime: 284 minutes

English Summary:

In the final part of Wagner's epic cycle, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Siegfried's world descends into falsehood and betrayal before his cursed life is ended by a single spear.

Richard Wagner's epic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen draws to a close in this presentation of a lavish 2004 stage production captured live at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu. John Treleaven, Falk Struckmann, and Gunter vin Kannen star, and musical director Bertrand de Billy leads the Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

Tracklist / Scenes

Disc #1 -- Wagner: Götterdämmerung
1. Opening [1:41]
2. Vorspiel [2:11]
3. Welch Licht Leuchtet Dort? [4:42]
4. Treu Beratner Vertráge Runen [1:55]
5. Es Ragt Die Burg, Von Riesen Gebaut [7:21]
6. Zu Neuen Taten, Teurer Helde [6:34]
7. Willst Du Mir Minne Schenken [5:54]
8. O Heilige Götter! Hehre Geschlechter! [2:30]
9. Siegfrieds Rheinfahrt [5:33]
10. Nun Hör, Hagen, Sage Mir, Held [2:21]
11. Wen Rätst Du Nun Zu Frein [7:28]
12. Jagt Er Auf Taten Wonnig Umher [3:49]
13. Wer Ist Gibichs Sohn? [1:57]
14. Begrübe Froh, O Held, Die Halle [3:37]
15. Willkommen, Gast, In Gibichs Haus! [3:01]
16. Deinem Bruder Bot Ich Mich Zum Mann [:28]
17. Blühenden Lebens Labendes Blut [3:44]
18. Frisch Auf Die Fahrt! [3:58]
19. Hier Sitz' Ich Zur Wacht [2:34]
20. Altgewohntes Geräusch Raunt Meinem Ohr [11:23]
21. Höre Mit Sinn, Was Ich Dir Sage! [7:47]
22. Welch' Banger Träume Mären [9:49]
23. Was Leckt So Wütend [7:30]
24. Brünnhild'! Ein Freier Kam [1:57]
25. Curtain Calls [9:42]

Disc #2 -- Wagner: Götterdämmerung
1. Vorspiel [:31]
2. Schläfst Du, Hagen, Mein Sohn? [2:45]
3. Hoiho, Hagen! Müder Mann! [8:46]
4. Heiß Mich Willkommen, Gibichskind! [2:15]
5. Hoiho! Ihr Gibichsmannen [3:37]
6. Heil Dir, Gunther! [8:24]
7. Gegrüßt Sei, Teurer Held! [3:15]
8. Einen Ring Sah Ich An Deiner Hand [4:19]
9. Heil'Ge Götter, Himmlische Lenker! [3:15]
10. Helle Wehr! Heilige Waffe! [5:55]
11. Gunther, Wehr Deinem Weibe [3:05]
12. Welches Unholds List Liegt Hier Verhohlen? [3:27]
13. Vertraue Mir, Betrog'ne Frau! [4:29]
14. Auf Gunther, Edler Gibichung! [3:47]
15. Curtain Calls [8:12]

Disc #3 -- Wagner: Götterdämmerung
1. Vorspiel [:29]
2. Frau Sonne Sendet Lichte Strahlen [1:37]
3. Ein Albe Führte Mich Irr [4:35]
4. Was Leid' Ich Doch Das Karge Lob? [3:27]
5. Siegfried! Seigfried! Siegfried! [1:24]
6. Hoiho! [7:29]
7. Trink, Gunther, Trink! [3:59]
8. Mime Hieß Ein Mürrischer Zwerg [2:31]
9. In Leid Zu Dem Wipfel Lauscht' Ich Hinauf [4:37]
10. Brünnhilde, Heilige Braut! [5:33]
11. Trauermarsch Beim Tode Siegfrieds [4:15]
12. War Das Sein Horn? [1:12]
13. Hoiho! Hoiho! Wacht! Auf! Wacht Auf! [6:04]
14. Nicht Klage Wider Mich! [2:48]
15. Schweigt Eures Jammers [2:39]
16. Starke Scheite Schichtet Mir Dort [2:17]
17. Mein Erbe Nun Nehm' Ich Zu Eigen [3:58]
18. Fliegt Heim, Ihr Raben! [9:35]
19. Curtain Calls [2:20]
20. End Credits [8:21]

Götterdämmerung (German: [ˈɡœtɐˌdɛməʁʊŋ] (listen); Twilight of the Gods), WWV 86D, is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four music dramas titled Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung, or The Ring for short). It received its premiere at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 17 August 1876, as part of the first complete performance of the Ring.

The title is a translation into German of the Old Norse phrase Ragnarök, which in Norse mythology refers to a prophesied war among various beings and gods that ultimately results in the burning, immersion in water, and renewal of the world. However, as with the rest of the Ring, Wagner's account diverges significantly from his Old Norse sources.

Siegfried John Treleaven

Gunther Falk Struckmann

Alberich Gunter von Kannen

Hagen Matti Salminen

Briinnhilde Deborah Polaski
Gutrune/Third Norn Elisabete Matos
Waltraute/First Norn Julia Juon
Second Norn Leandra Overmann
Woglinde Cristina Obregon
Wellgunde Maria Rodriguez
Flosshilde Francisca Beaumont
Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Musical Director Bertrand de Billy

Sung in German with English, French, German, Spanish,
Catalan and Italian subtitles

Stage Director Harry Kupfer

Set Design Hans Schavernoch

Costume Design Reinhard Heinrich

Lighting Franz Peter David

Chorus Master William Spaulding

Götterdämmerung is the last of the four operas of Wagner's Ring cycle, the one where the mythic tale of greed and power comes to its fiery climax. The opening Prologue begins with the Norns weaving their rope of fate, a luminous cable that advances producer Harry Kupfer's vision of the cycle as a fable of man's greed and rampant technology triumphing over the natural world. The great ash tree that dominated the stage in the early operas has now dwindled into a barely recognizable stump. The grid backdrop, upon which lighting and projections play, leavens the darkness of the stark stage. Siegried journeys to the kingdom of the Gibichungs, ruled by the siblings Gunther and Gutrune. Their half-brother, Hagen, son of the Nibelung Alberich, has inherited his father's obsession with the ring. Hagen pulls the plot strings that ultimately lead to Siegried's death and the fiery end of Valhalla.

As in Siegfried, producer Harry Kupfer populates the stage with symbolic props that recall industrial artifacts, using lighting and projections to create moods and amplify emotions and the narrative. The Gibichung rulers are garbed in 1930s-style suits and gowns, the evil Hagen in black leather. The climax of the opera (and of the cycle), the destruction of Valhalla and the return of the ring to the Rhine, is impressive. The stage rear is seemingly engulfed in flames, chaos reigns, the ring crumbles into dust, and in the midst of all this we see a pair of children, huddled together staring out into a new future--the sole ray of hope in Kupfer's tragic vision.

Musically, Götterdämmerung, like its predecessors in this Barcelona production, has strengths and flaws. Fortunately, Kupfer's interpretation places Brünnhilde and Hagen at its center and the singers are well up to the task. Deborah Polaski's final scene, so critical to any performance of the cycle, is excellent, the voice warm, the emotions palpable. Her moving performance here is ample compensation for the touch of vocal hardness she displays in the opening scenes. As Hagen, the veteran bass Matti Salminen offers a great portrayal: firm of voice, creating a complex character, not a stage villain. Also notable are soprano Elisabete Matos, who makes Gutrune a sympathetic character, and Julia Juon, whose Waltraute is more involving than usual. On the debit side though, John Treleaven acts poorly and sounds frayed as Siegfried, and the Wotan/Wanderer of the previous Ring operas, Falk Struckmann in the role of Gunther, is similarly vocally impaired. Conductor Bertrand de Billy does his job, if without the fire and profundity others find in the score, and while the orchestra won't remind you of the Vienna Philharmonic, it gets its job done.

--Dan Davis