CAST

First Norn........................Catherine Wyn-Rogers
Second Norn....................Yvonne Howard
Third Norn.......................Marina Poplavskaya
Siegfried.........................John Treleaven
Brunnhilde.......................Lisa Gasteen
Gunther..........................Peter Coleman-Wright
Hagen............................James Moellenhoff
Gutrune..........................Emily Magee
Waltraute......................  Mihoko Fujimura
Alberich..........................Peter Sidhom
Woglinde.........................Sarah Fox
Wellgunde.......................Heather Shipp
Flosshilde........................Sarah Castle

Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Chorus Master.................Renato Balsadonna
Concert Master................Vasko Vassilev

Conductor......................Antonio Pappano

Director..........................Keith Warner
Set Designs.....................Stefanos Lazaridis

Musically and dramatically, this has been a wonderful RING. I've already
praised Pappano's conducting to the skies, and if anything this was even
better than the preceding evenings. He gives detailed attention to every
nuance of orchestral shading - I espcially noticed details like the brass shining
out when Siegfried and Brunnhilde swear their oaths in Act II. Siegfried's
Funeral March was truly heroic, and poignant, and compensated for the fact
he doesn't GET a Funeral March on the stage, he gets up and wanders slowly
off - I imagine it's meant to represent a ghost disappearing into the mists, but
it would have been a bit disappointing had the music not compensated for the
deficiencies of the staging.

John Treleavan was in much better voice that he was in SIEGFRIED, and
managed quite a creditable performance. Lisa Gasteen had recovered from her
indisposition, and was in radiant voice - this is probably an even more testing
role than the WALKUEURE Brunnhilde, as she develops so many facets of her
character - she starts as a young girl in love, then she is a betrayed (and
brutalised) wife, then an avenging fury and finally, when all this is over, she
has attained wisdom and resignation. Gasteen rose magnificently to the
challenge, with steely, ringing tones for the confrontation in Act II, and
mellow in the Immolation scene - I remember when I saw her last year, her
sensitive enunciation of 'Ruhe, ruhe, du Gott' brought tears to my eyes, and it
did again yesterday evening. Really a great and believable Brunnhilde.

Another splendid performance was given by the Waltraute, Mihoko Fujimura.
Not only a lovely mezzo voice, but a really intelligent, sensitive portrayal of
the role.

The Hagen was James Moellenhoff. (Apparently it was to have been Kurt Rydl -
it would probably have been too much to expect Tomlinson to sing Wotan
AND Hagen). I liked the quality of stillness he had, which contrasted well with
Gunther (Peter Coleman-Wright) and Gutrune (Emily Magee), who were
portrayed as very restless, nervy and fidgety. This suits the character of
Gunther very well, of course, emphasising his insecurity. Hagen then remains
on the stage during Waltraute's narration (though the audience forgets about
him, as Mikoko Fujimura's performance is so gripping), and the scene that
follows - he does nothing until the very end, when Siegfried announces that
he intends to place his sword between himself and Brunnhilde - then Hagen
rises and lifts his chair in a gesture of triumph. He had the right quality of
grimness, suddenly relaxing into sardonic humour, in the Summoning of the
Vassals.

I will say a few words about the staging - one thing I particularly disliked was
the fact that when Siegfried comes back disguised as Gunther - well, he is
there wearing the Rubik Cube, sorry Tarnhelm, but - SO IS GUNTHER. This is
ridiculous, and makes nonsense of the whole scene, the point of which is that
IT ISN'T GUNTHER. The other problem is that Brunnhilde has a horse's skull -
remember the Valkyries all had horses' skulls? - which she gives to Siegfried
(Fuer den Ring nimm nun auch mein Ross), which he then hands to Hagen
when he arrives in the Gibichung's Hall.......I still do not see what the point of
this is. (Never mind, watch Pappano conducting instead!!)
However, there were aspects of the staging I liked - in the Immolation Scene,
the statues of the Gods (which were also present on the stage during the
wedding scene in Act II) are brought in to form part of the funeral pyre and
are consumed in the general conflagration. The backdrop is a cloth covered
with mathematical symbols and a swirling galaxy, which is very effective.