In a whimsical production of Siegfried, director Rosamund Gilmore hit a stride in her attempt to overlay mythical qualities over the struggle for power of the Ring. In this coming-of-age story, Wagner struggled as a composer, consequently going through a transformation after taking an eleven-year-break at the end of Act 2. The production follows the boy Siegfried’s development from a bewildered youngster in a cluttered home to a mature adult who finds his sleeping princess in a vast abandoned palace as the music becomes increasingly sophisticated.
The beginning of the first act saw a group of dancers gesticulating among the grasses in the back of the stage. Mime’s hut was a series of props in front stage. This afforded an opportunity to highlight the series of interactions between Siegfried and Mime and between Mime and the Wanderer. The time frame was moved to the present day, with Mime riding a bicycle. The second act likewise featured an empty front stage, with a large slanted staircase bridging the two crumbling walls. Fafner appeared from the depth of stage as a giant dummy wearing a suit and a top hat on a red velvet couch flanked by a dozen or so dancers dressed similarly. The forest bird was represented by a white-feathered ballerina, as the singing was done off-stage.
Most impressive was the third act, in which the Wanderer/Erda scene was in front stage, with the Wanderer sitting on steps of a ruined tower as Erda crawled out, accompanied by three Norns, all four figures entangled in large black lace. The Wanderer/Siegfried interaction was moving and comforting, not confrontational. As the stage lighting changed from misty blue to burning red with the fire music, the stage opened up to reveal the same slanted wall from the end of Die Walküre, with a larger platform holding a sleeping Brunnhilde. The final duet took place on and off the platform, with a dancer Grane present. Only at the very end did the director have one misstep in having the dancers encircling the couple in ecstatic movements.
The first act had some coordination issues between the pit and the singers. Once the Wanderer appeared, however, all was well. John Lundgren’s Wanderer was a perfect realization of the older and wiser Wotan. Wagner gave the Wanderer some of the most beautiful and difficult music of the Ring, and Lundgren sang with authority and dignity throughout, his gravelly baritone displaying remarkable ability for elegant legato. He was a great actor, funny with Mime, ironic with Alberich, vulnerable with Erda and tender with Siegfried. Another standout was Jürgen Linn’s Alberich, masterful as vengeful and scheming brother delighting in the death of his brother Mime. His voice, which seemed muddled and unfocused in Das Rheingold, was here clear and eloquent. Dan Karlström’s Mime was a well-sung and acted, his character tenor perfect for the role. Runi Brattaberg brought the brief role of Fafner great nuance and pathos, and Nicole Piccolomini as Erda boasted resonating low notes combined with penetrating high note.