The Linz Ring: Siegfried or Whither Wotan?

By Brian Angus, 15 May 2015

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Reviewed at Landestheater, Linz on 14 May 2015

Wagner, Siegfried

Dennis Russell Davies, Conductor

Uwe Eric Laufenberg, Director

Antje Sternberg, Costume Designer

Gisbert Jäkel, Set Designer

Lars Cleveman, Siegfried

Matthäus Schmidlechner, Mime

Gerd Grochowski, Der Wanderer

Elena Nebera, Brünnhilde

Bernadett Fodor, Erda

Bjørn Waag, Alberich

Nikolai Galkin, Fafner

Gotho Griesmeier, Waldvogel (the woodbird)

Bruckner Orchester Linz

Uwe Eric Laufenberg’s Bayreuth take on Parsifal

Zoltán Szabó, 30th July

Despite its enigmatic details, Bayreuth's Parsifal reaches a cathartic climax.

****1

Laufenberg’s Elektra a disappointment in Vienna

Jonathan Sutherland, 5th December

German theatre director Uwe Eric Laufenberg freely incorporates some of Stanley Kubrik’s horror story concepts into his Elektra, but in ignoring both Sophocles and Strauss, is a long way from shining.

***11

Bayreuth welcomes a new Parsifal

Matthew Rye, 2nd August

Uwe Eric Laufenberg sets his new staging of Wagner's final opera among the persecuted Christians of the contemporary Middle East – but avoids preaching.

****1

Götterdammerung or The Ring returns to the Rhine

Brian Angus, 17th May

With Götterdämmerung the Linz Ring came to a controversial conclusion with a graphic depiction of Siegfried violently raping a defenceless Brünnhilde, and Hagen entertaining his father Alberich, and his mother.

***11

Die Walküre or Wotan’s double dilemma

Brian Angus, 10th May

Some beautiful singing from Michael Bedjai as Siegmund and Brit-Tone Müller as Sieglinde set a high standard in this Landestheater Linz production of Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre.

*****

The Linz Ring begins: Das Rheingold

Brian Angus, 8th May

Gerd Grochowski made a stunning Wotan and Michael Bedjai a cheerful Loge in Landestheater Linz’s production of Das Rheingold.

***11

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Brian Angus

Brian is a lover of opera, and has enjoyed attending operas for over forty years. Brian has very catholic tastes; favourite classic composers are Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi, contemporary composers John Adams and Jake Heggie, and a curiosity about Stockhausen’s music. He is always seeking opportunities to expand his appreciation of the world of music and opera.