The little man has his day: a nasty and brutish Die Walküre

Christopher Maltman (Wotan) and Elisabet Strid (Brünnhilde)

Soloman Howard (Hunding), Natalya Romaniw (Sieglinde) and Stanislas de Barbeyrac (Siegmund)

Illona Linthwaite (Erda) and Marina Prudenskaya (Fricka)

Christopher Maltman (Wotan) and Stanislas de Barbeyrac (Siegmund)

Natalya Romaniw (Sieglinde), Stanislas de Barbeyrac (Siegmund) and Illona Linthwaite (Erda)

By Peter Quantrill, 02 May 2025

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“if this Ring were an HBO series, the Emmy awards would be in the can”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 1 May 2025

Wagner, Die Walküre

The Royal Opera

Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor

Barrie Kosky, Director

Rufus Didwiszus, Set Designer

Victoria Behr, Costume Designer

Alessandro Carletti, Lighting Designer

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Royal Opera Chorus

Christopher Maltman, Wotan

Elisabet Strid, Brünnhilde

Soloman Howard, Hunding

Natalya Romaniw, Sieglinde

Stanislas de Barbeyrac, Siegmund

Marina Prudenskaya, Fricka

Maida Hundeling, Helmwige

Lee Bisset, Gerhilde

Katie Lowe, Ortlinde

Claire Barnett-Jones, Waltraute

Catherine Carby, Siegrune

Alison Kettlewell, Roßweiße

Monika-Evelin Liiv, Grimgerde

Rhonda Browne, Schwertleite

Illona Linthwaite, Actor

Philip D'Orléans, Fight Director

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****1

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Eleanor Knight, 26th March

Natalie Abrahami’s mesmerising new production of Britten’s ghostly tale of sexual abuse is very dark indeed.

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Sir Mark Elder celebrates 50 years at Covent Garden by returning to his first opera there in 1976 – Verdi's Rigoletto – in a revival of Oliver Mears' excellent 2021 production.

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Peter Quantrill

Peter Quantrill is a regular contributor to Gramophone, The Strad and other journals. Recent programme notes have been published by the Salzburg and Edinburgh festivals, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Royal Ballet. He also writes about music and musicians for many record labels including Eloquence, Delphian, Signum, Danacord and Brilliant Classics. Once unplugged from his hi-fi, he can generally be found in a London concert hall or at the cricket, and he tweets (sporadically) @PeterQuantrill.

The little man has his day: a nasty and brutish Die Walküre opens at The Royal Opera