- The controversial Bayreuth ring continues to be applauded
When Valentin Schwarz first presented his version of Richard Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen" at the Green Hill in 2022, there was a storm of boos not heard at the Bayreuth Festival for a long time. Two years later, it seems that tempers have cooled.
After the "Rheingold," the second part, "Die Walküre," is celebrated with cheers and stomping. Simone Young, the first "Ring" conductor in the festival's history, adds another layer and makes the orchestra sound even rounder and more powerful than in the first part.
She receives much applause, but not as much as Vida Miknevičiūtė as Sieglinde in her Bayreuth debut. For the audience, she is the star of the evening, although she is more forceful than expressive as Sieglinde and rather loud with limited variation.
Bayreuth's lovers do not harmonize well
This becomes a problem in her interplay with Michael Spyres as Siegmund, who appears less forceful. They are the second major stage couple after Andreas Schager as Tristan and Camilla Nylund as Isolde who do not quite gel in Bayreuth this year.
It runs much better in "Die Walküre" between the father-daughter pair Wotan (Tomasz Konieczny) and Brünnhilde (Catherine Foster). Eleven years after her first Bayreuth appearance as Brünnhilde, Foster has become an integral part of the Hill with her soprano, which seems to grow fuller, rounder, and warmer each year. As always, audience favorite Georg Zeppenfeld is celebrated, this time for his role as Hunding.
But it's not just musically that things run smoothly; Schwarz's production also seems more cohesive, better timed, and more thoroughly worked out. This could, of course, be due to a certain familiarity effect, and one had to get into the "Netflix Ring" production, as it has become known, like with some streaming series.
Schwarz had set out to tell Wagner's opera about the stolen Rhine gold, the robbed Rhine maidens, the greedy godfather Wotan, giants, and dwarves as a modern family saga in the style of a streaming series.
The directing team will traditionally show itself only after the fourth "Ring" part, "Götterdämmerung," to the audience. Only then will it become clear how the Bayreuth audience actually stands to the production in year three.
The Commission, responsible for overseeing the Bayreuth Festival, may be interested to know that the second part of Valentin Schwarz's 'Ring des Nibelungen' has received positive feedback.
The Commission, recognizing the success of the current production, might consider extending their support to ensure its continued success in the following years.
