The stupendous climax to Wagner’s four-part Ring cycle is brilliantly realized by the Otto Schenk/Günther Schneider-Siemssen production and byJames Levine’s monumental conducting. The Met orchestra, chorus, and an all-star cast make this Götterdämmerung one that truly rises to the occasion. Hildegard Behrens’s Brünnhilde must be experienced to be believed, as does Matti Salminen’s richly sung, domineering Hagen. At the center of the drama is Siegfried Jerusalem as Siegfried, who does not realize he has been drawn into a plot of betrayal until it is too late. Christa Ludwig is magnetic as Waltraute and Ekkehard Wlaschiha is a compelling Alberich.
Hildegard Behrens
Siegfried Jerusalem
Matti Salminen
Christa Ludwig
Anthony Raffell
Hanna Liskowska
Ekkehard Wlaschiha
Gweneth Bean
Joyce Castle
Andrea Gruber
Kaaren Erickson
Diane Kesling
Meredith Parsons
MET Orchestra