Richard Wagner: Götterdämmerung

The Zurich Opera’s production of Götterdämmerung, the final installment of Wagner’s Ring Cycle, delivers a stunning denouement to the epic saga. Under Andreas Homoki’s direction and Gianandrea Noseda’s conducting of the Philharmonia Zürich, the opera’s narrative of Siegfried’s betrayal and the gods’ downfall unfolds as a haunting spectacle. Homoki employs his hallmark approach of allowing the story to speak for itself, emphasizing the raw emotional conflicts among Siegfried, Brünnhilde, and Hagen without heavy-handed interpretation.

Noseda’s orchestration underscores the tragic arc, from Siegfried’s marriage to Gutrune and his resulting betrayal of Brünnhilde to his eventual demise at Hagen’s hands. Klaus Florian Vogt’s Siegfried and Camilla Nylund’s Brünnhilde poignantly embody the depths of their doomed love, while David Leigh’s Hagen viciously stages Siegfried’s death in his quest for the cursed ring.

The production culminates in a gripping visual climax as the gods confront the end of their reign, and Brünnhilde’s sacrifice restores the cursed ring to the Rhine. Wagner’s themes of fate, redemption, and the relentless cycle of power resonate powerfully, leaving audiences to ponder their timeless implications.

Richard Wagner
GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG

Third day of the stage-festival drama “The Ring of the Nibelung”

Gianandrea Noseda, musical direction
Andreas Homoki, stage director
Christian Schmidt, stage and costume design
Florian Schaaf, artistic collaboration stage design
Franck Evin, lighting design
Tieni Burkhalter, video
Ernst Raffelsberger, choir master
Werner Hintze & Beate Breidenbach, dramaturgy

Philharmonia Zürich
Statistenverein am Opernhaus Zürich
Chor der Oper Zürich

Siegfried____Klaus Florian Vogt
Gunther____Daniel Schmutzhard
Alberich____Christopher Purves
Hagen____David Leigh
Brünnhilde____Camilla Nylund
Gutrune____Lauren Fagan
Waltraute____Sarah Ferede
First Norn____Freya Apffelstaedt
Second Norn____Lena Sutor-Wernich
Third Norn____Giselle Allen
Woglinde____Uliana Alexyuk
Wellgunde____Niamh O’Sullivan
Floßhilde____Siena Licht Miller
Wotan____Wolfram Schneider-Lastin