Wagner: Die Walkure. Regents Opera, York Hall Bethnal Green: 25/2/25

Siegmund: Brian Smith Walters; Sieglinde: Justine Viani; Hunding: Gerrit Paul Groen; Wotan: Ralf Lukas; Fricka: Ingeborg Børch; Brünnhilde: Catharine Woodward; Gerhilde: Charlotte Richardson; Helmwige: Shannon Roberts; Ortlinde: Ella de Jongh; Waltraute: Catherine Backhouse; Schwertleite: Gráinne Gillis; Siegrune: Magdalen Ashman; Grimgerde: Grace Maria Wain; Rossweisse: Caroline Carragher; Ben Woodward: Music Director and Conductor; Caroline Staunton: Director; CJ Heaver: Producer

And so – on with the Ring, and back from the expansiveness of Covent Garden to York Hall …………..and from one form of excellence to another, very different, kind……..This performance for me took flight fairly early on in the first act and never touched the ground again thereafter. There were several reasons for this: Ben Woodward paced the work very well – at quite a fast speed (particularly in Act 1) but the music never sounded hurried or pushed in a way that would narrow its expressive potential; there were some excellent experienced singers who knew how to draw the best out of their voices in the main roles, and, finally, a production which continues to be quirky but is always clear in signposting what is happening on stage and allowing singers to work up their own positions on the characters they are portraying. Under Woodward’s direction, the orchestra sounded supercharged, and there was some wonderfully expressive and exciting playing. The issues I had on Sunday about the orchestra sounding subdued seemed to disappear this evening. And, among many other players, hats off to the wonderfully expressive oboe of Philip Howarth (I should have mentioned on Sunday the composition of the orchestra – 6 violins, 3 violas, 2 cellos, 1 double bass (with an extra one for Gotterdammerung Act 3), 1 each of flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon, interestingly 5 horns, then 1 trumpet, 1 trombone and 1 synthesiser. It is remarkable how full-bodied the sound seemed tonight at the big moments in Act 3.)

The set for Act 1 was almost devoid of plinths but has a fridge with bottles of mead inside, a fire extinguisher, a toaster, and a column with a sword hilt peering out at the top. There is a tailor’s dummy, which Sieglinde caresses and which I assume is a substitute for her lost brother. For Act 2, we were back with the plinths of Rheingold, and small objects were placed on them by Brunnhilde; Hunding places his killer fire-extinguisher on one before being struck down by Wotan. In Act 3 the white blocks were rearranged to create a small rock face for Brunnhilde to lie down on. The Valkyries come on carrying famous paintings – the Mona Lisa, Caspar David Friedrich’s “Wanderer above a sea of fog’, and others. These are all destroyed by Wotan, who punches holes in them when he comes in in fury in Act 3, and he also writes ‘Entartate” (Degenerate) on sticky tape he puts round Brunnhilde. I still haven’t got my head around the whole ‘art’ concept , but there are some articles by the director in the programme which may enlighten me. However, whatever concepts there are in the director’s vision, she is also extremely good, clearly, at letting each character develop in the singer’s imagination, and the fact that no singer looked awkward on stage or at a loss is a tribute to her skills. Costumes for the 6 principals were much better coordinated than in Rheingold – in particular Wotan and Fricka had black/grey shalwar khameezes with a scarf that complemented each other. Sieglinde, Siegmund and Hunding had variants of blue., with Siegmund in contrasting red as well plus combat trousers. Brunnhilde had a costume of black leggings and long shirt plus a wrap which emphasised her girlishness, The Valkyries were a riot of colour, which sort of worked.

All 6 principal singers were first rate. as singing actors. Each of them had seemingly internalised a view of their character, and had ‘become’ it. They acted without self-consciousness and with ease – a credit to the director’s approach. Justine Viani had not stood out particularly as one of the Rheinmaidens but as Sieglinde she was outstanding. She had a wonderful creamy tone to her voice and offered far more shading than many of the other singers, caressing the music at times. Her ‘Du bist der Lenz’ was gorgeous and her cry of thanks in Act 3 for deliverance was sensational. Gerrit Paul Groen was a huge-voiced Hunding and a deep bass, commanding on stage. I liked Brian Smith Walters as Siegmund- he doesn’t have a beautiful voice and occasionally a slight vibrato troubled me, but he had a baritonal quality that is good for Siegmund’s role and he can hit all the high notes with ease. It was no surprise to read he had many of the major Wagner roles for tenor in his repertory. Though it’s a show-off moment, his ‘Walse’ in Act 1 had real intensity and emotion as well as being long and loud! Ralf Lukas again impressed as Wotan – a contained and reflective presence, every word counted and was conveyed in clarity and with pointing. His voice cracked once or twice before the end on high notes, but this was easily forgiven. Catherine Woodward was apologised for as getting over a cold, and once or twice that was evident on low notes. But she has a bright and gleaming, big, voice, dealing with the high notes easily, and able to shade it effectively in the tender moments with Wotan and Siegmund/Sieglinde. She was very convincing in conveying a girlishness and liveliness to Brunnhilde’s character on stage that will doubtless contrast effectively with the maturity of her Gotterdammerung role. Finally while Ingeborg Borch as Fricka in Rheingold was good but here in Walkure she was very effective indeed., commanding and generously voiced as well as utterly convincing in her anger and contempt for Wotan. The Valkyries were a somewhat motley crew in appearance but they all sang and acted well, and were credible.

All in all, I found this an inspiring evening that was on a different level to the preceding Rheingold, and which was roundly cheered by a full house (including Loge, sitting three seats away from me)