Edinburgh Festival goes out on an electrifying high note
Götterdämmerung Usher Hall ★★★★★
What has proved an exceptionally rewarding festival for classical music and opera reached its climax with a mighty concert performance of Wagner’s apocalyptic Götterdämmerung – a work boldly predicated on a crashing end to the bad old order and the glowing dawn of a purified new one. Would that life were like that.
It was conducted by Andrew Davis, now in his mid-70s and based in North America. His British appearances are few nowadays, and this was a sharp reminder of what we are missing: here was a reading of wonderful fluency and lyricism, never pompous but lacking nothing in ultimate grandeur. Tempi must have been fast (the first act came in, according to my watch, at three minutes under two hours; others have taken 15 minutes longer), but they never seemed rushed. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra was on its mettle throughout, working extremely hard. There was some beautiful wind playing; the brass was marginally less confident.
A cast that would be the envy of any opera house in the world had
been assembled. Excellent trios of lugubrious Norns and frolicking Rhinemaidens were complemented by a rottweiler of an Alberich in Samuel Youn; an unusually assertive Gunther and Gutrune from the piquantly christened Josef and Amber Wagner, apparently no relation to each other or the composer; and a Waltraute of moving eloquence in Karen Cargill. A shout-out for a thrilling student chorus of lusty Gibichungs, too.
In the principal roles, Ain Anger presented a lean and mean Hagen, a baleful presence who needed no recourse to phoney histrionic snarling to suggest his villainy. Burkhard Fritz offered a more prosaic Siegfried, scarcely suggesting the ardent lover or the amoral Aryan hero, but one who at least sang all the notes correctly without bleat or bellow.
Best of all was Christine Goerke, a Brünnhilde of rare warmth and humanity who thrilled us all in the vengeful fire and brimstone of the second act before her ecstatic transfiguration and immolation in the final act. Goerke is absolute mistress of this music, matching a rich middle register to an electrifying charge above the stave. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the normally restrained Usher Hall audience give anyone quite such a tumultuous reception.
It’s good news that a recording of this stupendous performance will be broadcast on Radio 3 on September 23. Wagner fans must not miss it.