Watch Wagner – Die Walkure / Levine, Behrens, Norman, Metropolitan Opera Online Right Now!
It’s no surprise that the second opera in Wagner’s epic Ring cycle, Die Walkure, is the one Deutsche Grammophon released first on DVD: it’s by far the most popular of the four parts of The Ring, from the thrilling Act I love dut for its brother and sister lovers, Siegmund and Sieglinde, to the spectacular finale of the “Magic Fire Music,” as the god Wotan puts his beloved but disobedient daughter Brunnhilde into a deep sleep (no jokes, please!), over four hours later. This 1990 Metropolitan Opera production, originally broadcast on PBS to great acclaim, has been stunningly transferred to digital disc.
Musically, of course, is where any worthy Ring earns its keep, and under James Levine, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra makes the most sumptuous Wagnerian sounds of any current orchestra, as the dazzlingly fresh-sounding “Ride of the Valkyries” makes abundantly clear. The ravishing music is not solely instrumental, of course; the principal cast–Gary Lakes (Siegmund), Jessye Norman (Sieglinde), Hildegard Behrens (Brunnhilde), and especially James Morris (Wotan)–more than handles the vocal and acting demands, even those long stretches of unbelievably difficult singing passages that Wagner demands. This Otto Schenk production has taken its lumps for its conventional approach to Wagner’s mythic music-drama. But it’s an easy first approach for newcomers, and it’s actually a rarity nowadays–among countless deconstructionist approaches–that many Ring-lovers will enjoy Die Walkure in its original setting and context. –Kevin Filipski
Wagner – Die Walkure / Levine, Behrens, Norman, Metropolitan Opera was affable! You have to do this movie! A remarkable performance by Hildegard Behrens & James Morris (IX) make Wagner – Die Walkure / Levine, Behrens, Norman, Metropolitan Opera a “ought to regard” movie!
The extraordinary cast includes Hildegard Behrens, James Morris (IX), Jessye Norman, Christa Ludwig, Gary Lakes. This cast just make Wagner – Die Walkure / Levine, Behrens, Norman, Metropolitan Opera the more wondrous!
