13895 Wagner News 174 - Wagner Society of England

Norns appear bearing the red rope while a young (ca. 6-year old) Brünnhilde, complete with
winged helmet, makes an earlier than usual appearance in the cycle. Siegmund (as he will
become) treats Sieglinde much as men tend to treat women (as servants) handing her his coat
before collapsing. Remarkably, the Wälsung twins are in each other’s arms soon after she
treats him to a sup of water from a handy trough. The twins easily recognize their
kinsmanship as the left arm of each is tattooed with a sword symbol. When Hunding enters,
he gives his rifle to Sieglinde, kisses her roughly, shakes the stranger’s hand affably and tells
him to make himself at home. Siegmund does just that with a vengeance – never before have
I seen Sieglinde and Siegmund embrace openly and frequently in front of Hunding. No
wonder Hunding remarks on the evil glint in the eyes of his unwelcome guest.
It is with Act II of Die Walküre that the Director starts to make his distinctive mark.
Brünnhilde joins Wotan in his sparse bedsit after being shown descending a fire escape
via a video projection meshed with shots of the maid. An exuberant exchange of
testosterone-fuelled greetings precedes the arrival of Fricka who has been shopping. Her
confrontation with Wotan is electrifying while the long scene between Brünnhilde and her
father that can often drag was aptly handled, Wotan’s narration being accompanied by a
video projection of the events that occurred in Das Rheingold together with mugshots of
the heroes taken to Valhalla. By eschewing the surtitles, it is possible to retain a morsel
of sympathy for Wotan whose voice and demeanour amply illustrate the god’s dreadful
dilemma into which Fricka’s logic and his own machinations have led him. Wotan’s “Well
I know must yield me” though syntactically odd can readily be understood. When during
the ineffable Todesverkündigung Siegmund discovers that Sieglinde won’t be allowed to
accompany him to Valhalla, he arm wrestles Brünnhilde to the floor while praising her
for her fairness – a strange conjunction. The selected context for the Valkyries’ Ride is
that of modern warfare with a video of American F111 and other fighters parading
triumphantly through the skies against a staged background reminiscent of the Berlin
Time Tunnel, the Valkyries scoffing champagne while marshalling white coffins for the
fallen heroes (the shot-down fighter pilots). Wotan, in full fig as Commander of the
Norseland Air Force looking like a petty dictator, palpably enjoys humiliating Brünnhilde
and physically assaults her, ripping off her flying uniform to denote the loss of her
godhead. The fearsome fire to deter the approach of all but a hero is no more than a squirt
of dry ice suffused with coloured light from the wings.
The settings for the whole of the Second Day are a complete turn-off, being a series
of rooms that the stage revolve brings into view as and when. The first sees Siegfried
communing with some stuffed birds while Mime examines recipe books scattered on a
laboratory bench. The Wanderer steals surreptitiously into Mime’s abode dressed in black
motorbike leathers with matching crash helmet and de rigueur dark glasses. Unnoticed by
Mime, he conveniently learns of the dwarf’s problems with Siegfried and the broken
sword. Before the Q and A session starts, Mime displays a collection of kitchen knives
with which to chop off the head of his interlocutor. Occasionally, one wonders why the
librettist (ie Wagner) allows his villains to vocalize their fears and wishes. Wotan thus
learns that Mime needs to discover how to reconstitute Siegfried’s sword while Alberich
lets on that he can happily surrender everything except the Ring.
The forging scene in the first room appears to work in accordance with
incantations from Siegfried sitting comfortably atop the laboratory bench while Mime
busies himself cooking a multi-component pizza. A minor departure from the usual
forging sequence sees both Siegfried and Mime holding the hammer that taps out the
rhythm on the re-forged sword – the pupil teaching the master blacksmith? In a second
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