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The fourth and final part of Richard Wagner's epic cycle, 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' in which the treachery and betrayal which leads to Siegfried's death also heralds the downfall of the gods and the return of the gold to the Rhine. Filmed at the Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam.
Product Description
Crepuscolo Degli Dei (Il) / Gotterdammerung (3 Dvd)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
By Jack Stuart
This Götterdämmerung is a fine climax to an excellent DVD set of the Ring. In particular, the Hagen of Kurt Rydl is outstanding: sardonic and powerful, he grips the attention with every look and domineering action. His combination of physical strength and guile supersedes the increasingly enfeebled Alberich in importance, and is an easy match for the naïve and then drugged Siegfried.
Siegfried looks more like a small escapee running from a mediaeval samurai epic by Kurosawa than the blond hero that many Wagnerites would worship, but this works satisfactorily here, as he is really little more than a pawn - or maybe a disposable knight - in the larger plans of others.
Under Pierre Audi's detailed direction, the story almost makes sense. Most of the problems are Wagner's fault. There is no escaping the fact that Brünnhilde is nearly as stupid as Siegfried, being too easily taken in by the plotting of the Gibichungs. But Jeannine Altmeyer overcomes this problem with committed acting and intense singing, moving at the climactic end.
The scene of Siegfried returning to the fire-bound rock disguised as Gunther is always awkward to bring off convincingly. Audi's solution of having Siegfried shadow Gunther, both covered, looks possible at first, but it eventually comes adrift when it is the latter who lies down with Brünnhilde with obvious intent - and not physically separated by Nothung. This may be making a psychological point, but confuses further the logic of the plot.
On the other hand, the spinning by the Norns of the rope of Fate, which eventually snags and breaks, is one of Wagner's better ideas, and the `mental' weaving in this production is perhaps more `interesting' than successful on stage.
However, the singing and acting all round is strong again, and is well supported by the firm playing of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. Gunther and Gutrune are made more understandable in character than usual, with implications of decadence rather than just feebleness. The faceless vassals look really sinister on their first appearance - one of many effective ideas in this Ring by costume designer Eiko Ishioka.
The huge swirl of a set and the colourful lighting are large-scale and dramatic, often giving cause for thought rather than merely offering obvious solutions. Indeed, for the home viewer this is surely the most continuously fascinating and enlightening version of the Ring on DVD, well worth repeated watching.
Siegfried looks more like a small escapee running from a mediaeval samurai epic by Kurosawa than the blond hero that many Wagnerites would worship, but this works satisfactorily here, as he is really little more than a pawn - or maybe a disposable knight - in the larger plans of others.
Under Pierre Audi's detailed direction, the story almost makes sense. Most of the problems are Wagner's fault. There is no escaping the fact that Brünnhilde is nearly as stupid as Siegfried, being too easily taken in by the plotting of the Gibichungs. But Jeannine Altmeyer overcomes this problem with committed acting and intense singing, moving at the climactic end.
The scene of Siegfried returning to the fire-bound rock disguised as Gunther is always awkward to bring off convincingly. Audi's solution of having Siegfried shadow Gunther, both covered, looks possible at first, but it eventually comes adrift when it is the latter who lies down with Brünnhilde with obvious intent - and not physically separated by Nothung. This may be making a psychological point, but confuses further the logic of the plot.
On the other hand, the spinning by the Norns of the rope of Fate, which eventually snags and breaks, is one of Wagner's better ideas, and the `mental' weaving in this production is perhaps more `interesting' than successful on stage.
However, the singing and acting all round is strong again, and is well supported by the firm playing of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. Gunther and Gutrune are made more understandable in character than usual, with implications of decadence rather than just feebleness. The faceless vassals look really sinister on their first appearance - one of many effective ideas in this Ring by costume designer Eiko Ishioka.
The huge swirl of a set and the colourful lighting are large-scale and dramatic, often giving cause for thought rather than merely offering obvious solutions. Indeed, for the home viewer this is surely the most continuously fascinating and enlightening version of the Ring on DVD, well worth repeated watching.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
This 1999 Amsterdam 'Ring' is well directed by Pierre Audi, and features colourful Japanese-inspired costumes, but is a huge let-down as far as the singing is concerned. The worst soloist here is Altmeyer, miscast at this point of her career as Brunnhilde (naturally, no match for her 'Ring' roles under Boulez and Janowski): in addition to a more-or-less acceptable wobble, most of the top notes are simply beyond her, as when she sounds so tired towards the end of the 'Gotterdammerung' duet that she quickly runs out of breath and even chokes on the final 'Heil!', which her partner sustains superbly; other no less embarrassing moments recur throughout this opera, as well as in 'Siegfried' (to some extent tolerable, given the role's brevity) and 'Walkure', where the beginning of each of the repeated verse of the battle cry is delivered hoarsely (you'll cringe on hearing 2.54 and 4.16 on DVD 2 of the opera); when she just manages to hold a top note, her body begins to convulse (extremely painful to watch and hear); she looks rather astonished during her thunderous curtain calls at the end of the cycle, as if saying: 'I'm glad the ignorant applauding bunch didn't notice anything out of the ordinary'. (I cannot believe that these passages were left intact: the least that could have been done was to re-record them in sound to cover up the defects.) Not that the other members of the cast are on top form either: of the well-known soloists (except Clark, though still not his former self as Mime at Bayreuth), Secunde (Sieglinde), Merritt (Loge), Brocheler (Wotan), Schone (Gunther), Bundschuh (Gutrune), and Rydl (Hunding and Hagen) are frankly past their best, while (apart from Kruse's fine Siegfried and Runkel's outstanding Fricka) newcomers like Keyes (Siegmund), Gjevang (Erda and Waltraute), and Smit (Alberich) are vibrato-ridden performers, the rest (including Rhinemaidens, Valkyries and Norns) ranging from good to average. Though the close singer-audience interaction is highly successful (due to the ring-shaped stage), the fixed set begins to grow monotonous as one act follows another with almost little variation throughout the cycle, but that's a minor quibble, compared with the production's overall vocal quality, despite a superb chorus and orchestra (the supplied documentaries, though highly informative, are small consolation). The accompanying printed matter features a short article by Haenchen on the variations included in the score he used (the Woodbird is sung by a boy): only a few examples are being sampled, and the same article appears in each of the four booklets enclosed in each opera case (I had expected generous extracts from the individual operas appearing in the booklet of the work in question). Misled by the bombastic 5-star reviews here (separate releases) and on the US site, I regret having purchased this set and still don't understand how or why it deserves such a rating, unless one watches with the mute button on. Doubting that even those who are new to the cycle will find it satisfactory, I hardly think that 'Ring' fans who know the work by heart will find it worth the addition to their DVD library.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.4 out of 5 stars
7 reviews
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pleasantly Performed
24 Sep 2007
By Ryan Morris
- Published on Amazon.com
The other reviewer must not be too immersed in modern Wagner performance, because if he was, he would know that this is comparably tame as opposed to the Pappano Ring, or Barenboim, or even the recent disastrous DeBilly ring, which this considerably outdoes on every level-Brunnhilde, Orchestra, conductor, Siegfried(especially Siegfried).
I have still not seen the Rhinegold, but the Walkure was good and at times great(specifically the first act and the final farewell scene) Jeanine Altmeyer may be familiar to Wagnerites from the Janowski cycle, the first recorded in digital sound. Altmeyer's voice has deeped considerably from that performance-for the better. As in Walkure-she started out cold, even hoarse, but quickly came to form and really has only one or two rivals on DVD-Brunnhilde has been laughably horrid in DVD performance(Hildegard Behrens, Deborah Polaski, even G. Jones-for my money only Anne Evans with Barenboim was worthy and at times Linda Watson.
A curious thing is that in other rings, certain singers will do several roles, or in Karajan's case-a different singer will do the same role. But here, in each opera, the orchestra is different. In Die Walkure, the Netherlands really played well for Haenchen in a nuanced, truly revelatory performance(again the first act and act III scene III< along with act II monologue on.
Now regarding the staging. It is unique and different, but for tradionalists and modernists alike. There is very little, if anything, to offend compared to Barenboim(which is musically far superior), Boulez(which is not as shocking anymore and has therefore lost almost as of its appeal since it is for the most part musically inferior to most sets vocally). The orchestra is in the middle of the action, literally apart of the action. This may sound odd, but it works very well and doesnt distract from the music.-though I imagine it may have been difficult to concentrate seeing it live. The Amsterdamians play well here, obvioulsy they are not Bayreuth an at times I was wanting for more of a luscious string sound and more competent horn playing, but they are still first class and truly play their hearts out, much like the Netherland did earlier in the Die Walkure set.
Among Modern versions, I would recommend this over the Barenboim(mainly due to the staging)-definetly over the DeBilly-over the both Levines. The earlier Levine boasted a better Siegfried(the last true heldentenor Siegfried Jerusalem-I dont care what you think of him-he was a heldentenor---)but this Siegfried is not as bad as John Trevealen(no one is) or Manfried Jung-or Reiner Goldberg or any of the other severally deficient singers who have attempted this role on DVD, I have no idea what is going to become of our beloved operas in five or ten years because already we are seriously lacking talented singers and it is only going to get worse. This is about as good as it gets from our modern day stockpile.
I have still not seen the Rhinegold, but the Walkure was good and at times great(specifically the first act and the final farewell scene) Jeanine Altmeyer may be familiar to Wagnerites from the Janowski cycle, the first recorded in digital sound. Altmeyer's voice has deeped considerably from that performance-for the better. As in Walkure-she started out cold, even hoarse, but quickly came to form and really has only one or two rivals on DVD-Brunnhilde has been laughably horrid in DVD performance(Hildegard Behrens, Deborah Polaski, even G. Jones-for my money only Anne Evans with Barenboim was worthy and at times Linda Watson.
A curious thing is that in other rings, certain singers will do several roles, or in Karajan's case-a different singer will do the same role. But here, in each opera, the orchestra is different. In Die Walkure, the Netherlands really played well for Haenchen in a nuanced, truly revelatory performance(again the first act and act III scene III< along with act II monologue on.
Now regarding the staging. It is unique and different, but for tradionalists and modernists alike. There is very little, if anything, to offend compared to Barenboim(which is musically far superior), Boulez(which is not as shocking anymore and has therefore lost almost as of its appeal since it is for the most part musically inferior to most sets vocally). The orchestra is in the middle of the action, literally apart of the action. This may sound odd, but it works very well and doesnt distract from the music.-though I imagine it may have been difficult to concentrate seeing it live. The Amsterdamians play well here, obvioulsy they are not Bayreuth an at times I was wanting for more of a luscious string sound and more competent horn playing, but they are still first class and truly play their hearts out, much like the Netherland did earlier in the Die Walkure set.
Among Modern versions, I would recommend this over the Barenboim(mainly due to the staging)-definetly over the DeBilly-over the both Levines. The earlier Levine boasted a better Siegfried(the last true heldentenor Siegfried Jerusalem-I dont care what you think of him-he was a heldentenor---)but this Siegfried is not as bad as John Trevealen(no one is) or Manfried Jung-or Reiner Goldberg or any of the other severally deficient singers who have attempted this role on DVD, I have no idea what is going to become of our beloved operas in five or ten years because already we are seriously lacking talented singers and it is only going to get worse. This is about as good as it gets from our modern day stockpile.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fluid and transparant music, suggestive staging
13 Jan 2008
By Wouter
- Published on Amazon.com
I saw this Ring-cycle live in the theater in Amsterdam in 2005 when it was doing a reprise. This DVD is taken from the first cycle, back in 1999. This production delivers a stage in which the orchestra, singers and public are kind of merged into one big area in which the story takes place. The sober and suggestive staging leaves a lot of room (literally) for your fantasy. This is a place in which Gods are like men and the world they inhibit is an undefined one in terms of time and location. No horrendus and ugly "Buhnebild" here and actors who look like the've spending their nights sleeping under bridge. From the Pierre Audi-direction you can say that, when it does not lift or explain the drama any further, it does at least not interfere with the music in an annoying way. By times, it's like looking at an opera concertante. At other times, in scene's like the first appearance of Hagens men you see the rhythm and the massiveness of the musical score back on the stage without becoming a ballet. You might wish for a better direction around the action in general, but with a work of art this big there's always something to desire.
In 1999 Jeanine Altmeyer sung Brunnhilde en Heinz Kruse sung Siegfried. Although Altmeyer has definitly past her prime here, I find her performance here in Götterdammerung more then acceptable. Of course she's no match for the big names in the catalogue like Nilsson, Mödl or Flagstad but you can't blame each soccer player for not being Maradona or Pele either. For the rest of the cast; Kurt Rydl is a great Hagen, menacing en dangerous as he should be. I remember him singing this role with a soar throat. Despite that fysical handicap he really delivered the goods that night. He's definitely one of the most convincing Hagens I've seen (and heard) so far. The men he leads are reduced (if you can put it that way) till a bunch of faceless people. An army, ready to go to war if he wants them to.
The Siegfried of Heinz Kruze will not be of anyone's taste but I've had no problems with him. He looks rather funny and innocent than blunt and ignorant (it's how you see your Siegfried) but his singing is good. His murder is a good example of clumsy stagedirection; not focussed enough and as a result the drama gets clouded and incomprehensive. The immolation scene, however, works very well. Especially on screen. In the theatre you see four men waving a red drape in which Brunnhilde disappears, as she is swallowed by the fire. It looks like another example of inappropriate and disappointing staging in a Pierre Audi-production where you surely would have expect fire in the one and only scene of the opera where the orginal stage directions of Wagner said "fire". On screen, however, with its cropped image of the stage, it looks great and impressive.
Finally, a big hand of applause for Hartmut Haenchen. His approach of Wagners music, based on orginal notes taken after the Bayreuth premiere in 1876, is one of fluidity and transparency. It shows that the drama and impact of this music is best served with an approach reveilling all the layers in Wagners' music instead of a bombastic one that would turn it into something far more one-dimensional. Gotterdammerung is one of my favourite opera's in general and it still surprises me that every time I hear it there is something new to discover in the music.
I don't know how I would have experienced this registration without having seen it in the theatre first, but I would surely recommend this DVD-Götterdammerung for all Wagner-lovers.
In 1999 Jeanine Altmeyer sung Brunnhilde en Heinz Kruse sung Siegfried. Although Altmeyer has definitly past her prime here, I find her performance here in Götterdammerung more then acceptable. Of course she's no match for the big names in the catalogue like Nilsson, Mödl or Flagstad but you can't blame each soccer player for not being Maradona or Pele either. For the rest of the cast; Kurt Rydl is a great Hagen, menacing en dangerous as he should be. I remember him singing this role with a soar throat. Despite that fysical handicap he really delivered the goods that night. He's definitely one of the most convincing Hagens I've seen (and heard) so far. The men he leads are reduced (if you can put it that way) till a bunch of faceless people. An army, ready to go to war if he wants them to.
The Siegfried of Heinz Kruze will not be of anyone's taste but I've had no problems with him. He looks rather funny and innocent than blunt and ignorant (it's how you see your Siegfried) but his singing is good. His murder is a good example of clumsy stagedirection; not focussed enough and as a result the drama gets clouded and incomprehensive. The immolation scene, however, works very well. Especially on screen. In the theatre you see four men waving a red drape in which Brunnhilde disappears, as she is swallowed by the fire. It looks like another example of inappropriate and disappointing staging in a Pierre Audi-production where you surely would have expect fire in the one and only scene of the opera where the orginal stage directions of Wagner said "fire". On screen, however, with its cropped image of the stage, it looks great and impressive.
Finally, a big hand of applause for Hartmut Haenchen. His approach of Wagners music, based on orginal notes taken after the Bayreuth premiere in 1876, is one of fluidity and transparency. It shows that the drama and impact of this music is best served with an approach reveilling all the layers in Wagners' music instead of a bombastic one that would turn it into something far more one-dimensional. Gotterdammerung is one of my favourite opera's in general and it still surprises me that every time I hear it there is something new to discover in the music.
I don't know how I would have experienced this registration without having seen it in the theatre first, but I would surely recommend this DVD-Götterdammerung for all Wagner-lovers.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Attack of the Gibichungs!
13 Dec 2007
By lensman 23
- Published on Amazon.com
I'm not totally convinced by the performances here - or how anyone can rate this Siegfried above virtually any of the others? He has a decent if not great voice, but is pretty wooden and characterless most of the time, and is pretty short to boot, meaning most of the other characters literally look down on him (even Alberich! - and possibly Mime, though I haven't seen Siegfried in this production yet, so I may be being too harsh on Siegfried).
The production itself is quite spectacular and visually interesting, provided you're not totally allergic to non-traditional staging. Given that there is a circular ramp (or ring) around the orchestra - which the actors use occasionally to good effect - it does mean that the conductor is sometimes visible in the picture. You could argue that he - i.e. the orchestra - is a character in the work (a Greek chorus), but it does rather go against Wagner's concept of the invisible orchestra.
Finally, the Gibichungs! I thought the way they make their entrance is quite disturbing. Their choreographed movements are very entertaining, although I'm not sure the idea really makes sense.
Well worth watching, even if I find the ending a bit of an anti-climax given some of the pyrotechnics elsewhere in this staging.
The production itself is quite spectacular and visually interesting, provided you're not totally allergic to non-traditional staging. Given that there is a circular ramp (or ring) around the orchestra - which the actors use occasionally to good effect - it does mean that the conductor is sometimes visible in the picture. You could argue that he - i.e. the orchestra - is a character in the work (a Greek chorus), but it does rather go against Wagner's concept of the invisible orchestra.
Finally, the Gibichungs! I thought the way they make their entrance is quite disturbing. Their choreographed movements are very entertaining, although I'm not sure the idea really makes sense.
Well worth watching, even if I find the ending a bit of an anti-climax given some of the pyrotechnics elsewhere in this staging.
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