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Die Walküre (Der Ring des Nibelungen)

Richard Wagner

First day, in three act

Teatro alla Scala Production
In coproduction with Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlino
In collaboration with Toneelhuis (Antwerp)

18, 25 June

Running Time: 4 hours 55 minutes intermissions included

Sung in German with electronic libretto in Italian, English, German

Notes on the performancesOpen: The Valkyrie is one of Wagner’s most lyrical and romantic operas and one in which he developed subjects of love and familial torment of unrivalled emotive force. The enthralling appeal of the music, placed at the service of a complex thought system, tells of the dramas of legends and heroes immersed in the bellicose sagas of Germanic antiquity.

The Valkyrie of the title is Brünnhilde, who at the end of the opera is punished and demoted from warrior virgin status to that of ordinary woman. She is charged with having attempted to save step a brother and sister from death, guilty of the incestuous love affair that would see the birth of the hero, Siegfried. The hidden protagonist from which the story takes its cue is the god Wotan, father of the Valkyries and future grandfather of Siegfried, who will rebel against him. The opera starts with a storm, continues with springtime love enchantments, includes the legend of the invincible sword, features the renowned Ride of the Valkyries and concludes with the heart-wrenching goodbye of a father to his favourite daughter.

The stylised modern settings proposed by the group of artists led by director Guy Cassiers often convinced public and critics alike in this memorable performance inaugurating the 2010-11 Season.