For anyone experiencing Wagner's Ring cycle, the final opera is not just an endpoint but a culmination. The audience response at the close of this extraordinary Proms performance founded on Daniel Barenboim's conducting of the Staatskapelle Berlin suggested that cumulative expectations - already high - had in fact been exceeded.
For nearly six hours Barenboim maintained an approach that emphasised Wagner's lyricism while never short-changing his drama; beauty of tone was paramount, combined with a sense of flow that felt as consistent as it did effortless. Though there were genuine highlights, these were subsumed within the ongoing development of a sonic fabric whose continuity was reflected in miniature in the sharp simplicity of Justin Way's semi-staging.
The cast shone individually as well as collectively. Waltraud Meier brought out the fierce urgency of Waltraute's unheeded exhortation to Brünnhilde to relinquish the ring. Less vocally weighty than the traditional Hagen, Mikhail Petrenko nevertheless conveyed the super-subtle malevolence of Alberich's son, while Gerd Grochowski hinted at a latent strength in Gunther that never quite rose to the level of effective action. Anna Samuil's innocent Gutrune was immaculately realised, both vocally and dramatically.
Taking on the major challenge of Siegfried, Andreas Schager generally acquitted himself with distinction, if occasionally sounding stretched; physically, he registered as an unusually plausible young hero. Nina Stemme, meanwhile, completed her third assignment as Brünnhilde in world-beating fashion. Her vocal security was absolute, her soprano full and luminous, whether driven by love, fury or a determination to right an entire civilisation's wrongs. Placed behind the orchestra but in front of the organ console, she crowned the evening with an Immolation Scene that flooded out into the auditorium in an unending stream of perfection. No one who heard it will ever forget it, nor the magnificent interpretation that led up to it.
See also
Video: Daniel Barenboim addresses the Ring audience at the end of the cycle
