Opera North Ring Cycle

Die Walkure

Leeds Town Hall, April 30

THE stormy Prelude to Act One of Die Walkure depicts Wotan's son Siegmund hurrying through the dark forest, his enemies in hot pursuit.

Sinister sounding double basses, restless cellos, menacing woodwind and shining brass leitmotifs are woven into Wagner's rich orchestral tapestry. The dramatic storyline leaps off the pages of the score under the inspired direction of Richard Farnes at the helm of his beloved Orchestra of Opera North.

Siegmund soon finds shelter at the remote forest dwelling of the warrior, Hunding – the fine American bass baritone James Creswell at his most baleful. It is a case of love at first sight for Siegmund and Sieglinde, Hunding's downtrodden wife. The Act reaches its lyrical flowering in Siegmund's sublime Wintersturme (Winter Storms have vanished at Spring's Command). Here, Austrian tenor Michael Weinius sings with a burnished tone that builds up from an enchanting pianissimo, cushioned by Wagner's delicate orchestral backdrop.

Lee Bisset's Sieglinde projects with scorching intensity the bliss, passion and guilt of their forbidden love. The pair are in fact twins fathered by Wotan.

Bass baritone Robert Hayward, the second of our three Wotans in this Leeds Ring, lacks the focused sound of Michael Druiett, the Rhinegold Wotan. But Hayward presents a convincing picture of anguish in the riveting Act Two confrontation with Susan Bickley's unyielding Fricka.

Wotan's tender farewell to Kelly Cae Hogan's effortlessly sung Brunnhilde is utterly heart-rending. He gently takes Brunnhilde's hands and, facing each other, they slowly cross the stage before Wotan casts her into a deep sleep. Earlier, Hogan's clarion war cry "Ho-jo-to-ho!" had filled the hall from floor to barrel-vaulted ceiling. Even this, and her ravishing spectrum of tonal colours, is not enough to persuade Wotan to reduce his harsh sentence of banishment for Brunnhilde's defiance!

Act Three opens with the famous Ride of the Valkyries. Giselle Allen, Katherine Broderick, Heather Shipp, Claudia Huckle, Kate Valentine, Sarah Castle, Fiona Kimm and Madeleine Shaw all rush to the front of the stage in black evening gowns. The Valkyries sing at full throttle as they gloat over their macabre duties. The Act ends with Wotan's regretful farewell and the shimmering Magic Fire Music. This is represented by flickering flames projected onto the three cinema screens above the orchestra.

Peter Mumford's video images stimulate rather than dampen the imagination. The warm and spacious acoustic of Leeds Town Hall allows the voices to bloom; orchestral crescendos envelop the audience with thrilling and sometimes terrifying force.

Opera North's marvellous Ring Cycle continues on May 14 with Siegfried.

Geoffrey Mogridge