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Simply the Best! Milano
Teatro alla Scala
02/01/2026 - & February 4, 8, 12, 17*, March 7, 15, 2026
Richard Wagner: Götterdämmerung
Christa Mayer (Erste Norn), Szilvia Vőrős (Zweite Norn), Olga Bezsmertna (Dritte Norn, Gutrune), Nina Stemme (Waltraute), Camilla Nylund (Brünnhilde), Klaus Florian Vogt (Siegfried), Russell Braun (Gunther), Günther Groissböck (Hagen), Johannes Martin Kränzle (Alberich), Lee‑Ann Dunbar (Woglinde), Svetlana Stoyanova (Wellgunde), Virginie Verrez (Flosshilde)
Coro del Teatro alla Scala, Alberto Malazzi (Chorus Master), Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Alexander Soddy/ Simone Young* (Conductor)
David McVicar (Stage Director, Sets), Hannah Postlethwaite (Sets), Emma Kingsbury (Costumes), David Finn (Lighting), Katy Tucker (Videography), Gareth Mole (Choreography), David Greeves (Martial Arts)
K. F. Vogt, C. Nylund (© Brescia e Amisano/Teatro alla Scala)
Ever since David McVicar’s staging of Das Rheingold, I’ve been hooked on La Scala’s Ring. Living in North America, three more trips were organized to ensure I’d see the Scotsman’s three subsequent installments. Of all Ring cycles I’ve experienced, this one is the most visually appealing, and with the finest cast. McVicar is reputedly a conventional choice compared to more adventurous directors, but his work is inevitably visually appealing, straightforward and without clutter. This suits the majority of opera goers, who’ve recently endured a global-warming-inspired Parsifal, an octopus Rusalka, Salome set in a brothel, Lohengrin’s Elsa as a moth, and La bohème blasted into outer space.
Adventure films in exotic locations – think Indiana Jones – seem to have been McVicar’s inspiration here. A high degree of novelty marked this production: native tribal imagery and sets and costumes informed by Africa, Asia and South America were favoured. This is in keeping with today’s less Eurocentric worldview, even for the Norse-mythology-inspired Der Ring des Nibelungen. It’s a legitimate viewpoint that all fairy tale traditions are interrelated. Renewed visuals inspired by various cultures are welcome.
In Das Rheingold, the Rhine maidens, richly‑clothed and sporting stylized haircuts evocative of Audrey Beardsley (1872‑1898) and Arthur Rackham (1867‑1939), swam amid three huge severed hands. In a homoerotic representation, a semi‑nude male dancer symbolized the Rhine‑maidens’ guarded gold. The same imagery was used in Act III of the present performance.
Likewise, dancer-acrobats, dressed as Buddhist monks, acted as servants to giants Fasolt and Fafner, moving the gold exacted from Wotan. These “monks” appeared again to perform funeral rites and to grieve with Brünnhilde during her Immolation scene. Masks figured heavily in McVicar’s Das Rheingold. When Fasolt and Fafner took Freia away, they removed the gods’ masks, possibly a metaphor for power. These masks make up part of Götterdämmerung’s Gibichung Hall, where they’re placed atop totem poles, a clin d’œil to the First Nations of the Pacific Northwest. While this made for a striking image, it made little sense, as totem poles relate to ancestry and the Gibich race are not descendents of the gods of Walhalla.
In Das Rheingold, Nibelheim’s gate was a huge golden head, reminiscent of Skull Island in the King Kong film, The House on Skull Mountain (1974) and other horror films. The same skull served as the gate to Gibichung Hall, which may indicate that the Gibich race took over Walhalla, an absurd idea. Nonetheless, the visuals were truly striking.
In the same multi-national spirit, the inhabitants of Gibichung Hall sported a mix of Norse and East Indian garb. Some warriors wore Viking headgear, while others wore extravagant masks of Bengali inspiration. The women wore a mix of mediaeval European dresses and headgear reminiscent of Guinevere, Isolde and Mélisande as well as appealing Indian dresses of Mughal inspiration. Most of them wore elaborate but also oppressive golden masks, hinting at a brutally male‑dominated society that crushes women. In Act II, the warriors performed beautifully choreographed (Gareth Mole), elaborate acrobatics and ceremonial dances evocative of the impressive Maori haka. For some, this mixing of folkloric cultures seemed patronizing, but I beg to differ; it merely points to the universality of “myth.”
Though Siegfried in Götterdämmerung is more complex than in Siegfried, Klaus Florian Vogt equally excelled here. It was a delight to hear a fresh lyrical voice able to confront this dramatic tenor role effortlessly, even at the end of the opera. Vogt’s technique is indeed superlative. As in Siegfried, he was able to project easily enough to reach seats in the heavens without forcing. His German elocution was impeccable, with every word understood and imparted with the appropriate emotion. Most impressive was his morphing into Gunther in Act II, after having used the Tarnhelm to cross the sacred fire surrounding Brünnhilde so that he may claim her for Gunther. He looked like a terrifying ghoul with his face covered by the Tarnhelm. For those who may have forgotten, this cowardly act was under the effect of a philtre that made him forget. Vogt transformed his manner (but not his voice) to resemble Gunther. Given Vogt’s light timbre, making his voice baritonal would have been a challenge.
Finland’s Camilla Nylund is an appealing dramatic soprano endowed with a powerful and incisive voice. With extreme ease in her upper register, impeccable diction and powerful stage presence, few Brünnhildes have been as imposing. Admired this summer as Isolde in Tristan und Isolde in Bayreuth, and last season as Chrysothemis in Elektra in Berlin, she equally impressed as Brünnhilde in La Scala’s Die Walküre and Siegfried. A veteran dramatic soprano for the past two decades, her voice has developed a distinct metallic quality, but still holds appeal. Most of all, she knows how to express fury, passion and despair, all necessary emotions in this, the most demanding Brünnhilde portrayal of the Ring cycle.
Heard last season as Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier in Milan and as King Marke in Tristan und Isolde in Bayreuth in August, Austrian bass Günther Groissböck was a terrifying Hagen. His crystal clear diction and attention to his wording were essential in personifying this complex character. He conveyed Hagen’s torment as well as his nefariousness. Endowed with a powerful bass, Groissböck was nasty indeed, perfectly channeling this self‑loathing, resentful underling. More than most Hagens, this one seemed to derive immense pleasure from his evil‑doing.
Canadian baritone Russell Braun was an outstanding Gunther. He perfectly captured the essence of a weak, wealthy young man in over his head, easily manipulated. His pleasantly high baritone contrasted well with Hagen’s bass.
Waltraute’s Act I scene with Brünnhilde is one of this opera’s most beautiful and intense moments. What a luxury to have no less than Swedish dramatic soprano Nina Stemme, a leading Brünnhilde herself, in the short role. Stemme was impressive both as an actress and singer. Her beseeching of Brünnhilde was extremely affecting.
Ukrainian lyric soprano Olga Bezsmertna was greatly admired two years ago as Rusalka at La Scala and as Freia in McVicar’s Das Rheingold at La Scala. Her beautifully youthful voice was a perfect fit here for the tragically insecure rich kid Gutrune. She exuded malaise from the moment she arrived onstage – to the manor born, yet without much self‑worth. In the finale, following Siegfried’s murder, she morphed into a more delicate woman, as if rendered more human from tragedy.
Australian conductor Simone Young was more inspired than in Götterdämmerung at Bayreuth this past summer. There was much to enjoy here: the delicate, almost haunting opening scene with the Norns; Siegfried’s ravishing Rhine journey at the end of the Prologue; and Hagen’s menacing call of the vassals. Contrary to an underwhelming Vengeance trio at the end of Act II in the aforementioned Bayreuth performance, this was a powerful scene thanks to Young and her orchestra. Musically, the “Immolation Scene” was the most splendid moment of the evening, alternating between softness and vigour. Young made excellent use of Wagner’s massive late‑Romantic orchestration, which includes full percussion, four harps and eight horns, in addition to strings and woodwinds. Collectively, the musicians expertly conjured ominously dark textures or ethereal sweetness, depending on the scene.
The joy of seeing such a visually appealing production bereft of nonsense inflicted by lesser creative minds was immense. Of course the splendid singing, especially Nylund and Vogt, and the glorious music from Young and the Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala were the main attraction, and they were unbeatable. My only regret is returning home to Canada and not being able to attend one of two entire Ring cycles given in March. The best Ring of the decade, La Scala and Milan in the spring may be the best possible combination imaginable.
Ossama el Naggar
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