Götterdämmerung, act three
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- Der Ring des Nibelungen, a famous production from Bayreuth 1976, recorded 1980. Gwyneth Jones as Brünnhilde, Fritz Hübner as Hagen. Conducted by Pierre Boulez, directed by Patrice Chéreau. Finale of Wagner's tetralogy.
I was a student and lucky enough to see the two last cycles 1980 (thank God and Erna Pitz) including meetings with Patrice Chéreau and Pierre Boulez. It changed my artistic life. This Ring is marvellous, never using too much the incredible richness of the driector's theatrical invention. Chéreau was the most superb stage director, magic was his way to move actors and unbeatable the sense for colours and light. Telling this complex story in such a straight, but subtle way makes him unique. R.I.P.
INCREDIBLE!! What a VOICE!! What a super human instrument!! Brava!!
I'm watching it again, again, and again...
The Redemption by Love theme in the coda is one of Wagner's most beautiful creations.
Class - pure class.
¡¡¡Magnifica Interpretacion!!!; Jones en un gran momento, de su extensa carrera,
dando lo mejor de su veracidad interpretativa, tanto en lo vocal, como en lo inter-
pretativo.
her voice sends chills up my spine in a good way :)
I've listened to a lot of Immolation scenes and despite her wobble, I keep returning to Jones & this Boulez/Chereau production. She's the ONLY one I've heard so far who cuts over the orchestra in ALL the parts of her voice. I think the flaws actually make for an intense performance. IMO, she has just the right combination of "ping" and warmth, & she moves! Many of the current Brunnhildes, while possessing lovely voices, are too "fluffy" sounding. She IS Wotan's daughter, after all..
no one beats nilsson in my mind, but gwyneth jones...it's great how she really does sound hysterical here.
Non era facile seguire e capire Boulez...Dame Jones l'ha capito subito...ed e' scaturita la piu' grande e moderna Brunhilde dei giorni nostri..
@IrishClaudius As conclusion: this is not to be bought for 100€. Right?
The rest of the cycle was indeed filmed in 1980, but I believe "Goetterdaemmerung" was filmed in 1979.
@deusirae76 That is good!! Still some taste left in this world, wonder of wonders!!
@bb1111116 I agree with you. The only reason I watch this video is because of Gwyneth Jones (hair style, dress, hand gestures, and singing; she shines in this).
The Death of Wall Street and the Rise of Main Street - Boulez and Chireau (and G.B. Shaw)- were so right!
No one seeing this in New York would worry about the minor details it predicted the future we live through today!
@angryjalapeno; I just saw the 1990 Met/Levine Ring on DVD which has mythical costumes/setting that give the full symbolic meaning. From the myth we know the gods are the upper class (having religious power) and the dwarves/giants are a lower class. We know Siegfried is the heroic/Noble Savage who is corrupted by civilization. And when the costumes/setting are mythical, the magic Ring/Helm/Dragon also works. But this modern costume 1976 Bayreuth production doesn't make sense imo.
It's a fantasy. A legend. Let's keep it that way. Wagner wrote both the music and the libretto, as well as very specific stage directions. Why not honor his vision? It was, by the way, my understanding that Chereau never heard the Ring prior to being engaged to direct it. It shows. But, we can separate the singing from the production.
This was a production conceived for the stage, rather than for film or TV. She is acting for the scale of the theatre - nothing too big from her. And, if I remember correctly, it is the end of the world!
@caligulito1 yes you are right
The ring had doomed them all...
this production was the seed that germinated all the weird, strange, ghastly industrialist Rings that are inflicted on audiences--40 demented yrs. traditional productions (ie Schenk, or even Wieland Wagner) that honor the mythic story line are now considered 'old fashioned' and not 'relavant' by a few intelligentsia--its the volk who want to see the gods and goddesses as Wagner envisioned in his gestamstswork! stage directors are now running the Ring show now--they are calling the tune to the watchers misfortune (thank goodness conductors/singers still hold onto the glorious music).
+windstorm1000 I forgot to add the word 'wretched' to describe these euro trash productions.
are there any stage directors who aim for a more traditional production? or is that seen as too "constricting" or some bullshit
The next Bayreuth Ring was a traditional one, directed by Peter Hall. Solti was the conductor. That was followed by the Kupfer Ring of the early 90s, which certainly wasn't traditional !
@Trisolde Me too
@IrishClaudius Capitalist Valhalla has fallen with the immolation of Afghanistan and Iraq!
6:15
There may be smarter ways to show the times the composer lived in, but these productions assume that the audience is stupid and cannot glean that from a traditional production.
I do not think her voice ever screeched.. it was the scooping and the wobbling that later kinda ruined her singing, and .. she was starting to wobble in 1980 too, especially in the middle and upper middle. Singing too big.
Hitler himself would have swooned at her voice!
Despite any adverse criticism, I adore Dame Gwyneth's voice and her interpretations. Here, she manages to combine a voice of Wagnerian dimensions with a physical vulnerability which, in my opinion, has yet to be beaten after almost 33 years.
This ending... it goes straight into my bones! So beautiful afer all that dark and heavy music!
I had the honor of experiencing Gwyneth Jones at a 1985 Production of the Ring and the San Francisco Opera. What a performance!
There's a recording of her 1976 Brunnhilde in Bayreuth. The voice sounds more fresh and like her beautiful mid 1960s voice.
Rattus Yu That’s true, but I admire her so much anyway. She was always vocally better-behaved in Italian roles, where she didn’t push her voice so hard. But her Wagner and Strauss roles are brilliant nonetheless.
This lady does no wrong in my eyes. I also love her as Turandot.
Check out the videos of Jones singing the Immolation at the Last Night of the Proms. Filmed around 1990 and absolutely stunning. I love this woman.
God Bless Astrid and Birgit. There IS a Valahalla in the afterlife, and Wagner himself conducts. These video excerpts are highly and intensely addictive. Starting at 6:51, I want to cross over. And the modulation at the end from minor to major slays me.
And also bless Kirsten, Helen, and Martha.
Jones is one of the quintessential Brunnhildes ever!!! She had a voice that could KILL a bowl of goldfish, accorind to Anna Russell!!! Amazing!
Right! She IS amazing singing! Her voice and its power is brilliant! BUT her pronounciation of German....hmm....i would say....it could be much better:P
But she is great!
Dame Gwyneth is my absolute favorite. Her voice has plenty of steel but also so much warmth. I never tire of listening to her.
2:09
Gwyneth rules!
I think this is one of the best Ring's ever made! The Met's is very overrated
Musically Nilsson can't be touched. But Jones is arguably the best theatrical Brunnhilde (for singing and acting) and this entire Ring is one of the greatest staging ever. Watch it all the way through and be convinced.
GUAAAAAUU es la primera vez que escucho un aria de wagner, es increiblemente dificil, el volumen, la potencia que hay que sostener, en un registro relativamente incomodo para cantar. IMPRESIONANTE. y la orquesta suena impresionante. sin palabras
2:11 no.45
Thanks for posting this. The music from the finale of the Ring Cycle has been with me since I was a child--many years before I even heard it, if you can believe that, so it means a lot to me to be able to see a theatrical depiction of it and to hear the spine-tingling strains of the Valhalla theme. Once again, thanks.
Sitting through Castorf's Ring at Bayreuth this week, I was _longing_ for something as evocative as this, but was given nothing that could compare.
Chéreau's production may have upset the audiences of the 70s, with its semi-disposing of the traditional mythical context, but it still did the music justice and gave the drama some force! I have seen nothing as beautiful this week as the white figure of Gwyneth Jones on a backdrop of fire and darkness.
Clearly lots of people like this production. And everyone is entitled to their POV.
- But for me it's too bad that the 1000 year old mythology which is the basis of Wagner's story no longer interests almost all opera companies who now produce the Ring.
I am fine if La Boheme takes place in 19th century Paris. But do I want to see a magic ring, sword and a dragon in 19th century Paris? No.
@Chrysothemis Allegory needs to fit. The opera is based on a 1000 year old mythology which has magical objects and beings. It is that magic with its symbolism which allows the story to work.
The last scene in this production shows a 19th century street where ~ 50 bystanders passively watch a mad woman who is committing suicide. The behavior of this 19th century crowd does not make sense.
All the clumsy use of allegory does is mask the more accurate meanings of the opera.
This has Wotan's story as a human drama about a wealthy man who is involved with prostitutes, has lots of children out of wedlock, can't pay his contractors for a new mansion except by offering his sister in law as a slave and so ends up stealing a ring which has a curse. The story shows how wealthy Wotan tries to deal with the curse kind of like Rigoletto. At the end, a crazy woman jumps into a fire, the prostitutes get the ring and the wealthy guy's house burns down! All wrong for this opera.
The Chereau prod. SUCKS and is a travesty to Wagner's great libretto (luckily Boulez couldn't kill the immortal music). People what kind of taste do you have after giving this s--- a thumbs up?? Chereau set a disturbing trend of creating space invader/transvestite/victorian mansion/factory RINGS that we've had to deal with as viewers ever since! Yah, Let's go to the Opera and NOT escape reality, by all means. Lets not learn about medieval myths--but feel compelled to put them in factories!!
platero55: doesn't it all just start again? Isn't that the point of a cycle? doomed to repeat itself over and over through eternity, the ends and the beginings puncuated by an apocolypse, a "kalpa" in Sanscrit, an ending of one cycle and begining of the next.
As for this being "one of the most important scenes to the entire history of operatic music", I have read of many important musicians and opera critics who see Gotterdammerung as failingly overwrought, but I love it.
Do people really think the point of the Ring is for the audience to learn about a medieval worldview? Geez, actually read some Wagner.
The MET opera production is a traditional production. This production here converts Wagner's mythological world into some French town complete with things the French love such as wh0res. The ending of the MET one is about as bad as this one though.
After Nilsson, this is really the most solid performance I've heard in a while.
In terms of dramatic impact, this is far and away the greatest account of the Immolation ever recorded. Nilsson and Flagstad were certainly more precise, but Jones' fiery commitment is astonishing. I'll take an imperfectly pitched note or two any day...
I watched this production of The Ring from beginning to end 30-odd years ago, and was totally convinced by it.
Anybody in the house (Met) when Valhalla's central support beam came crashing down on Hilddegaard's head ?? Steve Brown, Stage Manager, are you listening ? WERE you listening ? Cane.
this production is infamously dreadful in every way. The Bayrueth Directors had to have been high when they pickd Chereau to direct. ITs really foul.
@rumpwrestler I totally agree with you. There are/have been other great Wagnerians but, for me, there hasn't been anyone who has quite managed to combine the requisites to be an outstanding Wagnerian; vocal prowess, stamina and 1st rate characterisations. She always seems so believable on stage; how does she manage to get underneath the skin of every character and make us believe that she is actually Brunhilde/Sieglinde/Kundry/Senta, etc.? Truly amazing and one of the greatest performers.
What happened to Alberich anyway? I was left feeling confused as to how the dwarf could be prevented from simply stealing the ring again. Can anyone explain this?
This is the most real Gotterdammerung. I really love this production! I am sure Wagner would like it too! DIESE MUSIK IST EWIG UND HEILIG!
you are so right.... i love it so much.... this music is really holy ......
Yes, it really is. Wagner is the most holy composer. Always when I listen to his music I feel as reborn, especially after Goetterdammerung! This is why I love Wagner so much. If everybody listened to Wagner's music, our World would be better! (Oh, if people just knew that...)Thank You for Your comment!
A magnificent production and a lasting tribute to the visionary director. Vale.
Patrice Chéreau's 1976 staging of the "Ring" is still the most insightful interpretation of Wagner's magnum opus. R.I.P.
"You make Rhine Maidens into whores" - surely they were taunted with that name in Act 1 of 'Rheingold'?
Unmögliche Inszenierung! Viel zu konkret! Die anderen (?) stehen nur dabei wie Gaffer bei einem Verkehrsunfall. Sind sie nun Beteiligte oder nur dummes Publium?
what a glorious sound! i know there are those that harp on the "screeching" and inconsistencies that may or may not be present in her singing at times, but the voice here was awesome and awe-inspiring. Brava!...
Truly glorious music -- and what a performance! But I doubt if the end of our world will be as beautiful and hopeful.
Like a clear minority of the commentators here, I love Patrice Chéreau’s staging. I’ll admit two things immediately: (1) the revolutionary elements of the production (pun intended) would have much less impact if you didn’t know the traditional setting, and in that sense the latter is fundamental; and (2) the 1976 Chéreau version probably works better on film than it did on stage. (The camera shots scanning over the crowds during the funeral music and finale wouldn’t be seen by a live audience, unless you used video screens along with the live singers-and that really is a gross thought.)
BUT given those caveats, look at the production as a whole. Chéreau has a complete vision of the meaning of the Ring; it’s internally coherent and externally relatable to Wagner’s own vision and to the outer world (although of course it disagrees with much of Wagner’s Weltanschauung, and a damned good thing too); practically every detail of staging and symbolism is meaningful; and it speaks to us TODAY (or at least attempts to) instead of genuflecting to a supposedly immortal and unquestionable past.
There will always be a place for the traditionally staged Ring. But some artists won’t be content with reflecting Wagner’s creative genius-they’ll want to co-create, to imagine anew, to take chances. And every once in a while, an interpretive work of genius will be superimposed over Wagner’s-not taking its place, but extending it into new realms of thought and emotion. That’s the target Chéreau shot for. It takes not only creativity, but guts. If it’s a failure, it’s an honorable failure. But if it succeeds, it’s a Ring for the ages.
where is grane??
@bb1111116 How about googling the word "allegory"? You might learn something.
6:50
I might sound like im estupid but can someone tell me what language is this
I viewed this particular production of the Ring cycle last week and of the four parts, I enjoyed the Walkure best of all.
Can you imagine what the Ring would look like if the director Peter Jackson were to film this?
Simply amazing!
And that wobble is a shame, because Jones has the real voice for Brunnhilde as opposed to Behrens and Voigt (both admirable performances but too light-voiced.) Anne Evans for Barenboim/Kupfer might be the best alternative.
Peter Baum Anne Evans is not even a dramatic soprano or has a heroic timbre.
America gotterdammerung in 2020 to 2021.
wasn't she something? wowee fantastico!
Das ist die größte Opernszene aller Zeiten !!!
At the age around 30 I went enough lucky to be invited Two time for the full _BOULEZ/Chereau RING...What a Trip!...;)
Yes and not to your taste....
Rita Hunter? Oh please no!!
RIP master Chéreau...
❤❤❤
an absolute great production - it was to play in 18ies (industrial revolution) but last part could have been in 1940ies- when the Nazis thought themselves be gods and then went down in bombs and fire together with so many innocent they had killed ....(thought to be highly culturally interested, Hitler a lover of operas, Heydrich playing violine...but lacking culture of the heart...those cheap murderers)
German, of course.
The way the cast at the very end turns around and faces the audience in silence is a master stroke of the highest order. The gods overreached, and self-destructed on jealousy and ambition. Responsibility for our species, the Earth, and perhaps for the entire universe if Frank Tipler is on to something, is now ours -- we being the spectators to the Ring, the greatest of all staged debacles.
RIP Patrice Chéreau
Brunnhilde immolates herelf, Valhalla bursts into flames, the Gods are destroyed, and the Rhine overflows its banks and ends the world. So in a very significant way, it is over when the "fat lady" sings!
Fantasy and legend - exactly, beautifully expressed. but that does not place a limit on place or time. . Besides Wagner himself stated "Kinder schafft Neues" when referring to stage interpretations of his works. I think he would have loved this poetic, sincere and extremely moving production. Apart from Gwyneth just watch Altmeyer and Hoffmann as the most sensual and credible Welsung couple. I have never experienced such a convincing couple in Bayreuth.
I totally agree with you. Behrens should have never touched Wagner (I haven't heard Voigt live). I even would say that Jones had much richer voice, specially in her medium and low registers, than Nilsson. I'll have to listen Anne Evans
@bb1111116
The way I see it, there are two ways of staging the Ring: you either do a literal staging as specified in the score, or you come up with your own, based on your interpretation of the work.
The first will be generalized, allowing the audience to make up their own minds. The second, at its best, will be personal, showing the audience yet another relevant facet of a work they thought they knew inside out.
This, in my mind, is the textbook ideal example of the second approach.
There is no wobble in her voice in this performance. I'm not saying that there aren't times where one is present but it seems that some people suffer from the power of suggestion: Someone mentioned/suggested a wobble in Jones' voice and now it's SUPPOSED to automatically be there everytime she performs.
Really? I think the Immolation scene will be what gives significance and glory to the end of the world. What was meaningless has been made glorious!
Forgive my confusion, but in which period of time would you want to see the Valhalla Gods and their Dragons, Valkyries etc then?
German.
what?
９：３８からの約２０秒にわたる大衆の沈黙がすごい説得力がある！！
普通ならすぐに幕だけど、「退位した神々」と「世界を引き継いだ人間」の結界のような気がします。
デイム・グゥィネス・ジョーンズの乙女から勇者への変貌振りはタンホイザーのダブルキャストを彷彿とさせる名演ですね。
@rexeterna You asked where Grane was. He ran away when he began to realise what this crazy woman was going to do. Horses aren't stupid.
@deusirae76 Although, she did not sing Isolde (in its' entirity on stage) or continue with Brunhilde, Leonie Rysanek was another excellent Wagnerian, who shared many roles with Jones and Nilsson. Many Sieglindes have tried but I cannot look past Rysanek's interpretation here. I think of all three singers, Rysanek had the most thrilling upper register - those E flats/screams as Sieglinde or the end of Der Fliegende Hollander? Excellent stuff.
Gwyneth Jones is the greatest voice ever. Other sopranos said at the time that it was not possible to sing like that, that she was a monster. Praise Welsh monsters!
@deusirae76 Hi, I am not against tasteful, dramatically relevant up renditions of the Ring--I trust that the one you went to was on that level? No Wotan as a fat cat industrialist or Brunnhilde as a street walker???