Any lingering notion that Longborough's full-scale Wagner Ring represented folly has been blown away with this fine production of Die Walküre, the second opera in the cycle: it has both intimacy and integrity.
From the thunder of the opening prelude to the tenderness of Wotan's farewell to his daughter Brünnhilde, conductor Anthony Negus realises Wagner's score with great fluency and insight. Together with this authority from the pit, Alan Privett's directorial concept distills the essence of the drama, marrying every eloquently simple gesture with musical leitmotif.
Kjell Torriset's stark design and Guy Hoare's lighting sharpen the focus; in particular, a glass waterbowl and a glass rod as Wotan's spear reflect the light to elemental, symbolic effect. Suzanne Firth's choreography further tightens the action, with three black-clad actor-dancers as the omnipresent Norns, spinning out the fateful thread of life.
In his UK debut as Wotan, bass-baritone Jason Howard is a handsome physical presence, and vocally, too, he manages to be noble yet vulnerable. His Fricka, Alison Kettlewell, has exactly the force needed to make credible Wotan's capitulation to her will. The Walküre are a fearsome octet – but there's no cliched screeching, though Alwyn Mellor's Brünnhilde takes until the final act to get truly into her stride.
Key to the evening's success is the passion of the incestuous lovers, twins Siegmund and Sieglinde: Andrew Rees is virile and full-toned, but also conveys compassion; Lee Bisset is revelatory, her rich and luminous sound ideally suited to Wagner and always compelling.
