The stupendous climax to Wagner’s four-part Ring cycle is brilliantly realized by the Otto Schenk/Günther Schneider-Siemssen production and byJames Levine’s monumental conducting. The Met orchestra, chorus, and an all-star cast make this Götterdämmerung one that truly rises to the occasion. Hildegard Behrens’s Brünnhilde must be experienced to be believed, as does Matti Salminen’s richly sung, domineering Hagen. At the center of the drama is Siegfried Jerusalem as Siegfried, who does not realize he has been drawn into a plot of betrayal until it is too late. Christa Ludwig is magnetic as Waltraute and Ekkehard Wlaschiha is a compelling Alberich.
Hildegard Behrens
as Brünnhilde
Siegfried Jerusalem
as Siegfried
Matti Salminen
as Hagen
Christa Ludwig
as Waltraute
Anthony Raffell
as Gunther
Hanna Liskowska
as Gutrune
Ekkehard Wlaschiha
as Alberich
Gweneth Bean
as 1. Norn
Joyce Castle
as 2. Norn
Andrea Gruber
as 3. Norn
Kaaren Erickson
as Woglinde
Diane Kesling
as Wellgunde
