It was a fresh addition to the staging, if still something of a letdown, a mild finale after 15 keyed-up hours.
There were more tweaks to this “Ring.” The kidnapping and hoarding of children — an obsession with youthfulness; a sense of violence passed through generations — is one of Schwarz’s themes.
You can tell Schwarz intended these revisions to heighten certain aspects of his interpretation.
Last year, Cornelius Meister conducted the premiere because Pietari Inkinen had to drop out with a case of Covid late in the rehearsal process.
Meister’s work ended up being blandly neutral, not quite compatible with Schwarz’s vivid, provocative staging.
Persons:
Wotan, “ Das Rheingold, “ Rheingold, ”, Brünnhilde, Siegfried, Schwarz, — it’s, Cornelius Meister, Pietari Inkinen, it’s, “ Siegfried ”, gawkily reedy, Gutrune
Locations:
Hagen