Great Performances
Great Performances at the Met: Die Walküre (47x16)
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Wagner’s epic drama Die Walküre, the second opera in the composer’s four-opera “Ring Cycle,” Der Ring des Nibelungen. Christine Goerke stars as the willful warrior Brünnhilde, alongside Stuart Skelton and Eva-Maria Westbroek as twins Siegmund and Sieglinde, Jamie Barton as Fricka, Günther Groissböck as Hunding, and Greer Grimsley as Wotan. Philippe Jordan conducts.
Set in mythological times, Robert Lepage’s production begins with Siegmund being pursued by enemies during a storm and taking cover in Sieglinde’s home. The two instantly feel an attraction to each other that is interrupted by Sieglinde’s husband Hunding, a kinsman of Siegmund’s enemies, who proclaims that he and Siegmund will fight to the death in the morning. Siegmund calls on his father Wälse for the sword he was once promised, then vows to free Sieglinde from her forced marriage when she confesses her unhappiness. After Siegmund reveals his father’s identity, Sieglinde realizes she is his twin sister. Despite the revelation, Siegmund claims Sieglinde as his bride and gets the sword.
In the high mountains, Wotan, leader of the gods, tells his daughter, the Valkyrie Brünnhilde, that she must defend his mortal son Siegmund in battle with Hunding. However, Wotan’s wife Fricka, the goddess of marriage, insists that Wotan must defend Hunding’s marriage against Siegmund, otherwise the god will lose his power for not enforcing the law. With his plan in ruins, Wotan orders Brünnhilde to fight for Hunding, leaving her in shock. Brünnhilde appears to Siegmund in a vision, telling him he will soon die and ordering him to go to Valhalla. He replies that he will not leave Sieglinde and threatens to kill himself and his bride if his sword has no power against Hunding. Now at a crossroads, Brünnhilde must decide whether to defy her father Wotan and help Siegmund, or let him die. Deborah Voigt—who starred in as Brünnhilde in the Met’s premiere of Lepage’s production in 2011—is program host.
