Die Walküre

What better way to end the musical drought than with this uplifting performance of Die Walküre by a fine cast and a small but heroic orchestra?

Longborough festival was born out of a passion for Wagner and its productions shine a new light on these warhorses. The immediacy of the sound in this little theatre, from sweet-toned Sieglinde, played by Sarah Marie Kramer, to Lee Bisset’s soaring, lyrical Brünnhilde, is thrilling.

With the strings centre stage and the rest of the 29-member orchestra in the pit, every instrument is audible, especially the limpid cello and brave trumpet. Francis Griffin’s reduced orchestration turns this grandiose score into a chamber opera and Anthony Negus’ lifetime of conducting Wagner is evident in the way he unites the sound from stage and pit.

Light, in this Covid-conscious concert production, is key to Amy Lane’s staging. It is the only colour on a dark stage stripped back to its concrete walls, where railed walkways rise behind the orchestra’s string section. Pale silver light slides across the stage as Siegmund (the energetic Peter Wedd) woos Sieglinde. Majestic blue heralds the arrival of the Valkyrie with their stirring battle cries.

Brindley Sherratt is luxury casting as Hunding. But most affecting in an evening of emotional encounters is the farewell between Wotan (youthful-voiced Paul Carey Jones) and Brünnhilde, his favourite daughter.

Even the surtitles, by Sophie Rashbrook, are fresh and contemporary. If you want to win someone over to Wagner, this is a great production to start with.