Siegfried: Opera by Richard Wagner
Staged performance of Scottish Opera's third part of his 'Ring cycle' sung in German with English surtitles

Performers Graham Sanders (Siegfried), Alasdair Elliot (Mime), Mathew Best (Wanderer), Peter Sidhom (Alberich), Markus Hollop (Fafner), Helene Ranada (Erda), Gillian Keith (Woodbird), Elizabeth Byrne (Brünnhilde);
Scottish Opera Orchestra, Richard Armstrong (Conductor)
Director Tim Albery
Set Designer Hildegarde Bechter
Costume Designer Ana Jebens
Lighting Designer Wolfgan Goebbel
Movement Director Vanessa Gray
Venue Edinburgh Festival Theatre
Address Nicholson Street
Reviewer Iain Gilmour

Tim Albery's production of Siegfried made one forget the sheer length of Wagner's opera. It didn't feel like five-hour stretch and the expert characterisation made it very easy to see who was who in the convoluted plot.

Siegfried © Robbie Jack

Modern dress - sort of modern, anyway - sat well with the modern sets, where an ever present upward curving road gave a certain continuity.

It was smart move to have Wotan sporting ominous dark shades instead of the standard eye-patch, because they sat well with modern atmosphere and invoked the right aura of menace.

Siegfried at the outset had the appearance and mannerisms of a young lout. These were largely eradicated by the time he flourishes his newly-forged sword to bring the first Act to a dramatic end, though he remains a fearless boyish hero throughout.

In the second Act, the giant Fafner's lair has comic strip overtones. The menacing jaw that fills the entire entrance is smashed easily to reveal, not a giant guarding the treasure hoard, but a dinner-suited man who looks as though he could merely counting it.

The scene gives considerable scope for a spectacular staging, but in this production, it falls far short of spectacular. Disappointment, however, is more than balanced by the chirpy, teasing fluttering of the Woodbird, Gilllian Keith.

The evening was a triumph for conductor Richard Armstrong. His firmly-paced control and encouragement of the orchestra revealed a thorough understanding - and appreciation - of both the substance and the spirit of Wagner's music.

© Iain Gilmour. September 2002. Published on Edinburghguide.com

Run: August 25, 28, 31 at 16:30hrs