Festival Music

Das Rheingold

Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Martin Kershaw

four stars

AT ALMOST three hours in length, Wagner’s Das Rheingold is a huge undertaking, and yet it is merely the preface to its composer’s greatest achievement – The Ring Cycle – a work of unprecedented scale that took some 20 years to complete. It gives us a clear blueprint of what was to come: the epic narrative framework, the massive orchestration, the vivid characterisation - all are strongly evident.

As you might expect, Russia's Mariinsky Opera from St Petersburg gave us a powerful, authoritative performance that never flagged throughout its intimidating duration. The strings in particular were consistently impressive; now scurrying and urgent, now lush and expansive – united in creating a constantly shifting musical landscape. Keening, ethereal woodwinds ramped up the tension with measured focus, and at the triumphant climaxes the brass were more than ready, banks of trombones and horns swelling in irresistible crescendo.

Peerless, legendary conductor Valery Gergiev was of course a crucial presence, driving the players on, ever-attentive to maintaining the music’s intensity and expertly marshalling the complicated forces under his command. And at the forefront of it all were the singers, who performed with exhilarating energy and confidence across the board. Vladislav Sulimsky’s portrayal of Alberich was a study in enraged resentment and bottomless greed; Vitalij Kowaljow was superb as the heroic yet conflicted Wotan; Mikhail Vekua excelled as the conniving Loge, god of fire; Ekaterina Semenchuk shimmered in the role of Fricka. Together with the rest of the cast they strove admirably to create and sustain the dramatic momentum, immersing us in the action with inspiring commitment that found its ideal support in the orchestra’s confident accompaniment.