The Human Factor

It’s fine to spend a bit of time in the company of the gods, but the deeply flawed nature of humans is always going to make for a better story. If Das Rheingold relies too heavily on the presentation of mythological events through stage-craft and special effects, Die Walküre shifts the balance back in the direction of the singers, the music, and the drama of human emotion. Although there are still shattered swords and magic fire, there are also intertwined tales of doomed love (doomed, incestuous love, no less), and one character’s mighty fall from grace; and, on this evening, those stories were brought to life through the inspired musical direction of Donald Runnicles and – in the Siegmund of Peter Seiffert and the Sieglinde of Heidi Melton – two of the finest vocal performances in the entire cycle. Even from the opening bars, it was…