The Ring in Berlin, part 3: Mysteries of the Forest

The qualities and limitations of Guy Cassiers’ Ring cycle were illustrated nowhere more clearly than in Siegfried. During the first two acts, and even into the third, one remained conscious of the impressive stagecraft employed to create memorable images: the transformation of Mime’s dwelling into a forge, or the glittering forest where Siegfried is taken to learn fear. But something happened in the final scene: one found oneself immersed not in images but emotions, in the sadness of Brünnhilde as she comes to accept her humanity and Siegfried’s frustrations at having awoken such a reluctant mistress. This sudden intrusion of character drama served mostly to highlight its absence from the earlier acts, an absence which the glossy artifice of the production had only partially concealed.

The success of this final scene was due in part to…