The Ring of the Nibelung: Siegfried

*N/A

Status

Released

Production

Bayreuther Festspiele

Aired

2016-08-23

The Ring of the Nibelung: Siegfried

Frank Castorf's Ring makes a feature of unexpected settings and striking images, and here in Siegfried he shows the discussions between the young hero and his foster father Mime in Act I against a background featuring giant heads of Marx, Lenin, Stalin and Mao on a replica of Mount Rushmore. The typical mythical nature and forest world of the second act is replaced in this production by Berlin's Alexanderplatz. The Nothung sword is also replaced, in this production becoming a machine gun. While the direction elicited both approval and disapproval, the vocal performances received wide acclaim.