Götterdämmerung - Teatro Real
Götterdämmerung, or Twilight of the Gods, is the final installment of Wagner's epic Ring Cycle. Despite being the final opera in the cycle, it was the first that Wagner wrote, and it is by far the darkest. The name itself is a German translation of the Old Norse Ragnarök, which prophesizes the fall of the Gods. Götterdämmerung follows the final journey of the magic ring, and the story certainly lives up to its name's inspiration. It all starts with Seigfried’s betrayal of Brünnhilde which sets off rapid and relentless treachery and plots for revenge that lead to the downfall of nearly every character. Götterdämmerung presents the final apocalyptic duel between the queens Brünnhilde and Kriemhild as narrated in the epic “Song of the Nibelung”. Teatro Real’s production, directed by Robert Carsen and conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado, gives the Ring Cycle's tragic finale the performance it deserves. Carsen adds to the tale with a staging that, once again, puts emphasizes the ecological subtext of this moral fable.