Götterdämmerung in Brisbane
That brings me to Lise Lindstrom. Lindstrom has been the world’s favourite Brünnhilde for the last four years, and now inhabits this character, both dramatically and musically, with such unremitting intensity that I can say that I have never seen such a great Brünnhilde. Every movement and every stillness that she made on stage was crafted with compelling stage presence, whether as the newly awakened lover of Siegfried, the shattered, bewildered bride of Gunther, or the woman whose burning presence claimed the stage from everyone else at her immolation. And her voice! Shining over the orchestra like the silver blade of Nothung, it carried the drama into the hearts of every person in the audience. Even among this stellar cast she convinced us that, while Wagner’s first intention was to make Siegfried the protagonist, then changed his mind and thought of Wotan as the hero, the eventual centre of the Ring cycle is Brünnhilde.
It goes without saying that the evening belongs in large part to Stefan Vinke as Siegfried and Lise Lindstrom as Brünnhilde who brings about the epic finale.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and Lindstrom embodies this sentiment to a tee. We want to sympathise with her plight (and we do) but at the same time you can’t help being in awe of her … and a little bit afraid.
Lindstrom’s perfect Wagnerian soprano makes light work of the challenging score, demonstrating both vocal and physical stamina which allow her to embrace the dramatic demands of the role.
Lise Lindstrom kann als Brünnhilde noch einmal ihr großes Können als Sängerin und als Akteurin demonstrieren – nicht nur mit intensiver Lautstärke und strahlenden Spitzen, sondern auch mit den ganz leisen, trotzdem sauberen und exzellent verständlichen Tönen.
The ending belongs, of course, to Brünnhilde, and Lise Lindstrom delivered her big number with emotional depth and vocal panache. With the puppet phoenix (aka Grane the horse) splayed on one side of a ziggurat of cylinders, she ascended to the top of the structure and disappeared through a trapdoor as the lighting effects went rampant (no real flames this time, unlike Die Walküre), but not before a Rhinemaiden aerialist took the ring from her outstretched hand.
Then, dawn breaks, and we are back to the white craggy rock with Brünnhilde (Lise Lindstrom) and Siegfried (Stefan Vinke), who take up where they left off at the end of Siegfried, both in splendid voice.