Stars: Stuttgart State Opera, Lothar Zagrosek, Albert Bonnema, Franz-Josef Kapellmann, Luana De Vol, Tichina Vaughn, Sarah Castle, Janet Collins, Roland Bracht

Director: Peter Konwitschny

Summary: A staging of Wagner's Ring Cycle, in four separate sections by different directors.

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Under the baton of James Levine, Gotterdammerung("The Twilight of the Gods") has a narrative drive that reminds us that, of all the individual operas in Wagner's Ringcycle, this is the one most about human emotions and the one in which its heroes are pulled into a world where they are most vulnerable to them. Siegfried Jerusalem as Siegfried and Hildegard Behrens as Brunnhilde never, in a sense, stand a chance: they are innocents who allow themselves to be manipulated not merely by the villainous Hagen, but by the ordinary venality of Gunther and his sister Gutrune, who goes along with a dirty little scheme to get what she wants, and is destroyed by it.

As the tempter figure Hagen, Matti Salminen dominates the stage whenever he is on it; he is one of those basses whose voice and scowl seem to come from somewhere deeper than his large boots: rarely have the summoning of the vassals, or the oath of vengeance he, Gunther and Brunnhilde swear against Siegfried seemed so utterly his triumph. Jerusalem is almost perfect as Siegfried in spite of the gravelly quality of his heroic tenor: he has a glorious innocence even when the character is tricked into desecrating his true love; Hildegard Behrens is magnificent as Brunnhilde, both in her anger at Siegfried's apparent betrayal of her and in her redemptive understanding of how she has to atone for his death. Other Gotterdammerungsmay be more monumental, but few make you care so passionately.

On the DVD:Gotterdammerungcomes with menus and subtitles in German, French, English, Spanish and Chinese and with a picture gallery of the production. Awkwardly it is presented in (American) NTSC format, not PAL, and with a visual aspect of standard TV 4:3. More impressive is the choice of PCM stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1; the sound is admirably clear and well-balanced. --Roz Kaveney

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 0
Year:	2002
Release Date:	May 31, 2004
Runtime:	280 minutes
Certification:	Exempt.
Catalogue Number:	D V O P R D N G
Keywords:	Music, Opera, Two, Wide, Screen, Works, Stage, Gotterdammerung, Classical, Performing, Operetta, Discs, Arts
Genre:	Music/Performing Arts