Kirill Petrenko conducts Richard Wagner’s “Die Walküre”
Adultery, incest, the Ride of the Valkyries, magical fire – Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre is a work of remarkable drama. We encounter Wotan, the father of the gods, who is at once powerful and helpless; the twins Siegmund and Sieglinde, who have fallen in love with one another; and, of course, the title heroine: the fearless valkyrie Brünnhilde. Following performances at the Salzburg Easter Festival, Kirill Petrenko and the Berliner Philharmoniker present a concert performance of the second part of the Ring in Berlin.
In light of the conflicts within 19th-century bourgeois society, Thomas Mann saw in Richard Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen a vision of a “brotherly human world, free from the delusion of power and the tyranny of money, and founded on justice and love”. Before him, the Irish playwright, music critic and pacifist George Bernard Shaw had interpreted Wagner’s magnum opus as a sweeping critique of capitalism, in which Wotan becomes increasingly entangled in his own contradictions and breaches of contract: even his self-serving manoeuvring in Das Rheingold had almost led to disaster.
In Die Walküre, the father of the gods then follows the idea that others – Siegmund and Sieglinde – should carry out what he has been forbidden to do on his behalf. The fact that this questionable plan is doomed to failure becomes abundantly clear as the music drama unfolds, as the orchestra’s leitmotifs reveal more than the characters themselves can possibly know. The music leaves no doubt that the siblings are not acting of their own accord. This makes it clear that Wotan cannot resolve the conflicts without committing further injustices, which is ultimately the source of his tragedy. Equally tragic is Wotan’s parting from his favourite daughter, Brünnhilde, who has broken the law – even if entirely in accordance with his wishes.
With chief conductor Kirill Petrenko at the helm, the performance is in the very best of hands and promises breathtaking drama right from the start: amidst a storm of sound, a world in turmoil is revealed – Wagner portrays the fury of the elements as a warning of dramatic upheaval.
Berliner Philharmoniker
Kirill Petrenko
Jamez McCorkle
Christopher Maltman
Brindley Sherratt
Christina Nilsson
Lise Davidsen
Catriona Morison
© 2027 Berlin Phil Media GmbH
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