Wagner Siegfried

Mark Elder and his fired-up Hallé Orchestra reach the final instalment in their Ring cycle with, perhaps, their finest achievement. Incandescent playing from the orchestra, a wonderful sweep yet plentiful attention to Wagner’s magnificent ear for sonority and, above all, a real feel for the work’s drama from Elder make this a winner. Simon O’Neill is an impressive Siegfried, Iain Paterson makes a suitably noble Wotan/Wanderer and Rachel Nicholls is a tender and very human Brünnhilde. The cast also includes some lovely smaller portraits, including Malin Christensson’s Woodbird, Gerhard Siegel’s Mime and Martin Winkler’s Alberich.