The Wagner Project

Wagner demands much from his singers: from the vulnerability of Die Meistersinger’s cobbler Hans Sachs to the fallibility of the Der Ring des Nibelungen’s Wotan and King Marke’s betrayal by Tristan (Tristan und Isolde). Here, Matthias Goerne is almost infinitely versatile in his expert guided tour of Wagner’s most conflicted baritone roles. Wotan’s devastating farewell to Brunnhilde (“Leb' wohl, du kühnes herrliches Kind”), surely the highlight, is one of the most glorious in all Wagnerian performances. The orchestral playing is luminous and rich: the interwoven orchestral preludes, overtures, and interludes are sublime, and the Good Friday music from Parsifal blazes brightly.