GOTTERDAMMERUNG

Gun-Brit Barkmin (Brünnhilde), Daniel Brenna (Siegfried), Eric Halfvarson (Hagen), Shenyang (Gunther), Amanda Majeski (Gutrune), Peter Kálmán (Alberich), Michelle DeYoung (Waltraute) & Hong Kong Philharmonic Chorus & Orchestra, Jaap van Zweden

Götterdämmerung brings to a conclusion the Naxos Ring Cycle conducted by Jaap van Zweden with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. As with the other releases in this edition, it will appear both on standard CD and Blu-ray formats. Previous releases in this cycle have been received with great critical acclaim. "The quality of the orchestral playing is remarkable… The cast is uniformly strong, and the audio quality is superb." (ClassicalCDReview.com on Das Rheingold): "Van Zweden seems to respond more naturally to this richer, more passionate score, better suited to his sweeping approach. Drawing airy, luminescent textures from the Hong Kong players, he drives the drama excitingly…" (BBC Music Magazine on Die Walküre). Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods) is the epic fourth and final opera of Wagner's great Ring cycle, with a plot that depicts the fall of heroes, gods, and the entire world. Containing all of the Ring's essential elements, Götterdämmerung possesses a profoundly satisfying sense of inevitability that makes it both a towering climax and a unified summation of the Ring's abundant variety.

Wagner:
 Götterdämmerung

"Barkmin brings imagination and flair. It’s quite a ‘white’ voice and not a huge one but she’s a committed projector of the drama. Brenna’s voice, again not heavy but well focused, certainly records comfortably and he is always fully in touch with the dramatic requirements. Eric Halfvarson’s Hagen, more experienced than this pair, is both vicious and frightening…There’s little dull here, it always sounds good and it could make for an ideal economic first-time listen to the work."
Gramophone Magazine - November 2018

"It’s certainly remarkable what Van Zweden has achieved in Hong Kong in four short years. The new Ring stands as a testament to the determination and focus that has utterly transformed the HK Phil into certainly the best orchestra in Asia and one that can hold its own on any international platform. This is a disciplined yet flexible and sonorous ensemble that follows the architecture of Wagner’s narrative in long, beautifully phrased arcs of music."
Opera Now - November 2018