The Hallé Orchestra

Sir Mark, the Hallé and an outstanding cast of singers end the season in magnificent style with a two-night concert (2 and 3 June) performance of Wagner’s mammoth opera Siegfried, the third part of the Ring cycle. Based on ancient Nordic sagas, the Ring is a timeless moral drama concerned with love, power and corruption, a vast fable that is as relevant today as ever.

In Siegfried, the opera’s eponymous hero forges a mighty sword, slays the dragon Fafner, goes on to possess the cursed Ring and releases the sleeping Brünnhilde from her fiery mountain-top exile. Wagner’s use of musical leitmotifs as an integral part of the story is simply enthralling, while the glorious orchestral prelude that opens Acts I is hugely impressive in its own right.

Sir Mark Elder conductor
Simon O’Neill Siegfried (tenor)
Gerhard Siegel Mime (tenor)
Iain Paterson The Wanderer (bass-baritone)
Martin Winkler Alberich (bass-baritone)
Clive Bailey Fafner (bass)
Malin Christensson Woodbird (soprano)