For me, while Die Walkure is the best opera of the Ring Cycle it is Siegfried that has the most beautiful music. This said, I love and hugely admire all four operas of the Ring Cycle as I do with all of Wagner's operas. And I found this Luebeck production really well done. There are definitely going to be people preferring a more traditional approach, and understandably- I personally am a traditionalist but have seen concept/non-traditional productions that do work well- and I don't think it is the first choice of all the Siegfrieds available. Mine is Kupfer's Bayreuth production, with the Chereau Bayreuth and Schenck Met close behind and Stuttgart production faring the absolute worst.

Visually, this Siegfried is quite interesting. It reminded me very much of the concept of Copenhagen's Siegfried, and that is a good thing for me as their Siegfried was the high point of their Ring cycle productions. The rotating stage makes things move seamlessly with no clumsy changes, not coming across as an annoyance as it could have done. The sets are minimalist but they do have colour and is the most realistic looking of the productions so far(seeing Gotterdammerung tonight, been a bit behind with my opera and movie watching due to studying),very reminiscent of Copenhagen. The costumes are modern but at least appealing, how Mime looks and is characterised works wonders. The stage effects have that same mythical effect you expect from a production of Siegfried, and they do look halfway decent at least, the bear and Fafner faring best.

Set in a sanitarium/care-home, a metaphor for sickness is reinforced here, and how everybody behaves and is dressed works very well in the setting and concept while making an attempt to stick to the spirit of the opera. The stage direction is really intelligently done. This is not an opera director who introduces a concept and makes it distasteful or extreme with no subtlety, attention to characterisation or with ideas that never gel. This is a director who gives us a concept that is different but fresh and real. The touches that he provides are amusing(with Mime) and touching(Erda) and with Erda and Alberich with a good amount of humanity.

Musically, the production is most excellent. The orchestra is smaller than you'd usually get for a Wagnerian orchestra and perhaps lack the depth of a larger one. But there is some definite signs of polish and tension in how everything is played and that is just as, perhaps even more, important. The conducting is disciplined and authoritative yet nuanced and accommodating complete with brisk tempos.

And the singing was difficult to fault. Jurgen Muller may not quite be up there with the great Siegfrieds, nor did he try or need to be. I thought still that he did a marvellous job, the tone is strong and unstrained and he is heroic and youthful. With a vibe of a youth becoming a man, there is definitely a sense of Siegfried going on a journey. Stefan Heidmann's Wanderer is filled with authority, with a sonorous timbre and a nobly commanding stage presence. The troubled and majestic characteristics of the role are handled very well in the interpretation and in the stage direction, especially in the Confrontation between him and Erda. Rebecca Teem is smaller and younger than most of the Brunnhildes I've heard and seen, but these don't tax her in any way. We don't see Brunnhilde until one big scene in the final act, but as any soprano in the role ought to Teem makes her very memorable. She is an intelligent and passionate actress(working very convincingly with Muller),and her voice has ping and a generous size and tone.

Ulrike Schneider's Erda, weak, ageing and miserable and in a wheelchair, is warning and in this production very moving. Stuart Patterson makes for a Mime, like a mad scientist which believe it or not actually fits the role perfectly, that is oily and sympathetic with a voice marginally more appealing than most in the role. Antonio Yang(for me the star of Das Rheingold) continues to amaze as Alberich, his singing is wonderful and he makes us feel repulsion and sympathy for him. Daniel Lewis Williams' Fafner is booming and ominous, if not quite as much as Gary Jankowski in the same role for Rheingold.

Overall, a non-traditional production of Siegfried but one that works splendidly. Now onto Gotterdammerung, which considering how good Rheingold, Walkure and this were I now have high hopes for. 9/10 Bethany Cox