The Ring poses questions which can perhaps only be solved in the cinema. Yet, as Shaw wrote, to be devoted to Wagner, ' reverencing his superiority without understanding it', is no true Wagnerism.
John Culshaw talks about some of the demands and rewards of Gbtterdammerung, that summit of a musical Everest, the climax of which is, or should be, ' one of the most shattering musical and dramatic experiences of a lifetime
(The English National Opera Twilight of the Gods: next Sunday)
