Gotterdammerung Wagner 's epic Ring cycle, the greatest venture in operatic history, reaches its climax in Richard Jones 's extraordinarily imaginative staging for the Royal Opera. Music director
Bernard Haitink concludes his first complete Ring, with Anne Evans as Brunnhilde and Wolfgang Fassler as Siegfried.
The lovers struggle to keep alive their dream of a world ruled by love. Their adversary is the evil Hagen, sung by Kurt Rydl , the half-human son of the Nibelung dwarf Alberich. Hagen has inherited his father's lust for world domination based on force - and he knows how to exploit the inherent corruption of humanity. Hagen plots Siegfried's murder but he cannot escape the final conflagration, as Briinnhilde realises that the only way out is self-immolation and the twilight of the Gods - Gotterdammerung. Presented by Piers Burton-Page . The human Gibichungs: The Rhinemaidens:
Royal Opera Chorus
Chorus Director Terry Edwards
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Leader John Brown
Conducted by Bernard Haitink Act
6.00 Music Matters
Weekly magazine exploring recent developments in the world of music.
Ivan Hewett explores new ideas about Bruch's Violin Concerto and delves into the hidden world of private patronage in new music. Producer Anthony Sellors
Repeated tomorrow 12.15pm
6.40 Act 2
7.45 Surviving Wagner Gutrune
The last of three fantasies in which characters reflect on The Ring and their roles in it.
8.15 Act 3