"There the Duisburger Philharmoniker, conducted by Kober, sounds remarkably light and with great speed."
Nieuwe Noten, 30-1-2022AXEL KOBER: DIE WALKÜRE
A Water Damage turned into luck
“The Rhine is where Richard Wagner’s cycle of operas “Der Ring des Nibelungen” begins and ends – and it was beside the Rhine in 1851 that the composer first dreamed of this equally visionary and monumental work. Even if Wagner’s plans for a festival would ultimately be realised in an entirely
different part of Germany, the performance of a “Ring on the Rhine” will always remain something very special.
And where better to make this happen than at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein? Two cities, two orchestras, two casts of singers – with the Rhine opera’s fantastic ensemble of singers and its two outstanding orchestras, the Duisburger Philharmoniker and the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, at their two venues in Duisburg und Düsseldorf, the essential conditions were in place.
The “Ring on the Rhine” staged by Dietrich W. Hilsdorf and under my own musical direction gradually began to take shape from June 2017 onwards………. However, a few weeks before the premiere of “Götterdämmerung”, a defective sprinkler system flooded the theatre Duisburg. The damage this caused made the staged “Ring” cycle in Duisburg (for the time being) completing impossible. Fortunately, on short notice we had the opportunity to perform the “Ring des Nibelungen” at least in concert form in Duisburg at the nearby Mercatorhalle.
Soon after we started rehearsing, we realised that this supposed “emergency solution” had turned out to be a real stroke of luck. In the brilliant acoustics of the concert hall the singing voices and the sound of the orchestra came together to create a thrilling experience for the listeners – one that our audience greeted with standing ovations.
A desire was soon expressed to make the experience available to a wider public beyond this one-time concert performance. The result is this live recording of all four parts of the “Ring” cycle..…..“ (From the Editorial of the musical director Axel Kober)
CAST DIE WALKÜRE
Siegmund Michael Weinius, Tenor
Hunding Lukasz Konieczny, Bass
Wotan James Rutherford, Bass Bariton
Sieglinde Sarah Ferede, Sopran
Brünnhilde Linda Watson, Sopran
Fricka Katarzyna Kuncio, Mezzo Soprano
Helmwige Anke Krabbe
Gerhilde Jessica Stavros
Ortlinde Katja Levin
Waltraute Romana Noack
Siegrunde Zuzanna Sveda
Roßweise Maria Hilmes
Grimgerde Katharina von Bülow
Schwertleite Uta Christiana Georg
AXEL KOBER
Axel Kober has been Music Director of the
Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf Duisburg
since
the 2009/10 season, where he been the
driving
force behind a broad repertoire ranging
from Händel and Mozart through Italian opera,
Wagner and Strauss to classical operetta and significant
works from the 20th and 21st centuries.
His collaboration with the Duisburger Philharmoniker
has also intensified on the concert platform
since his appointment as General Music Director
of the Duisburger Philharmoniker in 2019. In
addition
to his international concert engagements,
Axel Kober also makes guest appearances
at Europe’s leading opera houses such as the
Wiener Staatsoper, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the
Semperoper in Dresden, Zurich Opera House and
the Hamburgische Staatsoper, where he is highly
sought after, particularly for the German romantic
repertoire. In January 2019 Axel Kober conducted
a “Ring” cycle at the Wiener Staatsoper that
was highly acclaimed
by press and public alike:
“conductor Axel Kober is the most important
discovery for Viennese Wagnerians,” wrote the
prestigious newspaper
“Die Presse”. He has subsequently
been invited back to the Staatsoper to
conduct works including Weber’s “Der Freischütz”.
At the Bayreuth Festival
he has been a regular
performer on the green hill since his successful
debut with “Tannhäuser” in 2013. Axel Kober
began his career as
a Kapellmeister in Schwerin
and Dortmund, before becoming Deputy General
Music Director in Mannheim and then moving
to Leipzig Opera as Music Director and Head of
Music in 2007. His outstanding productions for
the Deutsche Oper am Rhein include Alban Berg’s
“Wozzeck” with director Stefan Herheim and the
award-winning ballet production of Brahms’ “Ein
Deutsches Requiem”
choreographed by Martin
Schläpfer. Another highlight is Kober’s production
of Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen” directed
by Dietrich W. Hilsdorf. Axel Kober has conducted
the “Ring on the Rhine” each year since its premiere
in both Düsseldorf and in Duisburg. //
There the Duisburger Philharmoniker, conducted by Kober, sounds remarkably light and with great speed.
Nieuwe Noten, 30-1-2022
it’s immediate, gripping music theatre not too often encountered in modern Ring productions, either in the flesh or on record.
gramophone, 15-2-2021
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