Artistic director and conductor: Ádám Fischer
Performers:
Jürgen Sacher: Mime
Egils Silins: Wanderer (Wotan)
Péter Kálmán: Alberich
Erika Gál: Erda
Iréne Theorin: Brünnhilde
Featuring:
Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Hungarian Radio Choir (choirmaster: Zoltán Pad)
Budapest Studio Choir (choirmaster: Kálmán Strausz)
Creators:
Dramaturg: Christian Martin Fuchs †, Dr. Christian Baier
Costumes and puppet design: Corinna Crome
Lighting: Máté Vajda
Choreographer: Gábor Vida
Assistant choreographer: Dóra Asztalos
Revival director: Etelka Polgár
Director: Hartmut Schörghofer
There's an old Hungarian expression: "It's better to fear than to become frightened." Siegfried, the hero of German mythology and Wagner's opera, is primarily famous precisely for knowing no fear. A high-spirited son of the forest and a friend of the wild animals living in it, this enormously strong young lad is not somebody one would want to tangle with. Few people in today's world bear much resemblance to him. Nevertheless, we are all Siegfrieds in a certain sense in that most of us have trouble discovering who we really are, and it is only as we travel down the path of life that we gradually learn what we are truly capable of.
A rainbow of sounds from the orchestra, enigmatic dialogues and mysterious riddles. Not to mention a treacherous dwarf and a glorious young hero. Who after slaying a dragon and tasting its blood, is able to understand the prophetic singing of a bird. And then crosses through a wall of fire to discover both the woman who is his mate and, through his love for her, fear. These moments - along with a host of other ones - are what make the tale of Siegfried so magical. But there are many other aspects as well, such as generational conflict, when the brash youngster settles the score with an ageing Wotan, now known simply as the Wanderer, in the crudest possible terms. The work also contains a warning: at every fork of the road, inescapable Fate is hiding behind the trees. One has to ask: is Siegfried truly a worthy successor to the Wälsung name? Or is his instinctive behaviour a sign of decline, meaning that he himself is merely an unwitting implement of destiny? As a great artist, Wagner rarely provides clear answers. Bringing back his wonderful Mime from 2015 is Jürgen Sacher. We'll recently have had the opportunity to hear both Egils Silins's Wanderer and Iréne Theorin's Brünnhilde again in 2022. Another constantly robust component of the Budapest Wagner Days series will be Péter Kálmán with his splendid Alberich.
Presented by: Müpa Budapest