Wagner : La Walkyrie. Gergiev.

   in Opera Now (May, 2013)
This second instalment in the Mariinsky label’s complete Ring cycle recording provides much pleasure. Gergiev’s conducting is rich in detail (listen to the woodwind in the Ride of the Valkyries, where the brass usually annihilates everything else), taut with drama and yet managing to remain spacious – he really does resist the urge to rush, push the volume up and drown his singers. The cast is deluxe, caught at the height of its combined vocal prowess. Rene Pape’s Wotan is smooth and warm of tone, no barking here but an even ascent from bottom to top of the voice, and he is as ever an intelligent artist. Nina Stemme’s Brunnhilde …