Inkinen’s debut at the Bayreuth Music Festival in 2023 was a huge success: “He may be remembered as one of the most inspired conductors to ever conduct the Ring in Bayreuth” (Das Opernglas), “A triumphant procession for Inkinen” (Südwest Presse), “All in all, the orchestra was a character of its own, just as Wagner intended” (The New York Times).
Two Wagner veterans, soprano Catherine Foster and heroic tenor Andreas Schager, perform highlights from the last two operas of the Ring cycle.
Richard Wagner (1813–1883) succeeded where many a composer of the Romantic era failed, in creating a form of art that was so fundamentally new that it would shake the existing genre to its very foundations. This applied not only to the music of his chosen art form, opera; it involved a totally original philosophy of his own devising.
Few of his contemporaries could avoid being influenced by Wagner. Some, such as Bruckner and Mahler, were unsparing in their praise; others – Verdi and Brahms, for example – less so. Nietzsche the philosopher described Wagner as “a neurosis, an illness of the nerves”.
Not the least of the complaints concerned the mammoth, epic scale of Wagner’s operas. His revolutionary harmonies, especially in Tristan und Isolde (1859), would nevertheless have a major influence on the future concept of tonality. As regards the dramatic structure of his operas, the most far-reaching innovation was the Leitmotif: the use of a little theme, chord or rhythm that would always denote, say, a specific character (such as Siegfried), object (a ring or sword) or concept (love or a curse). The listener would subconsciously associate this motif with the person or thing in question. It was not a new idea, but Wagner took it to further extremes than anyone before him.
Wagner expounded his ideas in numerous essays and tracts. He dreamt of an art form in which poetry, music, the visual arts and drama would all be part of a Gesamtkunstwerk or “total work of art”. Ideally, it would draw on German mythology, reinforcing the collective German identity. Unfortunately, this would later be appropriated by the Nazis to serve their ideology.
In 1876, Wagner had an opera house built at Bayreuth where his art and philosophy could be realised just as he wished. The opening week saw the premiere of the Ring cycle he had taken over 25 years to compose. Consisting of four full-length operas (Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung), it is about gods, heroes and mythical figures and tells the story of the fight by gods and heroes for mastery of a ring wrought from gold from the River Rhine that brings the bearer the power to rule the world. The plot is full of intrigue, mysticism and allegory, loosely drawing on themes from ancient Norse sagas and Germanic legends.
Today’s concert presents items from the last two operas: Siegfried and Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods). Together the four follow the story of Siegfried, from youth to death. Brünnhilde is a Valkyrie (Walküre), one of the female figures who guide the souls of the dead to Valhalla. She is instrumental in bringing about the death of her great love, Siegried, when he deceives her, and ends her days by leaping into the flames of a mighty funeral pyre.
Wagner originally called the fourth opera The Death of Siegfried, but later decided that Brünnhilde rose above all the Ring’s other heroes. The cycle ends with a long solo in which she makes the final sacrifice (her Immolation, as it is known). The cycle’s many Leitmotifs follow one another in an unbroken chain, and the final scene underlines the story’s inherent philosophy: the only way to overcome the powers of destruction, lust for power and hate is with love, the greatest of all forces and the only one capable of saving the world from seemingly inevitable destruction.
Catherine Foster is one of the world’s leading dramatic sopranos and has set herself apart internationally through her work with the Wagnerian repertoire. She is considered one of the most important soloists to have appeared at the Bayreuth Festival over the past decade singing Brünnhilde and Isolde. Little did she know, when starting out professionally as Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte with Welsh National Opera and English National Opera, that her path would soon take her to Germany, where she was engaged to sing her first Wagner role – Elisabeth in Tannhäuser.
Today, roles like Brünnhilde, Isolde, and Elektra are central to her repertoire. Foster has worked with some of the world’s greatest names in conducting, including Simone Young, Kirill Petrenko, Marek Janowski, Adam Fisher, Philippe Auguin, Kent Nagano, and Pietari Inkinen. She has performed from Tokyo to Madrid, and from London to Melbourne. This season includes Brünnhilde in Götterdämmerung and Elektra at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Following his studies at the University for Music in Vienna, Andreas Schager started his career singing operetta and lyrical roles in the operas by Mozart before switching to the Helden roles in the works by Wagner and Strauss. In summer 2009, he made his highly regarded debut at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl as David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. His appearances as Siegfried in Götterdämmerung at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, at the BBC Proms 2013 and at the Teatro alla Scala resulted in his international breakthrough.
Andreas Schager has established himself as the leading Heldentenor performing at the most renowned houses and festivals worldwide including the Metropolitan Opera New York, Opéra Bastille, Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, State Opera Hamburg, as well as the Bayreuth Festival. He has worked with renowned conductors, such as Philippe Jordan, Daniel Barenboim, Christian Thielemann, Simone Young, and Daniele Gatti.
Pietari Inkinen became the first Finnish conductor ever to lead Richard Wagner’s complete Ring of the Nibelung tetralogy at the Bayreuth festival. Conductor himself described the event as the most significant moment of his career.
Opera – especially Wagner’s music – holds a central role in Inkinen’s artistic path. His earlier Ring cycle in Melbourne also garnered widespread recognition: he received Australia’s Helpmann Awards in 2014 for Best Music Direction and a Green Room Award for Best Opera Conductor in 2016. Other opera productions have taken him to the Finnish National Opera, La Monnaie in Brussels, Staatsoper in Berlin, the Bavarian State Opera
Inkinen served as chief conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie from 2017 until the end of the most recent season. He has also held roles of principal conductor with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Prague Symphony Orchestra and served as music director of the KBS Symphony Orchestra in South Korea. Inkinen is also an accomplished violinist.
| Violin 1 Pekka Kauppinen Jan Söderblom Adrian Ibãnez-Resjan Eija Hartikainen Katariina Jämsä Elina Lehto Jani Lehtonen Petri Päivärinne Kalinka Pirinen Sanna Kokko Harry Rayner Anna Tanskanen Pauline Fleming-Unelius Sirkku Helin Sayaka Kinoshiro Violin 2 Hanna Ponkala-Nitsch Anna-Leena Haikola Kamran Omarli Elina Viitasaari Heini Eklund Serguei Gonzalez Pavlova Matilda Haavisto Linda Hedlund Liam Mansfield Krista Rosenberg Virpi Taskila Violetta Varo Sophia Miettunen Júlia Mušáková Viola Ulla Knuuttila Mariette Reefman Petteri Poijärvi Aulikki Haahti-Turunen Kaarina Ikonen Carmen Moggach Liisa Orava Markus Sallinen Hajnalka Standi-Pulakka Charlotta Westerback Maria Mangeloja Harry Swainston Cello Lauri Kankkunen Tuomas Ylinen Beata Antikainen Jaani Helander Veli-Matti Iljin Jaakko Rajamäki Ilmo Saaristo Saara Särkimäki Hans Schröck Johannes Välja Bass Eero Ignatius Jon Mendiguchia Paul Aksman Henri Dunderfelt Philippe Chaput Jani Koskela Mikko Kujanpää Jukka Räikkönen | Flute Saara Lehtinen Päivi Korhonen Jenny Villanen Georgii Petrov Oboe Hannu Perttilä Jussi Jaatinen Paula Malmivaara Nils Rõõmussaar Clarinet Niina Selin Osmo Linkola Anna-Maija Korsimaa Angel Molinos Bassoon Mikko-Pekka Svala Erkki Suomalainen Alan Davidson Horn Ruben Buils Garcia Ville Hiilivirta Miska Miettunen Mika Paajanen Sam Parkkonen Satu Huuskonen Tommi Hyytinen Jonathan Nikkinen Pasi Tiitinen Trumpet Pasi Pirinen Obin Meurin Mika Tuomisalo Trombone Victor Álvarez Alegria Anu Fagerström Jussi Vuorinen Bass Trumpet John Kotka Contrabass Trombone Mikko Marttila Tuba Ilkka Marttila Timpani Mikael Sandström Tomi Wikström Percussion Tuomas Siddall Pasi Suomalainen Jarmo Niininen Tommi Kiiski Harp Anni Kuusimäki Saara Olarte Katilyne Roels |
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