2024 Cēsis Art Festival / RICHARD WAGNER, ‘GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG’. An opera concert performance

Siegfried – Michael Weinius

Brünnhilde – Trine Møller 

Hagen – Ain Anger               

Gunther – Bogdan Baciu

Gutrune – Liene KINČA

Waltraute – Zanda ŠVĒDE

Alberich – Armands SILIŅŠ

First Norn – Irma PAVĀRE

Second Norn – Aira RŪRĀNE

Third Norn – Liene KINČA

Woglinde – Liene KINČA

Wellgunde – Aira RŪRĀNE

Flosshilde – Irma PAVĀRE

Latvian National Symphony Orchestra

State Choir LATVIJA

Conductor Tarmo PELTOKOSKI

This year sees Cēsis Art Festival and Cēsis Concert Hall continue their joint project of the ‘Cēsis Wagneriana’, an established tradition by now, with a concert performance of ‘Götterdämmerung’ or ‘Twilight of the Gods’, the concluding part of Richard Wagner’s long-cherished opera tetralogy ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen’, featuring a cast of brilliant international and Latvian opera soloists and the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra under the passionate Finnish conductor Tarmo Peltokoski, who has taken the international musical scene by storm and is, among other things, a great aficionado of Wagner’s music.

Unaware of Hagen’s deceit, Siegfried has tasted the potion of forgetfulness, and thus the past is erased from his memory, along with his feelings for Brünnhilde – the love he swore to his beloved. Under this spell of forgetfulness, Siegfried falls in passionate love with Gutrune, the beautiful sister of the young King Gunther, and is prepared to bring Brünnhilde, asleep on a mountain encircled by fire, to the King for a hasty wedding. Bitter and hurt, Brünnhilde reveals Siegfried’s secret to Hagen, son of Nibelung, and he lethally stabs the hero in the back with his sword. And yet Brünnhilde understands that the cause of these tragic events is the curse put on the Ring a long time ago. Forces of evil and deceit can only be defeated through death; the Ring must be given back to the Rhinemaidens who live deep in the river, and then long-awaited peace will finally descend on the world.

The concert performance will star some of the world’s leading opera singers at the prime of their career: Michael Weinius, who was an excellent Siegmund in the 2019 rendering of ‘Die Walküre’ and exceptionally convincing in the title role of last year’s production of ‘Siegfried’ in Cēsis, returns as Siegfried, while the Danish soprano Trine Møller, who regularly stars in productions of Wagner’s operas since 2022 and was named Singer of the Year for her role debut as Brünnhilde in ‘Die Walküre’ at the Copenhagen Royal Opera, will revisit the role in Cēsis. The role of Hagen, son of the Nibelung Alberich, will be performed by the bass Ain Anger (Estonia), one of the most sought-after interpreters of Wagner’s roles; meanwhile, the Romanian baritone Bogdan Baciu, who sings in some of the top European opera houses and gave a concert in Latvia last year, will appear as Gunther. Some of the best Latvian opera singers will join the ensemble: the soprano Liene Kinča will appear as Gutrune, Third Norn and as Woglinde the Rhinemaiden, and the mezzo soprano Zanda Švēde – as the Valkyrie Waltraute; the baritone Armands Siliņš will take on the role of the Nibelung Alberich; the mezzo soprano Irma Pavāre will be First Norn and Flosshilde the Rhinemaiden, with the soprano Aira Rūrāne performing the roles of Second Norn and Wellgunde the Rhinemaiden.

Duration of the Event: three parts, two intermissions