Last Updated on March 18, 2026
He’s not the saviour of Valhalla, He’s a very naughty boy
The Regents Opera ring cycle is a series I’ve been following with pleasure since it stormed into London with an unforgettable with Das Rheingold in 2022. Artistic director and conductor Ben Woodward has re-arranged the scoring of Wagner’s monumental series for a far more budget-friendly, heavily reduced orchestra. Following huge success with the aforementioned Rheingold and a tear-jearkingly sensitive Walküre, the company is back with their third instalment, Siegfried.
Siegfried is a challenging Opera for any company to produce, the lead role is an incredibly testing feat of endurance. A special, and rare, voice Heldentenor is required to belt out hard notes at full chest volume for nearly four continuous hours. Combine that with a dramatically awkward piece with a few of the showstopper musical numbers of the other sections and you are left with an operatic minefield.
Siegfried follows the eponymous main character in a journey featuring: Petulant teenager discovers his dwarf father is adoptive. He murders an innocent forest creature and drinks its blood. Then, he murders his adoptive father. He beats up his grandfather and breaks his walking stick. Finally, he wakes his Aunt up from a nap, tearing her clothes off and seduces her. Of course, all with a few laughs along the way.
Presented in the stunning Freemason’s temple in Covent Garden, RPO made a lot from very little with a light touch production, directed by Caroline Staunton and designed by Isabella van Braeckel. There are some wonderful moments when Siegfried forged his sword on a toilet before slashing the bog in twain with a clean sweep. His adoptive father Mime and pseudo-uncle Alberich treated us to a top hat and cane dance while waiting for a dragon to die. There were a few missteps like shroud banners around the final scene which left a lot of the audience rubbernecking to see subtitles.
Ben Woodward’s arrangement for just under a third of the original orchestra lost no force thanks to the musicians playing out of their skins. While there was the occasional missed note and some of the detail was gone, everything flowed with force and energy. Francesca Moore-Bridger gave a fantastic rendition of the savagely challenging Act II horn solo. Freemason’s hall is a smaller space than a usual opera house and the balance between vocals and instruments is well achieved.
Holden Madagame as Mime was an absolute delight to see on stage. Madagame is a trans man and activist who could not have made a more compelling argument for the inclusion of trans people in Opera than his performance on the first night. He was a wheedling, malicious and energetic Mime with staggering dramatic power and vocal force. One of the absolute best interpretations of the character I have seen. Peter Furlong’s Siegfried captured the development of the character from “you’re not my real dad” angst into an arrogant and fearless irritating hero mightily. Furlong had no issues coping with the vocal demands although his tone can be nasal in the high notes.
Following the tragic death of Keel Watson last year a new Wotan was needed. A tough act to follow but Ralf Lukas stepped up as a cool collected Wanderer, nonchalantly munching on sandwiches or casually sipping wine. Lukas’ powerful, orotund bass voice left no doubt as to who exactly was king of the gods.
Catharine Woodward was a forthright Brünnhilde who left Seigfried little room to manoeuvre between her vocal barrages in their climactic larynx duel. Corinne Hart as The Woodbird was a breath of fresh air after the predominantly deep male sonorities of the first two hours. Strong performances also from Oliver Gibbs as Alberich, Craig Lemmont Walters as Fafner and Mae Heydorn as Erda.
Regents Opera left themselves the impossible task of matching the highpoint of last year’s Walküre. This Seigfried didn’t quite live up to its predecessor but I think that’s more the piece’s problem than the production. Nonetheless, the quicksilver pace at which 5 hours disappeared was astonishing. I eagerly look forward to their full ring cycles in November and December this year.
Tickets are available for Siegfried on 7th and 10th February 2024
Full Ring cycles are coming up later this year:
Cycle One: 10, 12, 15, 17 November 2024
Cycle Two: 24, 26, 29 November, 1 December 2024
Regents Opera
Freemasons Hall,
London,
WC2B 5AZ
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