Deborah Voigt Stars in "Götterdämmerung" on Met Saturday Matinee Broadcast and HD Transmission

St. Louis Public Radio will carry the Met Opera broadcast of Richard Wagner's Götterdämmerung on their HD channel, KWMU-3 beginning at 11 a.m. (Note one hour earlier than usual start time.) Approximate running time 5 hours, 50 minutes, with intermissions at approximately 1:00 p.m. and 2:50 p.m.

The Met says:

With its cataclysmic climax, the Met’s new Ring cycle, directed by Robert Lepage, comes to its resolution. Deborah Voigt stars as Brünnhilde and Jay Hunter Morris is Siegfried -— the star-crossed lovers doomed by fate. Fabio Luisi conducts.

The New York Times reported on February 7, 2012 that

Deborah Voigt withdrew from the Tuesday evening performance of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung because of illness, the Metropolitan Opera said. Katarina Dalayman will take her place in the role of Brünnhilde.

Voigt is scheduled to perform on Saturday, February 11.

In the January 28, 2012, New York Times, Anthony Tommasini writes:

Götterdämmerung, the final installment in the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Wagner’s Ring cycle, which opened on Friday, is the most theatrically effective staging of the four works in this epic series, and the clearest representation of the director Robert Lepage’s vision. That’s because with each installment Mr. Lepage has simplified the staging and used fewer of the capacities of Carl Fillion’s 45-ton set: the machine, as it has been called, a huge gizmo of 24 planks that rotate on an axle in combination with video projections to evoke rivers, cliffs, mountain passes, forest dwellings and more.

The old-fashioned imagery reveals how, at its core, Mr. Lepage’s Ring is quite a traditional production. Call it high-tech traditional. When summoned by Hagen, the vassals (the phenomenal men of the Met chorus) appear in woodsmen garb with spears and swords. Sentries are positioned atop the rafters to guard the hall. François St-Aubin’s costumes, if unremarkable, are handsomely realistic.

Instead of continually twisting into different contortions, as in earlier installments, the set remained stationary during extended scenes. On Friday this allowed you to focus on the exciting musical performance. Fabio Luisi has taken over the conducting of the Ring from James Levine, who continues to grapple with health problems and has withdrawn from all performances at the Met through next season. Mr. Luisi drew an uncommonly articulate and nuanced account of this daunting opera (a nearly six-hour evening with two intermissions) from the Met orchestra.

At his best in years past Mr. Levine revealed more mystery and awe in the score. But Mr. Luisi’s lucid, textured and urgent conducting was distinguished. He received a huge ovation.

The American tenor Jay Hunter Morris, who took over the title role in Siegfried on short notice in October, was again impressive here. He has found his own way to sing this heldentenor role with a lighter yet athletic and youthful sound. His clarion top notes project nicely over the orchestra. With his barrel chest and limberness, he inhabits the headstrong young Siegfried. When he stumbles upon the flirtatious Rhinemaidens in Act III, Mr. Morris waves an endearing hello, like a gawking adolescent saying, “Hi there, girls.”

The soprano Deborah Voigt received a rousing ovation for her Brünnhilde, and it is hard to imagine that she has ever been as gratified. In recent years she has gone through a rough period as a singer. Whether her vocal problems were precipitated by weight-reduction surgery in 2004, which she discussed openly the following year, is hard to say. But her voice has lost gleam, warmth and power.

The High Definition transmission of Götterdämmerung will be presented at AMC Esquire 7, 6706 Clayton Road; St. Louis Mills 18; 5555 Saint Louis Mills Boulevard; AMC Chesterfield 14, 3000 Chesterfield Mall; O'Fallon 14, 900 Caledonia Drive; and The Hett, McKendree College, 701 College Road, Lebanon, IL. Click here to buy tickets.