Full Marx for Paris ‘Ring’: Mark Berry is impressed by Günter Krämer’s political approach to the tetralogy

I surprised myself by concluding that the first instalment of the Paris Ring had been ‘all told [...] the best Rheingold I have attended since Haitink’s tenure at the Royal Opera’. Die Walküre is arguably a tougher proposition still than the cycle’s Vorabend, but that earlier promise was essentially maintained. Günter Krämer’s production remains sure-footed and often imaginative; the contribution from Wagner’s Greek chorus, the Orchestra of the Opéra National de Paris, was truly excellent; Philippe Jordan’s conducting grew in stature as the evening progressed; and, if the singing was rarely at a level to challenge the great interpretations we have all heard – or fancy we have – then it was at least creditable, Katarina Dalayman’s Brünnhilde proving much more than that.