Simon O’Neill

Parsifal in Bayreuth, directed by Stefan Herheim and conducted by Daniele Gatti.

Richard Wagner called Die Walküre the “first evening” of the Ring of the Nibelung; he called Das Rheingold the prologue or Vorabend. Musically and dramatically, we are introduced to a radically new and different world when the opening bars of Die Walküre resound. A fully developed orchestral palette of Leitmotivs paints a wild storm scene, and the curtain rises on a modest dwelling: a fully human scene that has nothing to do with the gods, dwarves and nymphs of Das Rheingold. At the same time, however, the way Die Walküre portrays radical beginnings reveals some telling reminiscences of the unfolding of Das Rheingold. Die Walküre is exciting and deeply feeling drama.

Love, lust and political intrigue fill the world of a passionate singer. When her lover is imprisoned by a police chief, Tosca takes matters into her own hands with dramatic consequences. Puccini’s timeless opera never ceases to provoke great emotions. Starring Orla Boylan as Tosca and Simon O’Neill as Cavaradossi, New Zealand Opera’s acclaimed production filmed for cinema release transposes the famous plot to Italy in the 1950s, shadowed by the mafia and post WWII politics.