There is hardly any other work that is as closely associated with the Bavarian State Opera as Richard Wagner’s "Die Walküre". This first evening of the Ring tetralogy did after all receive its world premier in Munich, where it has been a mainstay of that opera house’s repertoire ever since.

When Zubin Mehta took over the position of Bavarian General Music Director in 1998, heralding a new era in the history of an opera house which in all of Germany is richest in tradition, this first cyclic performance of the Ring was a triumph for both the maestro and his musicians.

In the musical language of Die Walküre, the Bavarian State Orchestra with its very own sound and Mehta’s conducting which is so full of energy, tautness and high emotion, complement each other to form a new interpretation which forms an arc stretching from the conducting of decades past to the modern style of today.

With Waltraud Meier, Gabriele Schnaut, Mihoko Fujimura, Peter Seiffert, John Tomlinson and Kurt Rydl, the Munich Opera Festival 2002 has succeeded in bringing together a world class ensemble, which promises sensational results.

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Live at the Bavarian State Opera, July 2002