Siegfried, Opéra Bastille

I was blown away by the moment at which Egils Silins’ Wanderer, who has been discoursing pleasantly with Mime, reveals himself to be Wotan in his full majesty. The music is stunning, Krämer’s staging is a real coup de théâtre, and Silins was simply awesome. Actually, I was captivated for the whole time that the Wanderer was on stage: he is another character who shows many faces. He has impish humour, he has a nasty violent streak, he can be wise, he can be world weary and ultimately, in the meeting with Erda (sung attractively and mystically by Qiu Lin Zhang), he shows redemption. Silins showed each of these sides, his voice deliciously warm from the top of the bass-baritone register down to the depths. I loved every minute.