Der Ring des NibelungenIngela Brimberg as Brünnhilde
Richard Wagner · First performed Bayreuth, 1876
Brünnhilde, the Valkyrie at the heart of Wagner's four-part cycle, from Die Walküre to Götterdämmerung.
The opera
Wagner's cycle of four operas follows the fight for a ring that gives its owner power over the world, from the theft of the Rhine gold to the downfall of the gods. Brünnhilde, the favourite daughter of the god Wotan, appears in the three last parts.
In Die Walküre she defies her father to protect the lovers Siegmund and Sieglinde, and is punished by being put to sleep on a rock surrounded by fire. In Siegfried the hero Siegfried, Sieglinde's son, braves the flames and wakes her. In Götterdämmerung she is betrayed and deceived, and in the closing Immolation Scene she rides into Siegfried's funeral pyre, returning the ring to the Rhine and bringing the world of the gods to an end.
Ingela Brimberg as Brünnhilde
Ingela Brimberg sang Brünnhilde for the first time at the Theater an der Wien in 2017, in a three-evening version of the Ring, and has since sung her in all three operas. Between 2024 and 2025 she sang the role in the complete new Ring at La Monnaie in Brussels conducted by Alain Altinoglu.
Reviews
“Ingela Brimberg … has the measure of Brünnhilde’s final top C as well as lending an unforced, lyric tenderness to her tricky awakening.”“Vocalement, la prestation impressionne : la résistance est étonnante … les contre-ut sont fièrement dardés”Vocally, the performance impresses: the stamina is astonishing … the top Cs are proudly hurled out
“she delivered a stellar Brünnhilde with an especially impressive top register. “Heil, Sonne” was secure and refulgent”