Opera Scotland

Götterdämmerung 1971Scottish Opera

Read more about the opera Twilight of the Gods

Before the single Ring Cycle in December, the company revived the 1967 Rheingold and mounted the new Siegfried during the spring tour. The 1966 Walküre had followed at the Edinburgh Festival. It remained for the 1968 Götterdämmerung to be dusted down for a single performance on the Saturday before the cycle. When Helga Dernesch, scheduled to sing Brünnhilde, became delayed in Vienna due to an important recording with Georg Solti overrunning, the current Bayreuth interpreter of the role, Berit Lindholm, was lined up for the first performance. She was also available, and agreed to return, for the cycle performances of Siegfried and Götterdämmerung. But she was already committed to sing a performance of Tosca in Stockholm on the Tuesday, so could not sing Walküre, for which Margaret Kingsley was brought in.

The whole enterprise was a considerable triumph for all concerned, in spite of a looming financial crisis - one of many to afflict the company over the years.