Recorded live at sell out concerts at The Bridgewater Hall which formed highlights of the 2011 Manchester International Festival
‘[The Hallé’s] Wagner is simply beautiful, and if that burnished lyricism was more glamorous than dangerous in Act I of Die Walküre, the duet with Siegmund (Stig Andersen) and Sieglinde (Yvonne Howard) had a tenderness beyond renegade intoxication. Elder is a skilful accompanist, metering the blend to suit the timbres of his cast … [he] conducted as though in love with a score that was in love with love itself.’
The Independent on Sunday - July 2011
‘[The Hallé’s concert performance of Die Walküre was] a two-day emotional journey that left me feeling torn apart. Act I was captivating and potent; Act II fiercely moving; Act III enough to make one rush from the hall and plunge in a Manchester canal. The gigantic orchestral climax interrupting Wotan’s Farewell was as convulsively emotional as I could want it. Subtleties of orchestral shading and balance went by like an express train. The conducting was inspired; the immense structure cohered.’
The Sunday Times - July 2011