Gun-Brit Barkmin: Successful debut as Brünnhilde under Jaap van Zweden

2018-01-16 Barkmin HongKong

Gun-Brit Barkmin with her coach Eva Zwedberg backstage after Richard Wagner’s ‚Götterdämmerung‘ with the Hong Kong Philharmonic under Jaap van Zweden, 18 Jan 2018 at Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

Gun-Brit Barkmin has just made her successful debut as „Brünnhilde“ in two concert performances of „Götterdämmerung“ in Jaap van Zweden’s much acclaimed Ring cycle with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra:

„The star of the production was undoubtedly Gun-Brit Barkmin as Brünnhilde. She displayed an amazing range of emotional expression, from gentle lyrical beauty – as in her goose-pimple inducing lament for Siegfried upon his death – to high drama, as in her lashing out at the gods for their perverted cruelty. Svelte in the former and forceful in the latter, her voice displayed tremendous agility and malleability. Her voice was one of few which consistently projected above the orchestra throughout with impeccable diction.“
Bachtrack, 22 Jan 2018 (Alan Yu)

„With such a large orchestra on stage, rather than in the pit, some of the singers struggled at times to be heard over the swelling score – but no such difficulties for German soprano Gun-Brit Barkmin, making her debut as Brünnhilde. Her Wagnerian repertoire includes Sieglinde in Die Walküre and Elsa in Lohengrin, and she recently sang her first Isolde at Oper Graz. Her voice has a bright, gleaming steeliness with a clarion clarity and blazing top notes. Dramatically, she has great presence and delivered a dignified, fierce Brünnhilde you wouldn’t want to mess with.“
Limelight Magazine Australia, 22 Jan 2018 (Jo Listen)