Brünnhilde, the courageous, compassionate and autonomous daughter of Wotan, is the central figure in this drama. Christiane Libor’s dramatic soprano lends this character contour with radiant top notes. In her conflict with her father Wotan, paternal authority and personal sympathy for her half-brother Siegmund collide.

And his daughter Brünnhilde no longer dances to his tune either. Christiane Libor shows how Brünnhilde matures in her facial expressions, gestures and singing. The professor of singing has been performing the great Wagner soprano roles on the big stages for some time now. Initially still perky-looking, almost childishly youthful, you can literally see her gaining backbone. Her performance in the third act is undoubtedly a highlight. When she sings „War es so schmählich, was ich verbrach“ all alone, her voice is delicate and yet round. She gradually increases her expression until
dramatic climax. „Who breathed this love into my heart“ is incomparably heartbreaking.

Even more important the speaking singing. Who has never heard Brünnhilde pianissimo and with clear text, could experience this with Christiane Libor in the title role on Sunday in the Cologne 
Philharmonie on Sunday. 

Christiane Libor, qu’on avait vue à Paris en 2011 dans le Crépuscule de l’Opéra Bastille (rôles de Gutrune et de la troisième Norne) déploie une technique et une présence scénique directement héritées des grandes wagnériennes du passé, type Birgit Nilsson ou Eva Marton, d’une voix d’airain qu’aucune difficulté ne semble devoir contrer ni affaiblir. Aussi à l’aise dans la véhémence que dans le côté plus rarement sentimental du personnage, sa Brünnhilde séduit car elle force la sympathie.

Während Baileys poröse Interpretation Absicht ist, liefert Christiane Libor als Brünnhilde lautstarke, kräftige Expression. Aus ihrem schwergewichtigen „Hojotoho“-Jauchzen hört man lange vor der Zeit die Eruptionen der „Götterdämmerung“. Das setzt sie bis zu ihrer temporären Einschläferung durch Wotan fort. In der großen Abschiedsszene mit dem geliebten Vater agiert Libor mehr fordernd als flehend. Sehr früh kommt der stumme Feuergott Loge dazu, als ob er auf den durch göttliche Fehlentscheidungen unausweichlichen Feuerzauber nur gewartet hätte.

As the faithful wife Leonore, soprano Christiane Libor impressed with her warmth of tone and technical mastery. There are few Leonores, in my memory, who sing with so much passion and attention to detail in her Act 1 aria “Abscheulicher“.

In the title role of Fidelio/Leonore was German soprano Christiane Libor, a performer of extraordinary calibre and power. Her “Abscheulicher!” aria is nothing short of jaw-dropping, with exquisite accompaniment by the WASO horns. Leonore sings about rescuing her husband Florestan from prison, and the aria is as demanding physically as it is emotionally. Libor has full command of her instrument, and she takes no prisoners in her delivery. She makes us believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that she is a force of nature, and nothing will stand between her and Florestan.

In Götterdämmerung, Schirmer pulled out all the stops for Siegfried’s Funeral March, pulsing with rage as well as gravity, and an Immolation Scene, in which he accompanied the remarkable Brünnhilde, Christiane Libor, lyrical and radiant throughout, with a secure grasp of the music’s ebb and flow. She had earlier sung an impassioned Sieglinde — whose final outpouring in Die Walküre crowns the orchestral postlude of Götterdämmerung — in equally shining voice, but it was her pianissimo singing as Brünnhilde that won her the unfettered admiration of the audience.

Hearing a great new voice for the first time, and watching an opera character leap to life, is the kind of experience fans cherish. That’s what awaited Seattle Opera audiences on Saturday night, when the massively talented German soprano Christiane Libor sang her American opera debut in the title role of Beethoven’s only opera, “Fidelio.” What a voice!…Libor’s gleaming, mighty soprano and passionate, no-holds-barred performance style made for a gripping evening.