Role Reviews
In a production dominated by eye-contact broken, sustained, enforced, or avoided, three moments of connection stand out: …the second when Fricka (Rosalind Plowright) glances at Wotan (Bryn Terfel) in tenderness, desire and suspicion after he kisses her;… remarkable performance….of…. Plowright,…. A tender Fricka, a strong Sieglinde, and a Walküre the five-hour duration of which feels more like two? Anna Picard - The Independent on Sunday
It was also heart-warming to hear Rosalind Plowright’s intense, shrewish Fricka Anthony Holden - The Observer
The Ibsenesque scene between Wotan and Fricka is enacted with toe-curling, scenery-chewing melodramatics by Rosalind Plowright and Terfel….. Luckily, there is some excellent singing…Plowright’s statuesque Fricka Hugh Canning - Sunday Times
The contrast between this scene and the one that follows between Wotan and his wife Fricka is dramatic. Suddenly, we're into stifling Ibsen territory. But what a scene and how wonderfully it is played. Rosalind Plowright's imperious Fricka is scarily impressive, withering with her words and actions - a borderline dominatrix. Edward Seckerson - The Independent
as Fricka, Rosalind Plowright attempts to fill that void with some grand guignol acting of her own; Andrew Clements - The Guardian
As Fricka, Rosalind Plowright has never sounded in better voice, or acted with such confidence: a triumph. Andrew Clark - Financial Times
…..in the confrontation with Rosalind Plowright’s coruscating Fricka Robert Thicknesse - The Times
The duel with Fricka (the splendidly indignant Rosalind Plowright, in excellent voice) crackled…..This was an enthralling occasion, received with a thunderous ovation Rupert Christiansen - Daily Telegraph
It was thrilling to hear Rosalind Plowright in such lustrous vocal and dramatic form as Wotan's wife Fricka. Michael Kennedy - Sunday Telegraph
...but the best single performance of the evening came from Rosalind Plowright as Fricka. Grandly dressed as a powerful Victorian matron, she fielded plenty of convincing mezzo tone that was secure and direct enough to make Wotan's quailing before her admonishment entirely credible. Here was the perfect balance between words and notes that Wagner needs. George Hall - Opera News
Rosalind Plowright’s high-powered, neurotic Fricka. The Stage - Oct 2007
Of the singers, only Rosalind Plowright gave a completely successful, dramatically rounded, vocally flawless performance. She held the audience - and the rest of the cast - rapt from the moment she emerged through the window at the back of the stage in her stunning red dress. Her nuanced understanding of the psychological trajectory of her complex scene was by far and away the most thrilling aspect of the five-hour performance - indeed as far as I was concerned, she only served to illustrate how most of the other singers (with only one major exception) were lacking in this respect. The way she spat out the words of the harsh part of her message on the one hand and stroked and caressed Wotan's ego on the other was a sign of her fine artistry and total comprehension of both the words and music. Surely nobody else in the world today can match her in this role. Dominic McHugh - musicalcriticism.com - Oct 2007
Rosalind Plowright's Fricka is superlative, vocally incisive, intelligently delivered…… a vital catalyst. Fiona Maddocks - Evening Standard - Oct 2007
….and Rosalind Plowright’s statuesque, neurotic Fricka shares the vocal honours with Tomlinson Hugh Canning - The Sunday Times - Oct 2007
Some of the best moments in this Ring came from the interplay between the characters such as the marital affairs of Wotan and Rosalind Plowright's scornful Fricka; Richard Fairman - Financial Times - Oct 2007
Rosalind Plowright gives the most complete performance of her life as Fricka, a buttoned-up Victorian matriarch capable of reducing Wotan to quaking obeisance, yet nevertheless disclosing a mountain of inner anguish. Richard Morrison - The Times - Oct 2007
….stewarding memorable performances from ….. Rosalind Plowright as Fricka Anthony Holden - The Observer - The Mail on Sunday
