[van Zweden] evokes both its youthful energy and darker undercurrents, with excellent playing from the augmented Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra…But every ‘Siegfried’ hangs on the title role, and Simon O’Neill’s steely, bright-toned heldentenor encompasses this killer part with deceptive ease…he also manages to suggest youthful ardour without thuggishness. I’ve heard none finer in recent years.

[O'Neill] the voice has a clean, clarion call edge to it and he sounds as fresh at the end of the performance as he does at the beginning [Goerne] a performance that is reflective and refreshingly free of barking, with words gently incorporated into the vocal line rather than spat out…the rest of the cast includes an imposing Fafner from Falk Struckmann and a limpid, appealing Forest Bird from Valentina Farcas.

The qualities that made the previous instalments such recommendable bargains are mostly maintained, though the standard of the singing is less consistently high.What is utterly consistent is the excellence of the Hong Kong Philharmonic’s playing...There’s never a shortage of lustre or refinement...Van Zweden’s mastery of the huge dramatic arcs in all three acts of Siegfried never falters.

Van Zweden’s approach, as before, flows as naturally as the Rhine; there’s nothing revelatory here, perhaps, but it’s always musical, always alert and alive. As a seasoned Brucknerian, he also unsurprisingly has an impressive grasp on each act’s architecture.