Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Marc Zitzmann
“Plus the conducting of Pablo Heras-Casado. The Spaniard has clear ideas and conveys them fruitfully. He shapes the famous prelude as a long linear increase, before four final upswings begin to swing sinusoidally in the final curve, or wave. The aquatic trouvaille, which leads into medias res or into the middle of the Rhine, is just one of many ideas that are based on a precise study of the score. Nothing here seems sought, wanted, or contrived; on the contrary, much of it is found and devotedly developed. Even where the orchestra merely underpins recitative-like singing with single chords or with accompanying figures, these do not sound like meaningless duty, but rather like meaningful indulgence. Everything here speaks, resulting in a vibrant interplay of loud and soft, tied and accented, of rises and falls, ritardandi and accelerandi. The shaping of the agogic in the small as well as the tempo relations in the large appears organic throughout. If Heras-Casado’s “Rheingold” were characterized by a single adjective, it would be: flowing. This is not to say that the work meanders along. On the contrary: a pointed rhythm, concise articulation and differentiated dynamics in the mostly quiet range keep these 145 minutes under a tension that never lets up. The lack of sharp edges and corners, which could be perceived as a kind of levelling, supports and carries an interpretation that strives for continuity, for the big picture, and for flow. Heras-Casado prevents the work from becoming episodic, which it tends to become for those who are less aware of form, without robbing it of its agility.”
WELT, Manuel Brug
“Only now has the curtain risen at the Opéra Bastille, with the conductor Pablo Heras-Casado sounding the first low E-flat in the double bass section. The Andalusian, who celebrated success in Bayreuth with the current “Parsifal”, is already booked for the “Ring” in 2028 on the Green Hill. In Paris, Heras-Casado approaches the piece calmly, then builds up with deliberation. In the end, at two hours and 25 minutes, he arrives a little before the average time. He listens to the conversational drama, can add comedy as well as dark colors, structures cleverly and still holds back dynamically. Three more “Ring” parts follow, so he doesn’t use up all his Wagner powder yet, but lets the orchestra shine brightly and gently fade away in the Rainbow Bridge finale for the entry into Valhalla.“
Klassik begeistert, Klaus Billand
“The star of the evening was the Spanish maestro Pablo Heras-Casado with the Orchestre de l’Opéra national de Paris.“
“Musically, this was a “Rheingold” with elegant, feathery lightness, great transparency and beautiful sound from the orchestra. Six harps were used, and the famous acoustics of the opera house, with its 2,800 (!) seats, rarely produced such beautiful sounds from this wonderful instrument in the finale. Heras-Casado also knew how to shape the dramatic moments in a captivating way, such as the descent into and ascent from Nibelheim or the hollow-sounding finale.“
Oper!, Andreas Berger
“Generally speaking, the homogenous ensemble is very good at conveying the text, which is surely also due to Pablo Heras-Casado’s tendency to focus on delicate tones. Thus, in the prelude, waves tend to be drawn out rather than crashing, and the instruments sing along very softly when Fricka, concerned about her husband’s loyalty, sings gentle cantilenas. On the other hand, the wind instruments stand out starkly when the giants show their strength, and even strangely insistently at Freia’s solution. For long stretches, the conducting remains too timid; only at Alberich’s handover of the hoard does Heras-Casado fully exploit the dynamics.”
taz, Joachim Lange
“Pablo Heras-Casado, who has already caused a sensation in Bayreuth, proves once again with his nuanced, almost chamber-musical conducting that the Paris Opera Orchestra is (also) an excellent Wagner orchestra.“
Die Presse, Walter Weidringer
“Heras-Casado was thoroughly friendly to the voices throughout, with a pleasantly flexible tempo derived from the dialogues.”