Sir Simon’s Wagner appears here officially for the first time on disc – although EMI did record (and circulate privately via Deutsche Bank) the concert of Rheingold that preceded stage performances, and off-the-air copies of his exciting Dutch Tristan and Dutch and London Parsifals have been in circulation. It’s probably fair to say that his interpretation of Walküre is still in the formative stage: as yet there’s a lack of steered emotion or intention behind the notes – all the concentration has been on their preparation and delivery. And the second instalment of this Ring at the Aix-en-Provence and Salzburg Festivals certainly finds the Berlin orchestra playing with a beauty and virtuosity that bears witness to the best of housekeeping. Wind and brass detail, the accuracy and blending of the chording and that rhythmic precision which is a Rattle speciality lift the final colloquy between Wotan and Brünnhilde to Olympian heights.

It’s clear from the start that Stéphane Braunschweig’s ultra-minimalist staging will be one of slow discoveries – no immediate Walsung twins’ recognition and lust (luckily both Gambill and Westbroek are good at “slow-burn” atmospheric acting), no one-dimensional villainy from Mikhail Petrenko’s handsome, civilised Hunding, no all-knowing crusade for love on the part of Eva Johansson’s attractively naive Brünnhilde, no fashionable “I saw it all coming” irony from Willard White’s Wotan, delivered now with a philosopher’s fluent German and a vocal virtuosity that matches the orchestra’s. But as no irony or non-realistic subtext seems intended by Braunschweig (the ground production and acting are narrative-based and realistic), an hour and a half of Act 2 with just a high window, a table and a chair to look at, little depth or beauty added by the lighting and video projections, and sparse gestures and movement, is not a gripping experience. The whole event feels like a beautifully prepared concert performance onto which dramatic concerns have scarcely begun to impinge, admirable in its musical representation of Wagner’s score but rarely compelling or exciting as opera.

The sound, good in itself, tends to favour the orchestra, with odd moments towards the end of Act 3 where the voices appear to have been tweaked to compensate. The filming of the production introduces as much motion as can be gained from the proceedings, but a break to change discs before the Todesverkündigung is a mistake.