The Hallé’s strings don’t have the Hong Kong Philharmonic’s lustre in Jaap van Zweden Naxos version, and the recording isn’t as vivid; but with the glowing brass transition to the heights, the performance begins to gather momentum. Elder extracts some telling detail, especially from the more lyrical passages, but nevertheless much of its life stems from the excellent cast.

An even greater triumph for the orchestra than their preceding Götterdämmerung and Walküre. Not only is there a special gloss on the sound (strings especially), a real Wagnerian klang, but the manner in which the solos (both sectional and individual) are now taken bears witness to the fluency of freshly acquired experience… The cast are strongly characterised and not always as you might expect; some fresh thinking here.

The conductor is not in any rush in his approach to Wagner’s Vorabend…presenting a performance that runs to three CDs instead of the usual two. In fact, it’s often a daring approach to the score: determinedly leisurely, airily expansive and epic – in several of its varied senses…It’s also a supremely poetic reading…and it’s terrifically played by the Hallé.

The waters of the Rhine flow crystal-clear in Elder’s leisurely prelude, setting the tone for an opening scene which captures the pre-Lapsarian quality of the Rhinemaidens’ world like few others...In a strongly characterised cast, Susan Bickley’s sympathetic Fricka and Clive Bayley’s snarky, lecherous Fafner stand out, whilst David Butt Philip had me wishing that Froh had rather more to do than knocking up a Rainbow Bridge in record time.

Paterson’s Wotan is certainly authoritative enough, but needs a more assertive foil than Samuel Youn’s surprisingly lightweight Alberich...Clive Bayley’s fathomlessly dark Fafner, Susan Bickley’s humane Fricka and Nicky Spence’s instinctively theatrical Mime are all well worth preserving, as is the playing of the Hallé under Elder, and his unerring sense of the seamless musical architecture.

Hero (or villain) of the three hours? I’d say Samuel Youn’s Alberich, a masterful, multicoloured performance spun in a gripping crescendo...Paterson’s Wotan isn’t far behind...Elder’s grip is total. He believes in every note of the score, shapes it carefully (no melodrama, no lurchings) and stirs the orchestra to a degree of magnificence rare even for the Hallé.