Gubanc

The film opens with a brief musical selection of golden oldies. These are blasts from the past, even if most of them are still popular. Could it be nostalgia? Or do they serve more as an introduction to the main character, who had once been a successful actress? Or perhaps a satirical element that tactlessly reminds us of who our divas sang for amid the whirlwinds of history?

It could be that even we ourselves often don’t fully comprehend how many ways the digital age has changed our relationship with music. Nevertheless, there remain themes that simply demand an analogue, more traditional approach. Active since the ’10s, singer-songwriter Gergő Szakács has transitioned over the years from monumental pop sounds to more intimate, live instrumental productions, and this journey will reach its next important milestone at Müpa Budapest.

There can hardly be imagined in our time a work that conveys a more important message to humanity, as it debates the possible fate of the earth, about threats to the natural environment than Götterdämmerung does. Perhaps there is still time for us to return the ring to the Rhinemaidens.