Opera North's survey of Wagner's epic Ring Cycle continued at The Sage Gateshead with a marathon performance of the Die Walküre, a year after the introductory Das Rheingold.

Weighing in at about six hours, with two intervals included, the work is a test of endurance for singers and orchestra alike - but time itself seemed to stand still as us mere mortals were taken on a captivating journey.

The 100-strong orchestra, under the baton of Richard Farnes, opened in pulsating waves, introducing Siegmund (Erik Werner ) fleeing a battle.

When he finds refuge it is only to discover his host is his enemy Hunding, who just so happens to have married his long-lost twin sister Sieglinde (Alwyn Mellor).

Mellor was glorious in her role and was well-matched by Werner, while Clive Bayley's Hunding oozed malevolence. Bela Berencz played a towering Wotan, with an authoritative voice that never wavered. Annalena Persson's Brünnhilde gripped everyone, from her blood-curdling war cries on her entry.

Being a semi-staged production, coat-tails and frocks replaced costumes, while subtly shifting scenes were projected onto triptych of large screens; along with subtitles describing key moments of action. Most effective was when rippling water is transformed into a flood of crimson blood when Siegmund met his sticky end.

As for the music, Farnes paced the ebb and flow of Wagner's expansive phrases with exquisite timing. Massed ranks of cellos and basses resonated to the core, while burnished brass, boosted by Wagner tuba/horns, rounded off almighty crescendos.

Brünnhilde's eight fellow Valkyries were each strong sopranos in their own right and were awesome when they sang in chorus.

The convoluted plot end with Brünnhilde's punishment for saving Sieglinde's life – and that of the incestuously conceived Siegfried. But more of him in the next installment. Judging from the roars of approval, many will be back next year to follow his fortunes.