SALZBURG, Austria — Siegmund flew in at 4 p.m. The opera started at 5. He made it to the opera house, put on his costume — and on he went.

The Salzburg Easter Festival staged “Die Walküre” on Monday night. “Die Walküre” is the second installment of Wagner’s “Ring of the Nibelung.” We had the first installment, “Das Rheingold,” last year. In 2009 and 2010, we’ll get the last two: “Siegfried” and “Götterdämmerung.”

On Monday morning, the scheduled Siegmund, Robert Gambill, had to withdraw. He had some sort of cold. Management found Stig Andersen in Copenhagen — and flew him in, in the nick of time. Amazingly, he looked like he knew what he was doing onstage. And he sang ably: He was effective in his lyrical moments, including the aria — or semi-aria — “Winterstürme.” He was less effective when he had to deliver some power. But he wasn’t quite a weakling. In “Das Rheingold” last year, the mezzo-soprano singing Fricka practically stole the show. She was Lilli Paasikivi, a Finn. She was back this year, again putting on a clinic — a clinic of singing. She was clean, smart, feeling, and well-nigh perfect. Also well-nigh perfect was Eva-Maria Westbroek, the Dutch soprano singing Sieglinde. She was warm, tender, and accurate. And then she unleashed marvelous power — while still being warm and accurate.

Ms. Paasikivi and Ms. Westbroek are pretty much unknown in America. Too bad, because they are worth their weight in gold. You can attend “Ring” cycles for many a moon before finding a Fricka and a Sieglinde so good.

Also good was the Brünnhilde, a Danish soprano named Eva Johansson. She did some sharping, and she suffered a few wobbles. But she was up to the role, which is remarkable. Ms. Johansson was both flexible and strong. She showed some cutting power while committing no harshness. And she embodied a Brünnhildean spirit.

Our Wotan, as last year, was Sir Willard White. And he brings many assets as a Wotan: perhaps chiefly his dignity. And, on Monday night, he did some shrewd singing. But he lacked certain Wotan assets: chiefly power and menace. He was simply not imposing, as when his character bore down on Brünnhilde (for violating his orders). He was not so much terrible in his fury as measured — even mild.

And I mean no disrespect when I say the following: It probably didn’t help his cause that he stood no taller than most of his Valkyries.

Foremost of those Valkyries — apart from Brünnhilde, the title character — was the soprano Joanna Porackova. This Hoosier, a native of Hammond, Ind., was Gerhilde. And she was girlish and fantastic.

Finally, Mikhail Petrenko made a fitting Hunding, with a streamlined, clear, characterful bass.

The Berlin Philharmonic is not too shabby in Wagner, as it is not too shabby in other composers. That’s not to say that it is incapable of rough or mediocre playing. There was some of that on Monday night. But very little. The orchestra made magnificent sounds collectively, and players stood out individually. Take Siegmund’s “Winterstürme”: Various woodwinds — and horns and others — were virtually co-singers. I had never noticed instrumental solo lines in “Die Walküre” so much as on this occasion.

Sir Simon Rattle conducted, and conducted capably. He did nothing out of bounds or dumb. Yet some passages or pages were bland — unexploited. And some passages or pages were rushed through, unsavored. What’s more, the Magic Fire Music was weirdly harsh and unloving.

Sir Simon has had better nights: more incisive, more alert, more satisfying nights. He will again.

The production — both of “Die Walküre” and the Easter Festival’s “Ring” at large — is that of Stéphane Braunschweig, who heads the National Theater in Strasbourg. His production is very mod: sterile white walls, some cheesy-looking film clips — that sort of thing. Hunding, whom Wagner has a savage woodsman, is in exquisitely beautiful formal wear.

Critics love this sort of production, scorning the “traditional.” (And when you hear “traditional,” think “production that looks like the opera.”) As for audiences, they put up with it, whether they like it or not. And one audience member on Monday night put things very well: “Could be a lot worse.” There is a world of experience and realism in that comment.

In my view, the sets and costumes of this “Walküre” are either absurd or disappointing. But the stage direction — the sheer interplay of the characters — is notably good. This direction is true to Wagner, from whom you should never stray too far, if you wish to produce him.

And a final remark, about a particular part of “Die Walküre”: The Berlin Philharmonic played “Wotan’s Farewell” as though it were the most beautiful music ever written. And, you know? It may be.