The Lyric’s Ring Cycle continues with the amazing adventures of Siegfried

Wagner’s music is glorious, even if his hero never becomes more than a blustering little boy.

The first act of Lyric Opera’s new production of Siegfried is a triumph for director David Pountney, who’s put the four operas of Richard Wagner’s mythic, fairy-tale-like Ring Cycle into a self-consciously theatrical steampunk setting. That concept works for the opening of this third installment (the Lyric has been staging one annually), a coming-of-age story for the eponymous hero, because Pountney takes Siegfried all the way back to early childhood.…