IT WAS decided that the next instalment of the Sadler's Wells Ring, in January 1971, would be the final opera, Götterdämmerung or Twilight of the Gods. Casting it was no longer a problem. With his performance as Siegmund in The Valkyrie, Alberto Remedios had shown that the role of Siegfried was well within his grasp, while Rita Hunter had already proved herself as Brünnhilde. Goodall maintained that the company needed more experience in Wagner before attempting The Rhinegold, which would now be done in 1972: with its single span of music embracing four long scenes it was, he said, the hardest of all the Ring operas to pull off – and certainly the hardest to conduct. Siegfried would be left until last, in order that Remedios might be given as much time as possible to master the long and demanding title-role.

There were plenty of pessimists both inside and outside the company who doubted that The Ring would ever be completed. Sadler's Wells Opera faced a financial crisis and there was even talk of closure. Although The Mastersingers and The Valkyrie had both been box-office successes, some of the other works in the company's repertoire had not fared so well, either financially or artistically. When only one of the Sadler's Wells companies was in residence, the orchestra and chorus often sounded under-nourished in the Coliseum's huge spaces, while productions designed for Sadler's Wells Theatre could look lost on its stage. Some voices that had seemed big enough in Rosebery Avenue turned out to be too small for St Martin's Lane. Eventually it was decided that from the 1970–71 season the “S” and “W” companies would be merged. The new single company would play in London from August until the end of March. Then, for ten weeks only, it would split into two separate ensembles, which would go out on tour simultaneously. During this period the Coliseum would be let out to visiting companies. The arrangement, which was to prove successful, had particular advantages for Goodall.