Wagner's Valhalla

[marvinbrown]

Yeah, nice dragon. Unfortunately Siegfried looks like our portly village butcher. And he's more concerned with keeping his footing than battling and dispatching Fafner. Really lame use of the sword. Those blows wouldn't have crushed a fly 

By the way, I was scheduled to see that Seattle Ring. It had been in the planning stage for several years. I was going to meet two West Coast friends and fellow Wagnerians (a judge from L.A. and a guy who works for Boeing in Seattle). Unfortunately two of us became ill and couldn't attend.

Sarge

Hello Sarge!  Sorry to hear of your missed opportunity to see this Seattle Ring production.  I hope you weren't one of the two that fell ill?  Unfortunately Seattle is a long way away for me here in London. It seems that the director of the Seattle opera house, from the interviews that I have seen wants to make the Ring the speciality of the Opera house there.  I am expecting many great productions in the future from that opera house.  Maybe someday you will have the opportunity to attend a performance there on behalf of all of us European Wagnerians! Either way I still think that it is unfair not to release this on DVD!  There is only one traditional Ring production out there and that is the MET!  I would like to see more.

  PS: Perhaps the MET's  Siegfried Jerusalem makes a more appropriate Siegfried (no pun intended here!) but that lavish production from the Seattle is a feast for the eyes!

[DavidRoss]

Marvin--the Met's current production of the Ring is being broadcast live in HD to cinemas all over the world.  The Rhinegold was excellent and we expect nothing less from the rest.  Here is the list of UK participants http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/countries/hd_events.aspx?id=3313

and here is the Met's HD broadcast home page http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events_template.aspx?id=11964

[Brahmsian]

Marvin--the Met's current production of the Ring is being broadcast live in HD to cinemas all over the world.  The Rhinegold was excellent and we expect nothing less from the rest.  Here is the list of UK participants http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/countries/hd_events.aspx?id=3313

If I hadn't won tickets to see the Moscow Ballet, I would be going to see Rhinegold at the theatre tonight.

[marvinbrown]

Marvin--the Met's current production of the Ring is being broadcast live in HD to cinemas all over the world.  The Rhinegold was excellent and we expect nothing less from the rest.  Here is the list of UK participants http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/countries/hd_events.aspx?id=3313

and here is the Met's HD broadcast home page http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events_template.aspx?id=11964

   Thank you David for the links  !  I might have missed Das Reingold and Walkure will not be broadcast till next spring/summer 


marvin

[Scarpia]

Marvin--the Met's current production of the Ring is being broadcast live in HD to cinemas all over the world.  The Rhinegold was excellent and we expect nothing less from the rest.  Here is the list of UK participants http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/countries/hd_events.aspx?id=3313

and here is the Met's HD broadcast home page http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events_template.aspx?id=11964

Bummer, how did I not know they were broadcasting Rhinegold?   

[bhodges]

   Thank you David for the links  !  I might have missed Das Reingold and Walkure will not be broadcast till next spring/summer 


marvin

Marvin (and Scarpia), not sure how this works in the UK, but here, you can often see the broadcasts, shown again at a later date (obviously now taped, not live).  Then still later, public television sometimes shows them a few times, and after that, many of these broadcasts have made it to DVD (on EMI).  (I don't know what the Met's plans are, as far as releasing this cycle on DVD.)

Anyway, there may be more opportunities to catch it. 

--Bruce

[Scarpia]

Marvin (and Scarpia), not sure how this works in the UK, but here, you can often see the broadcasts, shown again at a later date (obviously now taped, not live).  Then still later, public television sometimes shows them a few times, and after that, many of these broadcasts have made it to DVD (on EMI).  (I don't know what the Met's plans are, as far as releasing this cycle on DVD.)

Anyway, there may be more opportunities to catch it. 

--Bruce

The Met scheduled a single rebroadcast, which was shortly after the original, which I also missed.  Although it may come out on disc, the previous releases have been on generic DVD, which I am not particularly interested in. 

[DavidRoss]

Bummer, how did I not know they were broadcasting Rhinegold?   

Beats me.  Bruce and I both posted about it at the time.  It was pretty darned good--even my wife, who's not a Wagner fan but who went along for my sake, LOVED it!

[GanChan]

Listening now to the Zagrosek/Naxos Walkure.  Only real flaw is the Brunnhilde (Renate Behle) who gets screechy a little too often, especially in the final scene (similar flaw in the Brunnhilde of the Halle Gotterdammerung, also a live recording). There is stage noise, but no audience noise except applause at the end of the acts. 

Meanwhile, I noticed this is set to be released October 19

Has this set ever received a remastering since its original CD release way back when? Walkure looks like it got included in the "Philips 50" lineup, so I'm assuming it might have been cleaned up. What about the other operas -- anybody know?

[AndyD.]

Listening now to the Zagrosek/Naxos Walkure.  Only real flaw is the Brunnhilde (Renate Behle) who gets screechy a little too often, especially in the final scene (similar flaw in the Brunnhilde of the Halle Gotterdammerung, also a live recording). There is stage noise, but no audience noise except applause at the end of the acts. 

Meanwhile, I noticed this is set to be released October 19

Hey, do you have a link where I can find this?

[jlaurson]

Hey, do you have a link where I can find this?

I oblige.

[Scarpia]

Hey, do you have a link where I can find this?

http://www.amazon.com/Ring-Nibelungen-Wagner/dp/B003Y3MYYU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292460560&sr=8-1

New copies going for as low as $28 and change

[AndyD.]

http://www.amazon.com/Ring-Nibelungen-Wagner/dp/B003Y3MYYU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292460560&sr=8-1

New copies going for as low as $28 and change

Wow. I'm there.

[kaergaard]

It's too bad the amazon link doesn't give any information about cast, director and date of performance, recording. I wonder if it's the same Ring with Die Walküre I have on four discs, conducted by Böhm, the 1967 Bayreuth performance with James King, Leonie Rysanek, Gerd Nienstedt, Birgit Nilsson and Theo Adam.

Or did Böhm conduct The Ring only once in Bayreuth?
 

[Sergeant Rock]

It's too bad the amazon link doesn't give any information about cast, director and date of performance, recording. I wonder if it's the same Ring with Die Walküre I have on four discs, conducted by Böhm, the 1967 Bayreuth performance with James King, Leonie Rysanek, Gerd Nienstedt, Birgit Nilsson and Theo Adam.

Or did Böhm conduct The Ring only once in Bayreuth?

It's the same performance; the Böhm Ring that was originally on Philips. But he did conduct the Ring at Bayreuth for three years: 1965, 66 67.

Sarge

[AndyD.]

It's the same performance; the Böhm Ring that was originally on Philips.Sarge

Well, from what I recall (I don't own that performance, just know it from download) that's a fantastic performance, so I'm grabbing it while the grabbing's good!

[Scarpia]

Well, from what I recall (I don't own that performance, just know it from download) that's a fantastic performance, so I'm grabbing it while the grabbing's good!

Very extroverted, fast paced, with some ragged playing from the orchestra because Bohm is pushing them too hard.  Culshaw ridicules it very severely (without naming it) in his book, The Golden Ring, but I like it better than the Culshaw/Solti set.

[AndyD.]

Very extroverted, fast paced, with some ragged playing from the orchestra because Bohm is pushing them too hard.  Culshaw ridicules it very severely (without naming it) in his book, The Golden Ring, but I like it better than the Culshaw/Solti set.

I'll always love the Solti Gotterdammerung the best, and most of his Siegfried as well. The Bohm is more consistent overall, to my hearing.

[Guido]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBXUVjul7C0&feature=related

this is beautiful. I most often like the sound of Wagner in lighter voices as it was more commonly heard 60ish year ago. I understand why things have changed, but it is a shame...

[Tsaraslondon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBXUVjul7C0&feature=related

this is beautiful. I most often like the sound of Wagner in lighter voices as it was more commonly heard 60ish year ago. I understand why things have changed, but it is a shame...

This is indeed a great piece of singing, Guido, and comes from a recital which also includes performances of Agathe's arias from Der Freischutz, that I have never heard bettered. It also includes the duet from Lohengrin, Euch Luften, die mein Klagen with Christa Ludwig, and Elisabeth's arias from Tannhauser. It is one of my all time favourite operatic recitals.