Topic: Wagner One Ring to rule them all...

[Rinaldo]

Hojotoho! I'm days away from setting up my first truly hi-fi system which rekindled my interest in acquiring another Ring beyond the Karajan I've been otherwise pretty content with. Why annoy the neighbors with just a bit of the old Herbert von, right? I've re-read this gem of a thread, almost a wagnerian undertaking, and it brought back not only memories but a realization: I've never got around to giving Bohm a try. So today, I did exactly that. My reaction?

OMFG!*
(*Oh My Fricka's Wotan)

Just dipped my ears in bits of Rheingold and Walküre but heiaha-ha, this is the live set I've been looking for years ago – and I know some of you fine people have recommended it to me back then – but somehow missed. This Christmas, the valkyries are gonna come out blastin'

Speaking of which, this is an interesting recollection of how fabled film editor Walter Murch went out looking for an alternative to Solti during the production of Apocalypse Now: How I Tried to Transplant the Musical Heart of Apocalypse Now

[Valentino]

Thanks for that link! I've been waking by the Rhine for too long...

That said I actually saw the Levine MET when they put everything on line for free at the start of the pandemic. I thoroughly enjoyed it. The use of "the machine" was masterful, especially the Valküre ride (Huey class over that un!). A very good Siegfried, and even if Brünnhilde was somewhat of a let down sonically she didn't look like the one in the comment attributed to Al Capone. That matters too.