Wagner One Ring to rule them all...

Started by canninator, September 24, 2007, 03:37:41 AM

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Elgarian

Quote from: Scarpia on August 08, 2010, 11:08:51 AM
Actually a good flat panel can be quite unobtrusive, no deep box, etc.   For audio, various companies make very compact rigs for providing decent (if not audiophile) sound.  One format is the "sound bar" which you put above or below the screen, and which provides virtual surround sound.  One example is by Polk, I'm sure other companies make them.  (Haven't heard one myself, so can't vouch for the quality of sound).


Thanks for this - it's long past time we did something about this, and you've given me a place to start here. I'll make a trip to the local hifi shop and see if I can get to listen to some alternatives.

DarkAngel

#301
Die Walkure: 1955 Second Cycle / Tannhauser Excerp

Fans of Keilberth 1955 Ring......

Have most of you supplemented the Ring boxset with Keilberth's other 1955 Die WalKure with Martha Modl,
what makes it important addition?

Brahmsian

Quote from: Elgarian on August 07, 2010, 09:11:51 AM


Having been less than enthusiastic about Karajan's Rheingold movie, I thought I'd better take a look at the Levine DVD set I'd bought, and know the worst, as it were.

Well ... there was no worst! I watched the first hour of Walkure and thought it was superb! Despite the poor sound quality from the TV, I was gripped from the start. Hunding is wonderfully well portrayed (I love the way his eyes light up when Siegmund offers to tell him about his recent fight), and Jessye Norman is an unexpectedly convincing and sympathetic Sieglinde. My earlier uncertainties about the Levine approach were vapourised within mere minutes of listening to the dramatic intro. I love this, and I think for the sake of this Ring alone I'm going to have to find some way of squeezing better sound out of  the TV.

I've read some criticism of this along the lines 'yes, detailed traditional production but boring'. Well, boring it is NOT. These three characters are continually alert to each other through eye contact, facial expressions and gesture; and the music vividly speaks through them and through the orchestra. Every line seems so loaded with musical and dramatic significance that I can't afford to lose attention for even a few seconds without missing something. Marvellous stuff. My thanks to those who persisted in recommending it to me.

I'll be watching this DVD tonight!  Took a few minutes already to listen to the swash buckling overture and am now really excited to watch the rest of it!  :)

DarkAngel

#303
Quote from: DarkAngel on August 12, 2010, 08:28:56 AM


Fans of Keilberth 1955 Ring......

You always wondered what was in this boxset........



There is no booklet for each opera, but two booklets covering entire set.
Nice photos for cardboard CD sleeves

You can download complete libretti from Testament website in PDF files

Elgarian

Quote from: DarkAngel on August 18, 2010, 10:16:04 AM
You always wondered what was in this boxset........
You're absolutely right, DA - and thank you for telling/showing us.

Meanwhile, we're still wondering how Ray got on with his swashbuckling Walkure experience ....

Elgarian



Meanwhile, I've now watched Gotterdammerung from the Levine set (yes, I'm watching them out of order).

There are a few quibbles, but let me say straight away that I was bowled over by this. Hagen is wonderfully menacing, Siegfried heroic in the usual slightly dumb sort of way. But Brunnhilde steals the show for me - as a piece of acting. The way she shifts through the cycle from valykrie to mortal, to intensely vulnerable betrayed female, and finally to the redeeming heroine is pretty miraculous, I think. In terms of singing, I'd say Behrens isn't up to Nilsson, Jones, or Hunter (the only others I know). I thought her voice quite often seemed strained and harsh, with a thin edge to it. Watching this on TV and listening on headphones was fine, but I wouldn't want to listen to this purely on audio - the deficiencies would be too noticeable I think. It was her commitment to the role, and her understanding of it that won me over, rather than the singing.

But overall, I am thrilled to have this. Best money I've spent for ages - hugely rewarding. Onward (or rather backward) - to Siegfried.

DarkAngel

#306
Quote from: Elgarian on August 18, 2010, 01:41:18 PM


Meanwhile, I've now watched Gotterdammerung from the Levine set (yes, I'm watching them out of order).

There are a few quibbles, but let me say straight away that I was bowled over by this. Hagen is wonderfully menacing, Siegfried heroic in the usual slightly dumb sort of way. But Brunnhilde steals the show for me - as a piece of acting. The way she shifts through the cycle from valykrie to mortal, to intensely vulnerable betrayed female, and finally to the redeeming heroine is pretty miraculous, I think. In terms of singing, I'd say Behrens isn't up to Nilsson, Jones, or Hunter (the only others I know). I thought her voice quite often seemed strained and harsh, with a thin edge to it. Watching this on TV and listening on headphones was fine, but I wouldn't want to listen to this purely on audio - the deficiencies would be too noticeable I think. It was her commitment to the role, and her understanding of it that won me over, rather than the singing.

But overall, I am thrilled to have this. Best money I've spent for ages - hugely rewarding. Onward (or rather backward) - to Siegfried.

Another great investment for your opera viewing is nice 52" HD TV set.........
(me watching Levine Ring)


Elgarian

Quote from: DarkAngel on August 18, 2010, 02:06:26 PM

Another great investment for your opera viewing is nice 52" HD TV set.........
(me watching Levine Ring)


Very nice, but to do that we'd need to move house! No, we're quite happy with the image quality we have; it's the audio that's the problem. I visited my local hifi emporium yesterday, and discovered that none of the affordable alternatives can match the audio quality I get on headphones, so that direction of exploring is a dead end. The real solution is some kind of room reorganisation that would allow me play the DVD audio through my hifi and to place the LS3/5As on each side of the TV. But we've known that for years, and still haven't found a solution. The room is just too small, and headphones remain the best alternative at present.

DavidRoss

Quote from: Elgarian on August 19, 2010, 02:08:57 AM
Very nice, but to do that we'd need to move house! No, we're quite happy with the image quality we have; it's the audio that's the problem. I visited my local hifi emporium yesterday, and discovered that none of the affordable alternatives can match the audio quality I get on headphones, so that direction of exploring is a dead end. The real solution is some kind of room reorganisation that would allow me play the DVD audio through my hifi and to place the LS3/5As on each side of the TV. But we've known that for years, and still haven't found a solution. The room is just too small, and headphones remain the best alternative at present.
LS3/5As?  I was blessed with a pair 25 years ago.  Wish I still had them.

Your post suggests that the TV set is not the center of your home life.  I'm not surprised.  ;)  8)
"Maybe the problem most of you have ... is that you're not listening to Barbirolli." ~Sarge

"The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." ~Margaret Thatcher

Scarpia

Quote from: Elgarian on August 19, 2010, 02:08:57 AM
Very nice, but to do that we'd need to move house! No, we're quite happy with the image quality we have; it's the audio that's the problem. I visited my local hifi emporium yesterday, and discovered that none of the affordable alternatives can match the audio quality I get on headphones, so that direction of exploring is a dead end. The real solution is some kind of room reorganisation that would allow me play the DVD audio through my hifi and to place the LS3/5As on each side of the TV. But we've known that for years, and still haven't found a solution. The room is just too small, and headphones remain the best alternative at present.

But a flat panel can be hung on a wall like a picture frame.  I would think that would be compatible with almost any room layout?

karlhenning

If the wall space is not otherwise bespoken.

karlhenning

Quote from: DavidRoss on August 19, 2010, 08:36:34 AM
Your post suggests that the TV set is not the center of your home life.  I'm not surprised.  ;)  8)

: )

DavidRoss

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 19, 2010, 08:49:06 AM
If the wall space is not otherwise bespoken.
And if the room would accommodate proper positioning of the Rogers speakers.
"Maybe the problem most of you have ... is that you're not listening to Barbirolli." ~Sarge

"The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." ~Margaret Thatcher

Scarpia

Quote from: DavidRoss on August 19, 2010, 11:15:11 AM
And if the room would accommodate proper positioning of the Rogers speakers.

I think Elgarian mentioned the speakers flank a fireplace.  A monitor could even be hung on the wall above the mantle. 

karlhenning

Quote from: Scarpia on August 19, 2010, 11:18:51 AM
I think Elgarian mentioned the speakers flank a fireplace.  A monitor could even be hung on the wall above the mantle.

Depending on the depth of the room and the height of the fireplace, that could easily be uncomfortably high.

Scarpia

Quote from: k a rl h e nn i ng on August 19, 2010, 11:20:59 AM
Depending on the depth of the room and the height of the fireplace, that could easily be uncomfortably high.

Be can watch while reclining on a hammock hung from the ceiling rafters.  No imagination.   8)

Elgarian

Quote from: Scarpia on August 19, 2010, 11:18:51 AM
I think Elgarian mentioned the speakers flank a fireplace.  A monitor could even be hung on the wall above the mantle.
It's nice to see so many people trying to solve my problem for me, but ... yes, Scarpia's right. The speakers flank a tall fireplace, and a TV panel placed above it would be too high: very uncomfortable viewing unless we stood the chairs on 2 foot high plinths, or adopted Scarpia's hammock idea.

Wall space is also problematic. There's a lifetime's collection of art on the walls, and one of the finest of them hangs over the fireplace, which is the natural focus of the room. My pictures are my lifeblood, and to replace that superb image with one of those big flat screens would be seriously horrible. So the TV gets stuck in the corner and there really isn't anywhere else it can go. Too many conflicting priorities. Really, the headphones are the best solution for now.

Scarpia

Quote from: Elgarian on August 19, 2010, 12:30:53 PM
It's nice to see so many people trying to solve my problem for me, but ... yes, Scarpia's right. The speakers flank a tall fireplace, and a TV panel placed above it would be too high: very uncomfortable viewing unless we stood the chairs on 2 foot high plinths, or adopted Scarpia's hammock idea.

Wall space is also problematic. There's a lifetime's collection of art on the walls, and one of the finest of them hangs over the fireplace, which is the natural focus of the room. My pictures are my lifeblood, and to replace that superb image with one of those big flat screens would be seriously horrible. So the TV gets stuck in the corner and there really isn't anywhere else it can go. Too many conflicting priorities. Really, the headphones are the best solution for now.

At least you can get a second pair of headphones for when Mrs Elgarian wants to watch.

Elgarian

Quote from: Scarpia on August 19, 2010, 12:34:27 PM
At least you can get a second pair of headphones for when Mrs Elgarian wants to watch.
Nicely spotted. We've debated whether to splash out on a pair of wireless Sennheisers to accommodate that very possibility, but she's much less keen to watch opera on TV than I am, so the idea may just fizzle out.

DavidRoss

Quote from: Elgarian on August 19, 2010, 12:37:42 PM
Nicely spotted. We've debated whether to splash out on a pair of wireless Sennheisers to accommodate that very possibility, but she's much less keen to watch opera on TV than I am, so the idea may just fizzle out.
Hmmm...perhaps if you were more keen on watching Mozart and less on watching Wagner, she might come around...?  ;)
"Maybe the problem most of you have ... is that you're not listening to Barbirolli." ~Sarge

"The problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people's money." ~Margaret Thatcher