Wagner One Ring to rule them all...

[Opus106]

You may enjoy this as you learn the story and start exploring it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv7G92F2sqs.

Thanks again. I wasn't aware of her or her routines before. Hilarious stuff!

[kishnevi]

Thanks again. I wasn't aware of her or her routines before. Hilarious stuff!

This is the same (or nearly the same) as what's on the CD I posted two days ago.

[Opus106]

This is the same (or nearly the same) as what's on the CD I posted two days ago.

Ah, I see. I simply went to the then last post (Daniel's) and started from there.

[Fëanor]

Anybody besides me watch The Met's 2012 Ring Cycle last week on PBS?  I though it was great, including the Robert Lepage production that some grumbled about. High def and multichannel sound really help too.



More info from The Met HERE.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Anybody besides me watch The Met's 2012 Ring Cycle last week on PBS? 

I've been watching it, even though I'm neither a big opera fan nor a big Wagner fan. Watched the first 3 installments last week, and taped the 4th for viewing later this week.

Must say I enjoyed it. I've read various criticisms of the staging and the singing, but that's typical, right? There were only a few points where I thought the planking concept didn't quite come off ("Ride of Valkyries" looked like they were seesawing). And the dragon in Siegfried was a disappointment (large garden snake, not scary at all). I have no complaints about the singing and acting though.

[Lilas Pastia]

Boy, it tok me a while to unearth that thread!

In the coming weeks I'll be posting my thoughts about the 1953 Furtwängler Rome Ring, as well as comparing it with selections of the 1951 La Scala Ring.

Cheers ! 

[Bogey]

Release Date: 10/16/2012



http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=804685

Thoughts?

[kishnevi]

Release Date: 10/16/2012



http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=804685

Thoughts?

Extremely good Parsifal,  very good Meistersinger, nice Lohengrin and of course the Ring.....
I intend to get it eventually, once my listening pile diminishes and my checking account balance increases....

[Bogey]

Extremely good Parsifal,  very good Meistersinger, nice Lohengrin and of course the Ring.....
I intend to get it eventually, once my listening pile diminishes and my checking account balance increases....

Thanks!  Looked like a reasonable price.  Is that your take as well?

[kishnevi]

Thanks!  Looked like a reasonable price.  Is that your take as well?

I haven't gotten around to checking prices yet.   My experience with Arkivmusic is that on new releases they can be good, but usually no better than Amazon/AmazonMP, and on individual CDs (but not usually box sets) Presto often is better.

[bigshot]

No single version of a Wagner opera will ever be all you need, but that box is a very good start.

[Rinaldo]

Just a quick question: is this



the same recording as this one?

[asin]B0000254UX[/asin]

[Wendell_E]

Just a quick question: is this


the same recording as this one?

Yes.

[jlaurson]

Extremely good Parsifal,  very good Meistersinger, nice Lohengrin and of course the Ring.....
I intend to get it eventually, once my listening pile diminishes and my checking account balance increases....

You find his first Meistersinger better (or at least "very good") than his second recording?

[kishnevi]

You find his first Meistersinger better (or at least "very good") than his second recording?

I was speaking in general terms, referring to the set of Meistersingers which I have heard over the years (not necessarily a set with many members, but more than most other Wagner opere), and in fact have never heard the second recording.  (In fact, until about a year ago, I didn't even know he had recorded it a second time.)  I consider the (first) Meistersinger a very good recording, and if the second recording is better, than the second recording must be (one of) the best Meistersingers ever.

[jlaurson]

I was speaking in general terms, referring to the set of Meistersingers which I have heard over the years (not necessarily a set with many members, but more than most other Wagner opere), and in fact have never heard the second recording.  (In fact, until about a year ago, I didn't even know he had recorded it a second time.)  I consider the (first) Meistersinger a very good recording, and if the second recording is better, than the second recording must be (one of) the best Meistersingers ever.

Hmm... maybe. After Kubelik, Barenboim, Goodall, Karajan, Kempe, and Jochum at least.

[Lilas Pastia]

Currently re-listening to the Decca 2cd set of Ring musical examples, with Deryck Cooke, with musical extracts from the Solti set. It's not the first time I listen to this. It's actually difficult listening if you ask me. Cooke painstakingly explores the innumerable subtle, ingenious transformations of the Ring's seminal motives. It makes for fascinating and sometimes confusing listening. The various transformations sound very much alike, but never really give away their origin easily - which is of course what Wagner intended: a musical House of Mirrors.

This audio Guide is very well made. No subtlety of the score escapes Cooke's analytical ear. I was able to actually make musical sense of all these kaleidoscopic musical shapes and shades. When I have listened to it a few more times I will probably be able to get my Ring feelings mostly from a cogent, logical musical narrative thread rather than from Wagner's silly, hopelessly confusing prose. Anyone who fancies the latter approach can rely on Anna Russell's own brilliant presentation of the Ring. Youtube is a good source for her particular view of the work.

When I feel I'm strong enough I'll plunge and go for the Krauss Ring ohne Rheingold, which I didn't bother to purchase. Although it contains much of the Ring's musical and dramatic genesis, it's a static and boring piece of musical theatre. No wonder it's called a Prologue ('before I speak' - right: let me know when the real speech starts). The real Ring starts with its first Journey, the glorious Die Walküre. Unfortunately, much of Siegfried, the second Journey, dabbles with events that took place in the Prologue. And the first hour of  Götterdämmerung, the Ring's third and last Journey, recaps a lot of what has gone on before. More great music and a return to the chain of events that led one to sit and start listening in the first place. Even though he could have said it all in half as much notes and words, Wagner was the Barnum & Bailey, the Cecil B. de Mille of his era. He was BIG. Nobody will leave home feeling shortchanged.

Considering the times, Wagner probably took the right artistic decisions. Nobody but Wagner's protector the King of Bavaria had immediate access to the Ring's paraphernalia of legends and musical treasures. One must visit the King's own Graceland (aka Schloss Linderhof), with its wagnerian recreations (Hunding's Hut a real must) and frescoes (Schloss Neuschwanstein, aka Disney's Castle) to understand the impact Wagner' musical theatre had on his contemporaries.

In any case, back to what is the contemporary music lover's handle on The Ring: other than recordings, one can only rely on video examples: Chéreau's or Lepage's vision for example.

[kishnevi]

I have to disagree about Rheingold.  I tend to think of it as the most interesting segment of the Ring.   One problem may be that it's not really about the Rhinegold or the Ring.  Its  real focus is on Wotan, and how he forces himself to submit to fate and the need to keep his word, even if it costs him the ultimate power in the universe.

Plus I have to say this: Loge is perhaps my favorite character in the whole tetralogy.

On the matter of the "lietmotivs" -- I think of them as being cues for our subconscious mind, which can take in all the interplay and transformations of musical material our conscious mind can't completely follow.

Meanwhile, I posted this on the WAYLT thread earlier this evening and may as well crosspost it here.

I have had the first two installments of the Zagrosek/Stuttgart Ring for a number of years.  Truthfully,  they didn't impress me:  Rheingold was fine, but nothing to write home about;  Walkure was dull and dreary and overall a bore.  But I'm the sort of person for whom having half a Ring is worse than not having it at all, and intended to get the other two installments eventually.  Well, a few months back, eventually came in the form of Presto having them on sale for approximately half their MRSP.  And they've been sitting in Mt. To-Be-Listened-To since.  Today,  having a day off from work and not wanting to leave the house because of the weather (Sandy was still blowing and raining on us until after lunch time--those of you in the MidAtlantic/Northeast states, take this storm seriously, please!), I decided to listen to Siegfried, and was very pleasantly surprised. 
[asin] B000L42JDQ[/asin]
The conducting seemed first rate--moody much of the time, but seemed to catch the spirit of the music throughout--and so was the tenor (Jon Fredric West).  Brunnhilde (Lisa Gasteen) was not quite so good,  but more than adequate to the final scene. The Wanderer (Wolfgang Schoene) was, unfortunately, a negative--he seemed to have strain incessantly in the upper register of his part--but his vocal acting seemed good (as did that of almost everyone else, except possibly Gasteen).  The Songbird (Gabriela Herrara) was another defect--squally and even a little shrieky, which songbirds aren't.

The audio engineering was excellent, possibly the best I've ever heard in a live opera recording, but since it was a live performance, those who don't like stage noises and applause at the end of each act should consider themselves warned.    It should be noted that the cast in each installment of this Ring was different, which perhaps explains why this impressed me so much more;  but at least I have some hopes when I listen to the Gotterdammerung eventually.   Also, this is the CD recording, not the DVD version.

Overall,  if you are willing to have a one off instead of a complete Ring, I would recommend this one, especially since its Amazon MP price is now even less than what I paid for it--you can have it for under $9US, including shipping charges.

[Mirror Image]

I agree Das Rheingold is an outstanding opera regardless if it merely acts as a prelude to the main story of the Ring. My favorite Das Rheingold is undoubtedly Karajan and the Berliners. Incredible from start to finish. Not one note wasted.

[kaergaard]

Watched Rheingold and Die Walküre so far and am delighted with Lepage's new production. Something entirely new on stage, dusty ancient scenery of rocks and trees scrubbed clean with innovation and intelligence, the construction of the machinery augmented with fascinating new lighting. I saw the Walküres as riding on their steeds in full speed while pulling the reins. The cast alas, is not the best, except Kaufmann and Terfel.