Wagner One Ring to rule them all...

[longears]

the Levine Ring (MET)...is a VERY TRADITIONAL adaptation of the Ring (in essence it is the Ring most true to Wagner's text in terms of setting, costumes etc.) I have heard many people criticize it as being too boring, etc. 

Seems authentic to me.

[uffeviking]

I will certainly look out for the Boulez and if at the right price the Levine would be nice.

The one i am waiting for is the Copenhagen Ring cycle which is promised for release but no date as yet.

How many rings can someone have on DVD? 

Some place January 2008 is mentioned as release date for the Copenhagen Ring. 

How many Rings? As many as you can afford, but don't waste your money on the Met/Levine! It's boringly old-fashioned and the acting impossible, especially James Morris, the stand-and-deliver originator! For the lovers of traditional Rings, I wish the Seattle so-called 'Green Ring would be available on DVD. It is 'natural', lots of trees and rocks and such stuff, but it is not boring!

[marvinbrown]

Seems authentic to me.

  Yes longears, it does have that "authentic" true to Wagner's intentions feel to it. but I would imagine that viewers who like modern adaptations might find it a bit "uninteresting".  That said I love the Levine Ring, it is the only recording of that masterpeice on DVD that I own, but I am always looking for another recording.

  Lis you mention the "Green Ring" from Seattle. I have seen excerpts in a Wagner documentary from a Ring in Seattle- The excerpts I saw were from the Seatle opera house and  had a mechanically operated "metallic" Fafner that spews fire?  If that is the "Green Ring" I would definitely be interested in seeing that recording.

  marvin

[uffeviking]

Marvin, as far as I know there is no commercial release of the so-called Seattle Green Ring. 

Here are a view pictures from a Seattle Opera program:

http://www.seattleopera.org/tickets/ring/index.aspx

[marvinbrown]

Marvin, as far as I know there is no commercial release of the so-called Seattle Green Ring. 

Here are a view pictures from a Seattle Opera program:

http://www.seattleopera.org/tickets/ring/index.aspx

  Thanks for the link Lis, looks very interesting  .

  marvin

[Wanderer]

Bumping this for Harry's benefit.

Also, I'd like to ask whether there's a difference between Levine's CD & DVD versions; I seem to remember reading some way back that they're not the same performances?

[head-case]

Bumping this for Harry's benefit.

Also, I'd like to ask whether there's a difference between Levine's CD & DVD versions; I seem to remember reading some way back that they're not the same performances?

The DVD has live performances in the MET.  The CD's are traditional studio recordings which were made at about the same time at a different venue in New York (IFRC).

[Wendell_E]

The DVD has live performances in the MET.  The CD's are traditional studio recordings which were made at about the same time at a different venue in New York (IFRC).

Yes, you recall correctly.  There's one major casting difference (Siegfried Jerusalem is the DVD Siegfried, on CD it's Reiner Goldberg), and, no doubt, some differences in other roles, as well.

[PSmith08]

Yes, you recall correctly.  There's one major casting difference (Siegfried Jerusalem is the DVD Siegfried, on CD it's Reiner Goldberg), and, no doubt, some differences in other roles, as well.

Really, if you can get past the dusty staging, Jerusalem trumps Goldberg, who - for whatever reason - never seemed to catch on to Siegfried. I think I once called him 'dusty' in a conversation. Windgassen, though, was about the last one who really nailed the scene.

[Haffner]

  In my very humble opinion, and seeing that you want to buy only one Ring Cycle I would invest in the SOLTI Ring.  As far as I am concerned the Solti Ring  is the Ring Cycle to have if you only want one recording.  The sound is exceptionally good, the cast is as "ideal" as you are ever going to get and the shear power of that recording is mindblowing. Trust me, this set does NOT lack drama!!

  That said, Sarge is the authority on  Wagner's Masterpiece so he should be able to guide you better.  But as far as I am concerned the SOLTI RING is as good as it gets!!!

  marvin

Marvin  said it!


As to the Levine Ring dvd: I happen to like it alot, though I thought Jerusalem was way better in the Stein Parsifal. His Siegfried comes across to me sometimes more brain dead than without fear (in the "noble" manner that I am guessing Wagner intended). His voice is often very good on the dvd, but after hearing the Solti and Krauss-conducted Rings I am a bit picky when it comes to Siegfried. And Behrens as Brunnhilde here is just fine when she goes up high, but seems to find chest singing uncomfortable, Her acting wasn't very bad at all, at times quite convincing.

I love James Morris as Wotan, Matti Salminen as Hagen, and Crista Ludwig as Fricka. Excellent!

The conducting seemed well paced...maybe a little slow at times.

[Haffner]

Windgassen, though, was about the last one who really nailed the scene.

JA!!!

[Haffner]

Is anyone familiar with this 1953 Bayreuth recording by Clemens Krauss:



It has a strong cast (Windgassen, Hotter, Varnay, Fischer-Dieskau), stellar reviews, a nice box, and comes a a bargain price.  But I've never heard of it.

Get it. The orchestra sounds buried at times, but the singing is absolutely stellar for the most part.

[Wanderer]

Any opinions on Haitink's Ring?

[Sergeant Rock]

Any opinions on Haitink's Ring?

I haven't heard any of it. I recall reading that Eva Marton's Brünnhillde was a serious drawback in Götterdämmerung.

Sarge

[Dancing Divertimentian]

Any opinions on Haitink's Ring?

I used to have Haitink's Siegfried. It's very well played and is quite enjoyable - up until Marton makes her entrance. After that, her wobble wrecks everything.

Sorry, haven't heard the rest of the cycle...

[PSmith08]

I haven't heard any of it. I recall reading that Eva Marton's Brünhillde was a serious drawback in Götterdämmerung.

Sarge

Yeah, Marton was not a terribly good choice for Brünnhilde, even considering competition like Hildegard Behrens and Anne Evans, but John Tomlinson's Hagen and Thomas Hampson's Gunther go some distance to making up for the issues with Marton. Also, Siegfried Jerusalem's reading of his eponymous role isn't bad. To my mind, however, Theo Adam's Alberich poses more of a problem than does Marton.

I'd say that, if you want a 1990s Ring, then Barenboim is your best bet, followed by Levine (despite some reservations with that set).

[marvinbrown]

  Which Ring Cycle to buy is one of the major decisions in an opera collector's life.  A lot of Ring Cycles sadly aren't cheap.  Plus since this is a monstrous work spanning 14+ hours I believe that it is crucial to invest in a noteworthy Ring Cycle (Solti, Karajan, Bohm, Levine DVD (IMHO) to name a few).  Criticism such as "Theo Adam's Alberich poses more of a problem than does Marton" are enough to discourage me from buying the Haitink set.  Experience and a few bad purchases (Furtwangler's RAI- God what an awful orchestra  ) have taught me that investing in a GREAT recording of the Ring Cycle can make all the difference in enjoying this Wagnerian masterpiece.

  marvin   

[PSmith08]

Now hold on here a minute. Your critical lodestar should be your pair of ears. If you've access to a good library or can buy and sell used CDs without trouble (i.e., an eBay account or some such other vendor access), then sample. You can even get individual works and find merits in them. For example, I wouldn't necessarily want to go without Haitink's Götterdämmerung. I wouldn't spend on red cent on the whole Haitink Ring, since some of his key roles are filled by singers I can't stand. That doesn't mean, however, there aren't excellent moments or excellent singers involved. The key aspects in a Wagnerian adventure are a keen interest, deep curiosity, and an understanding of Wagner's intent.

Everything else is superfluous.

[FideLeo]

Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart definitely found Levine to be among the right and Solti to be among the wrong conductors for Wagner, which of course includes the Ring.  The way Solti conducts the music simply kills the singers' voices.

"Lear: There are a few conductors who are sensitive enough to have followed Wagner's markings in the score. James Levine was one great conductor who really observed those markings. Others who did not, like Georg Solti, let the orchestra go wild and mad, so he was loud, louder, . . .
Stewart: And it's very exciting. It is very exciting but so far as the singers are concerned, it's very hard on the singers."

"Lear: And many voice teachers, of course, are very leery of the fact that Wagner is associated with the term "loud and dramatic." So they are afraid that the young voices that they are training will be ruined by having to sing that music. But, as you probably know, Wagner was very influenced by the Italian bel canto and he wanted his singers to sing that way. And, as a matter of fact, . .
Stewart: He stated often that he would have preferred Italian singers to sing his operas. But he never could get them because they refused to learn German or sing in German in his day. But he preferred the Italian singers. He wanted them to sing his operas.
Lear: You know what his favorite opera was? Norma of Bellini. He stressed the bel canto style. "Sing my music as if Italian folk songs." You know, that's what he wanted. Not the blasting. So when young singers come to us and audition for us and they start off really blasting the voices, we stop that immediately. That's not what it's about. "

http://www.wagner-dc.org/tomev_bartel_intv.html

[rubio]

I have heard the Keilberth Ring and I liked it a lot. So I wonder how the 1953 Krauss Ring compare to 1955 Keilberth (Testament)? Is it very similar and only in inferior sound, or is it quite different interpretation-wise? The Krauss Ring can be found quite cheap from time to time (even if that "one dollar offer" seemed to be a fraud, as I never received any CD's).