Hans hotter baritone vocals, birgit nilsson soprano vocals, kirsten flagstad soprano vocals, dietrich fischerdieskau baritone vocals, wolfgang windgassen tenor vocals, ira. Clocking in at approximately 15 hours, this makes it the longest opera ever created and the second longest song in the world. Clearly the best nibelungen ring dvd on the market as i am concerned. May 22, 2012 wagners complete ring cycle screening in cinemas for the first time in the mets cuttingedge new production screenings of all four operas in wagners epic begin june 30 on june 2, a new. The composer termed the cycle a buhnenfestspiel stage festival play, structured in three days preceded by a vorabend preliminary evening. The festival was directed by wolfgang wagner and the production was created by the french team of conductor pierre boulez, stage director patrice. Soltis ring has twice been voted the greatest recording ever made, in polls for gramophone magazine in 1999 and the bbcs music magazine in 2012. Wagners complete ring cycle screening in cinemas for the first time in the mets cuttingedge new production screenings of all four operas in wagners epic begin june 30 on june 2, a new.
In the period up to the first performance of the complete ring cycle. Wagners complete ring cycle screening in cinemas for the first time. The works are based loosely on characters from the norse sagas and the nibelungenlied. Features bryn terfel, deborah voigt, stephanie blythe, jonas kaufmann. Loony tunes kill the wabbit spoofed the ring cycle, and became an entire generations first, and often only exposure to opera, as ayun halliday noted here recently. The conductor of the frankfurter operaund museum orchestra is sebastian wiegle,who is one of the few wagner conductors who does. Gotterdammerung premiered in january 2012, and complete cycles were performed at the end of the 201112 season and again during the 2012 season. Unavoidable reference production for all later stagings of the ring. I just didnt get what michael schulz was trying to do, hopefully the other weimar ring cycle will show the complete opposite and that this was the case of nobody finding their comfort zones yet. Set decorations are dispersed with, the odd metal staffelio apart.
It is even possible for the orchestra to convey ideas that are hidden from the. Ring resounding text and commentary 9 of deryck cooke. Filmed at the worldfamous metropolitan opera house in new york, in high definition the award winning robert lepage production. The winners written by the wagnerian on sunday, 16 march 2014 3. It is hard to believe that its almost eight years since this complete cycle was recorded. Deutsche grammophon 001735609 dvd or 001735559 bluray, 114 mins. This complete set of the ring cycle, made during performances in wagners theatre at bayreuth, remains one of the greatest rings on record. A complete 15hour performance is now free online thanks to the bbc.
It is hard to believe that its almost eight years since this complete cycle was. The film here, by opera north, comes from live performances in. Reviewed in the united kingdom on january 15, 2012. Gotterdammerung premiered in january 2012, and complete cycles. To complement the complete ring cycle on both dvd and bluray. The most famous, the most performed, the most thrilling, and the most recorded opera cycle in music history.
If you regret that no modern production is ever true to wagners own stage directions and you should, because it is always disappointing these days, usually ugly or merely provocative for no good reason this is the one. The first complete cycle of robert lepages ring concludes at the. Film music on the web closed in december 2006 programme notes. Also contains the film wagners dream a documentary about the making of the. For this reason, many full ring recordings are the result of unofficial recording of live performances, particularly from the bayreuth festival where new productions are often broadcast by german radio. Sellers, joyce castle, diane kesling, jacalyn bower, brian large, richard wagner. Conceived and written over a period of more than 25 years, wagners ring cycle is an epic musical journey of four operas. Combining the music of richard wagner with film footage.
Tolkiens lord of the rings and scored the ride of the valkyries scene in apocalypse now. A unique and exclusive package, on multiset bluray, of the most successful ring cycle production of the 21th century. The information about the opera is on rhinegolds second dvd,the making of the ring. Film looks at robert lepages ring in the machine age nobody has got it perfectly right, william berger, an author of popular books about opera, is heard to. The 1965 bbc documentary film on soltis recording of the ring. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. In places, wagner tells the story with the orchestra, using leitmotifsfragments of melody that convey emotions and themes as they recur in varying contexts. Live in hd wagners complete ring cycle encore season 2012.
The royal danish opera performed a complete ring cycle in may 2006 in its new. The word wagnerian as a synonym for operatic bombast may have fallen out of favor in recent years, as has the reputation of german composer richard wagner. Oct 28, 2008 the major strengths of this ring is daniel barenboim. We look at grey, naked and desolate sets dominated. Collectors who want a complete wagner ring in their collection which gives us the score exactly as wagner wrote it without any errors or slips such as are inevitable in any live performance will want this recording. Also contains the film wagners dream a documentary about the making of the metropolitan operas new ring cycle. Fritz hubner is a slightly woolly but sinister fafner, ortrun wenkel is a touching erda and hermann becht is an effectively skincrawling alberich. For this reason, many full ring recordings are the result of unofficial recording of live performances, particularly from the bayreuth festival where new productions are often broadcast by german ra. Robert lepages first complete ring concludes at met the new. In this context it should be noted that this met production filmed in 198990 is the only conventionally staged dvd of the nibelungen ring on the market.