Richard Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen [DVD] [2007]

Creating a filmed version of a work that was intended to be experienced in the theatre is never an easy task, and even the best recordings often disappoint on at least some (even if nonessential) levels. This recording of the 1991 and 1992 Kupfer and Barenboim Ring Cycle is, without a doubt, among the best recorded versions of an opera I have ever seen, and one of the undisputed highlights of my dvd collection. Whether because of the wonderful cast, superb orchestra and conducting, or (largely, if not always) enlightening design and direction, this production simply works. Despite being rather a traditionalist myself, I found the design of this production to be mostly remarkable, visually arresting and intellectually stimulating more often than not. The costumes and staging have a distinctly modern, largely minimalist feel, yet they nevertheless manage by and large to do justice to the sense of timelessness that keeps Wagner's masterpiece relevant almost 150 years after it was first performed. There is enough of tradition here to retain the sense of historicity that should be a fundamental part of any good Ring Cycle, respecting its foundation in ancient myth as well as looking simultaneously to the future. Having said that, there are moments when the production looks to the future in ways that I don't find particularly enlightening. The whole post-nuclear destruction premise jars in my opinion with what the focus of the Ring ought to be, and the interjection in the final minute of what is purely the director's fancy is in my view completely wrongheaded and distracting. Nevertheless, new productions wouldn't be worth seeing if they all attempted to merely copy the romantic traditionalism of, say, Otto Schenk's Ring for the Met (which is, as far as traditional productions go, as good as they come. In that vein, the production is just about perfect, featuring scene after scene of picture-perfect romantic imagery the way the Ring was meant to be performed. However, I tend to tip my hat to the Kupfer production, as it is, I think, more dynamic and exciting overall. But both are excellent), and to the most part, Kupfer strikes new ground in ways that are interesting. And of course, while qualities of a production are important to note in order to differentiate it from others (and on the whole, I do think this one of the best, and certainly my favorite of the 'modern' Rings), any version of the Ring must stand or fall by the virtue of its cast, conductor, and orchestra; and the music itself is marvelous. I personally love John Tomlinson's Wotan, and he is beyond a doubt among the recording's greatest virtues. It should be noted that his voice is not one that everyone loves equally in the role; for sheer beauty and elegance of phrasing, one would do better to seek out James Morris in the Met's recording. However, I cannot imagine anyone portraying Wotan more powerfully on the stage, imbuing him with a stronger sense of the admixture of pride, power, and ultimate world-weariness that exemplifies the character, and I would recommend anyone interested in the Ring at least witness his wonderful performance. The rest of the cast is of a similarly high quality, with other highlights including Siegfried Jerusalem's excellent Siegfried and Anne Evans's brilliant and heartrendingly poignant Brunnhilde. The interplay between Tomlinson and Evans is especially striking; one really had the sense of two operatic giants on the stage--theatric spectacle at its best, and alongside Barenboim's lush orchestration, its most profound. This is, overall, one of the most dynamic Rings, well-acted and quite often thoroughly riveting--which is, ultimately, one of the main reasons I would choose it as probably my favorite despite quirks in the production.
In summary, a masterful production of one of opera's most difficult works to conceptualize and stage well. Ideally, one would want to own this as well as the Schenk production to pair the best of the traditional with the best of the new; however, for a single recording, one can't do wrong with this one. Highly recommended indeed.

These DVD productions of Wagner's Ring cycle, under Daniel Barenboim at Bayreuth, are absolutely awesome. I have reorganised my living room in order to optimally hook up my TV to my best hi-fi. I have just finished Walkure, and I have damp eyes, and there are still chills running up and down my spine. You care so much for these performers, even the villains. Everyone is trapped inside situations of their own making, but which were not foreseen, and you feel for all of them.

My initial connection to the Ring has been via the mighty Solti box-set .Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen. Whilst very much admiring the music I found the text a bit perplexing. These characters did not seem to make much sense to me, particularly morally. Everyone, even the supposed heroes seemed very flawed. Lying and conniving to coerce and entrap each other. Later on I got to see live performances by the ENO at the Coliseum, with text in English. This acquainted me with the visual spectacle of the cycle, but still found the characters unconvincing. In an effort to gain some comprehension of the text I read G.B.Shaw's The Perfect Wagnerite, which attempts to interpret the Ring as a quasi-political allegory of the Industrial Revolution and Marxism, but then could only be made sense of on the premise that Wagner switched sides from the plebs to toffs in time for Gotterdamerung. I found this interpretation even less convincing. Meanwhile, I acquired the [ASIN:B00006L9ZT Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen -- Metropolitan/Levine [DVD] [2002] [NTSC]]], which had rather inferior sound to the Solti CDs, a naturalistic look and feel, which only served to distract by it's fauxness, and a cast that were somehow uncommitted.

Recently however I have acquired, on a recommendation from the Amazon Classical Music forum, the book, Wagner's "Ring" and Its Symbols: The Music and the Myth by Robert Donnington, which just happened to coincide with my being lent this marvellous set of DVDs. The book is a Jungian analysis of the text, based on an understanding of the myths that Wagner drew upon. I'm not sure what the current staus of Jungian psychoanalysis is these days, and I myself have some reservations around Jung's model of the human psyche, from an evolutionary perspective. Nonetheless, the book at last provides the key that unlocks the drama, and I have understood the thing in a whole new light, that at last makes sense. Thus for instance, until now I have always despised Wotan as an arrogant and perfidious villain, and have drawn the worst conclusions about Wagner himself, if this is what he took to be a hero. Now however, I'm overwhelmed with empathy for Wotan's (and Wagner's) awful predicament.

The way I'm working through it now is to watch one of the DVDs, which will be an Act or two, with full sound, when everyone else in the house is out at work, with the English sub-titles on. I then read the relevant Donington chapters which provokes me to really think through the nature of the characters and their interactions. I then listen to the corresponding Solti, again at optimal volume, without text, paying close attention to the musical detail and the German diction, which despite only having O-level German, still has an evocative emotional resonance for me. This approach is turning into an intense journey in which, despite having long exposure to the Ring, I'm really getting to know it for the first time.

Throughout these productions, the sound, the singing and the quality of acting is wonderful. In my living room it even beats my live ENO experience, at which I was not close enough to the stage for the acting to really come across. There is some rather harsh distortion on the voices during the first twenty minutes of Rhinegold, which on first hearing really turned me off. But I went back for a second try and persisted, to find that they do get this under control, after which the sound is magnificent. The sound balance between orchestra and voices is perfect, and the orchestra sounds massive, again more so than my live ENO, or even the Solti CD set. Though the Solti CD set has still far more exquisite detail, so I'm not saying that the DVDs are a replacement for it.

Production-wise it's minimalist in terms of sets, mostly atmospherics with dry ice and lasers. The costumes are straightforward and fairly Norse. There are no distracting attempts at a modern/postmodern angle. Neither is there an effort towards cheesy naturalism, as there is in the Met DVDs. In these productions it would seem that the sets are intended to be as unobtrusive as possible. The camera really concentrates on the acting, so there are lots of close-ups on expression and body language. One is therefore completely engaged with the characters and the music. The externals just sort of melt away, which perhaps, in the absence of a really robust naturalism, is the way it should be. It shouldn't matter but it does that the singers really look like the part in these productions. I remember a rather grimy BBC2 version, that was screened a little while back, in which the cast, sorry to say it, were not attractive enough to carry the achetypes, so to speak.

One tiny problem for me is that John Tomlinson, the guy who sings Wotan, kept reminding me of Zaphod Beevlebrox from the BBC Hitchhikers series, but that's just my issue. Forget I said it. Saying that, his singing is absolutely magnificent, such that you can imagine how people might burn out doing this stuff for too long.

While I love my Solti CDs, I do think I would have got to a deeper understanding of the operas, much more quickly, if this set had been available when my journey Ring cycle began. For anyone wanting to start that journey, or even coming to opera for the first time, I cannot but recommend that these DVDs would make a superb introduction.

I saw this production first on VHS Video - and still have all of them. I enjoyed it then, but spent most of the time looking at the translation and synopsis which came with it. I them saw it on television and was glued to it. I now have it on DVD - this version - and there is only one word I can say about it - wow! It is a mixture of modern with traditional and it works really well. It is very atmospheric and full marks go to the lighting and stage technicians. The use of lasers and smoke in 'Das Rheingold' were stunning to say the least. The depth of the acting and music was also outstanding. Although it has a modern flavour, it is easy to determine who is who. (Dare I say it - but this version is better than the recent version by the Royal Opera House!) There is even a (subtle) bit of humour with the charater Mime in Siegfried. That character comes to life as the sleazy, snivelling and scheming dwarf. All in all, this is one version I will watch again and with on-screen subtitles available, it is very easy to follow and understand. The DVD quality is excellent and they have managed to squeeze it into seven DVD's without any reduction of the quality. Even if you have never watched anything like this on such a scale, I would recommend that you do. I find that 5.5 surround sound works best and a large screen. (computer or television) Ignore the time it takes to view... just sit back and watch. It will make you gasp, chuckle from time to time, and there will be times when you feel the very hairs on your neck rise. Everyone plays their own character with great feeling. This is one any fan of opera will love to watch... and perhaps others will watch with you as they become caught up in it. AS mentioned, this is the finest (modern) version I have viewed. I hope you feel the same way.