Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen [DVD] [2009] [NTSC]

This is not going to be a long review - another reviewer has referred to the long and informative reviews of the 2007 incarnation of this recording, which I read myself and found very helpful. I hovered for some time between this recording and the alternatives from New York and Copenhagen, and have no regrets from choosing this one.

I've got as far as the second act of Siegfried and the performances of the main actors range from good to excellent. John Tomlinson's Wotan has been universally praised and I see why, but I was also very impressed by Graham Clark as a wonderfully camp Loge in Rheingold and a scheming, snivelling yet almost likeable Mime in Siegfried. Incidentally, how nice to see Brits doing so well in some of the major parts - Tomlinson and Anne Evans in the final act of Walkure bring tears to the eyes.

I like the way the production and scenery keep the actors moving around, left, right, up and down. This is not a Ring where the actors just stand and sing at each other, and they're all the better for it. The more fantastical events, eg the Ride of the Valkyries, Siegfried fighting the dragon Fafner, are no more believable than in other productions, but without CGI how can they be? This Ring dates from 1991-92, and even today, how do you combine CGI with live people on a stage?

I must also mention the Bayreuth orchestra, in the capable hands of Daniel Barenboim. It's just there, supporting the actors, propelling the action, just as Wagner intended. One hardly ever notices the tempi, so they must be about right. I did think the first few exchanges between Siegmund and Sieglinde were a bit on the slow side, but that could just be me.

Finally, at £45 this set is on offer at a third of the 2007 price. Snap it up while it's still available!

This is not a review but just a note to point you to the far more erudite reviewers who have written about the 2007 Barenboim / Kupfer release which is the same as this.Richard Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen [DVD] [2007]
I mentioned this set in a review of the excellent Fura del Baus set. I now sadly have eight dvd sets of the Ring but this is still the one played most.
Recorded in the 1990s with a stellar cast, a non-traditional but believable set and incandescent orchestral playing at points sounding more lush Hollywood film score than Bayreuth and all the better for it.
For more detailed insights, please read those reviews especially the ones by John De Wald and John Ferngrove who both write elegantly and eloquently.

The biggest surprise for me when first experiencing this set of the Ring was the effect of considerable movement - much of it fast and urgent. This is a concept far from the old style of `stand and deliver' and it achieves a considerable accumulative effect when followed through the whole set of four operas. For the purposes of this review I will restrict myself to considering the broad issues relating to this set. More specific comments can be found under the individual issues which can be bought separately.

Quick movement is important to this production as mentioned above. Considerable use is made of the vast stage at Bayreuth so that the settings can be built on an appropriately huge scale and so that characters can move rapidly around unfettered by limitations of space. This enables this entire production to differ fundamentally from many other conceptions that are more constrained by spatial considerations and which frequently have far less urgent movement and which have to rely upon other means to achieve their purpose.

Quite apart from the purely musical considerations, this set makes extensive use of laser technology. This is often in the form of shafts of light than can vary in thickness from narrow shafts to sheets of colour.

The time period is established as modern to futuristic but of an indeterminate moment. This is achieved via costumes and stage sets which are a mixture of function and abstraction. Key dramatic staging moments are effective - such as Valhalla, the Nibelung realm, toad catching, Mime's furnace, the dragon fight, Brunnhilde's rock etc.

None of this would be worthwhile of course if the musical values were inadequate. In this case the whole cast delivers consistently high standards with not a weak moment anywhere. Wotan, as an unpredictable and dominant God is superb throughout and in magnificent voice. Loge fulfils his distantly scheming role well. Alberecht is powerful and delivers his curse effectively, Mime is a much stronger and more believable character than usual and Jerusalem, as Siegfried, avoids appearing to be a spoiled brat. He is at the peak of his form and, to my mind, is far more effective here than in the Levine/Met performance. Hunding and Hagen are both satisfyingly menacing and Seigmunde and Seiglinde make a convincing pair. Brunnhilde sings outstandingly throughout and is a totally believable pivotal characterisation. The recorded sound fully supports Barenboim's driving energy. In a word -marvellous.

The recording dates from 1992 but has already been digitally enhanced and would presumably be a strong candidate for a future Blu-ray presentation. What cannot be solved is the considerable amount of trailing light as the film technology of the time could not keep up with the faster actions in the predominantly dark lighting. However I personally find the trailing image effects surrounding the various characters as they move swiftly about rather effective as it emphasises their essentially unpredictable and often unbalanced mental and physical speed. Strange, as normally I would find this a distracting visual problem but it is almost a total positive here.

I also own the Blu-ray set by La Fura Dels Baus which is quite another type of satisfying experience and certainly not a direct competitor.
Nevertheless I unhesitatingly find that this is my benchmark preferred version and therefore equally unhesitatingly give it the full 5 stars even bearing in mind the 1992 recording issues as described above. This is further enhanced by currently being at an astonishingly low bargain price. Unmissable!