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Amazon.co.uk Review
On the DVD: Der Ring des Nibelungen has all four operas, which are also available individually, contained in a single box. All the DVDs come with a photo gallery of the Metropolitan Opera productions and with menus and subtitles in German, French, English, Spanish and Chinese. It's a little disappointing, though, that they are presented in American NTSC format, not European PAL, and the picture ratio is standard TV 4:3. On the plus side, they all have an excellent clear acoustic in the three audio options: PCM stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. --Roz Kaveney
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The discs themselves provide subtitles in a variety of languages, sound in PCM stereo, 5.1 dolby and 5.1 Dts, photo galleries of the production, and details of other operas available in the Deutsche Grammophon series. It would have been helpful to have details of the lietmotifs - the musical phrases linked to persons, events, emotions etc - that run like threads throughout the work. A proper understanding - and enjoyment - of this music is impossible without some awareness of these building blocks, so some homework is advisable.
Sonically the discs are breathtaking. The Dts soundtrack weaves a transparent magic around the speakers, only don't expect too much from the rear channels - this isn't "Star Wars".
The eyes are a little less well served, as the NTSC encoded picture loses some detail at 525 lines (not PAL 625). Nor are we treated to widescreen. But with visual effects as gorgeous as the "rainbow bridge to Valhalla", in the closing moments of Das Rheingold, such technical shortcomings are soon forgotton.
An assessment of the performances, either solo or orchestral, must be largely subjective but the word "definitive" comes to mind. It's unfortunate that the standard of the subtitles doesn't quite match up - like me, you may after a while find yourself automatically paraphrasing the rather clumsy translation.
But any blemishes pale into insignificance against the music. This is to die for. Why not take a long weekend and enjoy the cycle as Wagner intended. At an average of nearly four hours of music on each of 3 days and a preliminary evening, this is an experience for the heart and mind that will be remembered (and repeated many times) for a lifetime.
My only criticism is however, that this version is NTSC coded; so unless you have a multi region DVD, you may have to decide whether to buy this version now just for the soundtrack which still plays superbly, or wait until you upgrade your DVD player. The choice is yours really. Any die hard Wagner fan cannot afford to be without this version though. Can be bought for a good price too, cheaper than the music CDs version.
The other important advantage of this DVD set is that the sound is much better then its rivals. When playing Siegfried funeral march through my DVD and outboard DAC I thought the sound was better then any CD version of it. A generally excellent cast especially Siegfried Jerusalem and James Morris. My only disappointment is Jessye Norman who is totally miscast as the down trodden wife. I respect her artistic commitment but it is too much for an audience to imagine her as Sieglinde. I also really admire Levine very thoughtful and introspective interpretation of the score.
I find the Barenboim version of the Ring more gripping both visually and musically but the sound is poorer and the modern designs will not be to everyone taste.
This is my first choice of any Ring Cycle currentkt
Levine's conducting is inspired and multicoloured but the staging is really boring. Read more
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