powerful rather than monumental or spiritual; Levine is more interested in finding our sympathy for the characters than inspiring pity or terror. These are very traditio...
powerful rather than monumental or spiritual; Levine is more interested in finding our sympathy for the characters than inspiring pity or terror. These are very traditio...
better focused, with more definition at the bottom end. Some have likened Herbert von Karajan's "chamber-music approach" to Wagner's Ring cycle in terms of his scaling down or deconstructing the heroic roles. This approach has less to do with dynamics per se than it does with von Karajan's masterful balancing of voices and instruments. He achieves revelations of horizontal clarity, allowing no contrapuntal strand to emerge with an unwanted accent or a miscalibrated dynamic. The texts are unusually pinpointed and distinct, although the singers don't convey the experience and dimension of Sir Georg Solti's cast on Decca. There are exceptions. Jon Vickers's probing, complex Siegmund, for instance, is paired with Gundula Janowitz's radiant Sieglinde. Martti Talvela is arguably the most sympathetic, touching Fasolt on record, and Gerhard Stolz's Mime is less caricatured and more direct here than for Solti, as is Christa Ludwig's Waltraute for von Karajan. The underrated Helge Brilioth's warmly ringing and musically solid Götterdämmerung Siegfried will be a welcome surprise. Smaller roles benefit from strong casting, notably the well-tuned Rheinmaidens and Valkyries. When all is said and done, however, it's von Karajan's show, and the glorious Berlin Philharmonic are the stars. --Jed Distler
playback of music. Yet only a bit more than a generation ago, the possibilities inherent in the long-playing record inspired John Culshaw, a young producer for Decca, to attempt the most ambitious recording project ever contemplated up to that time--a complete studio recording of the Ring. Though other Rings were issued after this landmark enterprise, none have equalled the Decca Ring in popularity. There are those who prefer live performances, or who feel that the sound and theatrical effects in this recording are overdone; nonetheless this remains the benchmark Ring, as shown by its seemingly endless re-release schedule. The Ring effort was high profile at the time and helped nail down Sir Georg Solti's status as a "superstar" conductor and authoritative interpreter of the Wagnerian repertory. Another key contributor to the success of the project was the uniform excellence in the casting. Definitive performances given include Neidlinger's nietzschean Alberich, Stolze's whining Mime, Boehme's rumbling Fafnir, along with Nilsson in her prime-more a force of nature than a human voice. The care lavished on the capture of the music was unmatched at the time of the recording, and still leaves this as one of the best sounding Rings even today, when the oldest part (Rheingold) has reached its fortieth anniversary. --Christian C. Rix
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Production Year: 1977 - Music / Performing Arts - Original Language: English - Classification: Exempt - Starring: Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Marilyn Horne, Nancy Gustafson, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Royal Opera Chorus, Richard Bonynge
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Music / Performing Arts - Director: Lotfi Mansouri - Original Language: English - Classification: Exempt - Starring: Yvonne Kenny, Boje Skovhus, Angelika Kirchschlager, Gregory Turay
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Production Year: 2004 - Music / Performing Arts - Original Language: French - Classification: Exempt - Starring: Stephanie D'Oustrac, Laurent Naouri, Sandrine Piau, Topi Lehtipuu, Rene Schirrer, Francois Piolino, Les Arts Florissants, William Christie
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Advantages: The ultimate operatic experience Disadvantages: It's complicated, but so was Wagner
...To the uninitiated, listening to the Ring Cycle first is not the best way to try and understand the world of Richard Wagner and his romantic notion of life on earth as we know it today.
Something like reading Herman Hesse's Glass Bead Game first, then exploring his earlier works. That's a back-to-front approach.
Likewise with Wagner. You need to start at the beginning and work your way through the elements of his creativity and composition.
When you finally reach the Ring cycle, your love of the music will be enhanced and your understanding about a musical genius fully appreciated.
So, let's take a tour of Wagner's operas and try to build a foundation of understanding of his operas from our listening point of view.
Some commentators believe the Ring Cycle was clear in Wagner's mind before he started writing any operas...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Music to my ears Disadvantages: Novocaine for my backside
...I'm sitting here about to write an opinion on Wagner's Ring and wondering seriously if a) I'm mad b) if I'll finish it before the end of my life, and c) whether it will be of any use to anyone else whatsoever.
Nevertheless, my Ciao motto is "write what you know", and I know Wagner's Ring, and especially Solti's first, and benchmark, recording at least as well as the back of my hand.
I recommend this glorious early sixties boxed-set over and above any other, since you have some of the last links here with singers that studied with those who had worked with Wagner. The glorious Norwegian soprano Kirsten Flagstad appears in one of her final recordings as Fricka in Das Rheingold (when she sat quietly knitting at a piano rehearsal, the general concensus was that "the old girl's past it" until she began to sing...), Hans Hotter turns in...
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Advantages: best dvd collection you can own, Disadvantages: need plenty of time to see the film
...Probably this film "LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY " have been reviewed many times. But I would still like to share my experience with this brilliant film by Peter Jackson. Everything about this film is perfect! I would suggest you to sit tight and don't let anyone disturb you while watching it, you will definitely miss something important if you did. Actually it happened to me so i just warn you! Don't make the same mistake as i did. Luckily i have the DVDset and i can watch it anytime i want to. Anyways here are some briefing on what to expect.
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy consists of three live action fantasy epic films: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002) and The Return of the King (2003). The trilogy is based on the three-volume book The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. While they follow the book...
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helpful 10.10.2009
(18.10.2009)
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