DVD : Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen / Levine, Metropolitan Opera (Complete Ring Cycle)

Rating: - Cinematic Wagner
Wagner's Ring is perhaps the greatest work of art ever, certainly the most brilliant accomplishment in the field of musical drama. I found this Met broadcast to be an entirely satisfying interpretation. I understand that some "Ringies" are disappointed with the straightforward approach, the lack of symbolism, but there is already enough symbolism in the story, the characters and the music for a month of Sundays. Don't get me wrong, I like abstract interpretations of the Ring(see my review of the Barcelona production), but sometimes you just want to sit back and enjoy the Ring on its own terms, without any frills, just be immersed in the mythological images and, most of all, the glorious music, and this Met production is perfect for that type of Ring experience. Otto Schenk's vision is appropriately cinematic, literally capturing Wagner's mythological world as the composer probably envisioned it, uncluttered by any modernist touches. And the results are often stunning. The gods' introduction to Valhalla at the end of Das Rheingold is one example, Wotan and company standing in the foreground, with a gorgeous rainbow spanning the gorge between them and their new home, a castle as grim and foreboding as it is beautiful. The conclusion of Gotterdammerung is equally impressive, with Schenck taking the term twilight of the gods quite literally as the whole stage crumbles to ruin against the backdrop of the Rhinemaidens retrieving their lost gold just before humanity arrives on the scene to look on in awe at the dethroned immortals. Only a few scenes are visually disappointing, including a pedestrian Ride of the Valkyries(sans horses) and uminspiring special effects to back up Wagner's very inspiring Magic Fire Music.



Musically, this is a grand performance. There are too many singers involved in the Ring to mention everyone, so I'll focus on the majors. James Morris is Wotan, and his experience in the role is invaluable to this performance. His deep and haunting voice conveys both introspection and compassion, and anger when necessary, although the viewer gets the feeling that with this Wotan, anger is seldom more than an affectation, he is more of a noble and thoughtful character than a god of fury. His scene with Brunnhilde at the end of Die Walkure is earthshattering. The appropriately named Siegfried Jerusalem is an ideal Siegfriend, dashing, energetic, brash, immature and passionate, with a voice capable of being both stentorian and lyrical. Hildegard Behrens' Brunnhilde didn't overwhelm me initially, but by the Immolation Scene in Gotterdammerung I was completely sold. Though she sings beautifully, and with a lot of passion, she isn't the most strong-voiced Brunnhilde you will ever hear, and if this were merely a sound recording it might have bothered me. But she is as much a physical actress as a vocal one, and you aren't likely to see anyone get into the character of Wotan's valiant lovechild as deeply as she does. Finally, Matti Salminen is Matti Salminen. Among contemporary basses, he owns the character of the half-Nibelung half-human Hagen, possibly my favorite character in the whole cycle, a fascinating study of a personality bred toward evil. No one else's voice, or face, is so perfect for projecting Hagen's unique form of tortured menace. It makes we want to see him as King Phillip in Don Carlo, so someone please get around to releasing one of those productions on DVD!



Finally, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra under James Levine is outstanding. I sometimes find Levine's conducting of Wagner(as well as Puccini) to be too slow, but here there are very few moments where I felt he was dwelling on the profundity of the music at the expense of the drama, he achieves a nearly perfect balance of these two qualities. All the motifs are explored to the fullest extent, and the result is a soundworld unlike any other.



Buying a complete Ring Cycle is a big investment, so it really depends on what you're looking for. I'm a huge fan of these Met releases, so I may be a bit prejudiced, but I would recommend this one over others(bearing in mind that the only other one I've seen is the Barcelong Ring which is also quite good, though totally different). For me, this one is a perfect fusion of image and music. The Ring is a long listening and viewing experience, sometimes even in the best hands this can lead to some awkward and, let's face it, tiresome stretches, but especially if the music and visuals aren't on track. Here, though, Levine and Schenk and company have achieved something magical, appropriately enough, more than that they have created a Ring that FLOWS, logically, dramatically, from beginning to end. My praise couldn't be any higher.

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Rating: - Wagner's Opera, " The Ring " Cycle
The longest Opera ever written is also one of the best ever written. The players are superb, as are their performances.
If you ever have an opportunity to see a performance live, take it.

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Rating: - Met's Ring Cycle
For me, this is the best Ring cycle I am aware of - excellent singing, staging, acting, James Levine direction, etc. It is a traditional staging, which I far prefer, with top singing in each role. I am a great fan of James Morris as Wotan and was highly satisfied with all other major roles. If you enjoy a traditional Ring cycle, you can't go wrong with this production.

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Rating: - Great Introduction to the Ring
Wonderful cast and spectacular sets. I am looking forward to attending a live performance and becoming what opera lovers call a "Ring Nut."

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Rating: - A fabulous "traditional" Ring for beginners and veterans alike
I have been to several Rings -- 2 in San Francisco, 3 in Seattle and even the 1990 Met production on this DVD. I have also seen several versions of the Ring on DVD, including Stuttgard and Bayreuth productions. Of all the Rings I have seen this Met production is the only one that meets Wagner's standard as he wrote it -- with the visuals true to his directions. It is this version of the Ring that I show to my local opera group, and the only one I recommend as an introduction to the greatness and immensity of the Ring itself. The other versions, though excellent productions in themselves, are not produced the way Wagner wrote it, as Nordic mythology, but as a contemporary interpretation of this amazing work.

This production is as good as any opera you would expect from the Met. Because the Met has all the latest equipment and technology available to them to really put on an incredible show you should expect nothing less but breathtaking -- and all the special effects are there (no horses, however). The most disappointing character, however, was the dragon. It was pitiful! (We call it a crab or Dungeness dragon at our house!) Shame on the Met for not having more imagination and giving us a truly awesome dragon. They certainly have the talent to pull it off much better than they did. Seattle's dragon was the best I have ever seen -- and they were able to keep it a secret from the audience up until its amazing debut. Kudos to them! The Fire Music at the end of Die Walkure is breathtaking, and you are left with the feeling you have truly seen the best there is. Siegfried was a lot of fun to watch. Mime was fabulous and you really forgot that he had a great voice as well. The only frustrating thing was in the third act, Siegfried's ring kept mysteriously switching from one hand to the other and it became distracting. I actually counted eight times the ring switched hands -- my suspicion was that it was two takes that were spliced together. But why Siegfried can't remember which hand he had originally put the ring is beyond me.

I was at the 1990 Met production and got to see the Immolation Scene and end of Gotterdammerung from the back of the orchestra section. It was truly stupendous! I kept poking my mother saying, "They really pulled it off! Wow!" The DVD version was less spectacular, however, with the camera intent on getting close-ups instead of just backing up to a full stage and letting the special effects run their course. You lost the continuity of the staging, suddenly finding yourself underwater with the Rhinemaidens, and not knowing how you got there. It's a shame that they didn't duplicate the experience I saw being in the audience. It's hard to describe to anyone watching the DVD.

The singing, though not really spectacular except for the brilliance of James Morris, Matti Salminen and perhaps Jessye Norman, was more than adequate. Although the singing took a back seat to the "Dream Team" of Kirsten Flagstad, Lauritz Melchior and Frederich Schorr, the singers were always on key and certainly gave it their best professional performance. Hildegarde Behrens will never be another Birgit Nilsson, but she certainly made up for it in her exquisite acting ability, her loveliness and in her physical agility. She was a believable Brunnhilde, and that's hard to find in today's buxom bunch. The close-ups of her facial expressions and body language were truly hypnotic. Siegfried Jerusalem was also very believable as his name-sake, superbly pulling off his role, though you could see how increasingly tired he was getting by the end of Gotterdammerung. He acted the true teenage brat and jumped over logs in the forest with ease. Matti Salminen was a sinister Hagen. Not only was his deep voice magnificent, but his acting was also wonderful. In the dream sequence with Alberich he did not blink once, but just stared straight ahead. It was riveting.

James Levine is still the master of conducting the Ring. His orchestra was in top form and was rich and exciting. In the Solti recording, however, they used real alpen horns in Gotterdammerung making the vassal scene a bit more realistic.

In general, other than some minor criticisms, this is a superb "traditional" production and should be shown before you see any other contemporary interpretation. As they said in Seattle, "Sometimes you just want to see 'it' and not an interpretation of 'it.'" This is really a wonderful production and Wagner himself would have been proud. My opera group loved it and couldn't stop talking about it, and I guess that's the real proof.