Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen - Complete Ring Cycle (Levine, Metropolitan Opera) (1990) Review

Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen - Complete Ring Cycle (Levine, Metropolitan Opera) (1990)
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Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen - Complete Ring Cycle (Levine, Metropolitan Opera) (1990) ReviewAccording to the liner notes that accompany this seven-DVD set of Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen," the composer had no time for critics, especially those who liked to point out a certain lack of logic in his musical dramas.
(Take that, Anna Russell! - Entire careers have been based on making fun of the Ring Cycle's plot.)
This Met version of the Ring under the direction of James Levine might be called 'traditional' by some and 'stodgy' by others. There are no Siegfrieds in space suits or Rhine Maidens cavorting in front of a hydroelectric dam. Special effects have been kept to a minimum--a rather tame dragon (although wonderfully sung by Matti Salminen who also is a great, brooding hulk of a Hagen), no goat-drawn chariots, no flying horses. In fact there are no horses at all, which makes for a slightly surreal funeral scene in 'Götterdämmerung' where Brunnhilde is supposed to sing to her horse, Grane, then ride him into the flames of Siegfried's funeral pyre.
However, the Ring isn't about special effects or acting. It's about Wagner's glorious music. I've only seen one other Ring Cycle--Patrice Chéreau's 1976 Bayreuth production (also out on DVD)--and he (incorrectly, I think) emphasized the stage drama rather than the music. He also ignored Wagner's mythical setting and tried to turn the Ring into a statement about nineteenth-century robber-barons.
Levine's version, stodgy though it may appear, emphasizes the music. This is the Ring Cycle you want to start with. It reflects the spirit of Wagner's intentions (if not quite the actual staging), and the singing is excellent. This is not the dream cast from the golden age of Wagnerian singers, but wait till you hear Jessye Norman as Sieglinde, ringing out her "Oh hehrstes Wunder!" just after her whole world comes crashing down around her. If this unearthly cry doesn't send chills down your spine, maybe Wagner isn't for you. One of the other reviewers felt that Norman was too loud for the other singers, but I think just the opposite is true. James Morris is a complex, ultimately tragic Wotan. Hildegard Behrens is a brilliant, intuitive Brunnhilde. Their final scene together in 'Die Wälkure,' as Wotan puts his daughter to sleep within a ring of fire is one of the high points of this Ring. But the one truly Wagnerian voice in this production belongs to Jessye Norman.
If you'd like to learn more about Wagner's Ring Cycle, read "Wagner's Ring: Turning the Sky Round" by Father M. Owen Lee (highly recommended) or Charles Osborne's "The World Theatre of Wagner."Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen - Complete Ring Cycle (Levine, Metropolitan Opera) (1990) OverviewItem Name: Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen / Levine, Metropolitan Opera (Complete Ring Cycle); Studio:Deutsche Grammophon

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