Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen

I've spent more than forty years listening to the Ring - on stage and on record, and for almost all of that time my benchmark was the Solti on Decca, and Karajan's on DG. But of course from time to time I had to listen to this or that act from the Karl Bohm Bayreuth performances, and once or twice to the Clemens Krauss. It's now time to try something different - something engaging, brilliantly recorded,and this is it. I've had Rheingold from this set for years, but somehow hardly ever played it until recently. I was so impressed I bought the whole set. Certainly, Donner's hammer blow on the rock is - yes - feeble compared to the Solti, but otherwise it stands comparison.

The sound quality of this set sets it apart. On a very good hi-fi system - which I'm lucky enough to have - this comes closest to the sound you'd hear in the opera house. I think people forget how different the two really are: no matter how good your hi-fi, the live sound offers clarity and complexity that is unmatched by even the best home systems. So much so, that we now look to the sound engineer to create a quite different experience. For instance, you'd never be so close to the orchestra and/or the stage to replicate the audible experience of, say, the collapse of the Gibichung Hall as in the Solti. This set gives you back the theatre by sheer technical brilliance. There are dozens of examples.

All right, there's no Nilsson, or Windgassen. But this is a set where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Alberich, in any case, is near-perfect: at last there's a recorded version of the "Dream" scene with Hagen, where Alberich's last words are exactly as they're supposed to be - that final whispered "Treu" as he slinks into the darkness. Wonderful! A small moment, no more than a second - but telling. Mime is good, occasionally very good. Rene Kollo has never sounded better, and Kurt Moll is as scary a Hunding as you'll ever hear, and Matti Salminen as evil as Hagen gets: those last two words of Hagen's Watch will send shivers up your spine. And just for good measure, there's Lucia Popp as a Rhinedaughter and Cheryl Studer as a Valkyrie.

And Altmeyer as Brunnhilde? She's not Nilsson - who is? She doesn't even have the power and emotional intensity of Helga Dernesch. This is a lighter, sweeter Brunnhilde: and it works absolutely fine. Her voice is always steady (how often can you say that?), and at no time did I feel that this wasn't Brunnhilde. As for the supposed American accent, well, I can't detect it - but then since her diction isn't that precise sometimes, that's probably the reason. But isn't that a serious flaw? Not with this set, since - and once again I compare it with a live performance - there is so much to enjoy from the orchestra that this hardly matters.

This is the Staatskapelle at its best - and yes, this was indeed "Wagner's Orchestra". Apart from all those set pieces - a terrific "Ride", an electrifying Funeral Music - there are all those wonderful Wagnerian transitions - for example from the end of Siegfried's Funeral Music into the scene with Gutrune - which are all handled quite, quite beautifully. And if there's a better recording of that dark, atmospheric opening scene of "Siegfried", I haven't heard it. Wagner's orchestra, indeed.

This costs twenty-five quid. Two half-decent bottles of wine bought in Waitrose on a Friday and gone by Monday. My advice is that absolutely everyone - newcomer to Wagner or old hand - should bite their hand off before they realise they've made a mistake and treble the price - when it would still be cheap.

This is my Ring for the future. I can't listen to Solti for ever and a day: there are other joys waiting. This is one of them.

I wanted to buy a complete set of Wagner's Ring cycle at a reasonable price to see what I was missing. Excerpts on various music programmes on the BBC wetted my appetite. Reviews of the cheaper sets showed much variation, revealing how difficult it is to make such comparisons. Having chosen this particular version with Marek Janowski and Staatskapelle Dresden I can now see some of the reasons why the reviews of this recording were so variable.

Orchestral sound often seems charateristic to the particular orchestra. I have some recordings of this orchestra playing Strauss and their sound character is very similar. I think they are a superb orchestra but I wonder about the accoustic of all their recordings. There is an element of remoteness and boxiness in the sound which is improved by raising the volume beyond normal playback levels. The orchestral detail is then excellent. The recording quality of this Wagner set is also very good with the whole dynamic range faithfully represented. This is quite an achievement given the age of the digital recording.

In reviewing the musical content I find that the problem is distinguishing between reviewing the Wagner music itself and this particular performance and recording. For me, much of the essence of Wagner is contained within the wonderful orchestral phrases, usually associated with the leitmotifs, particularly the luscious harmonies. Wagner excels in his use of woodwind and brass. This is certainly reflected in this CD set. There are many beautiful moments. However, it has to be said that the Ring cycle is long and repetitive. I can only judge this version, since I have no other, and I have to confess that I would not want to listen for too long in any one sitting. Whether this is because the performances or the operas themselves lack enough dramatic contrast I cannot tell.

Generally I am very happy with the orchestral sound but less so with some of the soloists. The picture of the Wagner soloist I am left with is that they stand in the middle of the stage and belt out their contributions. This often seems true in live versions. The music needs power so that elements of tenderness are difficult to convey.

I have expressed some reservations about this recording. Nevertheless, I think it was very good value and I would heartily recommend it to anyone who wanted an introduction to Wagner.

I am in my mid fifties and have been fascinated by Wagner's ring cycle since I was a teenager. I own just about every ring cycle available apart from the Janowski version. The reason for this is some music critics that I have the greatest of respect for have damned this cycle with faint praise. Even some of the regular Amazon contributors have put me off purchasing this boxed set with their lukewarm comments. These are people that I usually hold in high esteem and influence my purchases on this site. It is with some trepidation that I put forward this review because it goes against the considered views of many who are very experienced reviewers. I have always given this cycle a wide berth because of the lukewarm reviews it has generally received. I decided recently to take the plunge a bought this cycle on 14 cds for less than a decent bottle of wine. What a revelation! It is well conducted, beautifully played, well sung and it is sonically very impressive. Janowski allows the narrative to evolve and development across the four operas in a way that in my opinion feels more Wagner like than celebrity conductor. It is not a perfect ring but then none of them are. It has great continuity and is a very engaging ring to hear. I wish I had bought this ring years ago because the positives are many and negatives few. It is surprisingly good and to paraphrase my favourite reviewer on Amazon, unlimited stars! Purchase this ring without prejudice. You will not be disappointed.

Temperamentally my heart is given to sunny Italy and Handel, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi every time but I wanted to find out more about Wagner & what all the fuss is about. I had sat through Rheingold (by WNO) & knew there would be marvellous bits & god-awful longueurs (let's face it, you can never accuse Verdi of longueurs; theatrical melodrama yes, effortless, wonderful melody yes) but otherwise I had no preconceptions. I read all the reviews and then I knew that I had no idea what to expect & if, to a true Wagnerian, this singer was better than that one it didn't matter a jot. So what I wanted was a nice clear digital studio recording. This is it, I can hear the instruments, the words and there are no stage noises or prompters; it's nicely paced & well sung, you'd gladly pay to hear this cast in the theatre. It's a good price, achieved at the cost of no synopsis/libretto and my German (50 years old, 25%-FAIL & unused since then) is a little rusty but there are synopses & libretti available for a consideration elsewhere. Let Wagnerians fight over Solti or Furtwangler or Boehm, etc. this one is good for me & anyone else who wants a decent realisation for not too much dosh.

The recording is excellent, the orchestral sound is fabulous and the singing never less than very good.

It is not as good as all the best bits from all recordings strung together but it certainly compares favourably with any other single recording. The only possible objection to this set is that it is ludicrously under priced.

What a delight owning this complete collection of all four operas of the Ring. It is a good recording throughout, at an unbeaten price.

I bought a 50p ring in an alley in Vienna and the Eflat intro was better than this. You pay for the singing I suppose.

Really solid performance og the Ring at bargain price. Well conducted and played with goo (and sometimes very good) soloists. A fantastic bargain and a good introduction to this work

オーケストラで選ぶなら、このディスクだと思います。確かに、ショルティのような爆発的なものはありませんが、ニーベルングの指輪を音楽として楽しむならば、このリスクがお勧めです。

Sublime interprétation ! Orchestre comme il le faut, pas racoleur, tempo parfait (ha la dizaine de contrebasses, prélude des Walkiries) j'ai la partition complète. Et que dire de la diction parfaite des chanteurs, c'est rare! Kollo-Siegfried, Adam-Wotan, Mime etc. Ich spritch Deustche. L'orchestre ne couvre jamais les voix comme en spectacle, certains chanteurs dépasse les 100 décibels, loin des cordes et à un prix, c'est donné! Merci au confinement, j'ai pu cherché des cds. Je suis célibataire, sous le charne de Siegfried, j'ai écouté deux fois les 14 heures non stop vendredi et samedi. 1ere chaîne enceintes Cabasse 2eme casque Seinhensen et JBL. Je vous laisse, je me remet ce soir Siegfried. Acheteurs n'hésitez pas: achetez surtout si vous n'avez jamais assisté à un opéra : c'est le son perçu au milieu de la salle. L'orchestre ne couvre jamais les voix. Bonne écoute,fermez les yeux vous y êtes ! Les partitions sont gratuites en PDF sur le Net.

Era para un regalo. El paquete llegó correctamente y me han dicho que la grabación es muy buena. Todo correcto

I have several ring cycles including Solti, Karajan, Levine, Bohm and Keilberth/Furtwangler. I like them all for different reasons. I bought the Janowski since it's a huge bargain and I was very pleased with the sound and singing. Other reviewers have extolled the virtues of the tenors ... KOLLO, SCHREIER and JERUSALEM. To my ears, they are simply the best three tenors in ALL the ring cycles. Incredible! The two basses, MOLL and SALMINEN are also tops in their roles. The ladies are good but I prefer those in the other rings. Theo Adam is OK but not up to the Wotans in the classic rings.

Janowski and the Staatskapelle Dresden sound great. While they may not have the beautiful sound of the Berlin Philharmonic or Vienna, they are conducted with intelligence by Janowski and recorded in marvelous digital sound which allows Wagner's orchestral writing to be clearly heard.

If you haven't bought a Ring Cycle yet, you will be very pleased with this set. (If you own a classic set, buy this anyway just to hear the sound and those three terrific tenors.)

PS There is a deluxe version of this for an extra expenditure. If it isn't available on Amazon.ca, look on Amazon.com. The extra ten or fifteen bucks to get the latest packaging with the individual boxes containing librettos is well worth the money. The English translation is the Stewart Spencer which costs about twenty bucks if you purchase it separately.

In summary, snap this up quickly. Hooray for bicentennial celebrations from the classical music industry. I love it!

Im Grunde genommen war ich auf der Suche nach einer Best of-CD des Rings. Aber nach dem Anhören von ein, zwei Best of-CDs war ich von der Klangqualität des Orchesters leider nicht so überzeugt. Deshalb habe ich mich für den kompletten Janowski-Ring entschieden. Diese Aufnahme ist wirklich sehr hörenswert. Das Orchester spielt sauber und schafft auch hier und da eine kleine Sogwirkung. Nebengeräusche gibt es nicht, da die Aufnahme offenbar aus dem Studio stammt. Im Gedächtnis bleibt das Sängerensemble von Jessye Norman bis René Kollo. Natürlich kann man von "Siegfrieds Tod" noch beeindruckendere Aufnahmen finden, z.B. vom Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele. Und sicher dürfte Max Lorenz`"Siegfried" noch imposanter gewesen sein als René Kollos "Siegfried" - das ist aber Kritik auf allerhöchstem Niveau. Wer trotzdem eine durchweg hohe Qualität zu einem vergleichsweise niedrigen Preis sucht, der wird mit diesem Ring seine Freude haben. Also: Lieber ein paar Euro mehr für diesen Gesamtring ausgeben als das Geld für eine Best-of-CD zu verschwenden, die ihren Namen nicht verdient hat.