The message
Post by B***@gmail.comHi friends,
A trouble to me. An opera-fan old gentleman is going to have his
birthday celebration, I was "ordered" to look for a fantastic and more
modern "Der Ring des Nibelungen" CDs for him. Ah, 13+ hours music +
singing, I got no clue, can someone help?
(What kills me is that he knows opera...)
Tonnes of thanks.
Blessings
SF
Zdrasvuite!
Fascinating range of responses this provoked. My first thought, though,
was how unfair it is to "order" someone who isn't a Wagner fan to choose
a Ring recording for someone else!
Some people will recommend one version, some another -- which is
probably healthy, but can be maddening for anyone who doesn't know the
field. As a critic, I'd have to admit that there *is* no absolute first
choice, as such. So I felt that rather than just recommend something
down flat, I'd try to sketch in the main contenders you're likely to be
offered -- my opinion, of course, but a reasonably informed and fairly
impartial one. Most of these should be readily available wherever you're
buying. There are several more really bargain-price Ring recordings, but
while some of these aren't at all bad, they wouldn't be a first choice
for someone who appreciates a really superior performance. Neither
should most so-called "historic" versions on smaller labels, even recent
ones. I'm assuming you want CDs rather than DVD video versions, so I
won't cover these unless asked; they are none of them ideal, either.
The nearest to a perfect Ring, I think, is the very first ever released
-- Solti's, on Decca/London, with superb voices, especially in the three
great roles of Wotan, Brunnhilde and Siegfried, but with scarcely a weak
link in the lesser roles; splendid recording (1950s to 1960s, but ahead
of its time); and dynamic, dramatic conducting; yet if you read the
discussions in some groups and even serious periodicals, you'd find
plenty of people damning it as the worst of the worst. For them it's
"too Technicolour", "brash" or even "vulgar" -- all of which can also
translate as "too popular"!
Many of the Solti-haters have tended to praise Furtwangler's live
recording from La Scala, not that much older, but with a dismal
orchestra, many singers mediocre or in poor voice, drastic cuts and a
recording so murky it's a strain to listen to -- figure that one out!
There is some striking conducting in there -- if you know what to listen
for. That has become slightly less fashionable lately, and the current
fashion is to recommend the Keilberth recording on Testament, recorded
live at Bayreuth (Wagner's own opera house and festival) by the Decca
company slightly before the Solti, with many of the same singers, but
never released -- due to contractual clashes, and not, despite some
conspiracy theorists, wicked machinations by Solti! It's undoubtedly
good, but it doesn't have the richness and spectacle of the Solti, and
some very strange stage noises, including the roaring of Bayreuth's
famous fire projectors throughout one entire scene.
Choice almost always does come down to personal taste, whether it's the
performance as a whole or its lead singers -- as in this thread, for
example, where one person hears Hildegarde Behrens' Brunnhilde as too
unsteady, while for another she's definitive. Personally I'd say the
truth is somewhere between the two -- she's very good, a bit stretched
vocally, indeed, but to make up for that unusually feminine and
vulnerable, and a heart-breaking actress; still not quite the best,
though. Likewise for that person Levine's, which features her, is the
best modern CD recording, but others wouldn't agree. It is very good,
though, with a great rich velvety recording and good orchestral playing.
Levine's conducting, however, is too slow and weighty, even turgid, for
many tastes, mine included, and though his singers sound pleasant,
they're not always as characterful as their rivals. James Morris is much
smoother-voiced than Solti's Hans Hotter, but he doesn't have half the
commanding intensity; and Reiner Goldberg, though he has the voice,
doesn't really do much with the character. There is only one set even
slower than Levine's, and that's the extraordinary English-language live
recording conducted by Sir Reginald Goodall on Chandos -- he handles the
pacing much better, though. For anyone who speaks English better than
German, the translated version really brings the drama to life, and its
main singers can stand comparison with almost any others; but the
orchestra is good rather than top-rate, and though many are enthusiastic
about it, it's better as an alternative.
Faster, lighter versions have their own problems. One of the most famous
is Bohm's, another Bayreuth festival live recording, again with many of
Solti's stars; but while this has its moments, it can sound rather
rushed and coarse, and its Wotan, Theo Adam, has a wobbly, gritty, voice
(he sounded much better live!). Boulez's recording is famous because it
was the first Ring to be televised, but Boulez is just too fast and
careless over detail -- most of which he doesn't seem aware of; "glib"
is the best label I can come up with. While Gwyneth Jones's Brunnhilde
is a great performance, she also sounds rather unsteady at times; and
while Donald McIntyre's Wotan is grimly impressive, it lacks depth of
character -- and Manfred Jung's Siegfried, despite much help from the
recording engineers, is plain inadequate! The first recent East German
recording, by Marek Janowski with the great Dresden orchestra, has a lot
going for it, a lively performance and open sound; but it isn't as
atmospheric as the best -- you're always very aware it's in a studio and
the effects (a vital part of the score) are perfunctory -- some of the
lesser singers are dreadful, and while many of the main ones are quite
starry, they're not in the same rank as Solti's. Jeanne Altmeyer isn't a
good enough actor as Brunnhilde, and Wotan is Theo Adam again, much
older and even drier-voiced. Bernard Haitink's poetically conducted
version would have been a very strong contender, but it's a prime
example of how one singer can cripple an entire recording -- Eva
Marton's disastrously squally Brunnhilde. The best of the "lighter"
approach is probably Wolfgang Sawallisch's from Munich, with some of the
same main singers as Levine but good alternatives in the lesser roles.
This was the soundtrack of a video recording, though, and is full of
bumps and thumps from the stage, very annoying at times. It may or may
not be available where you are.
A few years after Solti, DG recorded the second complete Ring with the
other conducting giant of the day, von Karajan. This is often sneered at
for its rather smooth and "prettified" orchestral sound, but in fact
it's quite a powerful performance as well as a beautiful one -- and a
bit of deliberate beauty does no harm amid all the Teutonic darkness!
Unfortunately Karajan usually preferred younger, lighter voices, some of
which don't come through well. That was chiefly why he often didn't cast
the same singers from opera to opera, so in all the main roles you have
two, of which one is usually not so good. Helga Dernesch's Brunnhilde is
underrated IMHO, probably the best compromise between vocal power and
femininity on any set (she looked stunning, too) but that doesn't make
up for Jess Thomas's barely audible Siegfried; Helge Brilioth is better.
Another live Bayreuth version is Daniel Barenboim's, like Sawallisch's
the soundtrack of a video version (Levine's video was a separate
recording). Barenboim has excellent singers, especially in the main
roles, although Anne Evans' very feminine Brunnhilde is on the light
side; Sir John Tomlinson's roguish, swashbuckling Wotan really demands
to be seen, but Siegfried Jerusalem's Siegfried, fine-looking as he was,
is made so obnoxious in this production he's better heard! Barenboim's
conducting, while not to everyone's taste, is rich and dramatic enough
to catch the imagination nearly as well as Solti's. This is probably the
best "modern" version -- if, once again, you can stand the stage noise,
which includes a rattling travelator in the Valkyries' scene.
But it really does depend on what you mean by "modern". The most recent
-- and very cheap -- is another soundtrack, by Zagroszek on Naxos -- but
I wouldn't touch it (or the DVD version either!). Neither it, nor
Barenboim, nor Levine, though, sound *that* much different from the
Solti. A bit clearer, a bit more spacious, but the Solti doesn't sound
like an "old" recording. With any reasonable sound system it can still
raise the roof, in Gotterdammerung especially. And its stars are, by and
large, better than even the best of the current crop -- even if Birgit
Nilsson is not exactly girlish-sounding when she needs to be! If it
really has to be digital sound, which I suspect is what's meant, Levine
or Barenboim are probably your best bet. But since we can't listen with
your ears, I'd suggest you find a store that will play them for you, and
the Solti as well (or a CD library,if such things survive where you
are). You may be pleasantly surprised. And since grandad is the one this
is for, maybe you could take him along too.
You might try the end of Rheingold, perhaps; the beginning of Walkure
Act II; the end of Act I Siegfried; and the final scene of
Gotterdammerung. Or perhaps others here can suggest alternatives? Hope
all that's of some help, anyhow!
Cheers,
Mike
--
***@asgard.zetnet.co.uk
Contributor & reviewer: Music Magazine; Opera Now; Classic CD; The
Times; International Opera Collector; Newsday; Gramophone; currently BBC
Music Magazine
Author, award-winning Winter of the World novels and others