Complete versions of Richard Wagner's monumental four-opera Ring—Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung—were once rarities on discs, but the 2013 centenary celebrating the composer's birth brought a flood of releases, including reissues of the outstanding 1991-92 cycle at Bayreuth (VL-1/12) and the equally fine 2006 Netherlands Opera production (VL-9/13). This Blu-ray set compiling the 2002-2003 Stuttgart cycle that was originally issued on DVD (see review of Das Rheingold in VL-7/04) is hardly in the same league, although it's not without points of interest. Musically, this Ring is marked by briskly febrile conducting from Lothar Zagrosek and virile, sensitive playing on the part of the Staatsorchester Stuttgart, as well as singing that is initially variable but shows improvement as the series progresses. None of the parts are taken by the same singer from opera to opera (although a few appear in multiple roles), and the continuity is further undermined by the fact that each opera was staged by a different director, without an overarching vision for the whole. All four productions, however, are physically threadbare affairs, with minimal sets, mostly thrift-store quality costumes, and some wildly outlandish visual touches but absolutely no special effects. If the 2007 Valencia Ring (see review of Das Rheingold in VL-5/10) with all its visual razzmatazz serves as the epitome of high-tech versions, this is definitely the antithesis. At the spectacular end of Götterdämmerung, for instance, no effort is made to dramatize the action; instead, director Peter Konwitschny simply presents Wagner's elaborate stage directions in a written crawl to be read by viewers (as they were by the Stuttgart audience). Presented in DTS-HD 5.1 and PCM stereo, this Ring can be weirdly interesting at times, but is ultimately too quirky and uneven to recommend over the competition. An optional purchase. (F. Swietek)
Der Ring des Nibelungen
(2014) 4 discs. 901 min. Blu-ray: $99.99. EuroArts (dist. by Naxos of America). Volume 30, Issue 2
Der Ring des Nibelungen
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