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Wagner: It hasn't happened yet...

I've watched the first twenty minutes of this performance and I'm beginning to get it - it really is a watch and listen thing!

 
I think I'm just about ready to buy a ring cycle on DVD or Bly ray - what are your recommendations?

I've read good things about the 1991 Barenboim conducted cycle. Is the 2015 cycle at La Scalla any better? Or is there another ring I should get into?
 
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I've had the Barenboim Bayreuth Ring for some years now and still find it the most satisfactory all round cycle on film, especially at the reasonable price. It does have a few quirks to the staging (the opening of Act 3 of Walkure, for instance) but generally it is superbly cast and Barenboim's conducting is spectacular, as is the Bayreuth playing. Sound and picture are first rate, apart from some laser image issues at the start of Rheingold, but none of this spoils the overall enjoyment. Levine's Ring from the Met is a very traditional staging and quite enjoyable, but this Harry Kupfer Ring beats it imo. The only cycle to rival it on dvd is the Boulez, and it is also a very though-provoking staging with propulsive conducting and generally good casting (though the Siegfried of Manfred Jung is no match for Siegfried Jerusalem on the Barenboim). It has an excellent Walkure but then the Barenboim is also superb and in better sound. I don't know the Scala Ring at all but I can pretty much guarantee you wouldn't be disappointed in the Bayreuth Barenboim.
 
I've got the Barenboim Bayreuth Walkure and its good. The more recent La Scala one may be good too - singers especially - but the comments on the Amazon reviews seem to indicate a slightly odd production..... there will never be a perfect Ring, you pays your money and makes your choice!
 
Damn, I was too slow: the Kupfer/Barenboim set on DVD jumped up in price from £22 to £35. I've decided, however, that the next time it's about that price I'll buy it for sure without hesitation, repetition or deviation!
 
Thanks to your mention above, I did order it at £22. Really enjoying it. I have a few other Ring cycles on CD only, but it really does add enormously to the appreciation to see the stage action, and to have the subtitles. This is probably true of most Opera, but particularly so in the Ring which does have some very long scenes that can drag a little if you don't have the foggiest what is going on. I'd say this is vital for those not familiar with the Ring - Opera was composed to be seen, after all.

Actually I think at £35 it is still a great bargain, so don't feel downhearted if you end up buying at that price!
 
It was probably your purchase that triggered the price jump... but you know what they say: when a friend wins and you lose, you still win because your friend won :)
 
I just went and ordered the blu ray version of the Kupfer/Barenboim performance of Wagner's Ring cycle. It was a bit more expensive than the DVD but the whole cycle comes on 4 discs so I guess that means I don't have to change discs during operas, a small consolation I suppose.
 
I'm currently listening to the opera on Spotify as conducted by Solti. If you want to hear Solti's version of the cycle on Spotify, just search 'Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen'' and it should come up. Unfortunately, I'm on the old ad-based version of Spotify so I have to suffer ads every few songs. An inconvenience but at least I get to hear Solti's version all the same.
 
Solti is not perfect but is the best overall version that I have heard - it`s the one I would keep If I could only have a single recording.
 
I'm a woos, a scardy cat, a hider behind the sofa: the Ring cycle DVD set by Kupfer/Barenboim is back down to £22 and because someone just ordered a set I ordered a set myself in case the previous purchase triggered another price jump. Ordinarily, that would be a smart move, but I ordered the blu ray version at the weekend so why on earth did I order the DVD set???

Admittedly, there might be a hint of rationale behind my purchase: the blu ray set might not be in mint condition as described; there might be audio issues in Siegfried; and there may be visual issues in Die Walkure, as some reviewers suggest there are. If the blu ray is perfectly fine I'll just cancel the DVD order or if it's too late to do that, I'll return it. The blu ray set should arrive tomorrow so I'll take it from there. Either way, if anyone else wants to the DVD set (link) now's the time to buy :)
 
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I just finished watching Das Rhinegold from the blu ray set and I think it's fair to say it probably doesn't add much if anything over the DVD set from a visual quality point of view - I mean, you can tell straight away it was recorded way back in the early '90s. As for audio, I opted for the 5.1 DTS soundtrack but I'll try the stereo track next time and see how it compares. And as for the actual opera, I thought the performances were full of gusto - as well as gentleness when the moment called for some subtlety - and the music and story were pretty good as well.

I'm kind of surprised it was as easy as it to enjoy the opera - I used to think Wagner would be forever inaccessible but I guess when you like Mahler as much as I do, appreciating Wagner isn't too much of a stretch from there.
 
windhoek said:
I bought this Wagner box set last year and although I've only played about a quarter of the CDs, I'm afraid it just doesn't do it for me and so my appreciation of Wagner, well, it hasn't happened yet.
Click to expand...

I confess to being somewhat in the same boat. An old colleague and fellow classical enthusiast voiced the opinion, "Wagner has his magnificent moments - and his long and boring half-hours!" While I am not so negative, I find the Wagner concept of music drama (where the individual "big numbers" appear out of a continuous musical stream, rather than be individual showpieces) a bit off-putting. There is certainly wonderful music there, and great ingenuity (he didn't invent Leitmotivs - Bach also used particular themes to represent things - but he took it to a whole new level), but I guess I need to try harder...
 
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windhoek said:
I think I'm just about ready to buy a ring cycle on DVD or Bly ray - what are your recommendations?

I've read good things about the 1991 Barenboim conducted cycle. Is the 2015 cycle at La Scalla any better? Or is there another ring I should get into?
Click to expand...

Not sure if this has been suggested but what about https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B006XOBFJC/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

It comes highly recommended and is not super-expensive. I'm listening to it at the moment.
 
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