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Wagner for Beginners?

Just a step more Wagner than the Siegfried idylle: Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde.

I did hear it also somewhere in The Crown on Netflix.
 
Now really, I love Tannhauser, and the Ring, particularly Solti’s Ring is superb.
But the prelude to Tristan und Isolde is possibly the best piece in music history ever. That opening chord is just magical, you know something really special is coming after that.
Couldn’t get along with Parsifal even though I understand it’s greatness and never cared much for the earlier works.
 
I started off with the Solti Ring boxed set on CD - I thought this was a great entry into the world of Wagner - there was an offer to get it for £20 when joining one of those CD and Record clubs back in the day. I remember listening to it through headphones, following the libretto, while trying to revise for my A levels...
But I would definitely recommend Die Walkure for an initial dipping of toes in the water - clear an evening, get the libretto out, and follow it through. Magic. I have fond memories of the large wooden-cased Solti set on LP too, because of its huuugeness, but the original Decca pressings were much nicer. Lush.
 
Yes, that`s how I got my Solti ring from Brittania - though I had long loved the the ride of the Valkyries.... - now I have seven complete ring cycles and several oddments, as well as nine or so Tristans - yes perhaps a little over the top but why not...
 


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