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Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen

Das Rheingold

George London (Wotan), Kirsten Flagstad (Fricka), Claire Watson (Freia), Set Svanholm (Loge), Waldemar Kmentt (Froh), Eberhard Wächter (Donner), Paul Kuen (Mime), Jean Madeira (Erda), Gustav Neidlinger (Alberich), Walter Kreppel (Fasolt), Kurt Böhme (Fafner), Oda...

even Solti's detractors have to admit the awesome status of Gotterdammerung, in which performance and recording unite with seamless strength to evoke the power of cosmic, cathartic tragedy. It... — BBC Music Magazine, January 2012 More…

Release Date: 8th Jun 2015
Catalogue No: 4788370
Label: Decca

Building a Library

January 2008

First Choice
Presto Greatest Recordings of the 1960s
Penguin Guide

Rosette
Grammy Awards

9th Awards (1966)

Best Opera Recording

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Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen

[b]Das Rheingold[/b] George London (Wotan), Kirsten Flagstad (Fricka), Claire Watson (Freia), Set Svanholm (Loge), Waldemar Kmentt (Froh), Eberhard Wächter (Donner), Paul Kuen (Mime), Jean Madeira (Erda), Gustav Neidlinger (Alberich), Walter Kreppel (Fasolt), Kurt Böhme (Fafner), Oda Balsborg (Woglinde), Hetty Plümacher (Wellgunde), Ira Malaniuk (Flosshilde) [b]Die Walküre[/b] James King (Siegmund), Régine Crespin (Sieglinde), Gottlob Frick (Hunding), Hans Hotter (Wotan), Birgit Nilsson (Brünnhilde), Christa Ludwig (Fricka), Brigitte Fassbaender (Waltraute), Berit Lindholm (Helmwige), Helga Dernesch (Ortlinde), Vera Schlosser (Gerhilde), Helen Watts (Schwertleite), Vera Little (Siegrune), Claudia Hellmann (Rossweise), Marilyn Tyler (Grimgerde) [b]Siegfried[/b] Wolfgang Windgassen (Siegfried), Birgit Nilsson (Brünnhilde), Hans Hotter (Wanderer), Gerhard Stolze (Mime), Gustav Neidlinger (Alberich), Kurt Böhme (Fafner), Marga Höffgen (Erda), Joan Sutherland (Waldvogel) [
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus
Sir Georg Solti

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16 CDs + BONUS CD-ROM

Decca’s landmark recording of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen conducted by Sir Georg Solti is the most celebrated classical recording in history.

Sir Georg Solti’s recording of Wagner’s epic music-drama Der Ring des Nibelungen was a recording project on a scale without precedent and the first-ever studio recording of Wagner’s masterpiece. Recorded between September 1958 and November 1965, it was masterminded by legendary producer John Culshaw and his technical team under the direction of chief engineer Gordon Parry. This massive undertaking set new standards in both opera recording and the possibilities of the effective and imaginative use of stereo.

The combination of Sir Georg Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic with an international cast of the greatest Wagnerian singers available resulted in a recording which was greeted with unprecedented enthusiasm and rave reviews and which quickly won numerous international awards.

Decca proudly presents the definitive high bit-depth transfer of this legendary recording, carefully remastered in 2012.

Anti-scratch matt finish 16CD+BonusCD-Rom capbox box set featuring Solti’s immortal recording of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen as remastered in 2012.

An extensive 108-page booklet featuring written introductions to each opera by producer John Culshaw, synopses in English and German and many original session photographs.

CD-Rom containing complete libretti in original German with English translation and French translation.

An Introduction to Der Ring Des Nibelungen – Deryck Cooke (CDs 15&16)

Bonus CD-ROM – PDFs of Libretti w/ English & French Translations plus the transcript with musical examples & index of leitmotifs of Deryck Cooke’s ‘An Introduction to…’ available – PDFs also available to download online

BOOKLET: Written Introductions to each opera by John Culshaw / Session Photos / Synopses in English and German.

Artists

Das Rheingold

Die Walküre

James King (Siegmund), Régine Crespin (Sieglinde), Gottlob Frick (Hunding), Hans Hotter (Wotan), Birgit Nilsson (Brünnhilde), Christa Ludwig (Fricka), Brigitte Fassbaender (Waltraute), Berit Lindholm (Helmwige), Helga Dernesch (Ortlinde), Vera Schlosser (Gerhilde), Helen Watts (Schwertleite), Vera Little (Siegrune), Claudia Hellmann (Rossweise), Marilyn Tyler (Grimgerde)

Siegfried

Wolfgang Windgassen (Siegfried), Hans Hotter (Wanderer), Gerhard Stolze (Mime), Marga Höffgen (Erda), Joan Sutherland (Waldvogel)

Götterdämmerung

Gottlob Frick (Hagen), Claire Watson (Gutrune), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Gunther), Christa Ludwig (Waltraute), Lucia Popp (Woglinde), Gwyneth Jones (Wellgunde), Maureen Guy (Flosshilde), Helen Watts (Erste Norn), Grace Hoffman (Zweite Norn), Anita Välkki (Dritte Norn)

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna State Opera Chorus, Sir Georg Solti

Reviews

January 2012

even Solti's detractors have to admit the awesome status of Gotterdammerung, in which performance and recording unite with seamless strength to evoke the power of cosmic, cathartic tragedy. It hasn't been surpassed; it may never be.

2010

As perspectives on the Solti/Culshaw enterprise lengthen, and critical reactions are kept alert by the regular appearance of new, or newly issued, and very different recordings, it may seem increasingly ironic that of all conductors the ultra-theatrical Solti should have been denied a live performance. There are indeed episodes in this recording that convey more of the mechanics of the studio than of the electricity of the opera house – the opening of Die Walküre, Act 2, and the closing scenes of Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, for example. Yet, in general, dramatic impetus and atmosphere are strongly established and well sustained, sometimes more powerfully than is usually managed in the theatre.
As just one example one would instance the superb control with which the intensity of Donner's summoning up of the thunder in DasRheingold is maintained across Froh's greeting to the rainbow bridge into Wotan's own great salutation.
At the majestic climax of this scene the power of feeling conveyed by George London's fine performance counts for more than any 'artificiality' in the way the voice is balanced against the orchestra.
Equally memorable in a totally different context is Solti's management of the long transition in Götterdämmerung between Hagen's Watch and the appearance of Waltraute. Nothing could be less mannered or unnatural than Solti's grasp of perspective and feeling for the life of each phrase in this music. On CD the clarity of instrumental detail is consistently remarkable, and while not all the singers sound as if they're constantly in danger of being overwhelmed there are some vital episodes, especially those involving Windgassen and Nilsson. Awareness of what these artists achieved in other recordings strengthens the suspicion that they may have been giving more than we actually get here.
Windgassen isn't allowed to dominate the sound picture in the way his part demands, and Nilsson can seem all-too relaxed within the comforting cocoon of the orchestral texture.
Factors like these, coupled with those distinctive Soltian confrontations between the hard-driven and the hammily protracted, have prevented the cycle from decisively seeing off its rivals over the years. It's questionable neverthe- less whether any studio recording of The Ring could reasonably be expected to be more atmospheric, exciting or better performed than this one. The VPO isn't merely prominent, but excellent, and such interpretations as Svanholm's Loge, Neidlinger's Alberich and Frick's Hagen remain very impressive.
Above all, there's Hotter, whose incomparably authoritative, unfailingly alert and responsive Wotan stands up well when compared to his earlier Bayreuth accounts. Nowhere is he more commanding than in Siegfried, Act 1, where one even welcomes Stolze's mannerisms as Mime for the sparks they strike off the great bass-baritone.
Earlier in this act the interplay of equally balanced instruments and voices in relatively intimate conversational phrases displays the Culshaw concept at its most convincing. He would have been astonished to hear what his successors have achieved in renewing his production through digital remastering. One now realises how much of the original sound was lost on the old pressings. In comparison with the 1980 Janowski/RCA version, the approaches are so different they almost seem like different experiences.
Culshaw was intent on creating a theatre on record with all the well-known stage effects; the rival version eschews all such manifestations.
In general, Janowski presents a much more intimate view of the work than Solti's.
However many other Rings you may have, though, you'll need this one.

August 1998

It's questionable...whether any studio recording of The Ring could reasonably be expected to be more atmospheric, exciting or better performed than this one...Above all, there’s Hotter, whose incomparably authoritative, unfailingly alert and responsive Wotan stands up well when compared to his earlier Bayreuth accounts...However many other Rings you may have...you’ll need this one.

2010

Solti himself developed in the process of making the recording, and Götterdämmerung represents a peak of achievement for him, commanding and magnificent.

Classical Net 2012

Nilsson's Brünnhilde is stunning; her voice is also majestic and golden – but neither haughty nor cruel, two traps avoided. Hers is perhaps the finest such interpretation ever. The two Wotans...are both commanding, lofty, authoritative.

Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen

16 CDs

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