Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen

I first saw parts of this on PBS Live from the Met back in 2011. Then I bought the blu-ray set, and promptly forgot it! Then I bought a pair of Bowers and Wilkin P7 Bluetooth, noise canceling headphones and decided to try them out on the Ring Cycle. I am glad I did. Spectacular sound. On to the production. The design of this production was simultaneously extremely simple and extraordinarily complex. The planning of it reminded me of America's decision to go to the moon in 1962. Everything had to be designed and invented along the way. It seems just as complex. Robert Lepage and his company had just three years to complete their mission instead of NASA's seven. So the machine itself. Yes amazing with all the articulations. Then the visuals, the projected images so imaginative and so appropriate. The forest bird, so beautiful, and how they tracked the singer's voice to the location of the bird and the moving of the birds lips! And the cast - stellar throughout. I'll start with the forest bird, Mojca Erdmann - beautiful and lovely with great voice, as was Tamara Mumford, Flosshilde, the Rhinemaiden. Jonas Kaufman and Eva-Maria Westbroek were terrific as Siegmund and Sieglinde. Eric Owens likewise terrific as Alberich, from his beginning lustful scoundrel, to the demon of power, to the old man lingering in past hopes. Hans-Peter Konig fabulous throughout as Fafner, Hunding and Hagen. Jay Hunter Morris was an excellent Siegried, especially filling in at the last moment when the original singer got ill, and ESPECIALLY because he has to play a character who is known for two things both of them inseparably connected, his absolute fearlessness, and his STUPIDITY. Oy, what a dunce. However, in has last moments of life in Gotterdamerung, he recovers his memory and in moments of supreme tenderness, his voice changes as he appears to acquire intelligence for the first time. But the real stars are Bryn Terfel as Wotan and Deborah Voigt as Brunnhilde, especially Deborah Voigt. In many ways, the Ring cycle is about Brunnhilde. Alberich and Wotan set it in motion, but it is Brunnhilde who carries it through to the end. When Debbie and Bryn are together, it is true musical theater dynamite. Their duets in Walkure are matchless. I believe it was Rossini who said, "Wagner's music has beautiful moments and awful quarter hours." This may be true of Siegfried, especially the first hour with grating Mime and stupid Siegfried. There are moments that drag in Gotterdammerung and Rheingold, but not many. Most of it is compelling. Walkure was the big surprise for me, absolutely compelling from beginning to end. No drag at all. The box set has an extra DVD, an almost two hour documentary titled, "Wagner's Dream." It not only documents the making of this production, but also how religiously they tried to conform to Wagner's original conception, one that with the technology of his time, he could not come close to. He died a year after the first production. Particularly amusing in the documentary is seeing all the passionate "Wagnerians" the die-hard fans who seek out each production and are ready to blast it for being awful, seeing all of their devastating criticism and then watching them come around to absolute praise by the time of Gotterdammerung. Human nature - but that's what it's about, isn't it?

Finally, Wagners' epic vision can be realized, maybe for the first time, on an imaginary scale equal to the music. Now, I know that RW himself wanted his opera produced a certain, specific (read as very, very Traditional) way. Cosima enforced this during her reign as director for the rest of her very long life. If you like that presentation, you got that other Met production thats as good as the traditional style will get. IMO opera wont survive w/o something new and fresh, it really needs to be re-interpreted with each new generation. This version is pretty spectacular. Others have used projection technology, but this has "The Machine." This has the added advantage of a 3-dimensional space that the projection can be shot on. So, in Seigfried, you have a beautiful forest scene that the actors can walk across, while the computer technology rustles the leaves underfoot. Then the Machine can change postion to a wholly vertical screen if necessary. Then, take a look at the amazing journey to Nibelheim, the Machine is twisted as Wotan and Loge "walk" on suspened wires across to the depths of the netherworld. The climax to Das Rheingold is... wow. As the Gods ascend up the Rainbow Bridge (here a beautiful glimmering computer generated and projected rainbow), the Machine then tilts down on both sides until it is completely vertical, and a full Starfield is seen. Wow. This reminded me of that scene in Immortal Beloved. Oh, the opening with the undulating wave effect and the Rhinemaidens suspended in midair, bubbles coming out of their mouths while they sing. The technology is finally here, and vision has equalled vision. So many great moments (and many "dull 1/4 hours"). One final note, a slightly negative one, and this is regarding the actual libretto. Dare I criticize Wagner himself? Why not... the Ring is way, way, much too repetitive in it's storytelling. You hear the same freaking subplots told about 20 times over and over and over by seemingly every possible character. It got on my nerves about the 15th time I heard how Wotan could not steal the ring himself so he had to have Seigfried do it for him. I mean, I've heard this already. Once, maybe twice... but 20? I dont need that. And this true of every single subplot. 7 times you hear how Seigfried had no fear and killed the dragon and through the blood can understand birds. I dont need to hear this told 7 times. Ok, Ive beaten this point enough... Lol. Awesome music, awesome production, all on Blu Ray delivered to your door .....we live in great times my friends.

After watching Wagner’s “Ring” in early September, 2012 on PBS for 4 consecutive nights, I felt like I had self-immolated at the end! What an immensely gut-wrenching final scene! It took me a week to decompress. It wasn’t that I was just being introduced to Wagner for the first time; I had studied his work in Music Composition class at university (both the musical scores; the stories built on old legends, going back to the times of the Gods, creating half-men/ half-gods; discussing main themes like ‘immortality’; all within the context of old German legends). Besides this, I come from a strand of German lineage (I was born into a family with the name of one of the characters in this group of operas), so studying and performing music from my original ‘homeland’ drew me in like a duck to water. This “Ring” set is comprised of 4 operas: ‘Das Reingold’, ‘Die Walkure’, ‘Siegfried’, and ‘Gotterdammerung’. The 4 operas recorded from this set were first performed and filmed live at The Metropolitan Opera Company in New York in 2011. They were then broadcast on PBS in early September, 2012. This box set not only contains BluRays of performances of the 4 operas; it also contains a 5th one – dealing with LePage’s ‘mobile’/ IT-enhanced stage and how it worked, to perfectly integrate into scenery that was so vivid that it looked almost out of this world. I don’t think that I can ever see another opera again that isn’t performed with LePage’s ‘plank’ (lever-like) set, which is built and operated by LePage’s Canadian company, creating a wonderful collaboration between companies for the sake of art. The operas had 2 different conductors: James Levine and then Fabio Luisi, who had to take over because of Levine’s health problems. At the last moment, Texan Jay Hunter Morris also had to take over the entire role of Siegfried. The understudy of the sick original cast member was too afraid to take on this huge role and didn’t want to damage his reputation, but Morris (3rd in line) stepped right up to the plate. He was absolutely riveting in his vocal timbre and performance. He performed in a state of being ‘in the zone’, and everyone watching and listening felt this, too. This role/ performance propelled him into international stardom. What a joy that this box set captures this. Internationally acclaimed soprano Deborah Voigt in the role of Brunnhilde had just lost over 100 pounds before she took this role. The plank set had her exercising while working in these operas! She looked and sounded magnificent. The other operatic singers also shined. Run an internet search for the Metropolitan Opera and look for short video clips of these 4 operas, rehearsals, outtakes, and the behind-the-scenes happenings of LePage’s plank set. Especially look for ‘The Ride of the Valkyries’, which will be the finest rendition of this that you have ever seen! This will whet your appetite for purchasing this amazing boxed set. The entire 5 disc BluRay set is manufactured by Deutsch Grammophone (there are subtitles in English, French, Spanish, and Chinese, so that listeners/ viewers understand the context of the story in a language that they can comprehend [all of the operas are sung in German]). The video is shot in HD, and there is a total of 1111 minutes (18 hours and 51.6 Minutes) in the 5 discs. Broken down into sections: the 4 operas contain 920 minutes (15.33 hours); the 5th disc, called ‘Wagner’s Dream’, dealing with the making of the ‘Ring’ opera, is 114 minutes (1.9 hours). A final 72 minutes (1.28 hours) is devoted to extras. (Note: One of my friends bought this box set for her family one Christmas, because funnily enough, she, too, comes from a German lineage, and her maiden name is also a part of “The Ring”! She bought this set so that her kids could learn more about their German heritage.) This “Ring” box set should be part of every music and opera-lover’s collection. People who are just being introduced to opera (including children and teens and adults who aren’t yet fans) will find this rendition with the plank sets very believable and enjoyable to watch. This is the finest opera video set that I own, and I am very happy that I bought it. I would give this boxed set 10 stars if I could!

Wagner's Ring Cycle was designed as an audio-visual feast and this new Met production brings all elements together in a way that is both marvelously new and fully faithful to his intention. You get the unadulterated storyline, without the slightest hint of irony or reinterpretation, and yet it is bravely futuristic in its use of stage technology. There were apparently problems with "the machine", the mechanical stage, in live performances, but it works to perfect effect on the video version. The CGI and its ability to interact with human movement - they achieve the impossible here: a man washing the blood off his hands turning the whole river into a torrent of blood, mermaids swimming in a river, gods calling up a rainbow bridge and the ascending on it to their castle in the sky, a fearful flight through a forest, a person on a rock surrounded by molten lava, etc etc. I salute the creators of this masterpiece and give this disk my highest recommendation. I found it so overwhelmingly wonderful that I watched the first disk, Das Rheingold, four times, before starting on the second. These operas are legendarily difficult to sing; at any one time there is only a handful of singers capable of fully realizing Wotan, Brunhilde and Siegfried, each of which has to be on stage for nearly four hours singing a highly complex and subtle musical line over an enormous orchestra. The principles manage it surprisingly well here, given that they are also good actors. And there is an interesting story in the extras for Siegfried, how Jay Hunter Morris was parachuted into the role at literally the last moment; you'd never know - especially in Gotterdammerung, where he gets all the beauty of Wagner's lines. This collection is a visual feast as well as musical and one of the many things to praise is how the opera singers are so suited visually to their roles. the Gods really look like gods, the Germans like Ancient Germans, the Giants like giants. It is probably unfair to single out anyone in this exceptional cast but I do have a few favorites. Stephanie Blythe's Fricka is, I think, the best of the gods, she just simply looks and sounds larger than life. Jonas Kaufmann is a superb hero. Everybody praises Eric Owens for his wonderful Alberich. I particularly love the mermaids, they are so playful, silly and coquettish. But the visual star of the lot and a huge driving force of vocal and visual energy is Deborah Voigh as the indomitable Brunhilde. She is so perfect in the role that it is scarcely believable this is her first time. I love the cinematography: the intimacy of the performances is never lost in the vast stage. And the orchestra is simply glorious. The transcendent beauty of the final sequence in Rheingold is fully realized here. I was transfixed.

I have listened to the Ring for almost 50 years. I have multiple sets on CD and Vinyl and have seen several versions on DVD and Blu-ray. This review is of the Blu-ray, not of a performance heard while sitting in the opera house. I am not concerned with the wisdom of the Met's management or of the ego of the director, things which some other reviewers for some reason seem to consider important in reviewing this set. As a Blu-ray it is an exceptional product, and in my view by far the best Ring Cycle available in video form. The quality of the picture and sound (PCM Stereo) are excellent. I detected no audio problems of the kind I have experienced in other Met productions. The "Machine" and more importantly the projections were imaginative and, with a few notable exceptions, highly successful. The costumes were traditional and with a couple of exceptions, entirely appropriate. The singers were more than adequate for the roles. Yes, it is true that Terfel's voice is not ideal for Wotan, and that Voigt is no Nilsson, but overall the singing is quite good. The acting for the most part is excellent, with the exception of Iian Paterson as Gunther. Special plaudits to Hans-Peter Konig as Hagen/Fafner/Hunding and Eric Owens as Alberich. Jay Hunter Morris sings beautifully and actually looks like Siegfried should look, young, buff and handsome. I may be in the minority but I thought the opening scene of Rheingold a perfect beginning. Act 1 of Walkure was beautifully done, Wotan's farewell at the conclusion of the opera was highly moving. Siegfried moved along well with the exception of the dragon (see below) and the awakening of Brunnhilde was extremely well done. Morris is near perfection as the world's greatest and dumbest hero. The Immolation Scene provided a very emotionally charged ending (despite the flaws noted below). The flaws in this set are directorial. Making Loge walk backwards up a steep slope in Rheingold didn't work, as he looked so uncomfortable it was a distraction. I thought the use of the machine as hobby horses for the Walkure's ride was silly. I did not care for the bird's eye view of Brunnhilde's rock at the conclusion of Walkure. The skeletal horse was OK in Siegried's trip down the Rhine, but not in the Immolation scene where it was much more visible. The dragon form of Fafner in Siegfried was truly awful. The burning of Walhalla was amazingly pathetic, given all the technology in use, consisting of heads falling off statues. As far as costumes, in Gotterdammerung Voigt dressed more like Annie Oakley than Brunnehilde. I thought the Rhine Maiden's outfits in that opera were ridiculous. However, while annoying at the time, in the overall scheme of things (15 hours) these are relatively minor complaints. I have never heard nor attended a perfect performance of any opera. The Ring is exceptionally hard to pull off given the difficulty of the major roles, the limited number of singers in the world that can handle those parts and the scenery and special effects requirements. This was the first attempt to use the Machine and the incredibly complicated projection system. Therefore, I am willing to cut the Met some slack and forgive the transgressions. All in all, a 4.75 rating, rounded up to 5 stars. A remarkable bargain for the price. Highly recommended.

Wagner wanted to cast a spell with the Ring, to create a hypnotic dream world where words, mythology, music and visuals worked together to create a magical shared experience for the audience. To achieve this he built his own theater where he went so far as to hide the orchestra under the stage in order enhance the magical spell. Nineteenth century stage technology was certainly not capable of achieving his ideal visual production, but he made up for that with an orchestra that conjures up water, fire, love, emotion, passion and a whole visual sound world that no other artistic medium can match. The new Met Ring was promoted as the first production that would bring stage technology to match Wagner's music. I therefore bought a ticket to Die Walkure with great anticipation during its premiere season. I was deeply disappointed. Though there were some great visuals, they were all at the expense of a creaking, groaning, crackling machine that completely broke the magical spell that Wagner was trying to cast. Every time the set would move, you would be pulled out of your trance by this loud, straining behemoth of a machine that called attention to itself rather than the drama. I decided then and there that I would not bother to see the rest of the cycle at the theater. I did purchase the Blu-Ray of the entire cycle, however, and am glad that I did. Gone is the distracting noise of the machine. Now you can focus on the music, drama, performances and production. It is very, very good. Definitely my favorite Ring on video. In my opinion, the experience of watching this video with a good HDTV and sound system far surpasses the experience in the theater and, at about one tenth of the cost of a Ring Cycle ticket, is an absolute bargain.

Say what you want - no one can deny that this production took big chances and did things that have never before been seen on an opera stage. There are many moments that are extraordinary (the Rhinemaidens, the descent into Nibelheim, the opening of Walkure, the forest scenes in Siegfried), and a few that make you want to tear your hair out (gods entering on slides, the muppet dragon in Siegfried). I was at the Met with my son for opening night of Die Walkure and I want to tell you - at the opening of Act I, when the machine transformed itself into a forest and the snow was falling, it was magical. Some of that you can see from the HD broadcasts, but not the full effect. On the other hand we also got to witness Deborah Voigt fall off the set on the first entrance of her life as Brunnhilde. But she and Bryn Terfel are pros - they didn't miss a beat and improvised with what they had. The blu-ray recording is extraordinarily good. The sound is excellent and the visuals exciting. Somehow they managed to eliminate the machine creaking that was a feature of the live performances, although less so in the HD broadcasts. My only (minor) gripe is that while closeups create an experience you will not have in the theater (unless you are paying more for you seat than I am), I would have liked to have seen a little more utilization of a wider perspective. The singing in this production is excellent, as is the orchestral performance (although as others have noted Luisi's conducting of the immolation scene seems emotionally flat). I thought Voigt was very good - she got better as the cycle developed. Eric Owens and Stephanie Blythe are deserving of all the acclaim they received in their roles. Jay Hunter Morris was great as Siegfried and had a great back story. And Hans-Peter Koenig is terrific - singing in all four operas as Fafner/Hunding/Hagen. The rest of the cast is very good - no weak links. This production will be talked about for a long time and will set a new standard for imaginative production. My guess is that some of the more lame-brained moments will be fixed in subsequent performances. The inclusion of Wagner's Dream is a real bonus. A fascinating documentary - my wife even liked it and she hates opera. I'd give this set 4.5 stars - 4 stars for the opera and 5 stars for the documentary.

I saw Die Walkure in the house, when they were filming the HD production, and the other 3 operas at my local movie theater in HD. All were fantastic experiences, but having them home to watch over and over again is even better. And just think, $119.99. To compare, I bought the laserdisc version of the Schenk Ring Cycle in 1994, at a cost of $335.00. And I've enjoyed it many times. And when I saw Die Walkure live, my ticket was around $300.00. For just the one opera. In the house, of course, you get better sound. In the movie theater, you get great picture, but the sound of the orchestra is not always so full and rich. But at home, on a widescreen HD television, with a surround sound system, you get great picture, with closeups, and amazing sound quality. The bluray has DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and PCM Stereo. Compared with my laserdisc version of the Schenk production, the sound here is much richer, much more enveloping, for both orchestra and singers. The picture is 1080i HD, 16:9, which fills my 59 inch screen, and looks beautiful (the Schenk is SD, soft picture, 1.33:1, with black bars on the sides on my TV). There are subtitles, which you can turn on or off, in English, German, French, Spanish and Chinese. As others have pointed out the set includes four blurays, one for each opera, along with a fifth bluray of the film Wagner's Dream. I watched this first, and it really explains the challenges of the production well. Each opera disc contains a short booklet, listing the chapter stops and timings, an essay and the synopsis. The discs themselves have some special features. When I saw the broadcasts in the theaters, there were live cast interviews between the acts. But by including these as special features, you can watch the opera uninterrupted, and then view the interviews later. The Walkure disc has a short special on leitmotifs, with members of the horn section illustrating the themes, in closeup and stunning sound. You've read all the pros and cons of the production. I for one, thought it was just right, a balance between traditionalist productions and crazy modern ones. I loved the costumes, which are traditional, especially the Walkyries' costumes, which I thought were very flattering to the various builds of the nine ladies. I thought the ring of fire scene in the Schenk production (which I also saw live) was more magical, but in general, the myriad imaginative uses of the machine were both technically impressive and wonderfully illustrative of the story. As for the singing, unless one goes back and compares it to something like the Solti Ring, which was recorded over many years, with numerous outtakes, not in front of a live audience like this, it was magnificent. In Rheingold, the cast is top notch throughout, from a lovely trio sound of the Rheinmaidens, to Eric Owens as a powerful Alberich, ably showing the frustration and later arrogance of the character, to Stephanie Blythe as Fricka, and Bryn Terfel as Wotan, his deep, lush, Wagnerian baritone showing why he is king of the Gods. I also liked Adam Diegel in the small role of Froh, his clarion tenor showing promise for the future. Wendy Bryn Harmer plays a fetching Freia in Rheingold. She later is one of the Walkyries, and then Gutrune in Gotterdammerung. In Die Walkure, Terfel really gets to show his credentials, both as a singer and an actor, and his performance is gripping. Deborah Voigt, whom I have seen many times, is one of the finest filmed Brunhildes ever (not comparing to CD versions). I agree with some that her voice is just a tad less amazing than it was in her 1993 Elektra broadcast, but she still has power to spare, a deep, rich sound, and excellent control throughout her range. She also acts the part wonderfully. I can imagine Birgit Nilsson, who of course had the greatest voice of all time for this role, costumed like this, with ultra closeups. Well, maybe I shouldn't imagine that. Eva-Maria Westbroek is an excellent Sieglinde, able to hit the highest notes without any strain, a large voice. And then there is Jonas Kaufmann as Siegmund. Wow. What a voice. He really makes this opera special. Now I've watched Siegfried. I love this opera, as it has tons of comedy, and a dramatic happy ending, things not always present in opera. I am even more convinced than before that the Lepage production is a winner. There are beautiful visual effects, such as a video "pond" with reflections of the live characters, a 3-D forest bird whose beak actually is triggered to the voice of the singer, and a stunning representation of the fiery top of the mountain where Siegfried wakes Brunnhilde. I went back and looked at my dvd of the Chereau production in 1976 and the Met Otto Schenk production. Compared to this new one, they both looked static, boring. Costumes are also better, especially Erda, who comes from the Earth, and has a dress covered with what looks like pieces of shiny volcanic rock. You really have to see it, and it matches her character. As for singing, once again, it's excellent. Terfel as the Wanderer is commanding, but now world weary. Gerhard Siegel as Mime is excellent, a very strong voice (he used to sing Siegfrieds). Jay Hunter Morris, the last minute replacement, has a fine voice, smooth and powerful. I'm not sure he matches every Siegfried of the past, but he really looks heroic, and acts perfectly, starting as a naive foolish wild child, but gradually learning about love, women and destiny. But Deborah Voigt, for me, is the star. Her 35 minute love duet showcases a huge, full sound, torrents of notes flowing effortlessly over the orchestra to fill the hall. Her acting is also spot on, and the chemistry between Brunnhilde and Siegfried is palpable. This is one wonderful disc, which I'll watch over and over again. One singer I haven't mentioned yet is Hans-Peter Konig, who plays Fafner, Hunding and Hagen over the course of the cycle. He has a thunderous deep bass, used to great effect in these villain roles. Wendy Bryn Harmer, who was Freia and then one of the Valkyries, plays Gutrune in Gotterdammerung. She looks and sounds beautiful, and acts her part well. One of the best things about this 4th opera in the cycle is that it has a chorus. And what a sound they make! Their singing in Act 2 is thrilling, and like the rest of the set, sounded wonderful on my sound system. In fact, the sound and picture are so good throughout, that alone makes this Ring Cycle a great buy. The new uses of the machine continue to delight the eye and support the story. Jay Hunter Morris has even more difficult acting here, and does an excellent job. But once again, it's Deborah Voigt who really knocked my socks off. She sounds truly heroic here, from the opening love scene with Siegfried, to the immolation scene, where she unleashes the full power and beauty of her voice. The end of the opera is lovely and moving, the depiction of the Rhine echoing the beginning in Das Rheingold, bringing the entire cycle back to where it began. I truly adored this bluray set, and recommend it highly.

Ich sah diesen Ring im Kino und konnte es nicht erwarten, diese Inszenierung auch auf DVD zu haben. Denn von den "normalen" Inszenierungen hatte ich schon einige lieve gesehen. Dann kam der erste "Bruch" durch die Ringinszenierung von La Fura dels Baus in der ich mit einer ganz anderen Auffassung und Herangehensweise konfrontiert wurde. Und nun der "Ring" in der MET. Als ich am Anfang die "Bretterwand" sah, dachte ich, was soll das bitte? Aber was dann geboten wurde fand ich spannend. Was mit Hilfe von Bühnentechnik, Video und Licht machbar ist, ist schon toll. Die Stimmen sind durchweg toll: Bryn Terfel als Odin ist einfach eine Erscheinung und seine Stimme ist ein Traum, der Missmut gegen Fricka, die Verachtung gegen Hunding, die Wut auf Brunhilde und der endlose Schnerz beim Abschied von seiner geliebten Tochter, absolut hörenswert. Und so könnte ich jeden einzelnen aufrufen und loben. Deborah Voigt als Walküre schlichtweg Wahnsinn. Expressiv im Kampfmodus, sensitiv im Duett mit Siegmund (nur als Beispiele), jede Parade bewältigt sie wunderbar. Zum ersten Mal hörte ich Jonas Kaufmann in einer Wagner-Rolle und war überrascht von seiner Gestaltungsfähigkeit in diesem Fach, toll. Dass der Ring nicht gerade eine "Renn"-Oper ist, dürfte bekannt sein. Große Aktionen sind bei dieser schweren schlauchenden Partie einfach nicht möglich und wenn doch, dann gehen sie nicht selten auf Kosten der Qualität des Gesanges, wenn ich z.B. an bestimmte Beyreuth-Inszenierungen denke. Trotzdem finde ich die Inszenierung der MET absolut sehens- und ganz besonders hörenswert. So viele Betrachter, so viele Meinungen - ich finde es jedenfalls toll.

I loved the previous Met Ring, but I do love this production too. It is stunning from beginning to end and it it s must own for any Wagnerian lover!!!! The sets are true to Wagner and Robert Lepage does not mess around trying to 'reinvent' the operas like many Eurotrash productions.

Me llegó rápido y esta muy buena la obra

地元シネコンでの上映に通い詰めました。コンピューター仕掛けで回転するパネルをさまざまな工夫を凝らして生かしたルパージュの演出は、斬新ですが過度に前衛、高踏的というわけでもなく、METらしい親しみやすさがあります。 歌手陣も充実してますし、バックステージにおける歌手インタビューや、ライトモチーフの解説など、初心者にもうってつけです。 日本語字幕付き国内盤の発売を切に希望します。

Fenomenal Levine, como siempre pero un pelo lento respecto a Luisi que tiene un tempo más vivo. Todos los cantantes cumplen las expectativas: los más conocidos (Terfel, Kauffmann, Voigt) y todavía más los bajos (excelentes Owens, Siegel y König). Todos los secundarios (hijas del Rin, walkirias,etc) superan con creces la excelencia a base de esfuerzo. Respecto al decorado, tan criticado por los conservadores y tradicionalistas, aprovecha los efectos especiales audiovisuales y mecánicos más novedosos: para mi gusto no es nada desagradable. En resumen, altamente recomendable. Tal vez, la única pega es que los extras no se pueden subtitular y necesitas altas dosis de comprensión de lengua inglesa-norteamericana, ya que la mayoría de cantantes tienen esta nacionalidad y acento. También el precio en AMAZON es muchísimo más económico que en los demás lugares de venta (Fnac, Corte Inglés, etc), lo cuál es muy de agradecer, sobretodo, en estos tiempos de crisis que corren actualmente.