Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen (Audio CD)

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Made between 1980 and 1983, this was the first digital recording of Wagner's Ring cycle. Upon rehearing, it has stood up very well. Janowski's conducting is no-nonsense, no-attitude: he presents the music beautifully played by the Dresden forces, with a fine feeling for the drama and relatively swift tempi. The end of Rheingold has great majesty, the opening storm and third act Ride in Walkuere are well-propelled and exciting, and the gorgeous music which takes Siegfried to Brünnhilde's rock is as beautiful as can be, while Siegfried's Rhine Journey is airy and optimistic and his Funeral music suitably heavy and tragic. Theo Adam is a fine Wotan/Wanderer, rising to great dramatic heights in Siegfried; Jessye Norman and Siegfried Jerusalem as the Volsung Twins are at their youthful best; Matti Salminen's Hagen is menacing and cruel; Siegmund Nimsgern doesn't miss a trick as Alberich; Peter Schreier's Mime is Siegfried is truly sung, rather than yelped, and very vivid (as is his Rheingold Loge); Yvonne Minton is a less-shrewish-than-usual Fricka and Norma Sharp is the most aviary Forest Bird on disc. René Kollo's Siegfried is not exactly heroic, but he inflects nicely and is always involved and spirited. The set's only weakness is not terminal but it's a pity: Jeannine Altmeyer is a lovely, intelligent singer, but her voice is too light for Brünnhilde and she's not the riveting character she should be. Luxury casting elsewhere (Lucia Popp is a Rhinemaiden; Cheryl Studer a Valkyrie) pays off. The accompanying booklet contains an essay and scene-by-scene synopsis, but no libretto. But at midprice, this handsome-sounding set is a very good bet. --Robert Levine

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