theoshul
This was done at the Met, and broadcast on PBS, and the cast included the most distinguished singers of the time so it should have been top-notch. Unfortunately many of the singers had off-nights or just weren't as great as cracked up to be. The three largest roles are Alberich, Wotan, and Loge, and all three performances are flawed in one way or another. Alberich is played by the great Ekkehard Wlaschiha, but there's something very wrong with his acting here: I think he was trying to be funny, and his clownish delivery distracts from, and almost neutralizes, the menace which his character is supposed to have. James Morris is a fantastic vocalist but his acting is both wooden and exaggerated at the same time. And Siegfried Jerusalem as Loge is a mess.The larger of the two giants ("larger" meaning having more lines) is Fasolt, and the singer, Jan-Hendrik Rootering, sounds old and woolly, and acts poorly. The only really solid performances are in smaller roles: Matti Salminen is powerful and menacing as Fafner; Christa Ludwig is very smart and sweet-sounding as Fricka and her formidable celebrity-value--she's a superstar-veteran from the old days--makes up for her small vocal size. Super-genius Heinz Zednik as Mime anticipates his spectacular delivery in the later chapter of the Ring (Siegfried), and the Rheinmaidens are wonderful.So this is definitely the worst of the four Ring operas in this particular production.
TheLittleSongbird
Wagner's Ring Cycle is a towering achievement, filled with memorable characters, compelling stories and of course the magnificent music(all four operas of the cycle- this, Die Walkure, Siegfried and Gotterdamerung- contain some of the best music Wagner ever wrote in my opinion).This Das Rheingold is one to remember. The costumes and sets are exquisite and wonderfully grandiose, and Brian Large's stellar video directing still for me remains some of his best ever work to date.Musically, this Das Rheingold can't be faulted either. The music is magnificent, and performed brilliantly by a clearly committed and passionate orchestra and by a conductor like James Levine who clearly loves his job.James Morris is a superb Wotan, alongside Henry VIII and Wurm Wotan is one of his best roles, and out of the support cast who all seem comfortable Alberich and Fafner stand out.Overall, one fine production of a truly great opera. 10/10 Bethany Cox
OttoVonB
This is the first part of Wagner's cycle "The Ring of the Niebelungen". The precious Rhinegold can give power to whoever wields it, yet he/she must first fore-swear love. Scorned Niebelung (dwarf people) Alberich steals the gold and forges a ring of power out of it. The news spreads and other heavenly races hear of it, such as the ambitious Wotan and cunning Loge. They descent into the dwarf city to steal the ring, that will become the center of vicious power-plays...Wagner's opera about the trappings of honor, ambition and greed is often presented metaphorically. This presentation chooses to be as faithful as possible to Wagner's vision by presenting the story in its authentic mythical setting.It is almost useless to even comment on the music. Wagner's music in his epic opera is among the best ever created in the history of mankind, and many of the best moments are first featured in Das Rheingold: the slowly growing overture, the descent into the Nibelung city... James Levine aptly conducts one of the world's finest orchestras through Wagner's rich compositions.Its is essential to have "seen" an opera, since listening to it with no visual framework leaves you with an incomplete feeling. The staging in this presentation uses top notch theatrical techniques, costuming and makeup effects to give a vivid and stunning depiction of this inspirational fantasy tale (based on the old Nibelungenlied legend). Large's camera cover the action to perfection and the performances stand up to close scrutiny, with Alberich being the stand-out.Anyone who likes music should get this, and feast their eyes and ears with this epic.
Blueghost
Back in 1990, when the Ring Cycle hit the U.S. west coast, two productions (if I recall correctly) were in full swing, one of which, the Los Angeles production, stared Siegfried Jerusalem in two staring roles; as Loge in "Das Rheingold" and as Siegfried in "Siegfried."Both productions have their positives, but, for my money, it was the San Francisco production that will always remain in my mind. Even so it's the Los Angeles version of the 1990 Ring Cycle that's forever preserved on Deutsche Grammophon's DVD collection.The Los Angeles production has a more stark and, ironically, literary presentation of Wagner's first act. The Rheinmaidens are costumed as actual water nymphs, as Wagner imagined them. They wear a kind of fish body suit, and traipse around a set that has a stage cloth set in front of it with underwater ripples to give the audience a sense of being below the surface of the waves where the Rheingold is guarded. Said stage cloth moves up and down to complete the visuals for the audiences' visual reference. The same stark approach is given to the next set piece where Wotan and his pantheon confront the two giants, Fasolft and Fafner, they've contracted to build their fortress. There's a fine backdrop of a mountain range with a rainbow arching in front of it. It adds to the ethereal nature of the tale's various intrigues, and, like a lot of opera sets, helps highlight the performances of the singers/actors while establishing the location and mood.But, despite that, for myself, I find Levine's production lacking in terms of set design, even though the performances are on par with a lot of other opera I've seen. Overall the production suffers from a desire to be almost too literary or didactic in its presentation. I never got the sense that I was watching anything other than a stage performance caught on video. I like the performances for what they are, and the sets are passable even if they aren't to my liking, but the videography, combined with the on stage visuals of the Los Angeles production, simply don't cut it. To myself it looks like this was an attempt to merely capture and market the Ring Cycle onto home video for some major LA studio, and it shows.I hate to do North-South California comparison here, but the San Francisco production was by far superior. The fortress on the backdrop for the San Francisco set looked like a fortress for the gods, and not some quasi-geographic mountainous thing that was understood to be a fortress. Ditto with the Rheingold set, and all the rest for the entire cycle; "Das Rheingold," "Die Walkurie," "Siegfried," and "Gotterdammerung." The Los Angeles sets were built and lit so that they could be broadcast using old tube camera technology, and, like I said in the previous paragraph, it shows. The San Francisco sets were built for spectacular drama. Each set was dramatically lit, and unique in construction. The Los Angeles sets recycled the "fortress" set piece for later segments, giving the whole thing that unique tinge of recycled tinsel-town LA; fake and phony on top of that.To hear the music and singing one could listen to just about any track, as the inflections of the singers aren't all that different from one version to another. But the actual emoting on stage, the costuming and sets are part of what makes opera what it is. They're what make opera, opera. And the Los Angeles version with Levine at the helm doesn't deliver. For anyone whose seen other renditions throughout the years, either live or on video (live broadcast or tape), then you'll agree that the San Francsico production was by far superior. If you can find a program guide for the 1990 San Francisco Ring Festival, then just flip through the pages and you'll see what I mean.The one advantage that the LA production had over its Northern Californian counterpart were the giants' makeup. The SF production fell short (no pun intended) when Fasolf, Fafner, and their helper giants came on stage wearing unsightly large elevator shoes and cranium extensions that looked like something out of an episode of Star Trek the Next Generation. The SF giant costumes were that bad. Even so, this one small advantage of the LA production doesn't cover the multitude of sins in terms of production values, especially for an area like Los Angeles that has all kinds of wealth to dedicate to the arts. It was almost criminal to see the one set recycled for another location, not to mention the so-called special effects which, again, just didn't compare to the War Memorial Opera house's high standards.But, even with all that, truth is I did enjoy seeing the tale acted out again on DVD, even if it lacked the visual effulgence of the one production which I will always consider as the Gold Standard for Wagner's "Der Ring Des Nibelungen." The Deutsche Grammophon edition is clear in both sound and image. There're no TVC dropouts, and the sound is Dolbey digital DTS surround, so, by that criteria, it is a competent production. Still, how I wish the 1990 San Francisco production had been captured and preserved onto film or video, because, as usual, Northern Californian art trumps Los Angeles marketing; everyday of the week, even in opera. In fact I'd even recommend it over the famed German/Austrian production of the late 80s, which, if you can find it, is also on VHS and DVD.
