Met Opera Die Walkure 28.4.12

[DracoM]

Honestly, people, DO listen to pegleg's link. The singing / playing is truly wonderful. Now THAT's Sieglinde and Wotan at work.

[underthecountertenor]

DracoM: let's hope for a commercial release of Thielemann's Ring, eh? From what you (and others) are saying, it could be the finest modern Ring on record.
Re the Met broadcast: I dipped into it in Act 2 (at Brunnhilde's appearance to Siegmund), unaware that Kaufmann had withdrawn, and was shocked by what I heard: switched off PDQ. I then came here to see what was being said, and was mightily relieved to discover that it wasn't Kaufmann after all. But was there any explanation of why they had to resort to van Aken, who was so painfully obviously unprepared and not up to the role? Why can't the Met of all places devote a fraction of its enormous resources to having an understudy on contract for such a role who knows the production and can make a decent fist of the singing (which van Aken clearly couldn't - though I really felt for him)? If I'd paid Met prices for what was clearly intended to be a major season highlight, I'd have been pretty cross.

[underthecountertenor]

PS I suppose I might be going a bit far in saying 'finest modern Ring on record' - or am I? What do you all think?

[LHC]

DracoM: let's hope for a commercial release of Thielemann's Ring, eh? From what you (and others) are saying, it could be the finest modern Ring on record.

There is already a Thielemann conducted Ring cycle available:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Nibel...785708&sr=1-20

The playing of the Bayreuth Orchestra is very good, but there are several weak links in the cast which probably rule it out as library choice. It does, however, make it unlikely that there will be another commercial release of a cycle under his direction any time soon.

[underthecountertenor]

I'd forgotten that, LHC. What a pity.

[DracoM]

There is already a Thielemann conducted Ring cycle available:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Nibel...785708&sr=1-20

The playing of the Bayreuth Orchestra is very good, but there are several weak links in the cast which probably rule it out as library choice. It does, however, make it unlikely that there will be another commercial release of a cycle under his direction any time soon.

Beat me to it, LHC.
So much in flux is the Wagner singer A-list at the mo, that I'd be a bit chary of buying any Ring from any conductor/team. Until Kaufmann gets stuck into it on record, I think I'd be tempted to go back and buy the much revered Solti Ring and put up with Windgassen to get the sublime Nilsson / Hotter / VPO et al.

[underthecountertenor]

Solti's recording introduced me (and countless others, I'm sure) to the Ring, and I have it on CD as well as LP, but I'm not sure I could listen to it again. When I think of it now, I think of brashness, an over-driven quality (matched by rather hard-edged sound), and some flawed singing (though I will obviously grant you Nilsson and Hotter, DracoM). The trouble is that there have, for me, been so many wonderful Wagner conductors since (Haitink, Barenboim, Thielemann and, as a work in progress perhaps, Pappano - I look forward to hearing him again this autumn), but, as you say, with never a consistent cast of singers sufficiently acceptable to withstand repeated listening. (I think 'in flux' is perhaps a charitable way of putting it!) Possibly, in the Ring more than any other opera, DVD is the answer (apart from anything else the visuals can, in my experience, take the edge, or focus, off any less than ideal singing, which would be less tolerable in sound alone). I was particularly impressed by the Copenhagen Ring directed by Kasper Holten and conducted by Michael Schoenwandt. I do hope that, once Holten gets into his stride there (and shakes off the Padmore inheritance), we'll start to see productions of this quality at Covent Garden.

[DracoM]

The ORF Siegfried with Stephen Gould / Alfred Dohmen etc now available on http://oe1.orf.at/programm/301693
There is also a Gotterdammerung from the same forces, but weirdly dated to take place on Wednesday, 5th May..........erm......no it can't be. has to be a mistake.