Solti: Richard Wagner – Der Ring des Nibelungen (14 CD, FLAC)

Composer: Richard Wagner
Audio CD
SPARS Code: A-D
Number of Discs: 14 CD box set
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: Decca
Size: 4.01 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: no

Das Rheingold – recorded 1958/stereo
CD 1- (Scenes 1,2,3)
CD 2- (Scenes 3,4)

Die Walkure – recorded 1966/stereo
CD 1- Act I: (Scenes 1,2,3)
CD 2 –Act II: (Scenes 1,2,3)
CD 3 – Act II:(Scenes 4,5)
CD 4 –Act III: (Scenes 1,2,3)

Siegfried – recorded 1962/stereo
CD 1 –Act I: (Scenes 1,2,3)
CD 2 – Act I: (Scenes 3): Act II (Scenes 1,2)
CD 3 – Act II: (Scenes 2,3): Act III (Scenes 1)
CD 4 – Act III:(Scenes 1,2,3)

Gotterdammerung – recorded 1964/stereo
CD 1 – Prolog, Act I: (Scenes 1,2)
CD 2 – (Scenes 2,3)
CD 3 – Act II: (Scenes 1,2,3,4,5)
CD 4 – Act III: (Scenes 1,2,3)

Performers:
Das Rheingold:
Wotan – George London
Fricka – Kirsten Flagstad
Freia – Claire Watson
Froh – Waldemar Kmentt
Donner – Eberhard Wachter
Loge – Set Svanholm
Mime – Paul Kuen
Erda – Jean Madeira
Alberich – Gustav Neidlinger
Fasolt – Walter Kreppel
Fafner – Kurt Bohme
Woglinde – Oda Balsborg
Wellgunde – Hetty Plumacher
Flosshilde – Ira Malaniuk

Die Walkure:
Siegmund – James King
Sieglinde – Regine Crespin
Hunding – Gottlob Frick
Wotan – Hans Hotter
Brunnhilde – Birgit Nilsson
Fricka – Christa Ludwig
Waltraute – Brigitte Fassbaender
Helmwige – Berit Lindholm
Ortlinde – Helda Dernesch
Gerhilde – Vera Schlosser
Schwertleite – Helen Watts
Siegrunde – Vera Little
Rossweisse – Claudia Hellmann
Grimgerde – Marilyn Tyler

Siegfried:
Siegfried – Wolfgang Windgassen
Brunnhilde – Birgit Nilsson
Der Wanderer – Hans Hotter
Mime – Gerhard Stolze
Alberich – Gustav Neidlinger
Fafner – Kurt Bohme
Erda – Marda Hoffgen
Der Waldvogel – Joan Sutherland

Gotterdammerung:
Siegfried – Wolfgang Windgassen
Brunnhilde – Birgit Nilsson
Alberich – Gustav Neidlinger
Hagen – Gottlob Frick
Gutrune – Claire Watson
Gunther – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Waltraute – Christa Ludwig
Woglinde – Lucia Popp
Wellgunde – Gwyneth Jones
Flosshilde – Maureen Guy
1.Norn – Helen Watts
2.Norn – Grace Hoffman
3.Norn – Anita Valkki

# Das Rheingold (The Rhine Gold), opera, WWV 86a
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
with Oda Balsborg, Set Svanholm, Paul Kuen, Claire Watson, Walter Kreppel, George London, Kurt Bohme, Hetty Plumacher, Eberhard Wachter, Gustav Neidlinger, Kirsten Flagstad, Waldemar Kmentt, Jean Madeira, Ira Malaniuk
Conducted by Georg Solti

# Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), opera, WWV 86b
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
with Marilyn Tyler, Gottlob Frick, Helen Watts, Claudia Hellmann, Helga Dernesch, Vera Schlosser, Hans Hotter, Berit Lindholm, James King, Christa Fassbaender, Christa Ludwig, Vera Little, Regine Crespin
Conducted by Georg Solti

# Siegfried, opera, WWV 86c
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
with Hans Hotter, Gerhard Stolze, Marga Hoffgen, Joan Sutherland, Kurt Bohme, Wolfgang Windgassen, Gustav Neidlinger, Birgit Nilsson
Conducted by Georg Solti

# Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d
Composed by Richard Wagner
Performed by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
with Anita Valkki, Gottlob Frick, Helen Watts, Claire Watson, Lucia Popp, Christa Ludwig, Wolfgang Windgassen, Maureen Guy, Gustav Neidlinger, Birgit Nilsson, Grace Hoffmann, Dame Gwyneth Jones, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Conducted by Georg Solti

The First and Still the Best Studio Ring

I’m still amazed at the bashing this studio recording takes from some people. It was cast with the “best” available singers at the time, staged magnificently for stereo, and nearly half a century later is till an exhilarating listen. If you are new to the Ring, this set (along with Deryck Cooke’s intro, also available on CD) is your very best introduction to Wagner’s vision. The other stereo studio recordings have weaknesses in casting this set avoids. It is expensive, but the you will find yourself well repaid by a most enjoyable listening experience. Seasoned Ring fans will also want to check out the Karajan and Levine studio recordings … and if you can take “live” mono sound, the Archipel Keilberth (Bayreuth 1952) and EMI Furtwängler RAI performances are certainly worth your time. A UK company, Testament, is currently in the process of releasing the very first recorded stereo Ring from Bayreuth 1955 in splendid sound … at thi time of writing only the Siegfried is available and it may well be the best stereo Siegfried ever recorded … but at almost $80, it’s very costly. For now (March 2006), the complete Solti Ring is the best way to go if you want a memorable studio stereo performance with magnificent singing.