Richard Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen 7 DVD-SET / Das Rheingold - Die Walküre, Siegfried - Götterdämmerung / Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus / Conducted by James Levine / Directed by Brian Large / NTSC

UPC 044007304396

REGION 0 NTSC DVD (ALL REGIONS)

MADE IN EU

AUDIO: German 2.0, German 5.1

Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese

Total Runtime: 941 minutes (7 discs)

English Summary:

The ring of the Nibelungen (in German Der Ring des Nibelungen, otherwise called Tetralogy) is a cycle of four musical dramas by Richard Wagner, which constitute a narrative continuum that takes place over a prologue and three "days".

Richard Wagner's epic cycle of four operas--"Das Rheingold," "Die Walkure," "Siegfried" and "Gotterdammerung"--staged to great acclaim by the Metropolitan Opera and conducted by James Levine. Singers include Alan Held, Anthony Raffell, Gary Lakes, Heinz.

Featuring Performances of All Four Parts of the Opera

Includes Bonus Picture Galleries

Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied. The composer termed the cycle a "Bühnenfestspiel" (stage festival play), structured in three days preceded by a Vorabend ("preliminary evening"). It is often referred to as the Ring cycle, Wagner's Ring, or simply The Ring.

Wagner wrote the libretto and music over the course of about twenty-six years, from 1848 to 1874. The four parts that constitute the Ring cycle are, in sequence:

• Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold)
• Die Walküre (The Valkyrie)
• Siegfried
• Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods)

Individual works of the sequence are often performed separately, and indeed the operas contain dialogues that mention events in the previous operas, so that a viewer could watch any of them without having watched the previous parts and still understand the plot. However, Wagner intended them to be performed in series. The first performance as a cycle opened the first Bayreuth Festival in 1876, beginning with Das Rheingold on 13 August and ending with Götterdämmerung on 17 August. Opera stage director Anthony Freud stated that Der Ring des Nibelungen "marks the high-water mark of our art form, the most massive challenge any opera company can undertake."

German Description & Cast:

Der Ring des Nibelungen - Ein Bühnenfestspiel für drei Tage und einen Vorabend (1848-74)

Vorabend: Das Rheingold
Wotan: James Morris, Donner: Alan Held, Froh: Mark Baker, Loge: Siegfried Jerusalem, Alberich: Ekkehard Wlaschiha, Mime:
Heinz Zednik, Fasolt: Jan-Hendrik Rootering, Fafner: Matti Salminen, Fricka: Christa Ludwig, Freia: Mari Anne Häggander, Erda:
Birgitta Svendén, Rheintöchter - Woglinde: Kaaren Erickson, Wellgunde: Diane Kesling, Flosshilde: Meredith Parsons

Erster Tag: Die Walküre
Siegmund: Gary Lakes, Hunding: Kurt Moll, Wotan: James Morris, Sieglinde: Jessye Norman, Brünnhilde: Hildegard Behrens, Fricka:
Christa Ludwig, Walküren - Gerhilde: Pyramid Sellers, Ortlinde: Martha Thigpen, Waltraute: Joyce Castle, Schwertleite: Sondra Kelly,
Helmwige: Katarina Ikonomu, Siegrune: Diane Kesling, Grimgerde: Wendy Hillhouse, Rossweisse: Jacalyn Bower

Zweiter Tag: Siegfried
Siegfried: Siegfried Jerusalem, Mime: Heinz Zednik, Der Wanderer: James Morris, Alberich: Ekkehard Wlaschiha, Fafner:
Matti Salminen, Erda: Birgitta Svendén, Brünnhilde: Hildegard Behrens, Stimme des Waldvogels: Dawn Upshaw

Dritter Tag: Götterdämmerung
Siegfried: Siegfried Jerusalem, Gunther: Anthony Raffell, Hagen: Matti Salminen, Alberich: Ekkehard Wlaschiha, Brünnhilde:
Hildegard Behrens, Gutrune: Hanna Lisowska, Waltraute: Christa Ludwig, Die drei Nornen - Erste Norn: Gweneth Bean, Zweite Norn:
Joyce Castle, Dritte Norn: Andrea Gruber, Rheintöchter - Woglinde: Kaaren Erickson, Wellgunde: Diane Kesling, Flosshilde:
Meredith Parsons, Mannen und Frauen

Sonstige Mitwirkende
Dirigent: James Levine
Orchester / Chor: The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Inszenierung: Otto Schenk
Bühnenbild: Günther Schneider-Siemssen
Produktionsleiter: Peter Gelb
Video-Regie: Brian Large
Audio-Produktion: Jay David Saks
Aufnahme: Metropolitan Opera House, New York City, April 1989 (Die Walküre) / März - Mai 1990 (Live-Mitschnitte).