WAGNER: DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN HIGHLIGHTS - KARAJAN (2 CDS)

Herbert von Karajan’s mighty ‘Ring’ cycle, here represented through extended highlights allows us to sample Karajan’s choice of different singers for the same character in different operas – Fischer-Dieskau’s Wotan in ‘Das Rheingold’ and Thomas Stewart’s in ‘Siegfried’. There are notes on the music as well as an essay by Karajan expert, Richard Osborne, on the background to Karajan’s ‘Ring’ plus a photo gallery of many of the key singers. There were and will always be many competitive ‘Ring’ cycles on the market but, as Martin Baker sums up, ‘[Karajan] creates […] a transparent aural stage where the light and shade in the music has an almost forensic quality. Musically, the Karajan Ring cycle has a visceral intensity that especially in the subterranean scenes, hints at the sinister mythologies that informed Germany’s recent history and is probably closer to the heart of the narrative’s darkness than any other recording.’ RICHARD WAGNERDer Ring des Nibelungen (highlights)CD 1Das Rhein