Customer Reviews

Richard Wagner: Das Rheingold (Part 1 of The Ring Of The Nibelungen)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You can't make a Ring cycle just because you want to. In the absence of a passalbe, not to say inspiring, Brunnhilde and Siegfried, Haitink's cycle was sunk from the start. But neither of them appear in Das Rheingold, so the singers here are good enough, and in James Morris we have the best Wotan of his generation. I would rate this set higher except that the orchestra is no great shakes and Haitink, then a newbie to Wagner conducting, lapses back into his duller mode of straightforward, unimaginative leadership. All in all, this Rheingold is about equal to Levine's contemporaneous one on DG, which is marred by eccentrically slow tempi.

This recording contains some awfully good singing and conducting. The sound is incredible. The anvil stroke, while less clanged than Solti, has a wonderful roll out afterward. James Morris is every bit as good here as for Levine, and the accompanying singers are every bit as strong as the Wotan. Pity the rest of the cycle doesn't stand up to such close scrutiny. This (and most of Siegfried) are the best on record. Peter Haage is a touching Mime here, and Theo Adam (once a Wotan) is a volatile Alberich. Highly recommended.

I got this CD at a great price, but despite a few gems among the soloists (Goldberg, Studer and especially Morris), it seems I got what I paid for. Recording sounds two-dimensional and suffers throughout from poor intonation and lack of synchornization from the conductor. Feels particularly slow at times; maybe Haitink is trying for a grandiouse effect, but it falls flat. Brass is especially weak and muddy.