Wagner: Die Walkure/Siegfried/Götterdämmerung

Richard [Classical] Wagner (Composer), Francesco D'Avalos (Conductor), Philharmonia Orchestra of London (Orchestra), Anne Evans (Performer), John Tomlinson (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Anne Evans, John Tomlinson
• Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra of London
• Conductor: Francesco D'Avalos
• Composer: Richard [Classical] Wagner
• Audio CD (May 20, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Asv Living Era
• ASIN: B0000030XC
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #669,804 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Die Walkure: Ride Of The Valkyries

2. Die Walkure: Wotan's Farewell And Magic Fire Music - John Tomlinson

3. Siegfried: Forest Murmurs

4. Gotterdammerung: Siegfried's Rhine Journey

5. Gotterdammerung: Siegfried's Funeral March

6. Gotterdammerung: Brunhilde's Immolation - Anne Evans

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full blown Romanticism, December 1, 2005

By 

Pater Ecstaticus (Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wagner: Die Walkure/Siegfried/Götterdämmerung (Audio CD)

Elsewhere I have written a review of a same kind of album comprised of some of the most famous pieces of music from Der Ring des Nibelungen, namely the one with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim on Erato. A really wonderful recording, that one: a dramatic but at the same time clear-headed vision. Also, the Brünnhilde of Deborah Polaski on that album fits within the vision of this music as Barenboim imagines it: her singing and characterization is dramaticly astute, rather to the point and totally without sentimentality.
Now this album by D'Avalos is something different altogether. Except for speeds, but that matter doesn't interest me much when both results are as beautiful as they are; they are not markedly different between the two conductors - sometimes Barenboim is faster, sometimes D'Avalos is. Whatever ... Anyhow, D'Avalos' approach is, I believe, more in the vein of the traditional, full blown romantic Wagner. This is also helped by the appropriately wide acoustics of the venue, namely St. Barnabas Church in Mitcham. It has all the pieces of music which are also on the Barenboim album, plus something extra, namely Wotan's Farewell and Magic Fire Music, totalling in the album at more than 78 minutes. (The Barenboim has about 60 minutes.)
Wotan on this album is sung by the powerful and full-voiced John Tomlinson; Brünnhilde by the sweet and clear-voiced Anne Evans, to my taste one of the greatest Brünnhildes ever, combining strength and depth of character with a necessary touch of vulnarability. It is fortuitous (?) that these two soloists also sang for Barenboim when he conducted the Ring in Baireuth (a few years after this recording was made). At least it is a happy coincidence, IMHO, because in Barenboim's Ring (of 1991) their performances are even better.
Together with the sumptuous playing of the Philharmonia Orchestra under D'Avalos these two singers make this album one of the best introductions to Wagner's Ring des Nibelungen imaginable, especially when paired with Barenboim's different approach (which I personally like a little better, but nonetheless 5 stars for this magnificent album as well, also because of the extra Wotan music). The one recording can hold pride of place beside the other, each being equally legitimate, beautiful visions of what is maybe Wagner's greatest masterpiece.
As a side note: this album can be seen as one part in a 'trilogy', the other two albums having selections of music from other Wagner operas by the same orchestra under the same conductor on the same label (ASV, DCA 996 & 997). One of those albums (DCA 997) contains wonderfully performed selections of music from Tristan und Isolde (Prelude & Liebestod), Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Parsifal (Prelude & Karfreitagszauber), which I also highly recommend (see review elsewhere).