Product Details

• Actors: Lance Ryan, Ralf Lukas, Franz-Josef Kappellmann, Matti Salminen, Jennifer Wilson
• Directors: Carlus Padrissa
• Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: German (Dolby Digital 5.1), German (PCM Stereo)
• Subtitles: German, English, French, Spanish
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: C Major
• DVD Release Date: February 23, 2010
• Run Time: 307 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002ZCUEKM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,442 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strong conclusion to a fascinating cycle, May 12, 2010

By 

harmless drudge (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Wagner: Gotterdammerung (DVD)

Over the past couple of months I have watched this cycle in order. Although I recommend it, largely for some strong singing in the key roles and for some innovative use of projections and dancers, I also came away with the feeling that what could have been the top cycle on DVD slipped a notch or two as it progressed from Rheingold to Gotterdammerung. The most striking and unique features of this cycle are the nearly constant use of video projections as backdrops (ranging from National Geographic quality landscapes to a variety of abstractions) and the nearly constant use of a corps of dancers/extras who were on stage as plants, animals, Nibelungs, and even Valhalla itself. Some reviewers have commented that all of this activity distracted from the main action/singing. Although I appreciate that view, I found it always interesting, at times mesmerizing, and at times utterly perplexing. (For all the brilliance of the special effects and sets, I had the feeling that the director and designers were like kids locked in a candy shop of technological sweets -- they couldn't resist gorging themselves.) In any event, there is so much going on that I will resist the temptation to start listing examples. Suffice it to say that for Gotterdammerung, they have brought the saga into present times. Hagen, Gunther, Gutrune, and their minions wear modern dress (much of the time) although they are encased in odd make-up and ornamentation (more about the stupid costumes below). As in several other productions, the theme is gods/man/dwarfs as despoilers of the world with restoration through return of the ring.
Besides the nifty staging, this production also benefits from a couple of first class singers in THE roles -- Lance Ryan as Sigfried and Jennifer Wilson as Brunnhilde. These were very satisfying performances. I had heard good things about Wilson, so her solid performance was not so surprising (good top notes and presence in Act 2; somewhat prosaic immolation scene, however). For me the surprise was Lance Ryan -- he had great stamina, no tiring in Act 3 and a strong death scene (also a very good Siegfried in that opera). I would put them right up there with the best of any others on DVD. The rest of the cast was not as strong, but all were satisfactory. As a small aside, it seems that Salminen has been playing Hagen (and doing it well) since Wagner's death. Time is catching up, and it strains credibility in this performance when Hagen (who is supposed to be around Siegfried's age) resembles Merlin.
Orchestra and conducting are good throughout the cycle.
Two disappointments -- one minor and one major. Minor: given all of the special effects, Act 3 (arguably the greatest act of the entire cycle -- maybe of opera) seemed a bit anticlimatic. But maybe that's because the bar was raised too high in the earlier operas. Major: the costume and makeup designers should be chained to Mime's anvil for eternity. Most DVD ring cycles (and I've seen just about all of them) have piss poor costuming, but this one just about takes the cake. As one example, they managed to make Jennifer Wilson resemble an Anna Russell caricature (huge breastplate emphasizing huge breasts)and the worst prom/bridesmaid dress imaginable, complete with bustle. For crying out loud, a simple tunic would have been more flattering, tasteful, and consistent with the production.
All in all, I recommend this cycle highly. It's becoming increasingly difficult to rank order the growing number of Ring cycles available on DVD. To make matters worse for me, the cycle I had placed as number 1 (Barenboim/Kupfer) now seems too bleak, a bit long in the tooth, and at times downright boring (despite some excellent performances) when compared to some of the recent releases such as this one and the productions from Copenhagen and Amsterdam.... what's a person to do?... gorge on them all.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars TheLast Installment for the Newest in the Ring Stakes, April 11, 2010

By 

DDD (Pasadena, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wagner: Gotterdammerung (DVD)

At last we have come to the final installment of the Valencia Ring. For a relative new opera house they have met the challenge on their own terms and we are all the more fortunate. This is not to say that it is the "best Ring that is available, best sung, best staged, etc. It is perhaps the most creative, but one is temped to wish that the rubric "less is more" had been invoked at any number of points along the dramatic road. Notably in the Siegfried and the Gotterdammerung. Of course anyone lucky enough to have seen these productions in the house will doubtless have a different take. Those whose admmission is by way of the DVD will have a different response.

My main gripe is with the excessive use of projections in the last two operas. In the distant shots the characters on stage can be lost. Even singers with a more dramatic presence would be absorbed in the stage picture. At times the effects work and the end result is dramatically effective. At other times it can be impossible to sort out the stage picture making viewing a muddled mess.

For reasons that are explained in the "bonus" the setting of Gotterdammerung is moved to what I suppose can be called contemporary. This does not add one whit to the the overall dramatic effect and indeed it is not used consistently. In act III, Siegfried is wearing a generic costume that looks anything but contemporary, but his dreadlocks are still missing. I should add that Ryan's best singing is at this point: the voice is steady and the emmission of tone even. I understand that he will be singing at Bayreuth this summer. Wilson certainly has the potential for being one of the best Brunnhilde's going. Her acting at this point is made up of stock gestures that one would have though were discarded decades earlier. She is also contumed atrociously. She wears a breast plate (why?) and a long full skirt with what appears to be a bustle--all of this makes her look far heavier than she is. I doubt that she will receive a call from From Bayreuth--and the loss will be theirs. Salimen continues to amaze with a superbly sung Hagen. Gutrune and Gunther must be two of the most ungrateful roles that Wagner ever wrote. Matos as Gutrune is costumed to look like a trollop; her voice is shrill. Gunther is made up to look like a refugee from a George Romer horror flick. Vocally only adequate.

I assume some PR flack coined the term "A Ring for the Twentieth Century". Statements like this can only come back to bite you. Yes, they are using tenchiques that most theatres can only wish they had. But in the end a great cycle is the result of interesting and creative staging (Chereau/Kupfur)great singing (go back to the fifties) and we do not live in a great era for Wagner and Verdi singing. We have some excellent singers and some intelligent singers, but with Rings being staged all over the place there aren't enough to go around. I wanted to throw my non-existent hat ini the air and yell "Ole" when the findal chords were over. God knows the Valencia audience did. In the meantime the Ring I will return to most often is the Kupfur/Barenboim set with the Chereau/Boulez waiting in the wings.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BRAVURA VALENCIA, March 8, 2010

By 

Michael Cunningham (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wagner: Gotterdammerung (DVD)

This is an absolutely stunning production of Gotterdammerung presented by Valencia. They are really positioning themselves to become one of the most authentic houses around. The singers were amazing especially Matti who presented a sterling performance and Lance who had some superb moments. However, the star of the show is the American dramatic soprano Jennifer Wilson who thrills with very vocal power machine but still manages nuance, intelligence, and femininity in her output. Finally we have a real Brunnhilde again!