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37 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Misconceived Ring Cycle, April 2, 2005
This review is from: Wagner - Der Ring Des Nibelungen / Gambill, Denoke, Rootering, West, Gasteen, DeVol, Bonnema, Zagrosek, Stuttgart Opera (DVD)
It's no secret that opera in Europe is suffering from directors who are described as avant-garde, when in fact they are very probably just incompetent. I bought this DVD set through Amazon and as a former opera singer and musician and an aficionado of opera, I am not sorry I did because it is very interesting academically though I consider it an artistic travesty. Wagner conceived these characters as mythological archetypes and suffused the music he composed for them with incredible grandeur. It is difficult to view Brünnhilde's horse Grane as magnificent when it is represented on stage by a hobby horse, a cutout horse head on a stick! Albert Bonnema, the Siegfried in Götterdämmerung was by the end of the opera unable to sustain his high notes on pitch. Having all the men in contemporary business suits but carrying swords and spears was ludicrous. But the last straw was ringing down the curtain when Brünnhilde ends the Immolation and during all the final music depicting the burning of Walhalla and the surging of the Rhine over its banks, the collapse of the old order, to project a written description onto the screen. The fact that the casting of the four pieces and the direction of each were utterly unconnected makes Wagner's intention completely ignored. Only a seasoned Wagnerite should see these productions because they will understand how to evaluate them against proper and correct renditions. A novice will be driven away. They should buy the Met production from 1990 as they make sense.
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36 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Warning!..Read the individual reviews before you purchase!, November 16, 2004
This review is from: Wagner - Der Ring Des Nibelungen / Gambill, Denoke, Rootering, West, Gasteen, DeVol, Bonnema, Zagrosek, Stuttgart Opera (DVD)
If you are looking to purchase a complete version of Wagner's Der Ring Des Nibelungen, then I would advise that you consider either the Boulez/Patrice Chéreau "Industrial Age" version, or the more traditional James Levine MET production...I only reviewed Das Rhinegold in this Stuttgart series, and once I discovered that the remaining 3 operas were no better, I saved my money rather than endure anymore of the nonsence I initially witnessed...I urge you to at least read the reviews of each opera that are posted here at Amazon, before plunging into this purchase...I'll summarize how the four operas were rated...Das Rhinegold averaged a 2star rating, with one-1star, three-2star and one-3star review.... Die Walkure averaged a 2 1/2 star rating with two-1star, one-2 star, one-3star, and one-5star review....Siegfried averaged a 2 star rating with three-1star, one-2star, and one-4star review, and finally, Gotterdammerung had a 3 1/2 star average rating with two-2star, one-4star, and one 5star rating....so there you have it, and I should point out that most professional magazine reviews criticized the Stuttgart production as well, so it is not simply the Amazon reviewers who feel this way...obviously the decision comes down to your own tastes, and there were a few reviewers who liked these performances, so who knows?...if you do not mind the investment of the money, and you are an adventurous soul who wants his Wagner way way off the beaten path, with generally average artists, then you might find something to enjoy here...you will be in the minority if you do, so consider that before discovering that you bought something that you will be selling at auction one day for a bargain basement price....not at all recommended!
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14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting presentation ?, December 26, 2004
This review is from: Wagner - Der Ring Des Nibelungen / Gambill, Denoke, Rootering, West, Gasteen, DeVol, Bonnema, Zagrosek, Stuttgart Opera (DVD)
Having seen three different ring cycles this fourth one came as an interesting diversion. It's with a smaller orchestra than normal so it's not 'big' Wagner. And it's presented on a smaller stage so it's much more intimate. While this 'intimacy' is not very Wagnerian it does seem to get one closer to the script in execution if not in design, at least for me. Strangely the subtitle translation seems to diverge from the norm which also adds a little interest. One specific complaint is for Das Reingold where there's no transformations during the transformation music. Oh well. And this is not a consistant 'back-to-back' production so doesn't meet Wagner's vision for the full scope of the Ring. But this should not be ones first Ring cycle DVD set anyway - either the Bayreuth or Met cycles are much more satisfying. But damn, it's nice to have the choice !
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