Customer Reviews

Wagner: The Rhinegold

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I have been curious about this for years. When I saw the packaging, I wondered whether this was the same Ring that has been kicking around for a couple of decades from the Sadler's Wells performances of the mid-70s. News flash: It's the same. However, the box says that it's been re-mastered with something called 24-bit digital mastering. Since I never heard the old records, I have no idea if this is better. Judged on its own, the sound is terrific. This live recording really places the listener in the theater with clarity and authentic spaciousness. So often, a live recording will capture the audience up close, then the orchestra, then the singers, cataloguing every throat being cleared and every bow being tapped. Somewhere in the distance, the singers voices follow their heavy tread over the stage. Not here. There is an intimacy to the sound here that approximates sitting in about the tenth row back in a large hall. It doesn't sound like the opera's being played in your room; it sounds as though your room has been transformed into a medium sized theater. I found it uncanny.

As to the experience of the drama in English, that too is remarkable, at least for someone like me whose home-tongue is English. The drama takes on an immediacy that I have never experienced before. This factor alone is why you should explore this Ring. I can't overemphasize the impact on me that this recording had on me because it was in English and because it was well-acted. Surely this is what Wagner meant, at least dramaturgically (obviously allowing that you can't actually see the action).

Overall, the singing is competent, and in some places, it's excellent. None of the cast really stands out musically. Norman Bailey's wobbly Wotan could have certainly benefitted from a deeper, richer tone. Still, and perhaps more importantly, he creates a god who is clearly unsure of where the moral highground is, even when he's standing on "an open space on a mountain summit." Everyone, for that matter, is dramatically convincing, especially Emile Belcourt (Loge) and Derek Hammond-Stroud (Alberich) and Robert Lloyd (Fasolt), all of whom, by the way, have excellent diction. And speaking of diction, I almost could have done without the libretto when the men were singing. Not so with the women, whose diction was uniformly wanting.

Goodall's pace is notoriously glacial. Still, it's interesting to hear it parsed in this way, and I never had the feeling that I was going to fall off the world. Which is to say that the tempos were deliberate, not affected. This was definitely a labor of love for RG and the English National Opera. The orchestra is a little thin sounding, and perhaps, not entirely up to the score. Occasionally a horn mis-blew and a cello creaked. This is unavoidable in live performances, I suppose. Still, there is a surprising sense of smallness to the ensemble, even though there's never a moment when the balance between singers and players is lost. As a result, the overall effect is a balance of clarity and urgency that is clearly the upside of Goodall's idiosyncratic "vision" of the score. Not a huge or "erotic" sound, but always committed, intelligent, and sometimes impassioned.

For all of its flaws, this is an astonishing and, for me, an indispensible recording because it made me listen to this opera with new ears. While it's not the most lyrically pleasing recording (Karajan) or musically authoritative (that would be Solti, IMHO), dramatically, this Rhinegold excells any recording I know of. I will definitely buy the rest of the set.

I wasn't expecting much from a 'Rhinegold' in English, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good this English National Opera performance turned out to be. The translation by Andrew Porter fits the English words amazingly well with the music; so much so that the singers were able to introduce nuances that can only be heard if one is familiar with language that is being sung. I was listening very carefully and albeit my ears are not as good as many others' I rarely heard a misaccented syllable. The words are not clear enough to do without the libretto entirely, but that's of little moment.

I'm not picky about singers but I didn't hear a bad one on this recording. I especially liked Robert Lloyd as Fasolt. The conducting by Reginald Goodall is less incisive than what I'm accustomed to. The producers must not have messed with the recording too much during the transfer from analog to digital, and it sounds warm and compressed like an old LP.

I'm eagerly waiting for the rest of Goodall's recordings of Wagner to be avaiable.

I was a little suspicious when approaching this English-language version of Das Rhinegold. I was considering assembling this as my third RING set (behind Solti and Levine) and had listened to THE VALKYRIE (Die Walkure) with a little initial disappointment. Although the live sound quality was very interesting, the tempo was much slower than I was used to and thus a little disconcerting, and the English words were harder to understand than I had hoped. Nevertheless, I persevered and listended to THE RHINEGOLD (probably my favorite of the four RING operas, although I know this puts me in a minority) and was amazed. Best of all, after listening to this album I revisited the Goodall VALKYRIE and discovered a new appreciation! Now the Goodall set ranks as one of the best I've heard. It just needed to get under my skin a bit.

What's so good about it? Three things stand out for me: First, the slow tempi that were a litle rough at first actually allow, upon repeated listenings, a new discovery and understanding of Wagner's unfathomable genius. Every nuance is slowed down just enough to be fully accessible. Second, the modern English translation really does make this a different experience...my initial mistake was thinking that English lyrics could allow me to listen to this as background music, and that's not the case. However, if one devotes the same attention to this as a German recording, the time wil be richly rewarded. Finally, the smaller orchestra creates an almost chamber music-esque setting, which compliments the music in an undefinable way. Despite being in English, this is almost more Germanic than original-language recordings.

I still probably wouldn't get this as the first foray into Wagner's RING (I still think Solti or Levine are the choices for that). But for someone who already has some familiarity with the work, this will provide a lifetime's enjoyment. Cudos to Chandos for resurrecting these recordings!

I've enjoyed listening to the Ring cycles by Solti, Bohm, and Furtwangler, but my pleasure has always been dampened by the necessity to follow the dramas with a German/English libretto. This performance freed me from that burden and allowed me to listen to the Ring with my ears alone for the first time. And what a delightful experience it was! I found I could understand about half the words the first time through. but that was enough for me to understand what the characters were saying and concentrate on Wagner's great music. Some of the characters (Loge and Alberich, for example) are almost perfectly comprehensible, while others (Fricka in particular) might as well be singing in German. The sound itself is superb, with perfect balances between orchestra and voices. Goodall's conducting is famously slow (about half an hour longer than usual), but he is never slack and he reveals a wealth of detail in the orchestration. The singers are a mixed lot, with Loge, Alberich, and Mime particularly effective. Bailey is hardly the grandest of Wotans, but he is solid and convincing. In any event, for us non-German listeners, this recording is a real treat. I would not recommend it as a first Ring (Bohm is a good choice, though some of his tempi are rather hectic), but as a supplement to a recoding in the original language, it is hard to beat. Give it a try! As for me, I'm ready to go on to "Die Walkure" (pardon me, "The Valkyrie").

The figure of speach may not be completely correct in this instance, but, well, I hope you get the point. In any case, for a Dutch speaking person, like I, to hear 'The Ring' in a language other than the original German feels - almost shockingly(?) - natural. Certainly, this modern English translation, to me, is as least immediate, and probably even more immediate, than the original (archaic) German text. And in music drama, immediacy is essential. Maybe it is also the wonderfully natural translation, I don't know, but it works for me, the Ring in English.
But most of the credit has to go to the music, the singers, and the recording as such. I believe that this (originally analogue) remastered recording has one of the best recorded sounds and acoustics of any Ring, studio or 'live'. It is wonderfully clear but warm, kind of velvety (very unlike Solti), with beautifully natural balaces between voices and orchestra. Audience noises can be heard (including a delightful little ripple of laughter) but never really obtrusively so, thankfully. And I love the thunderclap-sound effect when Donner strikes his hammer against the rocks - very tastefully done, and lending extra power to the scene.
All the time one reads in reviews everywhere of the very slow speads at which the music is conducted by Sir Reginald Goodall. Well, that may be so, but I, for one, am certainly endeared to Sir Reginald Goodalls 'caressing' of the music, as a result of which wich the Leitmotifs come out more clearly than ever. The slow - but nonetheless very concentrated, and always involved - playing has, to me, an almost mesmerizing effect. Certainly, compared to many other recordings, the music may sound stretched almost beyond breaking point. But in the end, I think it is really just that: a matter of speed, no more. The concentration never falters and the dramatic arc never saggs. There is live 'music magic' going on here, I feel, even if the English National Opera Orchestra may not be (as precise or as diciplined as) a Wiener Philharmoniker or a Bayreuther Festspielorchester. Certainly, Sir Reginald Goodall must have loved this music and these opera's: one feels a slowly beating but constant loving pulse that energizes the drama and the music.
But we also have the singers. And what a great singers! While the best may be yet to come (with Alberto Remedios as Siegmund and Siegfried, and Rita Hunter as Brunnhilde), we here, in The Rhinegold, already have one of the most commanding of Wotans (Norman Bailey, with wonderful burnished timbre). Also, Emile Belcourt stands out as a wonderfully sleek but full-voiced Loge. Derek Hammond-Stroud's Alberich may not be as black as Gunther von Kannen's (for Barenboim), for example, but there is enough anguish, frustration and anger to lend his character a convincing reality and depth. And the giants too, are a winning pair. Especially Fafner (Clifford Grant) is as imposing and powerful as one may ever wish.
With all the rave reviews, here and elsewhere I can't wait to hear The Valkyrie, (especially) Siegfried and Twilight of the Gods. This certainly is a winning 'Ring', to be kept alongside any other 'great' recorded 'Ring' out there, IMHO. To me, it can hold its own alongside any other favorite recordings.
Please, sample this Ring (try for example the Chandos website for fragments of all of the music) and decide for yourself. Highly recommended.

I have been toying with purchasing the Goodall recording for sometime. First, I'm not a fan of operas that are not in their original tongue. Second, I'd heard horror stories about the slow tempi that Goodall used in this recording. As to the first point, the Porter translation is wonderful and the English gives the piece an immediacy that I lose with the German. Second, the tempi that Goodall uses really give the music time to breathe. I hear details that are totally lost in either the Solti or Bohm recordings. As another writer said, if you already have a good German Ring, this one would make a worthy addition to your set.

We have so many Ring recordings in store right now: Furtwangler, Keilberth, Solti, Karajan, Boulez, Janowski, Barenboim, the list is endless. This Ring recording is especially unique because it is sung in English. And not only that, but this live production took a very long time to produce: every musica detail had to be heard, every pronunciation had to be accurate, etc. And so here we have The Rhinegold, the "Preliminary Evening" in the Ring Cycle.

While I do praise Goodall with his amazing attention to detail, his ridiculously sluggish tempi will tick some Wagnerites off: nothing is faster than andante. But I did enjoy listening to the slow beauty of the Rhinegold Prelude.

The English National Opera Orchestra outshines Bayreuth in terms of orchestral clarity and beauty, but I do miss the punch that Bayreuth packs. "Erda"s Warning" and "Entrance to Valhalla" are a delight to listen to.

As for the siingers, they are the best since Solti and Bohm. Norman Bailey as Wotan has that divine spark that Hotter used to cherish. He's heavy and unblemished, and he handles the English text with flair and sheen. I enjoyed his singing during Scene Four.

Derek Hammond-Stroud's Alberich is three-dimensional, but not that much: Siegmund Nimsgern in Janowski Ring has the advantage. Still, he can sound very demanding and treacherous in Scene One and Three.

Gregory Dempsey isn't emotional enough as Mime. He doesn't sound fearful or depressed at all, which makes him the dullest Mime in Rhinegold.

Emile Belcourt as Loge isn't as good as Stolze (in Karajan), but he certainly can make some of the best of an English-speaking Loge. He has that Schreier-like intelligence that he brings out in his singing, and that straightfowardness that Siegfried Jerusalem brings out in the Levine Rheingold.

Katherine Pring as Fricka sure knows how to act. And it's not only the acting, but her voice as well. It can be sweet and b*tchy at the same time (Yvonne Minton for Janowski acts the same way, too). I give her an A grade.

The giants could've been better. I know that Robert Lloyd and Clifford Grant aren't as good as Kurt Moll or Matti Salminen or even Karl Ridderbusch, but they never disappoint. The tension between them might worked more clearly.

Erda sounds remarkable here. Anne Collins has done an extraordinary job; her "Warning" is far superior to Vera Soukupova's in the live Bohm recording. She ranks with Birgitta Scenden and Outrun Wenkel when it comes to the top.

Now, be warned. This should not be your first Ring (get one that's in German and that makes sense when it comes to the epic itself). But it still should be part of every Wagnerite's collection for its stunning detail.

Now on to The Valyrie . . .

The Box Set: Wagner: The Ring Cycle (Box Set)
-The Valkyrie (Part 2): Wagner: The Valkyrie
-Siegfried (Part 3): Siegfried (Goodall Ring Cycle/Chandos Opera in English)
-Twilight of the Gods (Part 4): The Twilight of the Gods (Goodall Ring Cycle/Chandos Opera in English)

I wish I could give this recording an unqualified recommendation, but there are times when the slow tempo just makes the music drag - and the latter part of Scene 2 comes to mind - a bit too much. The intonation is a bit faulty in places most likely due to the strain of the tempi. The singing is excellent throughout. The set's greatest strength in my view is in the balance of sound between the orchestra and voices, which to my ear is pretty close to ideal. The score is presented with great clarity due to the slow tempo. The overall sound has been very fine since its introduction on LPs. The moment when Donner summons a storm to clear the air and reveal the rainbow bridge has been more dramatically captured here than on any other performance I have heard on CD or in the opera house.

Overall a fine experience, but the performance could have been done in less than almost 2 hours and 54 minutes.