Customer Reviews

Wagner: Die Walkure (St. Clair Ring Cycle Part 2) [Blu-ray]

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

 

 

I really wouldn't recommend this performance. It seems to make fun of the opera more than to perform it. The famous opening of Act 3 is set in a girls' dormitory and involves a pillow fight. The sets are spare and ugly, the singing is adequate but not good. It might be worth watching if what you want is an attempt at ironic commentary on the original, but for me it really just ruined a good opera.

I don't pretend to know much about Wagner operas, but here is some basic information about this disc: it's a 2008 production by the Deutsche Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle Weimar (German National Theatre, now solely based in Weimar, and the symphony orchestra known as the Staatskapelle Weimar), conducted by Carl St. Clair, an American, who was music director there from 2005-2008.

In short, this is Wagner on a budget, and I loved it. The sets, costumes, props and special effects are minimal and minimalist. The spare stage and absence of winged helmets places the emphasis firmly where it should be: the music and the characters. The international cast may not be of the same calibre as the stars of La Scala or the Met, but seem to pour their hearts and souls into this convincing and moving production.

I very much enjoyed this Weimar Walküre, and the video quality of the Blu-Ray disc is superb. Opinionated Wagnerites may scoff, but anyone into classical music in general or those open to a different kind of Ring should give the Weimar Ring a try.

**March 2010 edit: it seems that my humble review has sparked some strong opinions! See the comments for various views on this production from much more informed Wagnerites than myself. I note that in the past half year, no new cycles of the Ring have been released on Blu-Ray.

I do not even want to waste time on a review - all I can say - stay away form this attempt to make a high school version of this masterpiece. Distasteful! The reason for the ONE star is the Bluray quality. Do not sell your soul to the devil. Will not occupy space on my shelve nor belittle other great recordings with its presence. I naturally have NO opinion about this...