Paul Wagner

Wagner's stage festival in the recording of a production from the Metropolitain Opera New York. The title role is brilliantly starred by Siegfried Jerusalem, and as Kundry you can experience Waltraud Meier, who is outstanding in her performance and singing. Bernd Weikl, Kurt Moll and Franz Mazura stand by the two main roles and make this DVD - one of the few recordings of the opera on this medium - a must for every opera lover.

Paul Wagner and Rosalind Brown are in love, but her father doesn't feel Paul's lifestyle will make him a suitable husband for his daughter. When Mr. Brown instructs all the servants in his extensive household, except the missing Katerina Linz, not to let Paul in his house again, Paul dons his chauffeur's clothing and takes Katerina to a local fair where they both have a good time. Paul learns she is a farm girl working temporarily as a scullery maid to earn money to replace a cow that died. He takes her home and sees Rosalind while Katarina fixes something for them to eat. The next day, Rosalind asks Katerina to deliver a letter to Paul because all the other servants are busy.

Richard Wagner - Der Ring Des Nibelungen
Wiener Philharmoniker / Sir Georg Solti
14 CD Box | FLAC, EAC, LOG & CUE | Partial Artwork | Size: 4,62 GB + Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Decca 455 555-2 | Country/Year: Europe 1997 [1958, 1962, 1964, 1965]
Genre: Classical, Opera | Remastered | Hoster: Filepost/Filefactory

This first complete studio recording of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, made between 1958 and 1966, was a groundbreaking technical and artistic achievement, the most ambitious and intricately involved opera recording project of the 20th century. Produced for Decca by John Culshaw, whose vision and untiring devotion brought the gargantuan project to completion, the 14 ½-hour release set a new standard for opera recordings. The details Culshaw lavished on the production, which included building new musical instruments, precisely calculating the placement and choreography of each singer to maximize the theatricality of each scene, and creating an array of fabulous special effects resulted in a landmark recording that has lost none of its power with the passage of time.

The first release of the first stereo recording of the work, the historical importance of this set of Wagner's Siegfried is undeniable. Recorded by Decca at the 1955 Bayreuth Festival, this performance directed by Joseph Keilberth was to have been issued as part of the first complete Ring cycle. But persuaded that only a studio recording could do the work justice, Decca decided to shelve Keilberth's performance, a decision that led to Georg Solti recording Siegfried with the Vienna Philharmonic and ultimately to the release of a Ring cycle that many still regard as the finest ever recorded. But aside from its inherent historical value, what's its aesthetic value? While much better than average, Keilberth's Siegfried doesn't challenge the established order.