Featured in Kalman Rubinson's Music in the Round in the July 2007 issue of Stereophile!
This critically acclaimed, beautifully recorded and produced series continues from Melba. In 1877, Lohengrin had been the first Wagner staged in Australia, followed, during the next forty years, by all the major works, except Parsifal. Sydney and Melbourne saw a Ring cycle from a touring company around 1913 and in the 1980s concert versions sold out. No one doubted that there would be an Australian audience for The Ring. Attempts to create a Ring in Sydney had stalled by the mid-1980s and never got under way in Melbourne. How could Adelaide, with a quarter of the population, succeed? The answer proved to be the same as for Wagner between 1848 and 1876, to wit, bold leaps and shameless determination. The State Opera of South Australia (SOSA) would present all four parts in one go. The usual method is to develop one part each year for three years and then stage the cycle in the fourth year. Adelaide would do it all at once over three weeks. The result is this magnificent series of recordings.
Features: • Super Audio CD
• SACD Multi-Channel SACD Layer
• SACD Stereo SACD Layer
• This Hybrid SACD contains a 'Red Book' Stereo CD Layer which is playable on most conventional CD Players!
Musicians:
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Asher Fisch, conductor
John Bröcheler, Wotan
John Wegner, Alberich
Christopher Doig, Loge
Richard Greager, Mime
Andrew Collis, Fasolt
David Hibbard, Fafner
Elizabeth Campbell, Fricka
Kate Ladner, Freia
Liane Keegan, Erda
Timothy DuFore, Donner
Andrew Brunsdon, Froh
Natalie Jones, Woglinde
Donna-Maree Dunlop, Wellgunde
Zan McKendree-Wright, Flosshilde
Selections:
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Das Rheingold Total playing time, 2 hrs 29mins