I'm writing this review as a Wagnerian that wants others to discover and enjoy Der Ring Des Nibelungen for the amazing work that it is. I feel that the best way to do this is to first see the opera in its traditional interpretation (or something at least closely approximating such). A dvd can come in handy, as paying to go see the opera itself could be too much for the novice, for many reasons. I personally had to start out with sequential parts of the opera, otherwise I would have been ultimately both overwhelmed and scared off. I was eventually able to watch longer and longer, and found my attention span expanding accordingly. My "bloody chunks" method might not work for some, but I just wanted to give the neophyte an idea of how to approach Wagner without being turned off at the start by the size and length of the operas. With a dvd an initiate always has the option of turning off, tuning in, rewinding, etc
Der Ring Des Nibelungen is, in my humble opinion, the greatest work of art in
Western history. There is no other work that integrates so many different
artistic mediums, characters, and situations into such a comparatively cohesive whole. Let me digress a bit by giving going into what constitutes great Art.
My definition of great Art is that it not
only inspires, but can actually make a person learn something
about him or
herself, and/or the world around. In the case of the Ring, the main thrust is provided by the
music, but the allegorical nature of the plot, characters, and situations point toward
deep, self-revelatory archetypes. In fact, it could be asserted that the truly great artists all touch upon inherited psychological characteristics in what Carl Jung referred to as the Collective Unconcious, archetypes that help connect the psyches of every man and woman, regardless of political orientation. In Wagner's case, it becomes obvious upon study that he meant his late operas to be interpreted with such a mindset.
Like any Art, fully appreciating the Ring
takes a conscious, willed effort. One has to actually learn the musical language
that Wagner created. But I must emphasize that one's efforts will be rewarded.
Just like reading Dickinson, admiring Raphael, listening to late-era
Beethoven...Art pays off over and over again as one lives with it, grows with
it.
So let's start the
actual review:
There are two dvd sets that are generally considered the
most valuable among Ring performances: this one and the one conducted by Pierre
Boulez. I personally started with this one, and I'm glad that I did. It might
just be personal preference, but I think that if I had started my Wagner
experience with a non-traditional staging of the Ring, like Boulez's I would
have been very put off. Seeing this traditional performance first helped me alot
with getting my mind right with the work itself.
This Metropolitan Opera
performance of the Ring has its share of problems. The middle section of Das
Rheingold, as well as the majority of Act I of Gotterdammerung, are seemingly
conducted through molasses. James Levine, obviously a very notable conductor
overall, seemed to fall asleep during these sections, which is extremely
unfortunate considering the fact that they are two sections most in need of
conscientious conducting. The outstanding performances of singers James Morris
and Crista Ludwig can only shine so much when led by a
sleepwalker.
Overall, Levine seems to get swept up and inspired by the
rushing, "heavy metal" parts of the Ring, but he seems just plain disinterested
during the parts that require more care, subtlety. The exceptions to this
general rule are both the excellent awakening-of-Brunnhilde scene in Act III of
Siegfried, as well as the better-than-average Siegmund and Sieglinde scene of
Die Walkure.
James Morris' perfomance as Wotan steals the show here, he
is by far the most impressive Wotan in recent history. His voice has certain
idiosyncracies that refine the role and make it his own, not to mention his
tall, imposing physical presence. As a basis of audio/video comparison, Donald
McIntyre (from the Boulez Ring) stands up well in overall quality to Morris from
both a singing and acting standpoint, but the former just can't compete with
Morris' less anonymous vocal delivery, not to mention his physical presence.
Morris makes the Wotan role HIS in a commanding way.
Siegfried
Jerusalem makes a very good Siegfried here, though his acting sometimes puts a
"duh" veneer to the character that wasn't Wagner's intent. That is, at times
Jerusalem's portrayal tends to veer from the "brash, arrogantly ignorant"
portrayal of Siegried meant by Wagner, to an outright, unlikably stupid dolt.
This applies only to certain points in his performance, as the Heldentenor mostly does a good job, especially from a singing perspective.
Hildegard Behrens' Brunnhilde is quite good as well, she
only falters when she tries too hard. To be more specific, at times she seems to be
straining, and not just during the super high notes.
On the other hand, both
Behrens and Matti Salminen (as an outSTANDING Hagen) make for an powerful
Gotterdammerung Act II. In fact, this act is worth the price of the dvd set by
itself. One has to see it to believe it. This might just be the best performance
of this act in filmed history, full of all the Germanic gang roars, hell-hath-no-fury scorn, subtle humor, and charismatic drollery that is integral to the piece. Everything seems to click into place with this, the last part of the opera, and it's done so well it redeems the cycle as a whole.
Bottom line, this is the best you can do
for traditional staging of the Ring on dvd. I'm personally really grateful I
myself started out with it. Don't hesitate to pick this up if you're new to the Ring,
or Wagner, and it must be brought up that the traditional staging is going to be by far the most user friendly for the Heavy Metal fan, the costumes, staging, an emphasis on the heroic that most certainly is shared by the musical performances...you
want this metal heads!
As an important sidebar, I must reccomend also to the neophyte the Georg Solti-conducted cd
set for the best overall studio performace of the Ring. And you'll eventually
want the Boulez/Bayreuth Ring dvd set as well, not just because many of the
faults existent on the Levine aren't on the Boulez, but because the Boulez is an
often superb performance dvd on its own.
Finally, I heartily reccomend a good libretto/concordance (there's one co-edited by Barry Millington that works really well), and it can't hurt to check out some of the different perspectives on the allegory inherent within the opera. Robert Donington's Jungian take, "Wagner's Ring and Its Symbols", is interesting and often helpful, and philosopher Bryan Magee has contributed some marvellously lucid, jargon-free exegesis of the Wagner repetoire. I myself have begun a site analyzing The Ring, though unfinished you might find some helpful insights there:
http://lyraka.com/ourfatherofmetal/hisgreatestoperas.htm This multi-experience approach is important for
fully understanding and absorbing Der Ring Des Nibelungen.
