Levine's is merely the great American Ring. Now, as always, the aged Furtwängler, Knapperstbusch, and Krauss Rings are the truly great Rings, and Solti's Ring is still the best overall. The result is certainly the great American Ring and arguably a very good Ring, but not ultimately a truly great Ring. Nor can Levine, for all his experience as a Wagner conductor, sustain the drama of the Ring over 17 hours, much less sound the metaphysical depths of Wagner's vision. And while most of the secondary roles are well served - Matti Salminen is a virile and vile Hagen, Heinz Zednik is a slimy yet sympathetic Mime, and Siegfried Jerusalem is a wonderfully fiery Loge - Goldberg and Behrens are simply not up to their level. Hildegard Behrens has the depth and power of a Brünnhilde, but neither the sensuality nor the sublimity of a great Brünnhilde. Dem Zwerg Alberich, der mit seinem Volk - den Nibelungen - in der Tiefe der Erde lebt, gelingt es, den Rheintchtern den Schatz zu stehl 14 Min. Reiner Goldberg has the fresh voice of a Siegfried, but neither the depth nor the power of a great Siegfried. Der Raub des Goldes (1/16) In den Fluten des Rheins hten die Rheintchter - erotisch-schne Wasserwesen - einen magischen Schatz, das Rheingold. But is it simply a great Ring? Not quite. Is this the great American Ring? It may be: with the Met's maestro James Levine on the podium, the alert and opulent Met Orchestra in the pit, James Morris as a commanding Wotan, Gary Lakes as a virile yet vulnerable Siegmund, Jessye Norman as a strong yet sensual Sieglinde, and Kathleen Battle as a delightful Forest Bird, this certainly is the great American Ring.
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