Wagner – Die Walkure / Levine, Behrens, Norman, Metropolitan Opera (Levine Ring Cycle Part 2)

Superb production
James Morris is a superb singer and a superb Wotan. And – an added bonus – he LOOKS like the big Norse god. Of the dozens of Walkure recordings posted on Facebook, this Abschied (the final farewell to Brunhilde)is the most moving I’ve ever seen. One question (maybe a musically knowledgeable person can answer this): In the great peroration “Wer mein Speers Spitze furchtet durchstreitet das Feuer nie!”, why does Morris slur together the last two words? There should be a definite break, however brief, between “Feuer” and “nie” in my humble opinion.

My husband was thrilled with his anniversary gift of opera …
My husband was thrilled with his anniversary gift of opera DVDs to make a complete set of Wagner’s Ring Cycle.

Fine production for a growing opera enthusiast.
This was a very well-sung and orchestrated production of Die Walkure. Jesse Norman was a LOVELY Sieglinde, Ludwig was an anguished and believable Brunnhilde, and James Morris presented a much more “foreceful” and godlier Wotan than the previous installment of this particular ring cycle. See Das Rheingold Wagner – Das Rheingold / Levine, Morris, Jerusalem, Ludwig, Metropolitan Opera (Levine Ring Cycle Part 1). We finally understood why he is noted as one of the great Wotans. Levine conducts a flawless, if somewhat fast-paced, orchestra. (Keep in mind, this opera is still 4+ hours long). We enjoyed ourselves immensely.Also useful was the booklet that comes with this DVD. This provides a nice synopsis of the opera, and notes on this particular production.Detracting somewhat from the rest of the fine cast was the slightly lackluster performance of Siegmund. This production has a very simple staging, and looks a little dated to today’s standards. While the soundtrack is great quality, the set was a bit dark, and the filming reflects this; we had to fiddle a bit to artificially “brighten” on the screen to show detail. Also, the “quality” of the dvd filming and English subtitles was somewhat blocky, and could not be improved by our system. While this is a great performance, it is around 20 years old; even with today’s available upscaling, the filming looks its age.

Five Stars
no

This is the most attractive of the four operas which go to make up “The Ring”, a good place for a newcomer to begin. (Bear in mind that the operas were not composed in the order they are performed as a cycle, though they would make little sense if performed in the order they were composed!) Although the singing here is invariably wonderful, what stands out for me is the almost miraculous playing of the MET orchestra and (though it might be frowned upon to say so these days) Levine’s simply breathtaking conducting. The recording is wonderfully clear, and every detail, every note, every phrase of the genius of Wagner’s orchestral score comes across. Gary Lakes is an impressive Siegmund, Jessye Norman, despite her German, an unlikely but glorious Sieglinde, Hildegard Behrens a spine-tinglingly tragic, compassionate and charismatic Brunnhilde and James Morris probably taking the vocal laurels with a Wotan to cherish. There is also Christa Ludwig’s Fricka to take to your heart. I cannot imagine this performance being bettered, though I have not watched every dvd of the opera available. The superbly moody production should offend nobody.

Eine glatte Fälschung ! Die Sendung enthielt nicht 2 sondern nur 1 DVD und diese von äußerst schlechter Qualität ! Hier sollte Amazon tätig werden

Le premier acte met aux prises trois géants : le ténor américain Gary Lakes semble être un bucheron canadien, Jessyie Norman, pourtant pas frêle, fait « petite fille » à ses côtés. Cette Sieglinde est à l’aise en allemand (débuts de carrière en Allemagne), elle a du coffre, ce n’est pas une frêle femme, et quel beau timbre ! On se dit qu’elle aurait pu être aussi la Walkyrie. Beau et sonore également celui de son horrible époux, le Hunding de Kurt Moll a presque une trop belle voix pour ce rôle noir. Les « Wälse » de Lakes semblent sans fin ; lui aussi a du coffre ! Des géants, vous dis-je. Je ne serais pas monté dans un ascenseur avec les 3 ensembles.La grande Christa Ludwig était déjà la Fricka de Solti en 1965, autant dire qu’elle possède le rôle. A 62 ans, quelle leçon de chant et de présence scénique ! James Morris a régné au Met sur le rôle de Wotan pendant les 20 ans de cette production. Behrens a été une Walkyrie brulante et bien chantante. Oui, ce fut une belle distribution, dans un décor sobre et une mise en scène respectueuse de l’œuvre.Bons sous-titrages. Enregistrement d’avril 1989.