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Wagner - Die Walkure / Levine, Behrens, Norman, Metropolitan Opera (Levine Ring Cycle Part 2)
Posted by Allegretto
Wagner - Die Walkure / Levine, Behrens, Norman, Metropolitan Opera
(Levine Ring Cycle Part 2) [DVD]
Conductor: James Levine | Composer: Richard Wagner | Director: Brian Large | Stage director: Otto Schenk | Stage design: Günther Schneider-Siemssen | Costumes: Rolf Langenfass | Performers: Gary Lakes, Kurt Moll, James Morris, Jessye Norman, Hildegard Behrens, Christa Ludwig, Pyramid Sellers, Martha Thigpen, Joyce Castle, Sondra Kelly, Katarina Ikonomu, Diane Kesling, Wendy Hillhouse, Jacalyn Bower | Orchestra/Ensemble: Metropolitan Opera Orchestra | Label: Deutsche Grammophon | Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 | File hosts: Uploaded.net, share-online.biz | 5% recovery + 3 .rev files | Number of Discs: 2 | Run time: 244 minutes | 12.7 GB Language(s): German (Dolby Digital 5.1), German (DTS 5.1), German (PCM Stereo), Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Chinese (Dolby Digital 5.1) | Subtitle: English
(Levine Ring Cycle Part 2) [DVD]
Conductor: James Levine | Composer: Richard Wagner | Director: Brian Large | Stage director: Otto Schenk | Stage design: Günther Schneider-Siemssen | Costumes: Rolf Langenfass | Performers: Gary Lakes, Kurt Moll, James Morris, Jessye Norman, Hildegard Behrens, Christa Ludwig, Pyramid Sellers, Martha Thigpen, Joyce Castle, Sondra Kelly, Katarina Ikonomu, Diane Kesling, Wendy Hillhouse, Jacalyn Bower | Orchestra/Ensemble: Metropolitan Opera Orchestra | Label: Deutsche Grammophon | Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 | File hosts: Uploaded.net, share-online.biz | 5% recovery + 3 .rev files | Number of Discs: 2 | Run time: 244 minutes | 12.7 GB Language(s): German (Dolby Digital 5.1), German (DTS 5.1), German (PCM Stereo), Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), Chinese (Dolby Digital 5.1) | Subtitle: English
It's no surprise that the second opera in Wagner's epic Ring cycle, Die Walküre, is the one Deutsche Grammophon released first on DVD: it's by far the most popular of the four parts of The Ring, from the thrilling Act I love duet for its brother and sister lovers, Siegmund and Sieglinde, to the spectacular finale of the "Magic Fire Music," as the god Wotan puts his beloved but disobedient daughter Brünnhilde into a deep sleep (no jokes, please!), over four hours later. This 1990 Metropolitan Opera production, originally broadcast on PBS to great acclaim, has been stunningly transferred to digital disc.
Watch a Trailer (sample is a lower resolution than actual DVD or Blu-ray):
Musically, of course, is where any worthy Ring earns its keep, and under James Levine, the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra makes the most sumptuous Wagnerian sounds of any current orchestra, as the dazzlingly fresh-sounding "Ride of the Valkyries" makes abundantly clear. The ravishing music is not solely instrumental, of course; the principal cast--Gary Lakes (Siegmund), Jessye Norman (Sieglinde), Hildegard Behrens (Brünnhilde), and especially James Morris (Wotan)--more than handles the vocal and acting demands, even those long stretches of unbelievably difficult singing passages that Wagner demands. This Otto Schenk production has taken its lumps for its conventional approach to Wagner's mythic music-drama. But it's an easy first approach for newcomers, and it's actually a rarity nowadays--among countless deconstructionist approaches--that many Ring-lovers will enjoy Die Walküre in its original setting and context.
CAST
Siegmund - Gary Lakes
Sieglinde - Jessye Norman
Wotan - James Morris
Brünnhilde - Hildegard Behrens
Hunding - Kurt Moll
Fricka - Christa Ludwig
Gerhilde - Pyramid Sellers
Ortlinde - Martha Thigpen
Waltraute - Joyce Castle
Schwertleite - Sondra Kelly
Helmwige - Katarina Ikonomu
Siegrune - Diane Kesling
Grimgerde - Wendy Hillhouse
Rossweisse - Jacalyn Bower
Works on This Recording:
Die Walküre by Richard Wagner
Performer: Kurt Moll (Bass), Hildegard Behrens (Soprano), Christa Ludwig (Mezzo Soprano), Jessye Norman (Soprano), Gary Lakes (Tenor), James Morris (Bass)
Conductor: James Levine
Orchestra/Ensemble: Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1856; Germany
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