Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d
Back in the glory days of early digital recordings, Ring cycles were being released fast and furiously. Old Rings were reissued with remastered sound -- Solti's on Decca, Böhm's on Philips, and Furtwängler's on EMI -- and new Rings were issued with digital sound -- Levine's on Deutsche Grammophon, Barenboim's on Teldec, and Haitink's on EMI. Almost 20 years later, EMI re-released Haitink's Ring as a single 14-disc set with full cast lists, notes, and plot summaries, but without librettos. As Ring cycles go, Haitink's ranks ...
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Back in the glory days of early digital recordings, Ring cycles were being released fast and furiously. Old Rings were reissued with remastered sound -- Solti's on Decca, Böhm's on Philips, and Furtwängler's on EMI -- and new Rings were issued with digital sound -- Levine's on Deutsche Grammophon, Barenboim's on Teldec, and Haitink's on EMI. Almost 20 years later, EMI re-released Haitink's Ring as a single 14-disc set with full cast lists, notes, and plot summaries, but without librettos. As Ring cycles go, Haitink's ranks above most of its contemporaries. His casts are consistently fine and often outstanding. James Morris is a magnificent Wotan, Theo Adam is a nefarious Alberich, Eva Marton is a harrowing Brünnhilde, Siegfried Jerusalem is a convincing Siegfried, Reiner Goldberg is an acceptable Siegmund, and Cheryl Studer is a surprisingly effective Sieglinde. Haitink elicits powerful but subtle playing from the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. The big moments are huge: Siegfried's...
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