Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen (In English) Hunter, Remedios, Bailey, Garrard; Goodall. London, 1970- 1973
$120.95
Description:
These broadcasts capture the original production of the English Ring Cycle conducted by Reginald Goodall, and serve as remarkable testament to the power of Wagner's music performed in English. Fans of the commercial release will appreciate the subtle differences in casting, such as the luxurious Sieglinde of Avan June and the Wanderer portrayed by Don Garrard, a singer who never truly received the recognition he deserved. Rita Hunter delivers her effortlessly powerful soprano as Brünnhilde, joined by Alberto Remedios as Siegfried.
The rest of the cast features an impressive array of British singers who would later secure their place among the ranks of world-class singers, including Sarah Walker, Anne Evans, and Valerie Masterson.
OD 10974-15
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United KingdomPoor audio
I know this Ring as it was the first one I saw. The quality is so poor that it is not worth listening to.
Rhinegold
This is a typically vivid performance of Rhinegold, with excellent English diction and performances that positively leap off the music. There is an odd moment during the stacking of the gold around Freia when Fasolt suddenly starts singing in German for around 90 seconds - clearly a patch made at some point. Sound at the beginning and end is congested, but otherwise excellent. Mackerras hasn't quite got the mythic power of Goodall's conducting (and in comparison appears quite perfunctory at times), but this is a good performance none the less. Most of the performances are well known from the Goodall recording, with a virtually identical cast, but Belcourt's Loge and Hammond-Stroud's Alberich are both classic - biting diction, immaculate characterisation and wonderful singing. It is good to hear Anne Howard's Fricka (Katherine Pring sings it on EMI) and lovely as it is to hear Barbara Walker's Woglinde, she cannot banish memories of Valerie Masterson's magical announcement of the gold motif.
Daniel Zara
Without Wagner’s specially crafted, gravel-chewing, pseudo-quasi-Ur-Deutsch, the monster Fairy Tale loses a few clicks of Menace and Spookiness but gains a sort of close-up familiarity: certainly “kinder, friendlier”, this Brit-sung-Saga. and wonderfully sung. This Cycle is loaded with great voices–and The Wanderer of Don Garrard is especially notable. Too bad the Valkyrie 1st Act finale is so inartfully chopped up.
