The performance from the Ring des Nibelungen in Cologne in 1972 is in no way inferior to that of the Green Hill in Bayreuth, which was created there at same time.Zoltan Kelemen gives a naive Alberich, which the Rhine daughters in the Rheingold do nicely, Jef Vermeersch gives a deeply believable Wotan and Wanderer in parts of the ring, especially to be emphasized in the Valkyrie scene with Br�nnhilde, which Helga Dernesch excellently portrayed in parts except the Rheingold and was a hit. Neither the conducting by Hans Wallat nor the performance of the G�rzenich Orchestra Cologne allow any flaws at any time. The conducting is stringent and both the singing and the orchestral music merge without dominating, which means that the singing can be heard without any problems.Now to the CD production by OperaDepot, it is my 3 ring production by you, I already have the two Buenos Aires rings from 1962 under Wallberg, as well as the ring from 1967 under Leitner, and you can hardly tell whether the pressings of a CD manufacturer or you were pressed onto CD, and I believe I can form an opinion, because the K�lner Ring is my 55 complete edition of the work.It is always a pleasure to do business with you, the delivery from the USA to Germany was made within 8 working days.

I have not listened to the entire cycle yet. However so far I find I’m enjoying it despite some misgivings. There are some balance issues with stage and pit which are often less of a problem when you can see the action. I was looking forward very much to hearing Helga Dernesch sing the complete cycle as I had tickets many years ago to hear her do it but unfortunately she was ill and had to be replaced. Her tuning can be a little concerning at times, but it sounds as though she is far upstage at times and perhaps can’t hear the orchestra so well. Whatever the reason, I do find the tuning annoying. However there are some very fine things so far, among them Wotan, Siegmund and Sieglinde, Alberich and Fricka. On to the rest of the cycle.

There are a number of singers here familiar from other Ring cycles (Dernesch, Kelemen, Synek, etc.), but also many singers who have not been heard in this repertoire elsewhere. Hans Wallat brings everyone together to create a well-sung and acted Ring, superior in many respects to other Rings in more famous theaters.These recordings were taken from in-house tapes, but who ever recorded them knew the music well and made most side-changes quickly and in orchestral passages so little vocal music is lost. The person was also sitting close enough to get the voices clearly captured thus giving a better idea of what the singers sounded like in the house.My thoughts about each opera are to be found under those titles, but I'd like to mention Jef Vermeersch's beautifully sung Wotan/Wanderer, Esser's stalwart Siegfried, Watson's exciting Sieglinde, Coster's uncompromising Fricka and Waltraute, Mohler's splendidly sung Mine, Franzen and Stamm's formidable Hagen and Fafner, and Kelemen's frightening Alberich. We also get a lovely Rhinemaiden trio in both Rheingold and Gotterdammerung, excellent Valkyries in Walkure, and three first-rate Norns. Last, but not least, we have Dernesch's complete Brunnhilde, as noble as she was for Karajan, but more at ease under Wallat. Some of her top notes are tight, but she sings with warm beauty and feeling throughout the cycle.I didn't expect to enjoy this cycle as much as I did. It is extremely good and any Ring lover should acquire it.

Very good.Happy to have this Ring on CD.