The Golden Ring - The Making of Solti's "Ring" (Wagner Ring Cycle)
by Georg Solti, Humphrey Burton
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Actor: Birgit Nilsson, Claire Watson, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gottlob Frick, Wolfgang WindgassenDirector: Georg Solti, Humphrey Burton
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Mono; German (Original Language), Mono; English (Published), Mono; German (Published), Mono
Format: Classical, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 245 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-05-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Decca
DVD Reviews of The Golden Ring - The Making of Solti's "Ring" (Wagner Ring Cycle)
DVD Review: A Rare and Wonderful Look Behind "The Recording of the Century!"
Summary: 5 Stars
How very fortuitous that John Culshaw and Gordon Parry, along with Humphrey Burton from BBC, were able to "coerce" Maurice Rosengarten to go for the recording of this documentary on the recording of "Die Gotterdammerung" from the Monumental Decca Solti Ring Cycle.
This truly was a miracle that these sessions should have been filmed and saved for posterity, showing us the love and care, and detail and effort that went into these marvelous recordings, that even today, 48 years or so later, have not been seriously rivaled by newer recordings.........simply awesome.......look at Solti, and listen to him talk about, pulling this performance out 15 minutes worth per 12 hour day at a time.......Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Gottlob Frick, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Claire Watson performing, and at Culshaw and his team sweating out at the controls, bringing it all together, little puzzle piece at a time to create the whole homogenous epic recording. Simply not to be missed.
Sadly, this dvd is out of print at the present. I luckily obtained my copy on eBay recently, still sealed, at an elevated but still reasonable price. One might contact Decca, and see if they have plans to perhaps re-release it, with a "restored" picture......it shows it's age, but does not diminish it's powerful impact to entertain, and enlighten, and show the efforts of all behind the monumental task of recording works like these in the studio....especially way back in the early 60's, before recording really came into the so-called "modern" age.
Again, NOT TO BE MISSED!
-----
August 9, 2007 UPDATE!
The "word in the grapevine" seems to be that this is about to be re-issued again, so this will be a most fortuatous thing, and, I would expect, it will be "refurbushed" et al, so this is certainly something to be watching for!
DVD Review: Closest to Perfection
Summary: 5 Stars
If you have never watched or listened to Richard Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung, don't read any further--it would be a waste of your time. This item really only has appeal for Wagnerites.
It is a documentary of Georg Solti's 1965 recording of Wagner's Ring.
You'll see the genius of Solti, as you hear his comments on what he was trying to do, and how he integrates orchestra rehearsals with the soloists.
There are interviews with Birgit Nilsson and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau on singing and some of the philosophy of the work. Nilsson comments on how much more difficult a sound recording performance is, than an actual opera performance.
A special treat for devoted Wagnerites is seeing some of your favorite scenes being rehearsed and recorded for sound.
Exercise enthusiasts would be hard-pressed to put in as much energy as Solti does in his conducting.
Seeing this production will help you better appreciate all the many efforts that go into producing the recorded music you love.
As you grow to know Solti, you'll understand why his recordings of the Ring are regarded as the closest to perfection.
DVD Review: Entertaining, informative, and just plain wonderful
Summary: 5 Stars
This DVD consists of two separate contents.The first is the video documentary on the Goetterdaemmerung recordings as reported by the BBC in "The Golden Ring" production. The video is in black-and-white, and the sound is in (enhanced) pro logic. I found the sound of this feature to be quite forward, lacking detail, but of good quality (i.e., low noise). The subwoofer in my home theatre system is not active during this portion of the DVD.
But then again, the real value of the documentary is in providing a snapshot of the great achievement of the Decca Ring cycle under Solti's direction and the masterful playing of the Vienna Philharmonic. Like other reviewers of this DVD, I also have the Solti ring in CD. The documentary contains sufficient detail to entertain and inform. It allowed me to get a different perspective of the true effort required to produce this magnificent work, and the vision of John Culshaw's production relative to the application of state-of-the-art technology in enhancing the listening experience.
The second content of the DVD is a set of selections from some of the Ring operas in 5.1 surround-sound. The selections span all of the operas, with the orchestral standards (from the entrance of the Gods to Valhalla to the Immollation scene) extracted from the original Solti set. It is approximately another 70 minutes of material.
The 5.1 version of these selections is nothing short of miraculous. The sound stage is full and airy. The quality is outstanding, beating my CD set hands down. It also captures the Vienna Philharmonic's sound with sufficient detail to reinforce Solti's observation of that orchestra's unique Wagnerian style.
My only quip about this DVD is that it could also have been made a complement to the Solti Ring by including an analysis of the music. When the original Decca set was released, there was an additional set of an analysis of the Ring. It was a set of 4 LP's touching upon all the leitmotifs of the opera, weaving them in a wide expanse and adding to the operatic experience. It included actual Ring portions and orchestral passages (no doubt taken from some of the rehearsals) but thoroughly exposing the melodic infrastructure of this gargantuan work. The analysis is truly worthy of inclusion in this DVD, and would have added even more value to a truly wonderful effort.
DVD Review: Wonderful documentary of how a great recording was made
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a BBC TV documentary that takes us behind the scenes for the recording of the final opera of Wagner's Ring -- G?tterd?mmerung -- for Decca Records in the early 60s. The very engaging story behind the recording of the Decca Ring is presented in record producer John Culshaw's book "Ring Resounding," and this documentary is a nice complement to the book (which briefly discusses filming of the documentary). Culshaw's book made recording the Ring seem like commanding an army -- huge amounts of logistics and all manner of problems (not the least of which were tempermental singers). The documentary is hugely enjoyable as we see how several scenes in a great recording was made (and all the tension that ensued in making it). An added bonus of this DVD is that it includes a very generous (70-80 minutes) of audio highlights from the full Ring recording in Dolby Digital Surround Sound -- a bonus that really adds to the value of the DVD. Buy it an enjoy it!
DVD Review: Relive This Historical Moment
Summary: 5 Stars
A unique glimpse into one of classicals music's historical moments...the recording of the Ring cycle. Hear the voices and see the people who made this event happen. Even if you have the older VHS, get this DVD.
Description of The Golden Ring - The Making of Solti's "Ring" (Wagner Ring Cycle)
Watching the Vienna Philharmonic, Georg Solti, and a stellar cast record Wagner's immense G?tterd?mmerung for Decca in the fall of 1964 provides a thousand lessons in the art of working under pressure. For this classic documentary, The Golden Ring, a BBC camera crew eavesdropped as producer John Culshaw guided his engineering team through tricky technical maneuvers far removed from the relative ease of modern digital editing. What utter concentration and focus Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Gottlob Frick, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau bring to their collective and individual singing! Solti, for his part, oozes energy and exactitude as he pleads for greater precision and frets over details in the car en route to the sessions. There's a generous selection of bonus audio tracks culled from the Solti Ring cycle, awesomely remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound (the main program is in AC3 Digital mono). Director Humphrey Burton's annotations offer fascinating anecdotes. A gripping release, in sum, and not just for opera fans. --Jed DistlerOpera & Vocal Music CDs
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