I love opera and Wagner, and I appreciate the Ring Cycle and Das Rheingold highly. This production is very impressive, and I also love the 1990 Met production.Mostly, this Das Rheingold has the full package, evocative sets, skillful video directing with a quite cinematic style to it, magnificent music, superb orchestra playing and conducting and great acting and singing. The costumes are on the most part fine too, excepting the giants. Of the singers, Hanns Schwarz is excellent and Donald McIntyre excels as a richly voiced and very convincingly acted Wotan. The Rheine Maidens are wonderfully cast too, Heinz Zednik is a superlative Loge and Hermann Brecht is a splendidly-characterised Alberich, but my favourite was Matti Salminen who is just brilliant as Fasolt. Less successful is Fritz Hubner as Fafner, good acting but a little too woolly vocally for my tastes. Overall though, much to like and very impressive. 8/10 Bethany Cox
Review of Das Rheingold
