Thread: Adelaide Ring to be released on SACD

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Post by tream December 15, 2004 (21 of 31)
Brenda, just for you I'm doing this in the Adelaide Ring thread. :-)

http://www.wagnerdallas.com/events2002/wsd030326.htm

http://home.nyc.rr.com/asherfisch/Asher%20Fisch.htm

Some info on Fisch and his experience, especially with Wagner. He has also conducted Parsifal in Seattle, so he clearly has a lot more experience than I first thought (and I like my humble pie rare, please). The proof is in the pudding, so the recordings will be interesting.

I was reflecting on what made the Solti Ring great. Certainly at the time that Decca and John Culshaw began with Rheingold there were other emminent Wagnerians (more so than Solti, who was known but still not the star he became in the 60's)-Decca even had Karajan under contract, who had way more Wagner experience than Solti. They also had Knappertbusch, but as Culshaw points out Kna was an unreliable conductor in the studio.

I think it was a combination of things - the relatively new stereo technology, coupled with an imaginative use of sound effects, a well seasoned Wagnerian cast - not over the hill for their roles, but Fladstad, Svanholm, London, Neidlinger - wow. Also, an orchestra steeped in the idiom, and a reasonably seasoned conductor familiar with the Ring.

I think the Karajan Ring is relatively successful as well, although on different terms. Again, Karajan had quite a lot of Wagner conducting under his belt, and clearly had time to think deeply about his interpretation. While some of the singers aren't as heroic as those in the Solti (Vickers is the one exception I can think of) they create great characters. (Stolze is wonderful, both as Loge and as Mime, for example).

Genug-let's see how it sounds when it is out.

Post by brenda December 16, 2004 (22 of 31)
tream said:

Brenda, just for you I'm doing this in the Adelaide Ring thread. :-)

http://www.wagnerdallas.com/events2002/wsd030326.htm

http://home.nyc.rr.com/asherfisch/Asher%20Fisch.htm

Some info on Fisch and his experience, especially with Wagner. He has also conducted Parsifal in Seattle, so he clearly has a lot more experience than I first thought (and I like my humble pie rare, please). The proof is in the pudding, so the recordings will be interesting.

I was reflecting on what made the Solti Ring great. Certainly at the time that Decca and John Culshaw began with Rheingold there were other emminent Wagnerians (more so than Solti, who was known but still not the star he became in the 60's)-Decca even had Karajan under contract, who had way more Wagner experience than Solti. They also had Knappertbusch, but as Culshaw points out Kna was an unreliable conductor in the studio.

I think it was a combination of things - the relatively new stereo technology, coupled with an imaginative use of sound effects, a well seasoned Wagnerian cast - not over the hill for their roles, but Fladstad, Svanholm, London, Neidlinger - wow. Also, an orchestra steeped in the idiom, and a reasonably seasoned conductor familiar with the Ring.

I think the Karajan Ring is relatively successful as well, although on different terms. Again, Karajan had quite a lot of Wagner conducting under his belt, and clearly had time to think deeply about his interpretation. While some of the singers aren't as heroic as those in the Solti (Vickers is the one exception I can think of) they create great characters. (Stolze is wonderful, both as Loge and as Mime, for example).

Genug-let's see how it sounds when it is out.

dear tream, many thanks, like all good scientists, i do like to see things in category.

Post by Valavien December 18, 2004 (23 of 31)
I had other commitments which meant that I could not attend (along with needing money to get there from Brisbane). So when I read this I was very excited. It would be great to see a DVD to be able to watch as well. Especially since what was on stage had a lot to do with the money spent.

Post by tream December 29, 2004 (24 of 31)
Here's a detailed review, complete with pictures:

http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=24854

Post by michaels January 4, 2005 (25 of 31)
tream said:

Here's a detailed review, complete with pictures:

http://www.andante.com/article/article.cfm?id=24854

I've just found this thread, and thought you might be ineterested in my comments.

As Editor of the opera site The Opera Critic (http://theoperacritic.com) I attended the Adelaide Ring and had the pleasure to meet Asher Fisch, a number of the artists and also Maria Vandamme who is making the CD.

Fisch is a wonderful guy, and I'm sure has a great career ahead of him. He would like to do the Ring in Israel, which is of course a big ask. He has now conducted most of the main Wagner operas - The Ring (Adelaide), Parsifal (Vienna & Seattle), Tristan (Copenhagen), Meistersinger (Vienna), Der Fliegende Hollander (Los Angeles), Lohengrin (Seattle). I understand that he will be conducting a number of Wagner operas in Seattle in coming years (although not their Ring this year), and will do a new production of Parsifal in Leipzig this year.

The casting policy in Adelaide was to use as many Australian/New Zealand singers as possible, hence many of the names may not be too familiar, particulalrly in North America, as most of the artisits make their career in Europe. The singing left little to be desired, spearheaded by Lisa Gasteen's incomparable Bruunhilde.

The bad news about the CD is that it is not a DVD. The production in Adelaide was hugely visual, as well as being great musically, but obviously this aspect of it will be lost on CD. I heard a portion of the master tapes (Stuart Skelton singing the Wintersturme in Die Walkure) and it sounded great!

There are a vast number of reviews and articles on The Opera Critic about this production, which can be found on the page for the State Opera of South Australia at:

http://theoperacritic.com/company.php?company=ssa

This page is free to visit, but access to other pages is for subscribers only.

I hope this is helpful.

Michael Sinclair
Editor, The Opera Critic
E-mail: michael@theoperacritic.com
Website: http://theoperacritic.com
The World of Opera on your Desktop

Post by tream August 1, 2005 (26 of 31)
zeus said:

I just posted the press release here:

/shownews.php?news=33

It's set for international release. It's still being recorded (a few weeks to go) so don't expect to see it for a while.

Just curious - I haven't heard anything about this for some time. Does anyone have any news?

Post by Dead Man August 1, 2005 (27 of 31)
tream said:

Just curious - I haven't heard anything about this for some time. Does anyone have any news?

Haven't heard a thing. And the Melba Recordings site

http://www.melbarecordings.com.au

doesn't have anything to let us know how things are going. I'd have thought that since this is the label releasing this monumental recording they'd have something up to remind of us the fact.

Waiting with bated breath, but unfortunately starved for even the most minute details.

Post by zeus August 1, 2005 (28 of 31)
Dead Man said:

Haven't heard a thing.

The last I heard is that the release date will more likely be next year.

Post by Valavien December 30, 2005 (29 of 31)
zeus said:

The last I heard is that the release date will more likely be next year.

I just saw on the Melba site that is due to be released in 2006. No mention of SACD though.

Post by zeus December 30, 2005 (30 of 31)
Valavien said:

I just saw on the Melba site that is due to be released in 2006. No mention of SACD though.

These will be SA-CDs. The latest I heard was availability middle of the year, with each opera released in turn.

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