Der Ring des Nibelungen
The Dream Ring assembles the great voices chosen by the major music critics as the supreme representations of the central roles in Wagner's Nibelungen drama. These artists often sang together in the same performances, but the cycles offering their singing were never completely recorded. Nevertheless, the traversals of their roles were separately preserved and it is these recordings that we have brought together to create as ideal a performance of the Ring Cycle dramas as it is possible to achieve.
The albums deliver Friedrich Schorr's Wotan, rich with humanity, intelligence and grandeur. Melchior's heroic and incomparable Siegmund and Siegfried, Kirsten Flagstad's noble and shining Brünnhilde, Lotte Lehmann's rapturously feminine and unforgettable Sieglinde, Karen Branzell's regal Fricka, Kerstin Thorborg's prophetic, richly toned Erda and Waltraute, Eduard Habich's implacable and spirit-curdling Alberich, Karl Laufkoetter's wheedling and pathetic Mime, all in the complete traversal of their roles. Their capacities to embody the essential character in their tone gives us the very soul of their emotion, achieving an unforgettable impact. Wagner longed, not only for the invisible orchestra, which he finally achieved at Bayreuth, but for the invisible theater. In the dream Der Ring des Nibelungen one can experience, then, in the vast theater of our minds, these epic dramas with a verisimilitude without parallel in recorded performances.
These albums also include extensive booklet texts about the composer, singers, the performance, the work, together with biographies, detailed Recording Notes as well as photographs of the singers in their roles. The Dream Ring is presented in a newly re-mastered edition, offering in many instances improved sound, preserving performances of Der Ring des Nibelungen you will never forget - truly a dream come true.
Richard Caniell
Sound Engineer
Reviews of the re-mastered Dream Ring
WANT LIST OF THE YEAR
Colin Clarke FANFARE (Nov-Dec 2013)
THE DREAM RING (Der Ring des Nibelungen)
Issues like the Immortal Performances Ring give hope for all. Richard Caniell’s super-project is an astonishing achievement and one that deserves to be roundly applauded. Building on previous releases, and presented with trademark documentation (i.e., lots of it), this is thought-provoking, stimulating, and a reminder of Wagner’s achievement as much as Caniell’s.
FANFARE REVIEW: Colin Clarke
"This is a Ring to die for . . . a significant achievement in recorded history . . ."
See full review (3 magazine pages of estimate)
FANFARE REVIEW: Henry Fogel
"A remarkable achievement – A Ring Cycle for the ages with the greatest Wagnerian voices of the century . . . this edition is a meaningful improvement over Caniell’s own earlier version (on Guild)."
See full review
Reviews of previous, un-remastered editions
Highlighted Reviews from Joe Pearce (Opera Quarterly critic) and John Steane (Gramophone - Singer Talk)
Das Rheingold:
Classics Today
- September 2002 by Jed Distler
Die Walküre:
MusicWeb
August 2002 by Robert J Farr
The London Times - 20th August 2002 by Geoff Brown
Siegfried:
Classics Today
by Jed Distler
Götterdämmerung:
Gramophone
- April 2003 by Robert Cowan
MusicWeb - March 2003 by Paul Shoemaker
Classics Today - February 2003 by Robert Levine
