Wagner: Das Rheingold / Deyoung, Goerne, Begley, Reid [blu-ray Audio]

$11.99
Label
Naxos AudioVisual
Release Date
November 13, 2015
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      WAGNER, RICHARD
    • PERFORMER
      Goerne, Deyoung, Begley, Pushniak, Reid, Samuil, Humble, Sidhom, Cangelosi, Youn, Milling, Nakamura
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      November 13, 2015
    • UPC
      730099004961
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      NBD0049
    • LABEL
      Naxos AudioVisual
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Opera / Operetta / Oratorio
    Works ⌄

    1. Scene 1: Vorspiel

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    2. Scene 1: Weia! Waga! Woge, du Welle! (Rhinemaidens)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Eri Nakamura, Aurhelia Varak, Hermine Haselböck

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    3. Scene 1: Hehe! Ihr Nicker! (Alberich, Rhinemaidens)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Peter Sidhom, Eri Nakamura, Aurhelia Varak, Hermine Haselböck

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    4. Scene 1: Garstig glatter glitschiger Glimmer! (Alberich, Rhinemaidens)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Peter Sidhom, Eri Nakamura, Aurhelia Varak, Hermine Haselböck

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    5. Scene 1: Lugt, Schwestern! Die Weckerin lacht in den Grund (Rhinemaidens, Alberich)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Eri Nakamura, Aurhelia Varak, Hermine Haselböck, Peter Sidhom

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    6. Scene 1: Nur wer der Minne Macht entsagt (Woglinde, her sisters, Alberich)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Eri Nakamura, Aurhelia Varak, Hermine Haselböck, Peter Sidhom

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    7. Scene 1: Der Welt Erbe gewann' ich zu eigen durch dich? (Alberich, Rhinemaidens)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Peter Sidhom, Eri Nakamura, Aurhelia Varak, Hermine Haselböck

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    8. Scene 1: Haltet den Rauber! (Flosshilde, her sisters)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Hermine Haselböck, Eri Nakamura, Aurhelia Varak

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    9. Scene 2: Einleitung

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    10. Scene 2: Wotan! Gemahl! Erwache! (Fricka, Wotan)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Michelle DeYoung, Matthias Goerne

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    11. Scene 2: So schirme sie jetzt (Fricka, Freia, Wotan)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Michelle DeYoung, Anna Samuil, Matthias Goerne

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    12. Scene 2: Sanft schloss Schlaf dein Aug'! (Fasolt, Wotan)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Kwangchul Youn, Matthias Goerne

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    13. Scene 2: Was sagst du? Ha! Sinnst du Verrath? (Fasolt, Fafner, Wotan)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Kwangchul Youn, Stephen Milling, Matthias Goerne

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    14. Scene 2: Du da, folge uns fort! (Fafner, Freia, Froh, Donner, Fasolt, Wotan, Fricka)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Stephen Milling, Anna Samuil, Charles Reid, Oleksandr Pushniak, Kwangchul Youn, Matthias Goerne, Michelle DeYoung

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    15. Scene 2: Endlich Loge! Eiltest du so (Wotan, Loge, Fricka, Froh, Donner, Fafner, Fasolt)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Matthias Goerne, Kim Begley, Michelle DeYoung, Charles Reid, Oleksandr Pushniak, Stephen Milling, Kwangchul Youn

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    16. Scene 2: Immer ist Undank Loges Lohn! (Loge, Wotan, Fasolt, Fafner, Fricka)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Kim Begley, Matthias Goerne, Kwangchul Youn, Stephen Milling, Michelle DeYoung

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    17. Scene 2: Ein Runenzauber zwingt das Gold zum Reif (Loge, Donner, Wotan, Froh, Fricka, Fafner)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Kim Begley, Oleksandr Pushniak, Matthias Goerne, Charles Reid, Michelle DeYoung, Stephen Milling

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    18. Scene 2: Hor', Wotan, der Harrenden Wort! (Fafner, Wotan, Fasolt, Freia)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Stephen Milling, Matthias Goerne, Kwangchul Youn, Anna Samuil

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    19. Scene 2: Schwester! Bruder! Rettet! (Freia, Froh, Donner, Loge, Fricka)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Anna Samuil, Charles Reid, Oleksandr Pushniak, Kim Begley, Michelle DeYoung

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    20. Scene 2: Wotan, Gemahl, unsel'ger Mann (Fricka, Wotan, Loge, Donner, Froh)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Michelle DeYoung, Matthias Goerne, Kim Begley, Oleksandr Pushniak, Charles Reid

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    21. Scene 3: Verwandlungsmusik

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    22. Scene 3: Hehe! Hehe! Hieher! Hieher! Tuckischer Zwerg! (Alberich, Mime)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Peter Sidhom, David Cangelosi

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    23. Scene 3: Schau, du Schelm! (Alberich, Mime)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Peter Sidhom, David Cangelosi

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    24. Scene 3: Nibelheim hier: durch bleiche Nebel (Loge, Mime, Wotan)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Kim Begley, David Cangelosi, Matthias Goerne

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    25. Scene 3: Nehmt euch in acht! Alberich naht (Mime, Wotan, Alberich)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: David Cangelosi, Matthias Goerne, Peter Sidhom

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    26. Scene 3: Die in linder Lufte Weh'n da oben ihr lebt (Alberich, Wotan, Loge)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Peter Sidhom, Matthias Goerne, Kim Begley

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    27. Scene 3: Ohe! Ohe! Schreckliche Schlange (Loge, Wotan, Alberich)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Kim Begley, Matthias Goerne, Peter Sidhom

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    28. Scene 3: Dort, die Krote, greife sie rasch! (Loge, Alberich)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Kim Begley, Peter Sidhom

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    29. Scene 4: Da, Vetter, sitze du fest! (Loge, Alberich, Wotan)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Kim Begley, Peter Sidhom, Matthias Goerne

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    30. Scene 4: Wohlan, die Nibelungen rief ich mir nah' (Alberich, Wotan)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Peter Sidhom, Matthias Goerne

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    31. Scene 4: Gezahlt hab' ich; nun lass' mich zieh'n! (Alberich, Loge, Wotan)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Peter Sidhom, Kim Begley, Matthias Goerne

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    32. Scene 4: Ist er gelost? (Loge, Wotan, Alberich)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Kim Begley, Matthias Goerne, Peter Sidhom

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    33. Scene 4: Lauschtest du seinem Liebesgruss? (Loge, Wotan, Froh, Donner, Fricka)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Kim Begley, Matthias Goerne, Charles Reid, Oleksandr Pushniak, Michelle DeYoung

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    34. Scene 4: Lieblichste Schwester, susseste Lust! (Fricka, Fasolt, Wotan)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Michelle DeYoung, Kwangchul Youn, Matthias Goerne

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    35. Scene 4: Gepflanzt sind die Pfahle nach Pfandes Mass (Fafner, Wotan, Loge, Froh, Fricka, Donner, Fasolt, Freia)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Stephen Milling, Matthias Goerne, Kim Begley, Charles Reid, Michelle DeYoung, Oleksandr Pushniak, Kwangchul Youn, Anna Samuil

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    36. Scene 4: Weiche, Wotan, weiche! Flieh' des Ringes Fluch! (Erda, Wotan)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Deborah Humble, Matthias Goerne

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    37. Scene 4: Soll ich sorgen und furchten (Wotan, Fricka, Froh, Donner, Freia)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Matthias Goerne, Michelle DeYoung, Charles Reid, Oleksandr Pushniak, Anna Samuil

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    38. Scene 4: Halt, du Gieriger! Gonne mir auch was! (Fasolt, Fafner, Loge)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Kwangchul Youn, Stephen Milling, Kim Begley

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    39. Scene 4: Nun blinzle nach Freias Blick! (Fafner, Wotan, Loge, Fricka, Donner)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Stephen Milling, Matthias Goerne, Kim Begley, Michelle DeYoung, Oleksandr Pushniak

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    40. Scene 4: Heda! Heda! Hedo! Zu mir, du Geduft! (Donner)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Oleksandr Pushniak

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    41. Scene 4: Bruder, hieher! Weise der Brucke den Weg! (Donner, Froh)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Oleksandr Pushniak, Charles Reid

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    42. Scene 4: Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge (Wotan)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Matthias Goerne

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    43. Scene 4: So gruss' ich die Burg (Wotan, Fricka, Loge)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Matthias Goerne, Michelle DeYoung, Kim Begley

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

    44. Scene 4: Rheingold! Rheingold! Reines Gold! (Rhinemaidens, Wotan, Loge)

      Composer: Richard Wagner

      Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

      Performer: Eri Nakamura, Aurhelia Varak, Hermine Haselböck, Matthias Goerne, Kim Begley

      Conductor: Jaap van Zweden


This is an audio-only (i.e., with no video content) Blu-ray disc playable only on Blu-ray players.

It is also available on standard CD.

Taken from two concert performances in January, 2015, this is the first installment of an entire Ring Cycle from the Hong Kong Philharmonic under Jaap van Zweden to be recorded by Naxos. It makes you hungry for the rest.

The recording is clean and clear, with no artificial anything. Van Zweden’s approach is closest in memory to Herbert von Karajan’s–intimate and chamber-like, a family drama that happens to be played out in magical, mythological terms. Also like Karajan, van Zweden takes his time (at 2 hours and 33 minutes, this is on the longish side) and offers seamless segues between scenes. When a solo instrument is featured in Wagner’s dense orchestration, it is given a spotlight, and beautiful moments are to be bathed in–the motif after the Rainbow Bridge is created and the singing that follows rarely have sounded so tuneful and lovely. The Hong Kong Philharmonic is not Berlin or Vienna or the Met, but it has nothing to fear–the playing throughout is smooth and handsome. The opening Rhine passage is dark but clear, the piling up of the gold in Scene IV is beautifully built, and the opera’s final moments are indeed the grandest, as they should be–one of the few instances when van Zweden pulls out all the stops.

The storytelling is at the fore; impeccable diction is the order of the day. As revolting as Alberich always is, we can actually hear the flirtatious playfulness in the opera’s opening moments until he realizes that he doesn’t have a chance. And from then on, he’s simply vile–Peter Sidhom sings with an audible sneer and a ringing top to the voice that we rarely get in this role. He’s a baritone with remarkable “face”.

The back and forth between the fine, unexaggerated Fricka of Michelle De Young and the remarkable, surprising Wotan of Matthias Goerne is natural and familiar, and Goerne is the surprise of the performance. His experience and expertise as a Lieder singer comes in very handy in this opera: his interacting with Loge and his cajoling of Mime and Alberich all are textually and dynamically right-on. The bottom of the voice sounds remarkably rich, and while the top notes are brighter than we normally hear, he has authority. One wonders, however, about his Walküre Wotan….

David Cangelosi’s slimy Mime is vivid and actually sung–note for note, and Kim Begley’s Loge is performed with wonderful detachment: he knows he’s smarter than anyone else. Deborah Humble’s Erda could have been darker-hued, but her attention to the text turns her scene into the “event” it should be. Anna Samuil’s Freia is much like every other soprano’s who sings the part: good at complaining and being afraid. Kwangchul Youn’s Fasolt is on a grand scale; Stephen Milling’s Fafner not so much. Froh, small part though it is, deserves a better profile than Charles Reid gives it, and the Donner of Oleksandr Pushniak begins his “Heda…” on an unsteady note but recovers quickly. The Rhinemaidens–Eri Nakamura, Aurhelia Varak, and Hermine Haselböck–are a terrific, articulate, tuneful trio...


First choice among Rheingolds is still the Decca, but Testament’s release of a 1955 Bayreuth performance with Hans Hotter is certainly in the running, and as a non-gimmicky performance, may even be better. But this new set gives a wonderful overall view of this opera, and at a remarkable price.

-- Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com