The Ring Cycle: Das Rheingold

The Ring Cycle: Das Rheingold

1991 · 154 min · ★ 8.2 · Music

PRELIMINARY EVENINING OF THE RING CYCLE. Upon the banks of the ageless river Rhine, the Rhinemaidens play. Alberich, a Nibelung dwarf, tries vainly to seduce one of them. To taunt him, they reveal their secret: out of the gold they guard one can forge a Ring to rule the world, but at the cost of giving up Love forever. Alberich steals the gold, makes the ring and plans his world take-over. Meanwhile, Wotan, King of the Gods, must figure out how to finance the construction of Valhalla. He has promised his sister-in-law as payment to the giant construction workers led by Fafner, but his wife Fricka disapproves. Loge (God of Fire) tricks Alberich and brings him to Wotan, who takes the Ring. In revenge Alberich curses it: lack of the Ring will fuel desire for it and possession will only lead to misery. Wotan gives the Ring to Fafner as ransom for Fricka's sister. Filmed at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus in June & July 1991.

Directed by Harry Kupfer · Written by Richard Wagner

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The Ring Cycle: Das Rheingold

Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier

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Die Soldaten

Die Soldaten · 1989

Nancy Shade is persuasive as the awkward adolescent Marie, whose naiveté leads relentlessly to her downfall. Michael Ebbecke is sympathetic as Stolzius, her jilted lover and avenger, while William Cochran is properly brutish as Desportes, the officer who initiates her spiral of decline. Bernhard Kontarsky gets a dedicated response from his Stuttgart Opera forces, who perform with belief in this often excessive but always engrossing work. Recorded at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, 1989.

Orfeo Ed Euridice

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Orfeo Ed Euridice

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Elektra

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MovieMusicDrama

Recorded at the Vienna State Opera house in 1989, this staging of Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s Elektra is one of the glories of live opera on film, deserving of eternal availability. The DVD picture has great clarity, despite the darkness of Hans Schavernoch’s set design. Other than the cliché of a huge statue head, toppled on its side, the set manages to be suitably representative of a decaying palace as well as an imposing, theatrical space, dominated by the mammoth body of the statue from which the head apparently dropped, draped with the ropes that seem to have enabled the decapitation. Sooner or later most of the characters cling to and twist around those ropes, an apt stage metaphor for the remorseless repercussions from the murder of Agammenon by his unfaithful wife Klytämnestra and her paramour, Aegisthus. Reinhard Heinrich’s costumes capture a distant era while sustaining a creepily modern look — part Goth, part homeless, part Spa-wear.

The Ring Cycle: Die Walkure

The Ring Cycle: Die Walkure · 1992

The Ring Cycle: Die Walkure

FIRST DAY OF THE RING CYCLE. Fleeing for his life, Siegmund seeks shelter at Sieglinde's house. Her husband Hunding happens to be one of Siegmund's pursuers, and the two of them must cross swords the next day. As Siegmund laments his lack of a weapon, Sieglinde directs him to the sword Nothung stuck in an ash tree. Despite discovering they are twin siblings, the two fall in love. The King of Gods Wotan, their father, sends his Valkyrie daughter Brünnhilde to aid Siegmund. Fricka protests, and Wotan uses his spear to break Siegmund's sword during the battle. Siegmund is slain, but Brünnhilde rescues both the sword fragments and Sieglinde who is pregnant with Siegmund's child Siegfried. Wotan is angry that she intervened, but since Brünnhilde is his favorite child, he merely strips her of immortality and sends her into an enchanted sleep, surrounded by fire. Filmed at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus in June & July 1992.

Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier

Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier · 2014

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With their “musical comedy” in the spirit of Mozart, Richard Strauss and his brilliant librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal created the most popular of all their works and one of the most frequently performed operas of all time. Disguised as a refined comedy, light as a feather and extremely entertaining, “Der Rosenkavalier” tackles universal themes such as love, sexuality, marital fidelity, and the changes that human relationships undergo over time. All set to music of the most sumptuous kind. With its prestigious cast under the inspired direction of Harry Kupfer, the 2014 Salzburg Festival production of *Der Rosenkavalier* was one of the most internationally acclaimed interpretations of the work since the start of the new millennium.

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The Ring Cycle: Gotterdammerung · 1991

The Ring Cycle: Gotterdammerung

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The Ring Cycle: Siegfried

The Ring Cycle: Siegfried · 1992

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Plácido Domingo Gala

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Half a century ago, Plácido Domingo made his debut at the Arena di Verona: on 16 July 1969 he sang the role of Calaf in Puccini’s “Turandot”; in August followed the title role in Verdi’s “Don Carlo”. Since then, the world-famous singer has appeared in numerous acclaimed performances in the city of Romeo and Juliet. From the Arena di Verona comes an operatic gala concert event, captured live on August 4, 2019, marking the 50th anniversary of the debut of one of the greatest singers the world has ever known. The program features excerpts from three famous operas by Giuseppe Verdi: Nabucco, Macbeth and Simon Boccanegra.

Elektra - Wiener Staatsoper

Elektra - Wiener Staatsoper · 2020

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MovieMusicDrama

Parsifal

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This dramatic production by the brilliant German stage director Harry Kupfer marked Daniel Barenboim's appointment as the artistic director of the Berlin State Opera in 1992. The cast is made up of the finest Wagnerian singers of the period, all of whom enjoyed substantial international careers. Barenboim's superb conducting reveals Wagner's multi-layered score in all it's glory.

Wagner - Götterdämmerung

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Elisabeth

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MovieDramaMusic

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Wagner - Die Walkure

Wagner - Die Walkure · 2005

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