Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen / Levine, Metropolitan Opera (Complete Ring Cycle)

Rating:
Summary: Spoilt by inadequate casting
Review: Siegfried Jerusalem's Loge is utterly captivating (moreso, perhaps, than his Siegfried!): his Wagnerian tenor voice is matched in intensity with his acting. Levine's conducting is very accurate: he does not take the extended ritards (unfaithful to the text of the score) that seem to pervade the Boulez version. The stage direction is superb, with a single exception: Das Rheingold, scene one works very well (the set is excellent, the acting so-so) but the way the Rhinemaidens wave their arms and torsos around is just silly. The ending (traditionally problematic) is well-handled.