If you have never watched the "Ring" before, you might be
intimidated by the seemingly endless array of performances, recordings,
books, and what have you. Luckily for you, I'm going to make the
decision on which "Ring" to watch for you. The best "Ring" for
beginners, and arguably the best televised "Ring" of all time is the
1978-80 "Jahrhundert" "Ring" directed by Patrice Chéreau and conducted
by Pierre Boulez at Bayreuth. This was the first ever "Ring" produced
for video and remains the gold standard not only because everyone in the
(extremely attractive) cast was at their prime - including the
inimitable Donald MacIntyre as Wotan, Gwenyth Jones (whose voice really
is a weapon) as Brünnhilde, and the dreamiest Wälsungs ever put on stage
(Peter Hofmann as Siegmund and Jeannine Altmeyer as Sieglinde) - but
also because Chéreau, perhaps better than any other director,
understood, from the perspective of not only a card carrying 70s French
leftist but also as a man of the theatre (rather than the opera
specifically), what is good dramatically and politically in the "Ring"
and what is bad in it, and, as such he does Wagner many favors, some of
which are undeserved.
Chéreau's "Ring" is set in its time, which is to say, the "Ring's"
time: the late 19th century, a choice which only deepens the continued
relevance of the political and social forces that informed the work
during the time of its composition. These include but are not limited
to: industrialization (the Rhine is dammed, Siegfried forges the sword
in an industrial press), and wealth inequality. Wotan is clad in a
gilded dressing coat and, later, perhaps visually communicating the
historical reaction against the much longed for fantasy of a pristine
nature (so widespread in the 19th century) in the form of a total
embrace of the brash coldness of modernity, the Gibichungs, when
introduced in "Götterdämmerung" are dressed in stiff 1920s formalwear.
(Thus, it is subsequently absurd when Siegfried appears at their
doorstep in a breastplate.) The sets, which in their day were panned for
being cold and harsh compared to the fantasy settings so common in
Wagner productions, are among the finest examples of postmodern stage
design. Boulez's conducting, also initially frowned upon for being too
strict and clinical, which is to say, for favoring precision over power,
is now seen in a more appreciative light for its overall balance,
accentuated by his ability to bring some of the rarer yet still
important textures and timbres to the fore. (Of particular delight is
his conducting of the descent into Nibelheim in "Das Rheingold.")
It is relatively easy to find this edition of the "Ring" online with
English subtitles if you search for some of the keywords, however I
won't be linking to it directly because the last time I did that "Die
Walküre" got copyright struck and we still don't have a subtitled
replacement.
However, if you are interested in another, more contemporary option
(with subtitles), I recommend (on behalf of Fredric Jameson, who was a
fan) the Copenhagen Ring, staged by Kasper Bech Holten for the
Copenhagen Opera House in 2006. This is among if not the most avowedly
feminist (at least of all the "Rings" I've seen) renditions ever put to
stage, one in which Sieglinde, not Siegmund pulls the sword Nothung out
of the tree. (More viscerally, later on, in a frank and brutal depiction
of patriarchal violence, when Wotan disavows Brünnhilde, he visibly
breaks the wings off her back.) This has always been my second favorite
"Ring" because it makes evident a heteropessimist current that's always
been lurking beneath the surface of the work. Even if you're not into
feminism, the "eurotrash" aesthetics of the production will feel very
vibey in our current aesthetic moment. It can be found on YouTube if you
search for "Copenhagen Ring."
That being said, a whole universe of "Ring" Cycles are available to
you - on video or recorded - if you simply choose to buy a libretto,
which I highly recommend. My favorite is the recent edition by John
Deathridge for Penguin, which translates the opera into more
contemporary prose while still retaining much of the poetic sentiment.
If you can get ahold of the Rudolph Sabor box set of libretti with the
leitmotifs listed in the margins, the translations are bad but the cues
are very helpful. While reading from a libretto may feel awkward at
first, especially without visual cues, it's eventually easy to get used
to. It helps to read a few lines ahead and follow stage cues. That way
you're not constantly looking back and forth with each line.
As far as the best recordings go, this is a hotly debated topic.
Since it's my website, I will say that my favorite recording of all time
is the 1964 London Symphony Orchestra rendition conducted by Erich
Leinsdorf for Decca. The Solti Ring, also recorded for Decca by the
engineer John Crenshaw is another gold standard, especially in terms of
recording engineering. Culshaw's book Ring Resounding, about
the trials and tribulations of recording the "Ring" in studio is a
hallmark text for those of us who study classical recording or the
history of recorded sound. The 1967 Herbert von Karajan Ring with the
Berlin Phil is another popular choice. At any rate, people end lifelong
friendships arguing over this stuff, so my overall advice is to listen
around and find what you like.
This is not meant to be a comprehensive list. I just felt like choosing my top five.
My body of work is not particularly interested in the specific labeling, categorization, or mapping of leitmotifs in the "Ring" because it primarily works with the "Ring" as a textual subject. (Also I'm simply not inclined to argue about the subject.) However, if you are more interested in the taxonomy of leitmotifs there are a number of good resources.
This website uses the English translations from the Penguin
edition by John Deathridge, with a few starred (**) exceptions which are
from the anthology by Rudolph Sabor. Its terminology for the leitmotifs
also comes from the Sabor anthology and/or the UofT list. Leitmotifs
linked in the text redirect to the YouTube page linked above. This is
because not everyone can read music. At some point I will go back and
add line references/citations to the quotes used but not right now
because this is a hobby not a dissertation. In terms of grammar, "Ring,"
and Ring (without quotations) are used interchangeably. Even though
this may not be correct grammatically it reads better and saves me a
huge amount of time.
All that being said, I hope you enjoy my little website!