A performance as lofty as its subject.
Das Rheingold is my favorite of all of Wagner's Ring. An opera such as this (especially an opera by Wagner in general) is not meant to be experienced by DVD alone. If one watches this, one has to keep in mind the limits of stage filming and recording. The echo of the singers' voices can be heard a few times, and in some cases they sound as if they're way off into the distance even if they're just barely off of the stage, due to limits of microphones. But I cannot judge them or blame them for this: This was only 1990, recent yet at the same time old for sound quality.

Due to its inferior recording (though it was probably the best available at the time), none of the singers' incredible voices were given justice. Only sometimes did some singers shine due to their location on stage in relation to wherever the microphones were.

Fasolt and Fafner, played by Jan-Hendrik Rootering and Matti Salminen respectively (Salminen appears again in Gotterdammerung as Hagen)showed up best in this whole performance. The sonorous tones were breath-taking. Even if the bass on the stereo is all the way down, glass would probably shatter. Alberich played by Ekkehard Wlaschiha also sounded spectacular in this recording. I was stunned by Birgitta Svenden's performance as Erda; it's a shame she had such a small role with the incredible voice she has.

James Morris's award-winning performance as Wotan was not given justice in this recording's quality sadly, nor was Christa Ludwig's performance as Fricka (which almost sounds terrible in this performance but in reality it's the recording's quality).

As for the acting skills: for the most part everyone was spot-on. Throughout the entirety of the cycle, Morris's performance is the apotheosis of Wotan's slow inner downfall as the Ring continues. He begins so proud, but finds himself trapped in a corner he made himself, and finally becomes his own worst enemy, cursing his stupidity by the end of Siegfried.

The set designs were unbelievable. The only way the visual effects could have been more convincing would be if this were produced as a movie instead of a stage performance. Opera is a fine blend of all arts, not just singing and music. The set and costumes are very important as well, and our artists for both did an amazing job.

I would highly recommend seeing Das Rheingold in person. But if you need a DVD performance, this I believe is the best one out there for you.

SO MUCH RIGHT . . . YET SO MUCH WRONG WITH THIS PRODUCTION
THE GOOD

--Traditional mythological staging.
--Pristine sound, if at times a little unevenly balanced.
--Clear visually. Well directed for TV.
--Matti Salminen and Jan-Hendrik Rootering are excellent as Fafner and Fasolt, respectively.
--Birgitta Svenden sings Erda beautifully.
--Alan Held and Mark Baker are great as Donner and Froh. Held's "He da! He da! He do!" is stupendous.
--Decent Rheinmaidens despite their less-than-flattering costumes.

THE BAD

--Christa Ludwig is not at the height of her powers here. Her singing is mediocre and her acting is even worse. It was hard to keep a straight face watching her. As soon as she appeared and started singing, the production went down a notch for me. However, she improves considerably in the the next installment of this Levine Ring Cycle.
--Although other reviewers sing the praises of Siegfried Jerusalem as Loge, I have to disagree. I'm a fan of Mr. Jerusalem's Lohengrin (for Abbado), but in my opinion he's horribly miscast as Loge. Loge is a wily, sparkish spirit of fire. The music Wagner wrote for him is light and Ariel-like. By contrast, Jerusalem's voice and whole demeanor is earthen, heavy, and verges on the leaden. He plods and treads rather than flies. I much prefer Heinz Zednik's Loge in Boulez's Ring cycle.
--I'm not a fan of James Levine's Wagner in genral. In this case, he conducts like someone who thinks his audience will get bored if he doesn't hurry up. He's often too bubbly and effervescent. However, sometimes he rises to the occasion, such as when Alberich calls his slaves, who bring up the gold so it can be paid as ranson to Wotan.

In sum, this production is a mixed bag, with several weak links in the cast. Although I like the fact that this is a traditional staging, I recommend Boulez's "Das Rheingold" over this one.

James Morris (Wotan) and Siegried Jerusalem (Loge) rock!- a review of "Das Rheingold"
I had this on VHS and decided one day to show it to my 5 year-old daughter. She likes princesses and fantasy and what-not and I was wondering what she would make of Alberich and the Rhein Maidens. Well, she LOVED them -- and this video became an instant hit. So much so that we recently forked over considerable dough and purchased the full DVD Wagner set.

As to the criticism of the costuming, I can only say that I always liked it and that my princess-daughter thought it was 'just right'. [Princesses' do know these things - lol.]

Five Stars. Lovely production. Great sound quality. Some of Wagner's best stuff. Das Rheingold also features a story line and music that children like.

Notes for Parents: Opera is loaded with innuendo, violence, and other non-child friendly material. Das Rheingold by opera standards is pretty tame, having only a little "V".

The costumes could steal the scene
Interesting story of Rheine maidens teasing poor Alberich (Ekkehard Wlaschiha) while protecting gold that can be turned into a ring. The ring in return gives the bearer the world.

Mean while Wotan (James Morris) has had a fortress built by giants in exchange for his sister-in-law Freia. Evidently he was planning on getting out of the deal with the help of his friend Loge (Siegfried Jerusalem). So can Loge work something out and will it involve the ring?

This is the version I grew up with and have seen them when they came to town. I waited for a commercial release of this fine production. One of the added DVD extras is pictures of what now are hokum getups that the previous productions wore. Of course they were a product of their time.

Hopefully one day someone will make a movie of the story; until them this rendition has remain the best representation in costume and sound. I even have the sound recording for the car.

Wagner - Siegfried / Levine, Jerusalem, Behrens, Morris, Metropolitan Opera (Levine Ring Cycle Part 3)

JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED
First of all,let me put it out flat in a simple question:Do you want to watch a performance of DAS RHEINGOLD and of the whole tetralogy DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN which adheres quite verbatim
as much as it is possible to do so to what the author/composer
wrote? If the answer is no,you'll do well with the alternative
video versions by Patrice Chereau,Harry Kupfer and Nikolaus Lehnhoff,also in the market.I'm not even gonna mention the newest Stuttgart one under Zagrosek because it really deserves no attention.You can read my full review of that poorly bleak interpretation of the cycle,perhaps written by a bunch of prankster kids in adults'clothings.That is definitely not what
Wagner wanted.This MET cycle is not laid out in a naturalistic fashion...It is simply produced THE WAY THE COMPOSER WANTED IT
PRODUCED...An that is more than good enough for me.
Excellent singing by James Morris's Wotan paired up with veteran
Christa Ludwig,one of the finest singers of the past century.
A grouchy Alberich by Ekkehard Wlaschiha(who has made the role one of his specialties)and a great Mime brought about by viennese character tenor Hans Zednik.
How much more into place falls the voice of bass Jan-Hendrik Rootering here as Fasolt compared to that shameful shot taken at
Wotan in the Stuttgart cycle!(And I said I wasn't gonna talk about it...Sometimes anger management is a real need!)We also have an illustrious Fafner by finnish bass Matti Salminen,who will return as one of the most diabolical Hagens I've ever seen
in GOTTERDAMMERUNG.
Jerusalem's Loge is a real treat indeed.This fine Oberhausen-born german tenor who started his career as a bassoonist and later on as a baritone,finally becoming a full tenor portrays the trickster god with a natural approach which will also be repeated in his both Siegfrieds.We can't obviously compare with
the "ancient generation",but what a luxury this great artist,who has already retired was! Wish we had a Jerusalem or a Peter Hofmann(another victim of that lousy Parkinson disease!)nowadays!
Recap:Otto Schenk's stage production is the ONLY TRUE ONE to the musician's intentions.If you want to know exactly what he wanted to convey,well this is the ticket, and no other,I repeat
NO OTHER video nor DVD will give you this.
Need I talk about the MET's orchestra under Levine? Just draw your own conclusions...
RATE:EXCELLENT-Compared to this one,no other video version exists,believe you me-I kid you not.
There's also an excellent digital transfer to DVD to be acknowledged upon which I'm basing this humble opinion,although I also own the videotapes.
Buy it without even stopping to think twice!