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Background:

• The Ring is a cycle of four German Language epic music dramas based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, viz., Norse legendary sagas and the Nibelungenlied.
• The four parts that constitute the Ring cycle are, in sequence: Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), Die Walkure The Valkyrie), Siegfried, and Gotterdammerung (The Twilight of the Gods).
• Individual works of the sequence are often performed separately. Although the operas contain dialogues that mention events in the previous operas, a viewer could watch any of them without having watched the previous parts and still understand the plot. However, Wagner intended them to be performed in series.
• The first performance as a cycle opened the first Bayreuth Festival in 1876, beginning with Das Rheingold on 13 August and ending with Götterdämmerung on 17 August.

Recordings:

• Das Rheingold. Der Ring des Nibelungen.
  Oda Balsborg (soprano), Hetty Plumacher (contralto), Ira Malaniuk (contralto), Gustav Neidlinger (bass), Claire Watson (soprano), Kirsten Flagstad (soprano), George London (baritone), Claire Watson (baritone), Kurt Böhme (bass), Walter Kreppel (bass), Waldemar Kmentt (tenor), Eberhard Wächter (baritone), George London (bass, baritone vocalist), Set Svanholm (tenor), Paul Kuentz (bass), Paul Kuentz (tenor), Jean Madeira (mezzo-soprano).
  Wiener Staatsoper.
  Wiener Philharmoniker.
  Sir Georg Solti.
  Decca.
  Grand Prix du Disque (1959).
  Grammy Awards Best Opera Recording (1967).
  Grammy Trustees Award (1967).
  Edison Award (1968).
  Gramophone Magazine (1999): Greatest Recording Ever Made.
  Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music (2008).
  BBC Music Magazine (2011): Greatest Recording.

• Die Walkure. Der Ring des Nibelungen.
  James King (tenor), Régine Crespin (soprano), Gottlob Frick (bass), Hans Hotter (bass), Birgit Nilsson (soprano), Christa Ludwig (mezzo-soprano), Ernst Wiemann (bass), Vera Schlosser (soprano), Berit Lindholm (soprano), Brigitte Fassbaender (contralto), Helen Watts (contralto), Helga Dernesch (soprano), Vera Little (mezzo-soprano), Claudia Hellmann (mezzo-soprano), Marilyn Tyler (soprano).
  Wiener Staatsoper.
  Wiener Philharmoniker.
  Sir Georg Solti.
  Decca.
  Grand Prix du Disque (1966).
  Grammy Awards Best Opera Recording (1967).
  Grammy Trustees Award (1967).
  Edison Award (1968).
  Gramophone Magazine (1999): Greatest Recording Ever Made.
  Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music (2008).
  BBC Music Magazine (2011): Greatest Recording.

• Siegfried. Der Ring des Nibelungen.
  Gerhard Stolze (tenor), Wolfgang Windgassen (tenor), Hans Hotter (bass), Gustav Neidlinger (bass), Kurt Böhme (bass), Dame Joan Sutherland (soprano), Marga Höffgen (contralto), Birgit Nilsson (soprano).
  Wiener Staatsoper.
  Wiener Philharmoniker.
  Sir Georg Solti.
  Decca.
  Grand Prix du Disque (1963).
  Grammy Awards Best Opera Recording (1967).
  Grammy Trustees Award (1967).
  Edison Award (1968).
  Gramophone Magazine (1999): Greatest Recording Ever Made.
  Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music (2008).
  BBC Music Magazine (2011): Greatest Recording.

• Gotterdammerung. Der Ring des Nibelungen.
  Helen Watts (contralto), Anita Valkki (soprano), Grace Hoffman (mezzo-soprano), Helen Watts (soprano), Birgit Nilsson (soprano), Wolfgang Windgassen (tenor), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone), Gottlob Frick (bass), Claire Watson (soprano), Christa Ludwig (mezzo-soprano), Gustav Neidlinger (bass), Lucia Popp (soprano), Gwyneth Jones (soprano), Maureen Guy (mezzo-soprano).
  Wiener Staatsoper.
  Wiener Philharmoniker.
  Sir Georg Solti.
  Decca.
  Grand Prix du Disque (1965).
  Grammy Awards Best Opera Recording (1967).
  Grammy Trustees Award (1967).
  Edison Award (1968).
  Gramophone Magazine (1999): Greatest Recording Ever Made.
  Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music (2008).
  BBC Music Magazine (2011): Greatest Recording.
  Presto Recordings of the Year (2023): Finalist, Shortlisted Technical Achievement.

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Coram Deo — before the face of God. This blog reflects on Scripture, world events, science, music, psychology, and the human mind — always through the lens of Christian faith. All of life is lived before the face of God.