Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen CD (Christian Thielemann)

Wagner's epic four-opera cycle is a work of extraordinary scale - a full performance takes place over four nights with a total playing time of approximately 15 hours. Based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas, it is a work that follows the struggles of gods, heroes, mythical creatures, and the eponymous magical Ring that grants dominion over the entire world. The music is richly textured, and grows in complexity as the cycle proceeds - Wagner wrote for an orchestra of gargantuan proportions, including a greatly enlarged brass section with new instruments invented especially for the work. The Bayreuth Festspielhaus was constructed for this work to be performed in, with a specially designed stage that allows singers voices to blend with the huge orchestra without straining - essential for such long performances.

Composer: Richard Wagner
Brünnhilde: Linda Watson 
Siegfried: Stephen Gould 
Wotan: Albert Dohmen 
Fafner: Hans-Peter König 
Alberich: Andrew Shore 
Sieglinde: Eva-Maria Westbroek 

Das Rheingold
Albert Dohmen, Ralf Lukas, Clemens Bieber, Arnold Bezuyen, Kwangchul Youn, Hans-Peter König, Andrew Shore, Gerhard Siegel, Michelle Breedt, Edith Haller, Christa Mayer, Fionnuala McCarthy, Ulrike Helzel, Simone Schröder

Die Walküre
Endrik Wottrich, Kwangchul Youn, Albert Dohmen, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Linda Watson, Michelle Breedt, Martina Dike, Sonja Mühleck, Anna Gabler, Martina Dike, Simone Schröder, Edith Haller, Wilke te Brummelstroete, Annette Küttenbaum, Manuela Bress

Siegfried 
Stephen Gould, Gerhard Siegel, Albert Dohmen, Andrew Shore, Hans-Peter König, Christa Mayer, Linda Watson, Robin Johannsen

Götterdämmerung
Stephen Gould, Ralf Lukas, Hans-Peter König, Andrew Shore, Linda Watson, Edith Haller, Christa Mayer, Simone Schröder, Martina Dike, Edith Haller, Fionnuala McCarthy, Ulrike Helzel, Simone Schröder

Bayreuth Festival Orchestra & Chorus
Conductor: Christian Thielemann 
Running Time: 15 hrs 35 mins (14 CDs)
Libretto enclosed
Year: 2008