by Rod Parke - SGN A&E Writer

WAGNER: DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN
ORQUESTRA DE LA COMUNITAT VALENCIANA
ZUBIN MEHTA, CONDUCTOR
(Blu-ray, 4-disc set)

If you are wondering how Spain has come so close to bankruptcy, you need only look at this eye-popping production of Wagner's four-opera Der Ring des Nibelungen. Everything about it bespeaks incredible expense, funded in part by the government. Each Blu-ray disc opens with breathtaking views of the new Palau de les Arts 'Reina Sofia' Valencia, an arts complex of surpassing beauty, surrounded by parklands and water. The opera house, just part of it all, is awe-inspiring and beautiful. No one would attempt such daring extravagance in today's economy.

If the officials behind such a complex wanted to bring it to instant world attention, they could hardly do better than to stage a Ring cycle such as this one. Brilliant and sometimes shocking, there is not a weak element in the whole production. On top of all the musical and visually stunning aspects, the audio and video of this release set new standards for opera. This is the Avatar of opera videos! It is so visually arresting that, as one reviewer put it, 'Wagner like this is fun even for pop fans.' Everything is ultramodern, from Loge's Segway scooter to the amazingly vivid projections behind most of the action. Yet the spectacular aspects seldom detract and usually amplify the music and text.

I am not a fan of 'concept' Rings, for most of them seem intent on glorifying themselves at the expense of Wagner, detracting from rather than supporting the music and story. But this is a Ring that uses brilliant ideas to support and throw new light on the original work. One of many examples I could mention comes in Act One of Die Walküre. The characters appear as stone-age cave dwellers, and Sieglinde crawls on all fours; she is cowed into that position and would never think of walking on two feet like men. That is, until Siegmund sings his 'Winterstürme,' during which he slowly pulls her to her feet and teaches her to walk! He's no sexist, and he frees her.

Another example: when Siegfried first visits the Gibichungs, they notice that this sexy, dreadlocked guy smells bad and make him take a shower, from which he emerges as a rather sexless man in a gray flannel suit with plastered-down shorter hair and black-framed glasses! They are slowly destroying the hero. One might question the crazy tattoos and colors of Hagen and his family. Unlike most other elements of his show, they are not attractive; I suppose that is the point. They have horrible taste, adding to our dislike of their characters.

The aforementioned projections are almost a character in their own right. These videos are a quantum leap ahead of all others I have seen in their colors and sharp detail. Even more important, their content is most often strikingly attractive and relevant to each scene. At times, as in the descent to and then climb up from Niebelheim, they create a dizzying sense of real movement, a kind of trompe l'oeil. The projections generally add a great deal to our visual trip through The Ring.

Of course all the above would be for naught if the musical elements were less than first-rate. Fortunately, they are all of the highest order. All the singers far exceed our expectations, with a Brünnhilde for the ages in soprano Jennifer Wilson and a young, sexy Siegfried in Lance Ryan, whose singing and musicianship are a wonder even if his voice lacks the ultimate measure of beauty. The only vocal weakness is in a rather wobbly trio of Norns, who open Götterdämmerung. Matti Salminen, in his mid-sixties, is a marvel of power, musicianship, and word-pointing.

Zubin Mehta's slow tempi take some getting used to, but his ability to reveal every orchestral detail more than compensates. Best of all, the recording reveals the virtues of my killer sound system like no other disc I have heard! Mehta's players lack nothing, making the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana one of the best Wagner orchestras to be found.

I cannot recommend this set more highly. Much as I love the Chereau Ring, this one, staged by La Fura Dels Baus and directed by Carlus Padrissa, is for me the finest available on video. It is a performance before a live audience, yet the sound is in no way compromised by extraneous noises. I have viewed it several times and continue to find new delights each time. I think Wagner would love its theatricality.

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