Addictive Sounds

16 hours of drama, intrigues, passion and destruction, all wrapped into four not exactly short operas. A monumental achievement – not only for the gods and heroes on stage and the huge orchestra, but also for the audience: there are many who capitulate in the face of Richard Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen – thus losing out on a great experience. Which brings us to Lorin Maazel’s Ring without Words – a good entry point for hesitant listeners, but also a highlight for dyed-in-the-wool Wagner fans: without changing a single note of Wagner’s original scores, Maazel distilled a symphonic poem of approximately 70 minutes out of Wagner’s sprawling epos. Miraculously, the magic of the story about all-conquering fate is as effective without heroic tenors. From the mysterious rippling of the River Rhine to the entrance of the gods in Valhalla, from the Ride of the Valkyries to the magical fire, the score is full of unsurpassable orchestral hits.

The omnipotence of love and all the pain it can inflict is the subject of Wagner’s Wesendonck-Lieder for female voice and orchestra. The great mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham lends her voice to big emotions, as Susanna Mälkki tames enormous waves of sound and makes the orchestra shine.