Not since the so-called "100-Year Ring" (Bayreuth, 1976-1980) has a performance of Richard Wagner's monumental cycle created such a sensation as the Stuttgart productions. "Four operas -- four stage directors" was the artistic idea behind the 1999/2000 cycle. Appreciating the individual operas of "Der Ring des Nibelungen" without having to relate to previous or subsequent storylines enabled the stage directors -- handpicked by the successful Stuttgart Opera team surrounding Artistic Director Klaus Zehelein -- to express their individual insights into the well-known drama of Siegfried and Wotan. In 2002 German critics voted Stuttgart's Staatsoper "Opera House of the Year" for the fourth time in five years. The DVD recording pays tribute to the artistic and musical achievement of the Stuttgart Opera House and a cast of wonderful singers. Euroarts releases all four productions, starting with the prologue Rheingold: Without a winged helmet in sight, this unique production casts Wotan as a coolly calculating businessman, with his wife a member of the board of directors. Recorded live at the Stuttgart Staatsoper in 2002, it was directed by Joachim Schlömer.

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