Albert Bonnema, Luana DeVol, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Roland Bracht, Hernan Iturralde, Franz-Josef Kapellmann; Directed for Stage by Peter Konwitschny; Stage and Costumes by Bert Neumann Staatsorchester Stuttgart Lothar Zagrosek This recording of Götterdämmerung forms the fourth and final part of Wagner's masterpiece, his epic Ring Cycle. The Stuttgart Opera gave it revolutionary treatment in a staging by Peter Konwitschny, a celebrated interpreter of Wagner, whose opera stagings have always been regarded as trendsetters within the Wagner community. He chooses to ignore the wider myth-bound associations of the work and concentrates on the immediate motivations, emotions and obsessions of the characters. Gone are the gods awaiting nightfall in their imposing hall; the action instead is set on a simple wooden stage of a touring theatre company. The performances of Richard Wagner's Ring cycle in Stuttgart created a sensation unheard of since the monumental "century" Ring in Bayreuth in the late seventies. "Four operas -- four stage directors" was the artistic idea behind the 1999/2000 cycle under the musical direction of Lothar Zagrosek. Appreciating the individual operas of "Der Ring des Nibelungen" without having to relate to previous or subsequent storylines enabled the stage directors -- handpicked among 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. This DVD series was recorded live at revival performances in 2002 and 2003, and it pays tribute to the artistic and musical achievement of the Stuttgart Opera House and a wonderful cast of singers.

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