This recording is a live performance from March 1, 2013, at the Berlin Philharmonie, featuring the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin conducted by Marek Janowski.
Performer Biography
Christian Elsner, the tenor singing Mime, also writes children's books, including "Lennie und der Ring des Nibelungen" (Lennie and the Ring of the Nibelungs).
Compositional Technique
The music for "Siegfried under the linden tree" uses extreme orchestral sophistication to create a sensual and impressionistic depiction of nature, including a forest-bird concert.
Performer Biography
Matti Salminen, the bass singing Fafner, is the only singer from Marek Janowski's 1980s complete recording of "The Ring of the Nibelungs" with the Staatskapelle Dresden who is also part of this current Berlin cycle.
Composition History
Wagner interrupted his work on "Siegfried" for seven years to compose "Tristan und Isolde" and "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg," influenced by his love for Mathilde Wesendonck.
Composition History
Richard Wagner based the structure of his opera cycle "The Ring of the Nibelung" on the ancient Greek Dionysia festival, which included a prelude and three days of performances.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Wagner saw the hero Siegfried as a "winner-type," inconsiderate and relentless, who acts without conscience, embodying the belief in oneself above all else.
