Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen/Deluxe LP set/Solti

$

174

Richard Wagner's Opera, Der Ring des Nibelungen LP set of 4 operas, 19 LPs, five volumes in one bound, embossed box Deluxe edition, England  Decca 1958-1966 Postage reference: US $20.00
US Postal Service Media MailTM

Records in Near Mint condition and boxes/booklets in Excellent condition. Original owner, who had bought this edition in Antwerp, Belgium, claimed he had never played the records; and this owner, who received it from the original owner, has not played them either.

Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Sir Georg Solti Includes: 3 LP introduction with booklet, "An Introduction to Der Ring des Nibelungen" by Deryck Cooke. This is an explanation and analysis of Wagner's system of leitmotifs, with 193 music examples either extracted from the complete recording or specially recorded for this production. This set also incorporates two additional works which draw on the musical material of Der Ring: (1) Siegfried Idyll and Kinderkatechismus with member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Wiener Sängerknaben, also conducted by Georg Solti.

The 2003 National Recording Registry of the National Recording Preservation Board lists this complete Ring cycle on its list of top 50 recordings and includes this comment: "In the late 1950s, John Culshaw, a producer for the English Decca label, attempted the most ambitious recording project to that time--a complete studio recording of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen on stereo LP. This landmark nineteen-disc series features the Vienna Philharmonic, under the direction of the authoritative Wagner conductor, Sir Georg Solti. Among the many superb vocal performances recorded for this Ring are those of Birgit Nilsson and Kirsten Flagstad. The series is credited with bringing Wagner's masterpieces into the homes of many Americans who had never visited an opera house."

Begun in the 1848, and taking a quarter century to complete, the "Ring" ranks among the best of all extended artistic creations, lasting over fifteen hours and employing a complex fabric of Leitmotive (brief musical themes representing a character or idea or significant object or event in the opera). It is an overwhelming, dramatic achievement based on medieval thematic elements reworked by Wagner.

The basic conflict in the Ring cycle occurs among three realms: (1) Gods, (2) Dwarfs, (3) Mankind. Alberich, a dwarf who has gained possession of the power of gold. With it he controls of an army of slaves who fashion the weapons and wealth that can make him all powerful. He attempts to overturn the world order, headed by the god Wotan, who rules through the power of honor, as exemplified in the contracts he honors. He has sacrificed an eye to win the hand of the goddess Fricka, who is the ardent goddess of marriage. Alberich sacrifices love to obtain unlimited power; Wotan has sacrificed to win love and to rule with power bound by the idea of honor. The powerful Ring, Wotan's spear of honor, and Nature herself are great abstract forces at work in the dramatic conflict that ensues between and beyond Mankind, the Gods, and the Dwarfs.

The completed Ring finally premiered in 1876. Ever since, audiences have tended to react to the four-day operatic experience as if they were worshiping at a shrine, not just attending musical entertainment. To this very day, attending the complete performance of the Ring's entire four operas is felt to be the most outstanding event in the lives of opera fans. Sir Georg Solti's recordings of the Ring are consistently rated the best ever done.

I have checked international postal rates from the USA to Italy and Hong Kong. I have discovered there are no "surface" rates anymore, traditionally the least expensive rates. "Priority Mail" is the current cheapest way to ship to international locations. I would charge $130 for shipping & handling to Hong Kong, $120 for shipping & handling to Italy.

I need to receive payment in advance of shipping. I will provide secure packaging, but I cannot guarantee damage-free delivery or the loss in transit of the package or its contents. I will not include insurance unless specifically asked for, and I will add the insurance charge to the shipping & handling charges. I cannot guarantee that your country will allow the import of the goods, so please check with your country's import regulations and restrictions. The buyer would be responsible for any and all duties or tariffs.