Rating: 
Summary: Not perfect, but I disagree with the carping of many reviewe
Review: Technically, I'd prefer to give this 4 1/2 stars. This rendition is not perfect, but it is far better than some of my fellow reviewers would have you believe. I own Rheingold and Walküre in DVD, and have seen Siegfried and Götterdämmerung on VHS. I'll be adding the latter two to my collection as money permits. I have watched the entire cycle now twice. I would like to see the Bayreuth/Boulez production, but no library around my home area has them.About the only criticisms I agree are (1) Behrens sometimes seems under-powered for the role; (2) the acting is sometimes less than dramatically powerful. I was also initially disappointed that there are no real horses in the Ride of the Valkyries, or the conclusion of Götterdämmerung. (There is a local Christian theater that uses live animals on its stage; why wouldn't the greatest opera house in the world be able to do it?) In defense of Behrens, at least she isn't fat or ugly. She convincingly protrays a beautiful warrior-maid who surrenders herself to human love only to be betrayed. I could go on at length about the artistic virtues of each of the other major characters; suffice it to say that they are all world-class. Morris as Wotan and Hagen (sorry, don't have the actor's name at hand) are especially powerful and convincing; Jerusalem as Loge and Siegfried is almost as good. Contrary to at least one other reviewer, Act I of Walküre (the meeting and elopement of Sieglinde and Siegmund) is well-done by Norman and Lake, respectively. The dramatic flaws are more than made up for by the intimacy allowed by television: the good-bye between Wotan and Brünnhilde (end of Walküre) is over-whelming; the reforging of Notung, the double oath sworn on Hagen's spear by Brünnhilde and Siegfried, and their love scene at the end of Siegfried, are just some of the highlights that come to mind as powerful, moving...(add your favorite adverb of artistic excellence). Whatever the virtues of the Bayreuth DVD production, I think that any person who wants to enjoy, appreciate, and understand Wagner's Ring owes it to himself/herself to see a traditional production. I will continue to enjoy the Met Ring for years to come.
Rating: 
Summary: Not perfect
Review: I've watched the Ring cycle live in the Metropolitan Opera in this very same production. To be frank, the Met's Ring cycle isn't one of its best productions - it's rather blandly directed and there're a few weak links in the cast, including some in the major roles. Having now watched this DVD transcription, my impression remains largely the same. One of course misses on the TV screen the grandeur of the opera house, however, one can become more attentive to the details. Yet, on the whole, both the staging and the direction are still rather unimaginative. The cast that the Met has assembled isn't to notch, and they're not particularly good in acting, too. The production is worth watching. But one shouldn't place high expectations on it. And also prepared some a few stretches of boring drama and disappointing direction on the way.
Rating: 
Summary: Uneven performance at a plodding pace
Review: It is unfair to compare the cast of on this DVD recording with the greatest Wagnerian singers of the past. That said, the vocal performance still disappoints in several respects. The Brunnhilde is frankly inadequate as her voice is not heroic enough and there are bad patches of singing in the lower register. Some of the singers are past their prime, sounding worn and tired (like Ludwig's Fricka) and some, while singing gorgeously are simply not convincing in their parts (Norman's Sieglinde leaps to the mind). Others (like the Wotan and Rhinemaidens) are hampered by poor stage direction, and the standard of acting is not too remarkable. Although the orchestra of the Metropolitan orchestra performs extremely well, Levine plodding tempo impedes the forward flow of the drama and severely tested some of the singers. The stage direction is merely adequate and there are some grave disappointments just like the whole of Rheingold and the ending of Gotterdammerung. This renders any viewing of the DVD in long stretches a rather tedious experience.
Rating:
Summary: Magnificent
Review: It's hard to believe most of the reviews on this website. Levine's 1990 Ring is the most magnificent thing I've ever seen done on the stage, and the film is nearly flawless. This production converted me to Wagner. In a word, it is magnificent.
Rating:
Summary: It's not about the acting
Review: According to the liner notes that accompany this seven-DVD set of Wagner's "Der Ring des Nibelungen," the composer had no time for critics, especially those who liked to point out a certain lack of logic in his musical dramas. (Take that, Anna Russell! - Entire careers have been based on making fun of the Ring Cycle's plot.) This Met version of the Ring under the direction of James Levine might be called 'traditional' by some and 'stodgy' by others. There are no Siegfrieds in space suits or Rhine Maidens cavorting in front of a hydroelectric dam. Special effects have been kept to a minimum--a rather tame dragon (although wonderfully sung by Matti Salminen who also is a great, brooding hulk of a Hagen), no goat-drawn chariots, no flying horses. In fact there are no horses at all, which makes for a slightly surreal funeral scene in 'Götterdämmerung' where Brünnhilde is supposed to sing to her horse, Grane, then ride him into the flames of Siegfried's funeral pyre. However, the Ring isn't about special effects or acting. It's about Wagner's glorious music. I've only seen one other Ring Cycle--Patrice Chéreau's 1976 Bayreuth production (also out on DVD)--and he (incorrectly, I think) emphasized the stage drama rather than the music. He also ignored Wagner's mythical setting and tried to turn the Ring into a statement about nineteenth-century robber-barons. Levine's version, stodgy though it may appear, emphasizes the music. This is the Ring Cycle you want to start with. It reflects the spirit of Wagner's intentions (if not quite the actual staging), and the singing is excellent. This is not the dream cast from the golden age of Wagnerian singers, but wait till you hear Jessye Norman as Sieglinde, ringing out her "Oh hehrstes Wunder!" just after her whole world comes crashing down around her. If this unearthly cry doesn't send chills down your spine, maybe Wagner isn't for you. One of the other reviewers felt that Norman was too loud for the other singers, but I think just the opposite is true. James Morris is a complex, ultimately tragic Wotan. Hildegard Behrens is a brilliant, intuitive Brünnhilde. Their final scene together in 'Die Wälküre,' as Wotan puts his daughter to sleep within a ring of fire is one of the high points of this Ring. But the one truly Wagnerian voice in this production belongs to Jessye Norman. If you'd like to learn more about Wagner's Ring Cycle, read "Wagner's Ring: Turning the Sky Round" by Father M. Owen Lee (highly recommended) or Charles Osborne's "The World Theatre of Wagner."
Rating:
Summary: An uninspiring performance
Review: It is common knowledge for those who visits the Metropolitan Opera frequently enough that the standard of its performance varies. Even the presence of the biggest stars cannot guarantee that the evening is a success, either because of production flaws or that the singers are below their best. I'm afraid this is the case for this Ring production. Watching it live on the stage, one may overlook some, but not all, of its defects, having been overwhelmed by Wagner's great music dramas and also the sense of occasion. However, the weaknesses of this production are all exposed on DVD when one views it at home. The production is a boring one - the direction is unimaginative and in quite a few instances leave one distinctly underwhelmed. The singing is also ordinary. Some of the singers are below their best or have past their prime. Some are over-stretched by their roles while some have little charm in terms of stage presence and acting. It is a very uneven production and enjoyable episodes are separated by bland and tedious moments. As a document of Wagner's great music-drama cycle, this production leaves much to be desired.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Opera On DVD
Review: German romanticism, as well as opera itself, reached a zenith when Richard Wagner composed the four part opera cycle, Ring Of The Nibelung. It was his most ambitious and his most innovative opera. Wagner spent many years working on the score and libretto, changing the course of opera's history. Opposed to the traditional bel canto and grand opera styles that dominated the opera world in the late 19th century, Wagner composed what he considered music of the future, "music dramas." The focus was not so much the brilliant singing, nor the lavish spectacle, but the music engaging the audience with the drama unfolding on the stage. Drama and music combined created a tremendous power like audiences had never before seen. Wagner's professional jealousy of other composers, and the frustration that some Europeans disliked his new art, lead him to misunderstanding and belittliing Jewish composers such as Giacomo Meyerbeer. When his friend, the German existentialist philosopher Nietzche approved of Carmen and took a strong disliking to Wagner's operas, their friendship was broken. Wagner was a man whose tastes and ideas were radical at the time. Some of his music was even shocking, much like rock stars of late project themselves. Wagner created the motif, a theme that represents a character or part of the story, such as romance, jealousy, a curse, etc. He woved those themes delicately and combined them to fit high drama. Never is this more accurate then with Ring of the Nibelung. The great operas have influenced psychologists, fiction writers and epic filmmakers. The motif has been used by John Williams (music composer of such films as Indiana Jones and the Star Wars Trilogy) and there has to have been some influence over the fantasy writers J.R.R. Tolkien, whose "ring of doom" forged by Sauron and Frodo's task to destroy it, seems to be similar to the ring on the Wagner operas. Taken from the Norse legends, the opera Rhinegold begins when Albrecht, a hideous dwarf, proposes sexualand romantic encounters with the mermaid Rhinemaidens, who guard the Rhinegold. When they mock him and tease him with the magic gold, Albrecht is tempted to steal the gold for himself. Even if he never finds love, he will have the greatest power in the universe. Stealing the gold, the problems that ensue are the tragedy of the opera- mankind's greed and thirst for power. In Valhalla, the home of the gods, Odin has problems of his own. His wife Freya has been promised to be sold to the giants who constructed Valhalla castle. The complicated first opera ends with the curse of the ring. The second opera, The Valkyrie, introduces the characters of Siegmund and Sieglende, parents of the later hero, Siegfried. Their love is forbidden, and this angers Freja who convinces her husband Odin to have them killed. Odin sends his right hand Valkyrie, his own daughter Brunhilde, to do the job. Brunhilde is the archetypical, stereotypical opera heroine, with the horned helmet, breastplate and spear, as she is a divine warrior who gathers the fallen Norsemen to Valhalla. Her catchy operatic cries are "Hojotoho Hia!" which she repeats ad nauseum with the rest of the Valkyries during the famous "Ride of the Valkyries." Brunhilde sympathizes with the lovers Siegmund and Sieglende (who is now pregnant with Siegfried). She spares their lives. But when Odin hears of her defiance and disobediance, he casts a dark spell upon Brunhilde. She is to sleep surrounded in fire until a hero awakens her with a kiss. That hero is Siegfried, who is the title hero of the third opera. In the story, Siegfried forges his father's sword Nothung from a tree. He defeats the dragon Falfner. With the dragon's blood, he is able to commune with nature. Siegfried then brakes through the mystic fire and awakens Brunhilde with a kiss. The two are married and live happily along the banks of the Rhine river. In the final opera, Twilight of The Gods, Siegfried longs for adventure again after marital peace, and journeys down the river Rhine. But he falls into enemy hands, the Gibechung giants, who kill him. When Brunhilde hears of this, she become so grief stricken that she immolates herself in Siegfried's funeral pyre. The world comes to an end through fire and flood, Valhalla burns, the Rhine river overfloods. The ring, the symbol of power and greed again comes into the hands of the Rhinemaidens. The romantic, serene strings in the orchestra seem to say that true love (Brunhilde's love for Siegfried) has triumphed, and a new world order will begin as fresh and new as the first day of creation.
Rating:
Summary: Wagner, Levine . . . musical billiance!!!
Review: I have never seen more varied responses toward a product here at Amazon . . . so, please allow me to set the record straight. . . If you are looking for dazzling, DVD, Hollywood-movie effects, you will not find it here. This is simply a filming of a performance of "The Ring" at the Met . . . a guy with a camera, nothing more. If you are an absolute opera snob and you are looking for the greatest performance of "The Ring" ever recorded, you might be disappointed. However, this is Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle: Truly, one of the most profound works of art ever presented to mankind, performed here by one of the greatest collections of living musicians on the planet. If you are looking to own a glimpse of one of the most inspired visions to have ever been beheld by a fellow human being . . . I will tell you now that this is as close as you will get. As is the case with all great works of art, one must put forth some effort to reap all of the rewards that this product has to offer; however, with this effort, one will gain a glimpse into the mind's eye of one of the greatest musical visionaries this Life has ever produced, in a performance by today's leading operatic company. For goodness' sake . . . this is Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle, performed by the Metropolitan Opera . . . are you really thinking that this will be anything less than superior quality??
Rating:
Summary: Disappointed by the production
Review: I managed to sit through the entire cycle over Christmas. I'm afraid I don't have many positive words to say. I'm not familiar with Wagner's operas and I thought that a production from one of the greatest opera houses of the world might serve as a good introduction. I'm disappointed by what I saw as I found the production to be mostly very boring. Not that it doesn't have any impressive moments. It most certainly has. However, it is not dramatically engaging enough, just like a costume drama which fails to take flight dramatically. The singing is generally OK but the singers don't act that well (fault of the director?). As can be read from the other reviews, I'm sure that some other people can better appreciate this production. Yet, I have to say that I'm not at all impressed by what I see.
Rating:
Summary: Get the Rheingold, avoid the others
Review: I would suggest any one who wishes to invest in this cycle to buy the Rheingold DVD and sample the other operas before making a decision for I found the performances of the other 3 operas in the cycle to be far from idea. Levine's often slow tempo creates quite a lot of problems for the singers. He is at his best in Rheingold but his conducting becomes more and more drawn out in the subsequent operas. As seen on DVD, Norman isn't a convincing Sieglinde and Lakes's Siegmund disappoints. The Gunther and Gutrune are also not well casted, as is the Alberich. Ludwig, late in her career at the time of this production, disappoints as Fricka. Behrens is simply over-parted as Brunnhilde. Morris is an adequate Wotan and Jerusalem a pleasing Siegfried. The production is good but ordinarily directed. The final crumbling of Valhalla is disappointingly done. The videography, however, is good.
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