Gotterdammerung : Asher Fisch / Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Mussard, Gasteen, etc (2004 Stereo)(4SACD)(Hybrid)

Wagner: Gotterdammerung

Timothy Mussard (Siegfried)
Lisa Gasteen (Brunnhilde)
Duccio dal Monte (Hagen)
Jonathan Summers (Gunther)
Joanna Cole (Gutrune)
John Wegner (Alberich)
Elizabeth Campbell (Waltraute)
Liane Keegan (First Norn)
Gaye MacFarlane (Second Norn)
Kate Ladner (Third Norn)
Natalie Jones (Woglinde)
Donna-Maree Dunlop (Wellgunde)
Zan McKendree-Wright (Flosshilde)
The State Opera of South Australia
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Asher Fisch, conductor

Recording: 11-12/2004
SACD Hybrid
CD STEREO/ SACD STEREO/ SACD SURROUND

HISTORY IN THE MAKING
MELBA’S AWARD-WINNING RING CYCLE REACHES ITS EPIC CONCLUSION

The release of Melba Recordings Gotterdammerung makes musical history by completing the first ever Ring Cycle to be recorded in state-of-the-art Super Audio 5.1 surround sound.

Recorded live in Adelaide in 2004 Melba’s Ring captures all the excitement and energy of the acclaimed $15.3m State Opera of South Australia production of Wagner’s epic four-part work in studio-perfect sound that has won awards, praise and plaudits from pundits and public alike at home and in every international territory in which it has been released.

Opera magazine has described the project as “A significant moment in the history of opera” and Gramophone magazine applauded the cycle for being “sensationally recorded”, declaring it “the best-sounding cycle on the market to date, bar none”.

Melba’s Ring is not just a record of the first fully Australian staging of the work, or the most expensive recording ever made in Australia, more significantly it establishes Melbourne-based Melba Recordings as a leading force in the international recording scene. Marrying innovation and imagination to a meticulous concern for sonic detail, Melba delivers audiophile-quality recordings to the widest possible audience while promoting the best of Australia’s musical talent.

Described by Bloomberg as being “As ground-breaking as Georg Solti’s 1959-1966 Decca recording”, Melba’s era-defining Ring was produced with the support of Commonwealth Government funding through the Australia Council. The release of Gotterdammerung brings to a fiery conclusion one of the most important recording projects since the Solti/Culshaw Ring and has triumphantly realised Melba Recordings' ambition to create a contemporary recording of Wagner’s mighty musical tetralogy to match the achievements of its predecessors. The result is a Ring Cycle for the 21st Century.

The Melba Adelaide Ring presenting sponsor is Dr Douglas Mitchell, a Director of The Melba Foundation. ( Melba )