Melba Recordings

This is the first ever Ring Cycle to be recorded in state-of-the-art Super Audio 5.1 surround sound.  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”.

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

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 Götterdämmerung 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

Download French Libretti

The full cycle is not available for download, however selected tracks as part of a 2 SACD set "RING HIGHLIGHTS" are now available.