Wagner: Siegfried

Three down, one to go. Melbourne’s Melba Foundation can justly be proud that – with inestimable assistance from the State Opera of South Australia – it is en route to giving Wagner devotees a new, audio state-of-the-art Der Ring des Nibelungen to challenge the finest analogue and digital recordings available.

Recorded in performance in 2004, in the acoustic-friendly Adelaide Festival Theatre, this Super Audio Siegfried stirringly replicates much of the rich sound patrons enjoyed.

The cast of international sings brings to life the vast musical tapestry Wagner’s genius wove for this penultimate episode in opera’s supreme dramatic enterprise.

Wagner’s evocative music again is gloriously realized by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, though at times conductor Asher Fisch allows the musicians’ passion to overwhelm the singers.

But this is Wagner, is it not?