Decca's landmark recording of Wagner's 15-hour epic, 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' conducted by Sir Georg Solti is the most celebrated classical recording in history. The world's best-selling opera recording - a recording project on a scale without precedent and the first-ever studio recording of Wagner's masterpiece, it took seven years to record from 1958 to 1965. Solti and the legendary Decca producer John Culshaw assembled the dream cast, the greatest Wagnerian voices of the day: Kirsten Flagstad, George London, Hans Hotter, Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, James King, Regine Crespin, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Christa Ludwig, Lucia Popp, Gwyneth Jones and Brigitte Fassbaender. The luxury casting even extended to Joan Sutherland as the Woodbird in 'Siegfried'. The perfect marriage of art and technology, this massive undertaking would not have been greeted with such unprecedented enthusiasm and rave reviews were it not for the skill of Decca's dream team: Producer John Culshaw and Chief Engineer Gordon Parry. They created in sound the ideal 'Theatre in the Mind'. As Culshaw said: 'It is precisely because the work is so huge and demanding that one should not pass lightly over any detail'. The recording set new standards for opera in stereo and is still regarded as the benchmark over six decades later. For the first time on Hybrid SACD, Decca proudly present a selection of the greatest scenes from Wagner's 'Der Ring des Nibelungen' conducted by Sir Georg Solti and includes a 24pp booklet, including introductory texts on each opera and many original session photographs. The Hybrid SACD format delivers Solti & Culshaw's sonic vision in the highest quality possible, combining the high density stereo mix at 24bit 192kHz with a standard CD layer meaning this disc will also play on any normal CD player, delivering unrivalled listening flexibility.
