Wagner: Die Walküre

Andrew Quint
Fanfare (US)



Finally, for audiophile Wagnerians, here’s a no-brainer: Australian Melba Recordings’ Die Walküre is the first SACD version of a complete Wagner opera. Asher Fisch presides over a well-prepared Adelaide orchestra and a cast that’s comprised mostly of Australians including Lisa Gasteen, a world class Brünnhilde. The Wotan, John Bröcheler, is as accomplished in this role as any currently active singer and his scenes with Gasteen are especially rewarding. And the sound! The 5.1 multichannel program renders the richness of Wagner’s orchestral syntax as you’ve never heard it outside of a good opera house, clarifying the most texturally complex sections of the work, such as the opening of act III. [And] the remainder of Melba’s SACD Ring will be available before long.