By distilling Richard Wagner’s four full-length Ring Cycle operas into two three-hour evenings, composer and conductor McPhee’s “The Essential Ring” makes it easy for regional symphony orchestras and opera companies to program a more manageable version of the masterpiece.
“The Essential Ring” maintains Wagner’s original dramatic structure, keeping the story and essential vocal selections intact while maintaining the powerful, unique and thrilling soundscape. It has all the beloved orchestral passages and the essential vocal passages. Masterful transitions cover the cuts for an extraordinarily listenable work.
Wotan - Alfred Walker
Siegmund & Froh - Thomas Studebaker
Sieglinde & Gerhilde - Margaret Jane Wray
Loge & Mime - Frank Kelley
Brunnhilde & Wellgunde - Jane Eaglen
Fafner & Hunding - Pawel Izdebski
Fricka & Schwertleite - Joanna Porackova
Freia & Woglinde - Sarai Cole

1. Wagner_McPhee_Das Rheingold

The Firebird (L'Oiseau de feu / Der Feuervogel)
Ballet in two scenes
based on a Russian folk tale by M. Fokine
arranged for reduced orchestra by Jonathan McPhee (2000)

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