Mariinsky Label

Diapason d'Or Diapason (France)

**** (max) Classica (France)

***** „So macht Wagner Spaß! Seit mindestens 15 Jahren gab es keine seiner Opern mehr in solcher Qualität auf CD zu genießen. Valery Gergiev … legt gleich mit dem ersten Streich die Latte richtig hoch … Ein Sängerfest, wie man es bei Wagner viel zu selten präsentiert bekommt.“ Rondo (Germany)

ffff  'This sumptuously captured Valkyrie announces an Infernal Tetralogy' Telerama (France)

‘In what may be the first Ring ever recorded in Russia, music director Valery Gergiev gathers the hottest cast on earth … Gergiev is magisterial in Wagner, a rampaging pagan among the gods. Ex-Decca producer James Mallinson rules the sound decks and the result in this, the first of four releases, is as gripping as any Wagner recording of recent times, a box to sit unblushing beside Solti’s everlasting benchmark.’ Sinfini Music (Norman Lebrecht)

***** ‘The orchestral playing is excellent, especially lower woodwinds in solo passages, while the brass is superb. The recording, from the fine acoustic of the Mariinsky Concert Hall, is sumptuous.’ Opera Britannia (UK)

‘In the first act at least, with Jonas Kaufmann as an incomparable Siegmund, Anja Kampe a profoundly moving Sieglinde and Gergiev pacing the performance to an overwhelming climax, the result is spellbinding. In fact, few performances on disc can match it for sheer excitement, or for Kaufmann's blend of easy power, immaculate diction and lyric beauty … Gergiev obtains transcendently beautiful playing from the Mariinsky Orchestra.’ The Guardian (UK)

‘Eine tolle "Walküre" im Wagner-Jahr: Die neue Einspielung des ersten "Ring"-Tages stürmt von Beginn an los. Valery Gergiev und sein Mariinsky Orchester brillieren mit Effekten.’ Spiegel.de (Germany)

‘This show belongs to Jonas Kaufmann (Siegmund), whose bronzed timbre is deeply satisfying whether in heroic or intimate utterance. His legato is immaculate, with many phrases taken in a single span where other tenors would be grabbing extra breaths.’ International Record Review (UK)

'Essential listening no matter how many other Valkyries ride over your CD shelves … Alert to both the music's long line and the urgency of the moment, Gergiev partners as well as leads the performance … Stemme's Bruennhilde is an individual creation from her first Hoyotohos, sliced out of the air with a sculptor's precision, and keeps growing in stature and sympathy throughout the opera. Her solid low range anchors her interpretation, but what's more important is that the singing is so good you stop paying attention to it and follow Bruennhilde right into the fire.' The Bay Area Reporter (US)