Wagner: Das Rheingold - Sofia Opera and Ballet Theater (2010) [Blu-ray]

Wagner sourced material for his national legend Der Ring des Nibelungen in medieval German and Scandinavian sagas, though much was his own invention. Das Rheingold is the prologue to this tetralogy of music dramas. It introduces the principal events in this visionary work, the theft by the Nibelung dwarf Alberich of the ring made from Rhine gold, and its seizure by Wotan, ruler of the Gods. This production was recorded in 2010 at the Sofia Opera and Ballet theatre as the first title of the complete Ring cycle that we will be releasing entirely in separate titles within 2021.

In Bulgaria, both folk and art music reveal an ancient tradition that strikes awe even in some of today&aposs great musical nations. The way Pancho Vladigerov incorporated these folk music themes into his concert pieces shows not only his affinity for them, but also suggests that he felt something of a calling to promulgate and champion the folk traditions of his central European homeland. The most frequently performed of Pancho Vladigerov's works is undoubtedly his Bulgarian Rhapsody, Op. 16 & 'Vardar', written in 1922. The most outstanding must be his Seven Symphonic Bulgarian Dances, Op. 23 (1931), with which he might have wanted to create a counterpart to Brahms' Hungarian Dances, Dvorák's Slavonic Dances, Grieg's Norwegian Dances and other popular, nationalistic musical postcards.

Recorded at: Sofia Opera and Ballet Theater, 25th May 2010