Richard Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen - Watson, Wegner, Schmidt, König - Fiore, Prague 200514CDs plus Making-Of-DVD
DVD5 - PAL - 4:3 - Dolby Digital 2.0 - 26'38
Subtitles: Czech, English, German
Performed in the National Theatre Prague, 2005
Members of the National Theater realized it would be no small task to offer the "Ring" in its entirety and asked the "Deutsche Oper am Rhein" from Dusseldorf - with extensive experience with Wagner's music - for help. The German partner brought its singers to Prague, provided most of the backgrounds and props, and brought an overall conception to the project. The Prague National Theater, meanwhile, provided the orchestra, choir and a few soloists. Kurt Horres, who is the director of the performance, confirms that it was a great challenge. But as he says, he was pleased by the enthusiasm of the National Theater management.
One of the reasons why they agreed with the co-production was that they considered it a matter of prestige to perform at Prague's National Theater.
John Fiore: "For me Prague has always been one of the most beautiful (if not the most beautiful) city in the world. We appreciate the chance and honor to play in this theater. Most of the theaters in Germany have been destroyed; they have been rebuilt after World War II. We have nowhere a theater that is nearly as beautiful as this one. The house sounds fantastic; the acoustic in this house is sensational! So believe me; we feel like a fiddle player who gets a new Stradivari to play."
John Fiore: Since the 1999/2000 Season, John Fiore has been Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, Germany, and was the General Music Director of the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker from 2000 – 2008 as well. He was born in New York City in 1960 into a musical family: his father was a pianist and choral director and his mother a singer. At a very young age, he already had a large repertoire, and was hired as a coach-pianist by the Seattle Opera for Wagner’s Ring at the age of 14.
In spring of 2005, Fiore conducted with great success “Der Ring des Nibelungen” at the National Opera in Prague. Further guest engagements led him to Los Angeles (“La traviata”) and Santa Fe (Salomé).
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