Der Ring des Nibelungen CD boxset

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The Decca Ring1997 CD release Studio album by Georg Solti
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Birgit Nilsson
Hans Hotter
Wolfgang Windgassen
Gottlob Frick and 35 other soloists Recorded1958–1965 StudioSofiensaal, Vienna LabelDecca ProducerJohn CulshawBetween 1958 and 1965 the Decca record company made the first complete recording to be released of Richard Wagner's operatic tetralogy, Der Ring des Nibelungen ("The Nibelung's Ring"), comprising Das Rheingold ("The Rhinegold"), Die Walküre ("The Valkyrie"), Siegfried and Götterdämmerung ("Twilight of the Gods"). Of the four component operas, there had been two previous studio recordings of Die Walküre, and a radio recording of Götterdämmerung that was released on record in 1956, but the Decca Ring was the first recording of the cycle planned and recorded for the gramophone.
The recording of The Ring was conceived and produced by Decca's senior producer, John Culshaw, who engaged the Vienna Philharmonic, the conductor Georg Solti and leading Wagner singers including Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Hans Hotterand Gottlob Frick and, in roles they did not play onstage, well-known singers such as Kirsten Flagstad, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Joan Sutherland. Culshaw and his engineering colleagues set out to capture on disc performances that would recreate in listeners' minds the drama that Wagner intended, compensating for the lack of visual images with imaginative production, making use of stereophonic techniques that became possible shortly before the start of the recording of the cycle.
The recordings were made in the Sofiensaal, Vienna, and issued on long-playingrecords. They were subsequently transferred to compact disc, in which form they have been continuously available since 1984. In polls for BBC Music and Gramophonemagazines the Decca Ring has been voted the greatest recording ever made, and it has won numerous honours, including Grand Prix du Disque and Grammy awards.