Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) – Great Scenes

Experiencing Wagner’s Ring Cycle is an undertaking in any format, but it’s a special challenge in an audio-only setting, without any visual help from a staging. Fortunately, collections of highlights, like this one, can translate the work's power in the span of a single sitting. Conductor Sir Georg Solti’s Great Scenes album is one of the very best introductions to Wagner’s tetralogy available, thanks to a blazing Vienna Philharmonic and a cast that includes powerhouse soprano Birgit Nilsson in the taxing role of Brünnhilde.