Brian Blackwell wrote: >I'm interested in building up a Ring cycle on the cheap. Does anyone have >any opinions on Marek Janowski's budget-price Staatskapelle Dresden cycle >on RCA? If it's cheap enough, I think that this is a very recommendable recording of the cycle. The sound and orchestral work are first class, and I like Janowski's straightforward, transparent way with the score. The singers are more variable, but this is true of all RING recordings. If you can buy the operas separately, you might want to try the DAS RHEINGOLD or SIEGFRIED, which are, I think, the strongest performances - in fact, the SIEGFRIED is perhaps my favorite recording of the opera. BTW, how cheap is this set in Australia? For some reason it hasn't appeared in the USA since its midprice Eurodisc incarnation about a decade ago. William D. Kasimer [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask]