"Neither singer seems entirely at ease with the German text Yvonne Howard, Susan Bullock, yet they are both as dramatically engaged as they would be on stage ... Stig Andersen is alert and characterful throughout, without excessive emoting, and Clive Bayley is an imposingly black-voiced Hunding ... Act 2 contributes greatly to confirming the overall conviction of Elder's approach ... Elder has a cast, as well as an interpretative stance, that ensure a distinctive as well as a memorable experience ... This recording should leave you in renewed awe at Wagner's genius - not a bad thing"

"The results are extremely impressive and, as with Götterdämmerung it presents an interpretation that is compelling. Elder conducts with tensile strength and a really impressive sense of dramatic and musical achitecture ... Andersen may not have the unshakeable heft of some of his great predecessors, but his dramatic involvement, the pure unforced gleam of his tone and his fine sense of line all help to make this a powerful musical experience ... I'd suggest any opera collector seeking a fresh view of this masterpiece would do well to try this moving and impressive new recording from Manchester"