This 1978 studio production of Das Rheingold, the prologue to The Ring, is the only segment of the famous Salzburg Festival/Metropolitan Opera productions, first seen in the 1960s, that made it to film. For this production Georges Wakhevitch has produced stage settings and transformations that support Karajan"s concept with every possible means. Karajan"s staging is in the epic style of another age, emphasizing the dignity of the gods rather than their all too human failings. With the singers, foremost among them Peter Schreier, Karajan has an ensemble that fully conforms to his intentions. The production also includes Thomas Stewart as a nobly singing Wotan alongside the grandiose Brigitte Fassbaender as Fricka, a profoundly embittered figure.