Following a collection of historic Metropolitan Opera broadcasts and the taking-over of the soundtracks from the four-director Stuttgart anniversary cycle, Naxos now starts its third Ring. Taken from concerts by Jaap van Zweden’s Hong Kong Philharmonic (there’s Blu-ray Audio as well), this Rheingold, despite some effective casting and a rich-sounding natural balance, is a curate’s egg of a performance.

On the plus side, the Hong Kong Philharmonic sound fully up for the occasion and have the stamina for this demanding piece. Van Zweden, in what is apparently quite a small hall, takes care never to cover his voices. He enjoys quieter passages – such as the colour and intricacy of Wagner’s wind commentary in Loge’s taunting of the gods’ growing old, or Mime’s narration – but is not always so sure-footed in the more heroic moments or the often vicious irony that governs the humour of this text. He also has a tendency to prepare for each new melodic idea or theme by holding back the end of the preceding music, as if delayed by an awkward page-turn in the score.

Matthias Goerne sings Wotan beautifully, with much baritonal sophistication, predictable (from an experienced Lieder recitalist) care for words and able negotiation of trickier moments. He is also capable of (and, unlike some other Wotans, willing to give voice to) genuine anger at his opponents. Unsurprisingly, at the beginning of his time with this role, not every aspect of the character is yet fully in focus. The experienced Kim Begley (and van Zweden) likes to take Loge fast – authentic but a little short-changing of those moments of sarcasm so relished by past interpreters such as Windgassen and Emile Belcourt. Peter Sidhom enjoys himself greatly playing Alberich as an out-and-out ‘baddie’ with cackling laughter. The conductor’s handling of Erda’s intervention – too broken up in its phrasing to maintain a strong line of narrative – and the main giants’ scenes – beautifully played but insufficiently forceful – does not wholly mesh with some able singing from Deborah Humble, Kwangchul Youn and Stephen Milling. The scene in Nibelheim does come off well. Here it feels as if David Cangelosi’s Mime, both funny and moving without any kind of braying excess, has acted as catalyst to turn the occasion into a more full-on dramatic performance.

Overall this feels like a ‘straight’ concert reading of the piece from the conductor, which has influenced what we hear from the singers: some of the strong interpretative character that they all know how to offer is lacking. It’s too early in the cycle for detailed comparisons. Nonetheless, I could not place this bargain issue as a single release above the usual pack leaders, or indeed the latest Rattle set (10/15).