In December 2013 my partner Toni and I attended the third cycle of Opera Australia’s Melbourne production of Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. In preparation for this pilgrimage we had decided to invest in what is arguably the definitive recording of Wagner’s masterpiece, Decca’s Solti edition. Begun in September 1958 and completed in November 1965, fifteen hours of recorded music on thirty-eight CDs is an epic collection by any measure or comparison.

Friends in the know were eager to endorse the value of our purchase as a wonderful resource. No longer would we run the risk of faux pas when mixing with a more experienced and knowledgeable Wagner crowd. The endless list of characters with unfamiliar names, the baffling events from distant mythologies—all would finally be revealed to us.