The epic nature of Wagner’s Ring has lent itself naturally to beautifully crafted packaging and box-sets in recent years - now, from Warner Classics, comes the ultimate in physical product convenience. 

Following on from the issue of the entire music of Bach on a single Teldec USB, the label has issued the Ring cycle recorded at Bayreuth in 1991, conducted by Daniel Barenboim and featuring John Tomlinson as Wotan, Anne Evans as Brünnhilde and Siegfried Jerusalem as Siegfried, on a single flash drive. Unlike the Bach set, which necessitated compressing the music in 320kbps, Warner’s Ring comes in uncompressed WAV files (with the option of 320kbps MP3s too it desired). 

The USB also includes two films, a BBC documentary Great Composers - Wagner, and The making of the Ring featuring both Barenboim and Tomlinson. The libretti - pdfs of the original sleeve notes - are also there to download. Other features include biographies, articles and even a cartoon strip of the whole saga.

There’s also a feature explaining and exploring 65 of the major leitmotifs in the opera, showing them marked out in scores, and with examples of their usage to click and here. 

‘These are enthralling performances’ wrote Alan Blyth in the Gramophone at the time of the original release. The cycle - available as both audio and video - is already available to download, but the USB release might be an attractive prospect for those who prefer to buy a physical release but are seeking an alternative to large box sets, and who are attracted the bonus features. So too might its price point: Amazon and Presto are currently taking advance orders at £34.49 and £43.50 respectively.