Gotterdammerung / Knappertsbusch, Varnay, Aldenhoff, Uhde, et al [Box set]

Track Listings
Disc: 1
1. Prologue: Prld - Orchester Der Festspiele Bayreuth/Hans Knappetsbusch    
2. Prologue: Welch Licht Leuchtet Dort? - Orchester Der Festspiele Bayreuth/Hans Knappetsbusch    
3. Prologue: Dammert Der Ta? - Martha Modl    
4. Prologue: Dawn/Tagesgrauen/Lever Du Jour - Orchester Der Festspiele Bayreuth/Hans Knappetsbusch    
5. Prologue: Zu Neuen Taten, Teurer Helde - Astrid Varnay    
See all 14 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. Act One, Scene Two: Gunther, Wie Heibt Deine Schweter? - Bernd Aldenhoff/Hermann Uhde    
2. Act One, Scene Two: Bluhenden Lebens - Bernd Aldenhoff/Hermann Uhde    
3. Act One, Scene Two: Was Nahmst Du Am Eide Nicht Teil? - Bernd Aldenhoff/Ludwig Weber/Hermann Uhde/Martha Modl    
4. Act One, Scene Two: Hier Sitz Ich Zur Wacht - Ludwig Weber    
5. Act One, Scene Three: Altgewohntes Gerausch - Astid Varnay/Elisabeth Hongen    
See all 10 tracks on this disc
Disc: 3
1. Act Two: Prld - Orchester Der Festspiele Bayreuth/Hans Knappetsbusch    
2. Act Two, Scene One: Schlafst Du, Hagen, Mein Sohn? - Heinrich Pflanzl/Ludwig Weber    
3. Act Two, Scene Two Hoiho, Hagen! - Bernd Aldenhoff/Hermann Uhde/Marha Modl    
4. Act Two, Scene Three: Hoiho! Hoihohoho! - Ludwig Weber/Chor Der Festpiele Bayreuth/Wihelm Pitz    
5. Act Two, Scene Three: Rustet Euch Wohl - Ludwig Weber/Chor Der Festpiele Bayreuth/Wihelm Pitz    
See all 20 tracks on this disc
Disc: 4
1. Act Three, Scene One: Siegfried! - Hertha Ludwig/Hanna Ludwig/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Bernd Aldenhoff    
2. Act Three, Scene One: Ein Goldner Ring Ragt Dir Am finger! - Hertha Ludwig/Hanna Ludwig/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Bernd Aldenhoff    
3. Act Three, Scene One: Behalt Ihn, Held - Hertha Ludwig/Hanna Ludwig/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Bernd Aldenhoff    
4. Act Three, Scene One: Weialala Leia - Hertha Ludwig/Hanna Ludwig/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Bernd Aldenhoff    
5. Act Three, Scene Two: Hoiho! - Ludwig Weber/Chor Der Festpiele Bayreuth/Bernd Aldenhoff    
See all 21 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
It's still easy to imagine the anticipation that must have attended the Bayreuth Festival in 1951 when it reopened for the first time since the war. This was the epoch-making summer when Wieland Wagner began to unveil a bold rethinking of his grandfather's canon--and to distance his art from the ideological trappings of the Third Reich--through increasingly austere and abstract productions. One member of the recording teams on hand (rivals EMI and Decca) was John Culshaw, who would later become famous as the mastermind producer behind the first and still most-popular studio recording of the Ring. Despite problems with the rest of the cycle, Culshaw managed to register its epic concluding work to his satisfaction. Yet that legendary Götterdämmerung sat in the archives for almost half a century due to contractual complications. This release at last makes its glories available.

Conductor Hans Knappertsbusch--a master of the grand old tradition who is above all prized for his incomparable accounts of Parsifal--presides over a majestically scaled performance right from the doom-colored opening chord. Its cumulative power builds like a juggernaut. Though Knappertsbusch's famously weighty pacing makes this probably the slowest Götterdämmerung on record, the tempi rarely feel distended but rather enable Wagner's densely webbed, late-style ripeness to reverberate with its full emotional resonance. Knappertsbusch also knows how to keep a particular dramatic moment taut without losing his command of the larger context, as in the confrontation between Brünnhilde and Waltraute or Act II's vengeance trio. And in the funeral march you won't hear Soltian muscle but a profoundly resigned summation far subtler in its impact.

The relatively young cast features some of Bayreuth's finest postwar artists, several making their festival debut during the 1951 reopening. Astrid Varnay proves her claim as Flagstad's successor, imbuing Brünnhilde's transfiguring love and subsequent betrayal with a presence that is completely gripping from the beginning to the cycle's cataclysmic end. Variety of color endows Bernd Aldenhoff's Siegfried with more dimensions than most interpreters; he can be sweet-voiced or imperious, rising to glory in the Act I duet and summoning a blustery bravado in his scene with the Rhinemaidens. Marth Mödl's angsty, dark-hued tone gives Gutrune an intensity far beyond the usual passive dimwit, while Hermann Uhde portrays her brother--despite his straining upper range--as a complex tangle of ambition and self-doubt. An integral part of this tremendously tight-knit ensemble is Ludwig Weber's intimidating Hagen. He gives the villain a truly Iago-like scope, brooding in the malignancy of his monologues and striking a chord of sheer terror in the scene of Siegfried's murder. In short, this set belongs in the collection of anyone interested in the performance of Wagner--or of great musical drama, period. --Thomas May

Gotterdammerung / Knappertsbusch, Varnay, Aldenhoff, Uhde, et al, Music, Richard Wagner, Richard Wagner, Astrid Varnay, Bernd Aldenhoff, Elisabeth Höngen, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Hanna Ludwig, Heinrich Pflanzl, Hermann Uhde, Hertha Topper, Ira Malaniuk, Ludwig Weber, Martha Mödl, Ruth Siewert, Bernd Aldenhoff, Herrmann Uhde, Ludwig Weber, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Hans Knappertsbusch, Classical, Classical Music, German/Austrian Romantic Opera, Opera, Opera/Operetta, Orchestral & Symphonic
Gotterdammerung / Knappertsbusch, Varnay, Aldenhoff, Uhde, et al
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Historical Wagner Gotterdammerung
  • A wonderful recording that almost carries all before it
  • An almost-legendary set ruined by some dreadful singing
  • ARGUABLY THE GREATEST OF ALL GOTTERDAMMERUNGS
  • Knappertsbusch at his best
 Gotterdammerung / Knappertsbusch, Varnay, Aldenhoff, Uhde, et al
Bernd Aldenhoff , Herrmann Uhde , Ludwig Weber , Bayreuth Festival Orchestra , and Hans Knappertsbusch
Manufacturer: Testament UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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  5. Wagner - Parsifal / Knappertsbusch

ASIN: B00001NTLL
Release Date: 1999-09-07

Tracks:

  1. Prologue: Prld - Orchester Der Festspiele Bayreuth/Hans Knappetsbusch
  2. Prologue: Welch Licht Leuchtet Dort? - Orchester Der Festspiele Bayreuth/Hans Knappetsbusch
  3. Prologue: Dammert Der Ta? - Martha Modl
  4. Prologue: Dawn/Tagesgrauen/Lever Du Jour - Orchester Der Festspiele Bayreuth/Hans Knappetsbusch
  5. Prologue: Zu Neuen Taten, Teurer Helde - Astrid Varnay
  6. Prologue: Mehr Gabst, Du, Wunderfrau - Bernd Aldenhoff/Astrid Varnay
  7. Prologue:O Heilige Gotter - Astrid Varnay/Bernd Aldenhoff
  8. Prologue: Siegfried's Rhine Journey - Orchester Der Festspiele Bayreuth/Hans Knappetsbusch
  9. Act One, Scene One: Nun Hor, Hagen - Hermann Uhde/Martha Modl
  10. Act One, Scene One: Ein Weib Weib Ich - Ludwig Weber/Hermann Uhde/Martha Modl
  11. Act One, Scene One: Vom Rhein Her Tont Das Horn - Hermann Uhde/Martha Modl/Bernd Aldenhoff
  12. Act One, Scene Two: Wer Ist Gibichs Sohn? - Bernd Aldenhoff/Hermann Uhde/Ludwig Weber
  13. Act One, Scene Two: Begrube Froh, O Held - Hermann Uhde/Bernd Aldenhoff/Ludwig Weber/Martha Modl
  14. Act One, Scene Two: Vergab Ich Alles - Bernd Aldenhoff

Tracks:

  1. Act One, Scene Two: Gunther, Wie Heibt Deine Schweter? - Bernd Aldenhoff/Hermann Uhde
  2. Act One, Scene Two: Bluhenden Lebens - Bernd Aldenhoff/Hermann Uhde
  3. Act One, Scene Two: Was Nahmst Du Am Eide Nicht Teil? - Bernd Aldenhoff/Ludwig Weber/Hermann Uhde/Martha Modl
  4. Act One, Scene Two: Hier Sitz Ich Zur Wacht - Ludwig Weber
  5. Act One, Scene Three: Altgewohntes Gerausch - Astid Varnay/Elisabeth Hongen
  6. Act One, Scene Three: Hor Met Sinn, Was Ich Dir Sage! - Elisabeth Hongen
  7. Act One, Scene Three: Welch Bager Traume Maren - Astid Varnay/Elisabeth Hongen
  8. Act One, Scene Three: Blitzend Gewolk - Astrid Varney
  9. Act One, Scene Three: Brunnhild! Ein Freier Kam - Astid Varnay/Elisabeth Hongen
  10. Act One, Scene Three: Jetzt Bist Du Mein - Astid Varnay/Elisabeth Hongen

Tracks:

  1. Act Two: Prld - Orchester Der Festspiele Bayreuth/Hans Knappetsbusch
  2. Act Two, Scene One: Schlafst Du, Hagen, Mein Sohn? - Heinrich Pflanzl/Ludwig Weber
  3. Act Two, Scene Two Hoiho, Hagen! - Bernd Aldenhoff/Hermann Uhde/Marha Modl
  4. Act Two, Scene Three: Hoiho! Hoihohoho! - Ludwig Weber/Chor Der Festpiele Bayreuth/Wihelm Pitz
  5. Act Two, Scene Three: Rustet Euch Wohl - Ludwig Weber/Chor Der Festpiele Bayreuth/Wihelm Pitz
  6. Act Two, Scene Three: Crob Cluck Und Heil - Chor Der Festpiele Bayreuth/Whiem Pitz/Ludwig Weber
  7. Act Two, Scene Four: Heil Dir, Gunther! - Chor Der Festpiele Bayreuth/Whiem Pitz
  8. Act Two, Scene Four: Brunnhild, Die Hegrse Frau - Chor Der Festpiele Bayreuth/Whiem Pitz
  9. Act Two, Scene Four: Gegrubt Sei, Teurer Held - Chor Der Festpiele Bayreuth/Whiem Pitz/Bernd Aldenhoff/Astrid Varnay/Ludwig Weber
  10. Act Two, Scene Four: Einen Ring Sah Ich An Deiner Hand - Astrid Varnay/Bernd Aldenhoff/Hermann Uhde/Ludwig Weber
  11. Act Two, Scene Four: Betrug! Betrug! - Astrid Varnay/Bernd Aldenhoff/Hermann Uhde/Ludwig Weber/Chor Der Festpiele Bayreuth
  12. Act Two, Scene Four: Helle Wehr! Heilige Waffe! - Bernd Aldenhoff/Astrid Varnay/Chor Der Festpiele Bayreuth
  13. Act Two, Scene Four: Glaub, Mehr Zurnt Es Mich Als Dich - Bernd Aldenhoff
  14. Act Two, Scene Five: Welches Unholds List - Astrid Varnay
  15. Act Two, Scene Five: Vetraue Mir, Betrogne Frau! - Ludwig Weber/Astrid Varnay
  16. Act Two, Scene Five: Auf, Gunther, Edler Gibichung! - Ludwig Weber/hermann Uhde/Astrid Varnay
  17. Act Two, Scene Five: So Soll Es Sein! - Hermann Uhde/Astrid Varnay/Ludwig Weber
  18. Act Three: Prld - Orchester Der Festpiele Bayreuth
  19. Act Three, Scene One: Frau Sonne Sendet Lichte Strahlen - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Hanna Ludwig/Herha Topper
  20. Act Three, Scene One: Ein Albe Fuhrte Mich Irr - Bernd Aldenhoff

Tracks:

  1. Act Three, Scene One: Siegfried! - Hertha Ludwig/Hanna Ludwig/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Bernd Aldenhoff
  2. Act Three, Scene One: Ein Goldner Ring Ragt Dir Am finger! - Hertha Ludwig/Hanna Ludwig/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Bernd Aldenhoff
  3. Act Three, Scene One: Behalt Ihn, Held - Hertha Ludwig/Hanna Ludwig/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Bernd Aldenhoff
  4. Act Three, Scene One: Weialala Leia - Hertha Ludwig/Hanna Ludwig/Elisabeth Schwarzkopf/Bernd Aldenhoff
  5. Act Three, Scene Two: Hoiho! - Ludwig Weber/Chor Der Festpiele Bayreuth/Bernd Aldenhoff
  6. Act Three, Scene Two: Trink, Gunther, Trink! - Bernd Aldenhoff/Hermann Uhde/Ludwig Weber
  7. Act Three, Scene Two: Mime Hieb Ein Murrischer Zwerg - Bernd Aldenhoff/Ludwig Weber/Chor Der Festpiele Bayreuth
  8. Act Three, Scene Two: In Leid Zu Dem Wipfel - Bernd Aldenhoff/Ludwig Weber
  9. Act Three, Scene Two: Was Hor Ich? - Hermann Uhde/Ludwig Weber/Chor Der Festpiele Bayreuth
  10. Act Three, Scene Two: Brunnhilde, Heilige Braut! - Bernd Aldenhoff
  11. Act Three, Scene Two: Funeral March - Orchester Der Festspiele Bayreuth/Hans Knappertsbusch
  12. Act Three, Scene Three: War Ds Sein Horn? - Hermann Uhde
  13. Act Three, Scene Three: Hoiho! Hoiho! - Ludwig Weber/Martha Modl/Hermann Uhde
  14. Act Three, Scene Three: Siegfried-Siegfried Erschlagen! - Hermann Uhde/Martha Modl/Ludwig Weber
  15. Act Three, Scene Three: Schweigt Eures Jammers Jauchzenden Schwall - Astrid Varnay/Martha Modl
  16. Act Three, Scene Three: Starke Shceite Schichtet Mir Dort - Astrid Varnay
  17. Act Three, Scene Three: Wie Sonne Lauter Strahlt Mir Sein Licht - Astrid Varnay
  18. Act Three, Scene Three: O Ihr, Der Eide Ewige Huter! - Astrid Varnay
  19. Act Three, Scene Three: Mein Erbe Nun Nehm Ich Zu Eigen - Astrid Varnay
  20. Act Three, Scene Three: Fliegt Heim, Ihr Raben! - Astrid Varnay
  21. Act Three, Scene Three: Grane, Mein Rob, Sei Mir Gegrubt! - Astrid Varnay

Amazon.com

It's still easy to imagine the anticipation that must have attended the Bayreuth Festival in 1951 when it reopened for the first time since the war. This was the epoch-making summer when Wieland Wagner began to unveil a bold rethinking of his grandfather's canon--and to distance his art from the ideological trappings of the Third Reich--through increasingly austere and abstract productions. One member of the recording teams on hand (rivals EMI and Decca) was John Culshaw, who would later become famous as the mastermind producer behind the first and still most-popular studio recording of the Ring. Despite problems with the rest of the cycle, Culshaw managed to register its epic concluding work to his satisfaction. Yet that legendary Götterdämmerung sat in the archives for almost half a century due to contractual complications. This release at last makes its glories available.

Conductor Hans Knappertsbusch--a master of the grand old tradition who is above all prized for his incomparable accounts of Parsifal--presides over a majestically scaled performance right from the doom-colored opening chord. Its cumulative power builds like a juggernaut. Though Knappertsbusch's famously weighty pacing makes this probably the slowest Götterdämmerung on record, the tempi rarely feel distended but rather enable Wagner's densely webbed, late-style ripeness to reverberate with its full emotional resonance. Knappertsbusch also knows how to keep a particular dramatic moment taut without losing his command of the larger context, as in the confrontation between Brünnhilde and Waltraute or Act II's vengeance trio. And in the funeral march you won't hear Soltian muscle but a profoundly resigned summation far subtler in its impact.

The relatively young cast features some of Bayreuth's finest postwar artists, several making their festival debut during the 1951 reopening. Astrid Varnay proves her claim as Flagstad's successor, imbuing Brünnhilde's transfiguring love and subsequent betrayal with a presence that is completely gripping from the beginning to the cycle's cataclysmic end. Variety of color endows Bernd Aldenhoff's Siegfried with more dimensions than most interpreters; he can be sweet-voiced or imperious, rising to glory in the Act I duet and summoning a blustery bravado in his scene with the Rhinemaidens. Marth Mödl's angsty, dark-hued tone gives Gutrune an intensity far beyond the usual passive dimwit, while Hermann Uhde portrays her brother--despite his straining upper range--as a complex tangle of ambition and self-doubt. An integral part of this tremendously tight-knit ensemble is Ludwig Weber's intimidating Hagen. He gives the villain a truly Iago-like scope, brooding in the malignancy of his monologues and striking a chord of sheer terror in the scene of Siegfried's murder. In short, this set belongs in the collection of anyone interested in the performance of Wagner--or of great musical drama, period. --Thomas May

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Historical Wagner Gotterdammerung.......2006-07-11

Technical shortcomings notwithstanding, this is a joy to own and listen to. Represents an "older" conducting style of the "majestic" sort. I am not a musician, but this 1951 recording is a link to an earlier style of Wagner conducting the the late 19th and earlier 20th century. Pretty good sound and Knappertsbusch and the singers are in pretty good form. This recording is a wonderful experience. I own several Gotterdamerungs, but this recording is especially satisfying. I have been listening to Wagner since the late 1950's.

4 out of 5 stars A wonderful recording that almost carries all before it.......2006-02-07

The most magnificent aspect of this legendary recording is clearly Knappertsbusch's conducting. The gears never crash and there is a beautiful saturated sound. Kna made me aware of patterns and colours in the score that I had never noticed before. The orchestra is fine and the recording is ideal. Culshaw and Wilkinson have found an ideal balance between voice and orchestra.

The other key distinguishing factor is hearing a 50s Bayreuth Ring opera caught in a professional commercial-standard recording that brings the orchestra, in particular, closer than in the various pirate Rings of the era.

The singers taken all round are very exciting. Varnay can hit the high notes with thrilling impact (love duet) and darken her voice to sheer menace (end Act II) although the fruity tinge in her tone may take some adjusting to. Aldenhoff is not as successful as Seigfried. He sounds strained in the opening duet and his tone is ungainly and sometimes gravelly. The 'bad' characters are memorably bought to life by Modl, Udhe and Weber. The opening Prelude with the mysterious Norms is particularly successful. Here Kna builds a line of dark intensity which is matched by the sheer visceral power and acting of Modl's 3rd Norn. Special mention must almost be made of the glowering menace of Hagen's Watch. So dark and sinister.

The big caveat for me is the prompt who can be heard clearly in some scenes. This is subtly intrusive in the otherwise almost unsurpassed Immolation scene.

Overall, the strong sense of theatrical ensemble combines with immediate sound creating a landmark (arguably, even, a benchmark) in the history of Gotterdammerung recordings.


3 out of 5 stars An almost-legendary set ruined by some dreadful singing.......2005-09-24

I bought this set after reading the story behind it--well told in the Amazon review above--but was sorely disappointed. Aldenhoff is the most dreadful Wagnerian tenor imaginable, and although the rest of the cast varies from good to great, that defect was enough for me to feel that as much as others may praise this set, I cannot. I didn't quite hear the supposed excellence of Knappertsbusch's conducting, either, although his slow way with Wagner, his absence of orchestral accuracy, and his casual apaproach to dramatic tension doesn't bother others as much as it bothers me.

5 out of 5 stars ARGUABLY THE GREATEST OF ALL GOTTERDAMMERUNGS.......2005-09-13

This is a cracking performance of Gotterdammerung, arguably the very best available on disc. Knappertsbusch could be a frustrating conductor - on a good day, when he was in the mood, he could be the very best: catch him on an off day and he could be disengaged, uninspired and uninspiring. This was a very good day on the Green Hill. In fact, it seems to have been a very good festival for him as this is the same year as his classic Parsifal. Perhaps it was the adrenalin of the first reopening festival after the war.

The cumulative power of this performance is immense from an intensely dark and brooding Norn Scene (with Modl, no less, as a thrilling Third Norn) right through to a towering Immolation with Varnay singing and acting her socks off. As usual, Kna's tempi tend to be slow but, on a good day like this, there is always a sense of purpose, of going somewhere in particular, of holding the long-term structure constantly in view. Take the great arch of Act 2 as an example. Knappertsbusch sees it as a single paragraph from the dark dreamworld of the Alberich/Hagen scene through the raw power of the Summoning of the Vassals, the choral splendours of the arrival of Gunther and Brunnhilde to the keystone of the arch, a white-hot oath-swearing and then down again through a grim and louring vengeance trio to the hollow glamour of the finale. This is Wagner conducting of a very high order.

The cast were obviously inspired to give of their best and then some by Kna's conducting and Wieland Wagner's direction. One always admires Varnay for her commitment and emotional intensity, but I sometimes feel I'm making allowances for the voice compared to a Leider, a Flagstad or a Nilsson. Not here. This Brunnhilde is magnificently and beautifully sung. Listen to her in the Dawn Duet for some ravishing notes, daringly and thrillingly taken. This is among the greatest performances of the Gotterdammerung Brunnhilde I know. Hermann Uhde simply is the greatest performance of Gunther I know. As an amazingly complex study of vanity mixed with insecurity, honour with corruption, even a touch of heroism brought down to moral collapse, this is peerless. And Modl, who doubles Gutrune with her Third Norn, makes so much more of his troubled sister than the usual dizzy blonde. The Gibichungs here are a formidable pair. Elisabeth Hongen is a veritable Valkyrie as Waltraute, telling her tale with passion, defending her case with resilience and singing alongside Varnay, both with glorious tone. Weber, superb as Gurnemanz in the same season's Parsifal, is perhaps a touch nice of voice for Hagen compared with the black toned villainy of a Frick or, from an earlier generation, an Andresen or a List. But he had long experience of the part and sings it rather than barking and uses the words to great effect.

Which brings me to the one weak link in the cast, Bernd Aldenhoff. He can certainly sing beautifully - but only below top G and below forte. When he drinks the potion in Act 1, for example, he uses a beautifully coloured bit of mezza voce. So too in large parts of the Narration and the Death. But once he opens up, as in the Dawn Duet or the Act 2 oath-taking, the voice comes under strain and takes on an unpleasant rough edge.

Despite that, this is a shattering performance. It's a tragedy that contractual hang-ups kept it in the archives for half a century. Now it is available, I would urge any lover of Wagner performance to snap it up. The sound is what you would expect from 1951 - a little edgy and strident in the brass, a bit thin in the violins - but good for its time. Yes the prompter is there - though not as intrusive as on Bohm's Bayreuth set - but he really doesn't detract from this thrilling performance.

5 out of 5 stars Knappertsbusch at his best.......2004-01-28

Since I bought this performance I have bought many other live recordings of this opera from around this era. The 1955 Kna performance from Munich, the '52 performance with Keilberth and Lorenz are among the better ones. But I always fall back to this one recorded in 1951 at the first Bayreuth festival after the second world war. The freshness of the performance, the magnificent conducting by Knappertsbusch are the main reasons.
This is a performance that gets better with each hearing. A statement I cannot make about any stereo set. I have come to think that Windgassen is not an ideal Siegfried. He is OK as the younger Siegfried, but in Gotterdammerung he seems more miscast every time I hear it, whether it is the 1953(Krauss and Keilberth), '56(Kna), '67(Bohm) or Solti's performance. He doesn't have the necessary weight that I feel it requires. Bernd Aldenhoff, who sings Siegfried here is something totally different. He may seem to be unsteady when first heard, but he gets better and better every time I hear him. His understanding of the role and the glorious sounds he makes us believe that he is a fearless hero who can do anything. When he is stabbed in the third act he is so touching that we feel with him as he dies from the fatal blow.

Then there is the magnificently exciting Astrid Varnay as Brunnhilde. She is the supreme Brunnhilde from the post war era. In all aspects of the role she outshines all competiton. The passion in the duet in the prologue, the determination and fear in the first act. Suprised and enraged in the second act and dedication and determination in the third. All these emotions are sung so tremendously grand. Her Brunnhilde here is also quite fresh and youthful which makes it better than her performance in 1956.

Ludwig Weber also stars in this performance. He is, after Ivar Andresen, my favourite Hagen. All the menace and smoothness he gives makes his Hagen to cherish above all others. Josef Greindl was a favourite by Wieland Wagner in the years after. Personally I think that Weber is superior in all aspects of the role. His 'Hagen's Watch' and calling of the vassals are done with so much grandour and menace. Greindl was good at producing menace but not much else in this role. Weber's Hagen is sometimes even likable. It rivals Gurnemanz as his greatest role.

Herrmann Uhde is his usual great self as Gunther and gives the character a multidimensional quality. Martha Mödl also gives so much to the role of Gutrune, normally given to lesser singers. She is a worthy suitor to Siegfried and it is understandable that he falls for her after she has cast her spell to erase his memory of Brunnhilde.

Knappertsbusch conducts this performance quite slowly, but with so much magic and excitement. He gives so much from start to finish. He delivers the best Norn scene I have ever heard. The first scene in act 2 is also quite creepy with Hagen talking to Alberich. He doesn't rush anything and he keeps the performance in check at all times and gives it a freshness that is missing from so many.

The sound is in good mono. It is, after all, live and it is much better than many other live performances from this era.
Included with this set is a libretto with an English translation and an essay on the performance and Bayreuth. I very highly recommend this performance.

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Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

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15 Super Exitazos Nortenos

15 Nortenas de Corazon [Original recording remastered]

Blonde on Blonde

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