KNAPPERTSBUSCH The 1956 Wagner Ring: 2. Die Walküre (Bayreuth, 1956) - PACO211

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overviewfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fWAGNER Die WalküreLive performance, 1956Total duration: 3hr 50:30Siegmund - Wolfgang WindgassenSieglinde - Gré BrouwenstijnWotan - Hans Hott erBrünnhilde - Astrid VarnayHunding - Josef GreindlBayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestraconducted by Hans Knappertsbusch578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_titlefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_quotefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9review_bodyfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9main_samplefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fsamples/PACO211.mp3578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fProducer's Note578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcontent578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f"[William] Youngren states that it was his hearing of this Götterdämmerung in the early 1980s that first led him to understand why some of us had long been great admirers of Knappertsbusch — and one can certainly see how this performance would have been a powerful weapon of persuasion. Knappertsbusch could be a maddeningly uneven conductor (from performance to performance, and within the same performance), but this is the finest of his surviving Bayreuth Ring Cycles. Two later ones, from 1957 and 1958, fail to achieve the consistency of inspiration and cogency of shape, not to mention incisiveness and intensity, that are found in this 1956 production. What is it that makes this performance unique? Well, first there is the singing—this was a time when these operas could still be cast with singers who had the vocal equipment and the understanding of the style to do full justice to Wagner's scores. I realize that we have been bemoaning the loss of Nilsson for a long time now—and yes, I'd love to have her likes again. But failing that, I'd be thrilled to have a Varnay. Here was a powerful, gleaming dramatic soprano who could negotiate the music without ever forcing her voice, and who knew how to shade and color the music in a way that brought out the human qualities in Brünnhilde. It is true that she is vocally a bit unsteady in the first half of the Siegfried duet, but that music is a trial for a soprano who doesn't sing a note all night until then, and she does settle down for the final push. Her big scenes with Wotan (act II of Die Walküre and act III of Götterdämmerung) and with Siegmund (act II of Die Walküre) reveal her to be an intelligent, communicative artist who fully engages with others in meaningful dramatic exchanges. How nice to find that and the vocal heft too!Windgassen is a marvelous Siegfried, managing to retain his voice throughout both operas and to sing with more beauty of tone than we usually associate with him. That he knows his way around the role, and inflects it with specificity of characterization, is no surprise. What is disappointing is his assumption of the role of Siegmund in Walküre, which he did on almost no notice when Ramon Vinay was taken ill. He sounds tired, and sings flat in both acts I and II. The worst ensemble mess in the entire cycle takes place between him and Knappertsbusch immediately after Sieglinde's "Der manner Sippe." It goes on for quite a while and dilutes the impact of the end of the first act.The other great asset is, as you would expect, Hans Hotter, who conveys the complexity of the character of Wotan more completely than any other bass-baritone of the postwar era. The voice is far steadier here than it was for Solti on London's Ring, though even here his strengths are in musical-dramatic values, not in steady tone production. (In the latter regard, he is stronger in the 1953 Krauss cycle.) The mixture of anger, anguish, tenderness, and love in his feelings for his favorite daughter are crystallized as with no other singer, and he had the variety of color and inflection to maintain one's interest throughout Wotan's long monolog in act II of Walküre, given here uncut. Wotan also has a unique combination of arrogance, haughtiness, and humility, and I have never encountered a singer who encapsulated it all as well. Hotter embodies the spirit of Reynaldo Hahn's wonderful dictum on singing: "The genuine beauty of singing consists in a perfect union, an amalgam, a mysterious alloy of the singing and the speaking voice, or, to put it better, the melody and the spoken word." ... "Henry Fogel, Fanfare magazine, 1998 (Part 1 - review continues in notes to Siegfried)578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab1_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fFull Track Listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5ftrack_listing578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fKNAPPERTSBUSCH The 1956 Wagner Ring: 2. Die Walküredisc one (79:07)ACT ONE1. Prelude (3:20)SCENE ONE2. Wes Herd dies auch sei, hier muss ich rasten (3:35)3. Kühlende Labung Gab Mir Der Quell! (4:25)4. Einen Unseligen labtest du (4:06)SCENE TWO5. Müd am Herd fand ich den Mann (5:02)6. Friedman darf ich nicht heissen (5:53)7. Die so leidig Los dir beschied (4:23)8. Ich weiss ein wildes Geschlecht (5:52)SCENE THREE9. Ein Schwert verhiess mir der Vater (4:51)10. Schläfst du, Gast? (6:51)11. Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond (2:57)12. Du bist der Lenz, nach dem ich verlangte (2:04)13. O süsseste Wonne! Seligstes Weib! (6:15)14. Siegmund heiss ich und Siegmund bin ich! (4:26)ACT TWO15. Prelude - Nun zäume dein Ross, reisige Maid! (2:38)SCENE ONE16. Ho-jo-to-ho! Ho-jo-to-ho! (2:40)17. Der alte Sturm, die alte Muh'! (3:53)18. Heut hast du's erlebt (1:01)19. So ist est denn aus mit den ewigen Göttern (3:36)20. Nichts lerntest du (1:17)disc two (78:35)1. Mit tiefem Sinne willst du mich täuschen (7:08)2. Heiaha! Heiaha! Hojotoho! (2:44)SCENE TWO3. Schlimm, fürcht ich, schloss der Streit (5:06)4. Als junger Liebe Lust mir verblich (5:01)5. Ein andres ist's: achte es wohl (9:51)6. So nimm meinen Segen, Niblungen-Sohn! (5:15)7. So sah ich Siegvater nie (3:07)SCENE THREE8. Raste nun hier; gönne dir Ruh! (3:32)9. Hinweg! Hinweg! Flieh die Entweihte! (7:45)SCENE FOUR10. Siegmund! Sieh auf mich! (8:07)11. Erdenluft muss sie noch atmen (3:40)12. Weh! Weh! Süssestes Weib (4:17)13. Zwei Leben lachen dir hier (2:39)SCENE FIVE14. Zauberfest bezähmt ein Schlaf (5:02)15. Wehwalt! Wehwalt! (5:20)disc three (72:48)ACT THREE1. Wulkurenritt - The Ride of the Valkyries (9:13)SCENE ONE2. Schütz mich und helft in höchster Not! (3:46)3. Nicht sehre dich Sorge um mich (6:17)4. Steh, Brünnhild'! (0:51)SCENE TWO5. Wo ist Brünnhild', wo die Verbrecherin! (4:10)6. Hier bin ich, Vater: gebiete die Strafe! (9:14)SCENE THREE7. War es so schmählich, was ich verbrach (4:54)8. Nicht weise bin ich, doch wusst' ich das Eine (5:21)9. So tatest du, was so gern zu tun ich begehrt (2:36)10. Deinen leichten Sinn lass dich denn leiten (4:05)11. Du zeugtest ein edles Geschlecht (5:46)12. Leb wohl, du kühnes, herrliches Kind! (5:04)13. Der Augen leuchtendes Paar (5:46)14. Loge, hör! Lausche hieher! (5:47)CASTSiegmund - Wolfgang WindgassenSieglinde - Gré BrouwenstijnWotan - Hans HotterBrünnhilde - Astrid VarnayHunding - Josef GreindlFricka - Georgine von MilinkovicGerhilde - Paula LenchnerOrtlinde - Gerda LammersWaltraute - Elisabeth SchärtelSchwertleite - Maria von IlosvayHelmwige - Hilde ScheppanSiegrune - Luise Charlotte KampsGrimgerde - Georgine von MilinkovicRoßweiße - Jean MadeiraChorus and Orchestra of the Bayreuther Festspieleconducted by Hans KnappertsbuschRecorded live at Bayreuth, 14 August, 1956Ambent Stereo XR remastering by: Andrew RoseCover artwork based on a photograph of Hans KnappertsbuschTotal duration: 3hr 50:30578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab2_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_labelfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fCover Art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_typefb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcover_art578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_contentfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers/thumbs/PACO211.jpg578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_thumbnail2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_cover_download_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5fcovers/PACO211.pdf578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample1_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample2_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample3_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample4_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample5_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f578a9379d1e540bd96d26f03a79628d9tab3_sample6_s3_locationfb55cd020f0643f08418183279e63a5f Show more