Customer Reviews

Wagner: Das Rheingold

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It is ironic that a work like The Ring, which is a dauting challenge to conductors, orchestras, soloists and choruses, has been blessed with several outstanding recorded versions. Among stereo versions, the Solti has rightly been favored for its superb cast, great playing from the Vienna Philharmonic, passionate conducting, and still-remarkable engineering, including sound effects. Of course, there have been caveats, including the view that Solti, while certainly bringing forth the raw passion of the score, sometimes lacked a certain coutnerbalacing subtlety, which made for a certain brashness and lack of the gravitas and mystery also in the music. Because of this, I have always had a slight preference for the live Bayreuth versions under Krauss and Kempe, with the Krauss perhaps havng a slight edge because of certain of the soloists. Both recordings are hihgly desierable, although being mono, they lack the clarity and sonic impact of the Solti. Well, that situation may come to an end with the release of the Stereo Keilberth/Bayreuth performance from 1955.
As is well known, Decca recorded this cycle, only ot have John Culshaw veto its issue because of his prejudice against recording live performances. If this "Rheingold" is any measure of the rest of the cycle, this will be a Ring with which to contend. To begin with, Keilberth, well-known in Germany but not appreciated elsewhere, sounds like another unsung hero if the podium. His conducting is in the Krauss/Kempe manner, energetic, fiery, yet fully appreciative of the mystery of the music. The very first scene in the Rhine begins darkly, gravely, and gradually builds to swirling figures that really sound like water flowing. The Rhinemaidens are saucy and exhuberant, absolutely exhilirating in the "Rheingold! Rheingold!" hymn to the gold. Neidlinger's Alberich is even more brilliant here than other Rings, both demonic and desperate. Hotter delievers his finest Wotan, even firmer of voice than in the hallowed Krauss of three years earlier. Kuen likewise is a more musical Mime than usual, and the rest of the cast leaves nothing to be desired; I am especially impressed with von Illosvay's dark, foreboding Erda. Throughout, Keilberth maintains an unusually firm yet flexible hand on the music, taut but never rushed. How he could remain overlooked as one of the conductorial greats is mystifying. And the sound surpasses any other recording, even the Solti, because of the unique clarity and balance only found at Bayreuth. The stereo effect is entirely natural, never exaggerated. What you hear is the orchestra at your lap, supporting and never overwhelming the singers on stage. This is a "Rheingold" for the ages; if the rest of the Ring (I am soon going to purchase "Die Walkuere") measures up to this, then this will be the essential Ring.

It begins at about 1 hour 8 minutes in, and continues for about 25 minutes. It's undoubtedly annoying - like really bad tape hiss. But at *no* point does it (even slightly) obscure the voices of Hotter & Neidlinger etc. at their absolute peak, in (otherwise) excellent sound.

Anybody who dismisses this remarkable set simply because of that is just missing the forest for the trees. But if you're in doubt, all you have to do is listen to the audio samples that Amazon has so helpfully provided: those for Disc 2, tracks 2 through 6 show off the "hissing noise" at its worst.

For whatever it's worth, I think that those who are kicking up a fuss over said "hissing nose" are being more than a bit silly. And I can't help wondering whether they could deal, even for a moment, with the much more severe audio compromises required to appreciate the incomparable recorded interpretations of Frida Leider & Lauritz Melchior & Friedrich Schorr.

I'm so glad that I didn't listen to "Das Rheingold" from this "Ring" until the very last, because I agree with Andre Filippe Vital. This is in many ways a disappointing recording and the weakest link of this "Ring."

It isn't so much tempos, though here - as nowhere else in the Ring - Keilberth chooses some very quirky ones. The waltz-like entrance for Fafner is one; the speed-up and then slow-down in the final scene for the Rhinemaidens is another. Also, it seems to me that in recording this performance, the Decca engineers were still experimenting, and their microphones were really too close to the action. The opening scene with its soft E-flat pedal point is too loud, which spoils the effect of the long crescendo; there's too much stage noise, lots of foot-stomping; and though the "Mixtur-titonium," or whatever the hell it is, doesn't really obscure the singers, its mere presence is not only unwelcome but truly annoying, mostly because it goes on like that for nearly a half-hour. Ugh. In the final scene the Rheinmaidens actually lose the beat; one more half-point off. This whole performance would definitely have to had been fixed in the studio if Decca-London were actually going to issue it.

In addition to all this, I subtract points for the truly ghastly singing of Rudolf Lustig as Loge. This is one plug-ugly, leathery tenor voice. He spoils this performance just as he spoils the Keilberth "Fliegende Hollander." He is only a small shade better than Rudolf Schock. The best Loges ever recorded were Rene Maison, bright-voiced and tongue-in-cheek jolly on the old 1937 Bodanzky performance, and Wolfgang Windgassen with Karl Bohm. (Set Svanholm sings well on the Solti set too, don't forget.) So that's three Loges who are far better than Lustig, and Loge is a VERY key role in "Rheingold."

The good: Neidlinger's solid, dark-toned if not particularly subtle Alberich; Paul Kuen's beautifully-sung Mime; Hans Hotter's penetrating and surprisingly well-sung Wotan; and the giants, Weber and Griendl. But those sterling performances aren't enough to make this a serious contender for "Das Rheingold" when you have the Solti and Bohm versions available. Since I personally prefer the "Bayreuth Sound" in Wagner operas, I suggest the Bohm "Rheingold" followed by Keilberth in the remaining three operas, which gives you one real benefit - Windgassen in three of the four. You go, Wolfgang!!! (Plus, Theo Adam was much better in the Bohm "Rheingold" than he was in "Walkure" or "Siegfried," and Anja Silja is the finest of all Freias.)

Save your money, skip this one, get the Bohm performance then journey on with Keilberth. You'll be glad you did.

Once you become accustomed to the high standards of Keilberth's best Wagner (in the case of the 1955 Ring cycle, the best is Siegfried and Gotterdammerung), a sloppy Rheingold comes as a considerable letdown. I see that other reviewers are praising it as equal to the rest, but it isn't. The orchestra gets off to a wobbly start in the Prelude, and almost immediately we meet three vocally insecure Rhinemaidens, who unfortunately don't improve even though the orchestra does. The first appearance of the river's gold is marred by weak brass and feeble ensemble. In the first scene, only the great Gustav Neidlinger as a grim, ferocious Alberich upholds Bayreuth's famed reputation. (There's reason enough here to justify John Culshaw's decision not to release this Ring as the first one to appear commerically.)

Things improve with the appearane of Hans Hotter's commanding Wotan in the next scene, and by then Keilberth has gotten a grip, displaying his expressive, flexible best and his sympathy for the singers. All the secondary parts are very well done -- the giants are rock-solid, equal in their way to Wotan -- what a golden age for German bassos. Loge isn't mercurial, but to offset his beefy, somewhat menacing tenor, Lustig has dramatic heft. (There's a tradition of lighter-voiced Siegfrieds like Svanholm, Jerusalem, and even Windgassen singing the part of Loge.)

The transition to the Niebelungs' realm brings more blatty brass, followed by a mechanical device whose background hiss bothers several reviewers. It is loud, no doubt, sounding like a wind machine on stage. As a result, the magical Tarnhelm theme is robbed of mystery -- the machine drowns out the spectral music at that point. All goes well in the final scene except that the blatty brass return as the gods cross the Rainbow Bridge.

Obviously these deficits don't bother some listeners, and yet one must consider the competition. Das Rheingold is an easy opera to bring off, with no heroic roles of the type that face Brunnhilde and Siegfried. There are any number of excellent recordings--indeed, almost no bad ones--so I'd say that Keilberth's, despite a glorious Wotan and an outstanding cast in general, isn't a must-buy. Save your money for the Siegfried and Gotterdammerung installments. They are not only the best parts of Keilberth's Ring but also the ones that offer much stronger competition.

What a find this recording is! Along with others in this "Ring" series, Keilberth's performance adds invaluably to what we know about the Bayreuth performing tradition. As a conductor, Keilberth has at times been underrated by reviewers, but this "Ring" cycle is putting his detractors to shame. Like Kempe, he has an ability to propel the score in ways that are hard to define; without projecting himself as a "personality", he brings the music marvellously alive. And it happens that, looking back, one finds him at the center of many memorable productions; a "Freischutz" from the late fifties, a "Barber of Seville" from around the same time, and, much earlier still, a "Turandot" with Maria Cebotari that is astonishing. The other main revelation, in these "Ring" recordings, is the crystalline, beautiful sound. Many of the essays in early stereo--RCA's records with Reiner in Chicago, Decca's recordings in Vienna or EMI's in England--have a propensity to be more detailed and attractive than later recordings. Ever wonder why? This is not the place to try answering, but it's clear that Keilberth's 1955 "Ring" takes its honored place among that group, and bids fair to become--at least in my experience--the most glorious-sounding set of records ever.

How this was allowed to remain in the Vaults of Decca/London unreleased for fifty years is astounding. We truly have an EPIC RING here with an epic cast and conductor. Hotter is the model for all future Wotan's and is in magnificent voice here. Neidlinger, Kuen, Milinkovic, Ilosvay and all are superb and dramatically involved before a live audience. Then there is the wonder of the superb Bayreuth acoustics. An added blessing are the photos of this cycle and some in color. I already have WALKURE and SIEGFRIED and eagerly await GOTTERDAMMERUNG's release. A pricey Ring, but worth every penny. (I've been fortunate enough to see the Ring twenty times live; and even the justly mythic Seattle cycle with Alberto Remidios and Rita Hunter in English - my first live cycle. That was a truly magnificent and superb cycle; and with Astrid Varnay's Gotterdammerung Brunnhilde to come, this will also prove to be one of those great musically historic moments.) The bonus of stereo sound makes this worth every penny spent for this cast. I already have cds of the 1957 and 1958 radio broadcasts and believe me the sound of this cycle and the conducting of Keilberth truly make this one of those RINGS everyone should own. (And I love KNA.) One must be honest and let buyers know that scene three suffers from hiss caused by the live performance in the caves of the dwarfs. This hiss ceases when we return to the surface world.

This recording of Wagner's "Das Rheingold" recorded live at Bayreuth in 1955 is a TRUE masterpiece, a testament to the heights that can be reached when "everyone works together" for the sake of the "art" itself, not self-aggrandisement (which we have today, generally). Every aspect of this recording pales every other! It immediately, and solidly, goes to the top of the list of "Das Rheingold" choices on disc. As do the remaining three operas, also recorded at the same time, by the same cast, that make up the "Ring".

Going back over the decades of my life, I remember when you only had one choice for a "Ring"...Solti/Decca, and that was it.

Then, there came the von Karajan, and then the Bohm/Bayreuth. Then, there seemed to be a mini-explosion of "Rings" over the following years, so many that it became/becomes staggering to think about!

Two statements:
1) If you are NEW to Wagner's "Ring" do not become confused with all the choices out there. There are really only two live recordings you need consider...the Krauss/Bayreuth, and this one, Keilberth/Bayreuth, and one studio recording to think about, the Solti/Decca set. You may think this excessive, but you NEED all three of these recordings. Period.
2) If you are FAMILIAR with Wagner's "Ring", then, assumably, you want the Best recording of it. I will assume you already have the Solti set, as most people do. The Krauss set you may or may not have. It is a stunner. And, now, the Keilberth....the most awesome recording, in many ways, you will ever experience.

Think: 1955, live, Bayreuth, the Best Wagnerians of their age, assembled together at the behest of Wagner's grandsons, in Wagner's theater, and the best part....recorded in STEREO! By Decca, of all people, before the Solti studio Ring was ever thought about! Why Decca sat on these magnificent recordings just blows my mind.

Luckily for us, Testament acquired the rights to release these timeless recordings, and we now, after 52 years, can marvel at and enjoy these magnificent performances of four of the greatest musical masterpieces ever written, combining to make up the most monumental work ever written for the stage! Enjoy this (set) of Masterpiece Recordings! ~operabruin

Never let the age of this recording deter you. It is vibrant. It is alive. The companion Götterdämmerung is even a little harsh - it adds to the primordial nature of the people. This performance is astounding. Hotter, whose contributions to the Solti Ring and some other later recordings were tremulous and far beyond prime, is here absolutely the god he should be. His voice alone conveys that, but what he does with it shows why he was the Wotan of choice for so long. Gustav Neidlinger is his foil - Alberich. He is just as malevolent as in Solti, but he is even fresher of voice. That can be said of all singers in the entire cycle. A telling scene in this recording is the natural flow of the Nibelheim scene. It is a conversation, so natural and easy that one hardly notices that Loge is maneuvering the conversation.

To those who have no Ring, this is an excellent choice. to those who own the Solti Ring, Karajan Ring, or whomever, this is a wonderful alternative. I was amazed at the quality of the sound. Why only 4 stars? Well, in the later music dramas, Walküre and Siegfried, Keilberth takes tempi that would allow those two operas to be on three CDs each. But they spread them over four CDs. At the Testament price, that gets very expensive.

I now have the four disc sets in this series of the Ring. Three I've bought at Amazon, after realizing the pricing was much better here than at Borders where I bought the first.
All are excellent recordings. Truly top notch, though not inexpensive.
If the Ring Cycle is music you enjoy, I highly recommend this set with it's excellent musicians and singers.

Conspiracy theories arose about why Decca and the big labels aborted the release of this recording but the greatness of what followed -- Solti's Ring -- explains and justifies the label's greater vision. Nevertheless the musical peaks, insights and validity of Keilberth and his starry cast put us in thanks to Testament. The legend that is Wagner's Ring dwarfs Potter.