Wagner: Götterdämmerung

Richard [Classical] Wagner (Composer), Wilhelm Furtwängler (Conductor), La Scala Theater Orchestra (Orchestra), Orchestra del Teatro alle Scala di Milano (Orchestra), Alois Pernerstorfer (Performer), Elisabeth Höngen (Performer), Hilde Konetzni (Performer), Josef Herrmann (Performer), Kirsten Flagstad (Performer), Ludwig Weber (Performer), Magda Gabory (Performer), Margherita Kenney (Performer), Margret Weth-Falke (Performer), Max Lorenz (Performer), Sieglinde Wagner (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Alois Pernerstorfer, Elisabeth Höngen, Hilde Konetzni, Josef Herrmann, Kirsten Flagstad, et al.
• Orchestra: La Scala Theater Orchestra, Orchestra del Teatro alle Scala di Milano
• Conductor: Wilhelm Furtwängler
• Composer: Richard [Classical] Wagner
• Audio CD (May 19, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 4
• Label: Opera D'oro
• ASIN: B000007N3Q
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #206,665 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #2 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Flagstad, Kirsten

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Vorspiel. Welch Licht leuchtet dort?

2. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Vorspiel. Treu beratner Verträge Runen

3. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Vorspiel. Es rangt die Burg, von Risen gebaut

4. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Vorspiel. Zu neuen Taten, teurer Helde

5. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Vorspiel. Willst du mir Minne schenken

See all 13 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 1. Deinem Bruder bot ich mich zum Mann

2. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 1. Blühenden Lebens labendes Blut

3. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 1. Frisch auf die Fahrt!

4. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 1. Hier sitz ich zur Wacht

5. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 1. Altgewohntes Geräusch raunt meinem Ohr

See all 11 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 2. Hoiho, Hagen! Müder Mann!

2. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 2. Heiß mich willkommen Gibichskind!

3. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 2. Hoiho! Hoihohoho!

4. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 2. Heil dir, Gunther!

5. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 2. Gegrüßt sei, teurer Held

See all 15 tracks on this disc

Disc: 4

1. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 3. Siegfried! Siegfried! Schimmes wissen wir dir

2. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 3. Hoiho! Hoiho

3. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 3. Trink, Gunther, trink!

4. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 3. Mime hieß ein mürrischer Zwerg

5. Die Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), opera, WWV 86d: Act 3. In Leid zu dem Wipfel lauscht' ich hinauf

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Furtwaengler and Flagstad at La Scala, January 19, 2004

By 

L. E. Cantrell (Vancouver, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wagner: Götterdämmerung (Audio CD)

This is a live recording of Wilhelm Furtwaengler conducting at La Scala in the early 1950s. The house band is not up to the standards of Bayreuth or Berlin but serves well enough.

With one exception, the cast is serviceable -- and probably better than anything likely to be assembled today. The Siegfried, Max Lorenz, is adequate (no small praise) but not especially memorable. The exception, of course, is the great Kirsten Flagstad, who here sings wonderfully well.

The sound of the 1950s live mono recording is is about what you might expect. If mere reproduction is the most important thing for you, go elsewhere. If a brilliant conductor and a unique artist in one of her signature roles interests you, give this a try.

Furtwaengler and Flagstad = five stars.

12 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This "Götterdämmerung" is a mess., February 10, 2001

By 

Michael Scully (*) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wagner: Götterdämmerung (Audio CD)

I came to this recording with certain expectations, and none of them were met. (1) SOUND QUALITY: Given that this is an Opera D'Oro release of a live performance, I expected the sound quality to be less than optimal. (Some of their recordings are OK sound-wise, such as their "Don Carlo" from the Vienna State Opera.) But the sound here is mediocre at best, and in some places (like the first several seconds of the prelude), it is just plain awful. The sound quality of the 1951 Bayreuth "Parsifal" is better than this. I think I heard the prompter a few times, but I'm not sure. Plus the audience noise can be quite distracting at times; at least a couple of people in attendance had really nasty coughs. (2) SINGING: I love Ludwig Weber's Gurnemanz on the aforementioned "Parsifal," but I'm not sure he has the kind of bite necessary for Hagen. I had never heard Max Lorenz before, but his Siegfried is lazy and sloppy. Alois Pernerstorfer makes an interesting Alberich; he sounds more like a lyric baritone than the kind of sinister voice one would expect in this role, like Hermann Uhde or Ekkehard Wlaschiha. (3) ORCHESTRAL PLAYING: The playing is pretty sloppy, too, and this is not just a function of the sound quality. In La Scala's defense, the Bayreuth orchestra a year later didn't sound any better. (4) CONDUCTING: I don't quite get the fuss about Furtwängler being the greatest Wagner conductor ever. There's certainly no evidence of that in this recording. (Furtwängler fans, don't flame me. I'm not interested.) BOTTOM LINE: If you're only going to get one recording of this opera, spend three times as much and get the Levine, Karajan, Barenboim, or Solti. This is for historical interest only.