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20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good recording...GREAT performance!, July 15, 2000
This review is from: Wagner: Parsifal (Audio CD)
This performance, Knappertbusch's last operatic performance, is a real treat! Kna conducts with his usual perfect pacing and grandeur, and the sound is very good...too bad it's in mono as opposed to the marvelous Philips recording two years earlier. Hotter sings well, although his voice is considerably darker and thicker than in '62. Thomas Stewart also sings well, although I couldn't get over the impression that this was a young singer near the beginning of his career. Barbro Ericson seems a bit heavy and unyielding as Kundry. Standing head and shoulders above all and placing himself on equal terms with Kna is Jon Vickers. His Parsifal is simply one of the most earth shattering portrayals of the role on record. His Act 2 transformation, from naďve and "pure fool" to Redeemer of the Holy Grail is amazing. Here, finally, is a Parsifal who suffers, agonizes and emerges in sublime triumph over temptation. His Act 3 narrative, "Zu ihm, des tiefe Klangen" is riveting. The 1962 Philips is the better recording...glorious sound, more consistent performances throughout the entire cast, but Kna and Vickers together are so profound, so authoritative that this recording is a definite "must-have".
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb Parsifal, September 4, 2004
This review is from: Wagner: Parsifal (Audio CD)
Though from a live performance at Bayreuth in 1964, this is a superb recording of Parsifal. Jon Vickers (in my book, the greatest tenor of the 20th century) is outstanding in the title role and Hans Hotter is equally outstanding as Gurnemanz. The rest of the cast is very good and Knappertsbusch, conducting his last opera performance, does a superb job. The sound is much better than I have heard on many other "live" recordings--clear, even though monaural. The balance between the orchestra and singers is good. There is little or no audience noise--none at the end, whether it was because of audience respect for the performance or a re-recording of this bit, I cannot tell. (Only once have I experienced an entire audience remaining completely silent until the last note has died away--a Gotterdammerung in San Francisco in the 1970s. Perhaps this Bayreuth audience was equally respectful.) The only problem is the lack of a libretto--minor unless one has no other recording of Parsifal. This is an A+ performance, and I am absolutely delighted with it.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST for Vickers fans, August 20, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Wagner: Parsifal (Audio CD)
This is Vickers' night. I don't mean to knock the rest of the cast and yes, it was KNA's last performance at Bayreuth, but Vickers makes this a unique experience. Hotter, Neidlinger, KNA and his troupe of flowermaidens, are as usual--this recording sounds like several others as far as they are concerned. Thomas Stewart's performance was workman-like but unremarkable. Vickers is, well, Vickers. The master of the gradual climax, gigantic and fully supported in all registers, recognizably free with his vibrato and glissando, a little grainy at times, passionate and introspective. I seem to recall reading somewhere that he objected to the role for religious reasons but I can't confirm this. (If you know anything about it, please write me.) In any case, he sounds as if he'd been thinking carefully about the role for a long time. Also thought-provoking, strong and well-centered in her role was Barbara Erikson. There's some static in the printing. But I keep coming back to this performance.
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