Customer Reviews

Wagner: The Ring

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

How to describe this RING without going over-the-top?

CONDUCTING: Krauss had the lyricism of Bruno Walter, the fire of Toscanini, the clarity and linear tension of Reiner, the pacing of Muck, and the depth and transitional instinct of Furtwangler- plus a few qualities of his own. And within 9 months of this RING, he would be dead. (He was engaged to conduct the '53 Bayreuth RING & PARSIFAL- only because Knappertsbusch got into a spat with Wieland & Wolfgang Wagner and stayed away, that year.) That is to say, we are very fortunate to have him in the RING.

Now, there IS the '55 Keilberth/Bayreuth RING (taped in stereo by Decca, with most of Krauss's cast), which is being released, piecemeal, at over-the-top prices. Granted, Keilberth was unjustly underrated (or, to quote a certain Politician, "misunderestimated"). But Krauss was even greater.

SINGING: On the Krauss RING, we hear several of Solti's singers, in younger and fresher voice (Wolfgang Windgassen's Siegfried, Hans Hotter's Wotan and Gustav Neidlinger's Alberich, to name only three). Not to mention Astrid Varnay's Brunnhilde- one of the greatest performances of anything by anyone (and, until recently, commercially unavailable ! ). She had an intensity and a grandeur all her own- even if her "instrument" may not have been as steely as Nilsson's or as "warm" as Flagstad's.

THE ORCHESTRA: The first post-war Bayreuth Festival was in 1951. And for the next five years (or so), the orchestral playing at Bayreuth was, overall, better than it would ever be again. Within a decade it got rather slack, for at least three reasons:
1) Increased costs led to less rehearsal time.
2) In 1961, the Berlin Wall went up and, on-again off-again, Cold War tensions escalated. This meant that during the political "cold snaps," the best (and reasonably-priced) players from Prague, Leipzig & Dresden (who had earlier been lured to Bayreuth by hard Western currency) encountered greater restrictions in crossing the Iron Curtain.

3) The better players of the West were lured away from Bayreuth by higher-paying, more comfortable "gigs" with the other big Festivals- which expanded enough, in terms of scheduling, to overlap with the Bayreuth calendar.

If you think this is an exaggeration, then compare the '53 RING orchestra (especially in GOTTERDAMMERUNG !) with the '67 Bohm.

"PROBLEMS": With any live Wagner (even under "Bayreuth conditions"), you must factor-in a degree of human fallability and fatigue. So, in the course of this RING you may encounter little moments of not-so-razor-sharp ensemble. Still, you will be amazed at how clean and in-tune the playing is, throughout. Yes, in the SIEGFRIED sword-forging scene, Windgassen misses a verse and rhythmically goes all over the place before "righting" himself . (But "live" , this passage is almost always a mess.) Yes, at one point, the whole trumpet section forgets to play the "sword-motiv." And yes, in the few lines of her entrance, the Guntrune leaves something to be desired; still, by the time of her little scene just before the Immolation (a passage that was often "cut" in later years- even at Bayreuth) she acquits herself honorably.

These are all fleeting problems, gone in a flash, and no more of an obstruction to the overall "vision" than the occasional pigment blemishes on the restored Sistine Ceiling.

SOUND QUALITY: For 1953 radio broadcast tapes, the sound is first-rate. Bayreuth's acoustic is faithfully captured, and (barring a few stage entrances & exits) the voices are always well-placed. In fact, it's hard to believe that microphones weren't obtrusively suspended within audience sight-lines (which the Brothers Wagner would never permit). Whatever the sonic limitations of the original tapes, the ear adjusts quickly, and it becomes easy to lose yourself in the performance (i.e., "good enough 4 me"). That being said, however, I find the sound quality of the Foyer-Laudis version to have greater clarity, while this Opera d'Oro transfer sounds "smoother" and has less abrupt-seeming "side-breaks" between discs. (Life is full of little trade-offs, so take your pick.)

Sadly, the Gala edtion, which had excellent sound AND well-calibrated "side-breaks", has been withdrawn. One problem with it was the dark bluish-green dye which ate through the discs to cause mis-tracking or bit-rot. (I reluctantly got rid of my Gala edition, when an old teacher of mine gave me the Foyer Laudis...Perhaps Gala might re-release this RING, minus the harmful dye?)

"AFFORDABILITY CRISIS": Imagine that, traveling alone, you were up for a 2007 jaunt to Bayreuth for a complete RING. Per ticket/per performance, you would have been looking at perhaps $3000 (a RING totalling at THAT, times 4 - even with a discount for the one-act RHEINGOLD). Plus air-fare, hotels & meals...So, having parted with the requisite $15,000 (and even THAT might have been slumming it, with the US dollar's pitiful performance against the Euro), and you were really and truly THERE...What would you have HEARD? I have never been to Bayreuth, but recent Bayreuth broadcasts are not encouraging. Safe to say, for quality of singing, conducting and playing, you wouldn't get within a wide sea-mile of the Krauss RING...Which you can now have for the price of a reasonably nice dinner for two (drinks & dessert included)- AND minus the silly-a** staging with which latter-day RINGS are often afflicted (Vahalla = Brooklyn subway toilet or stock-exchange or both: yada-yada-yada).

At this price, HOW COULD YOU LOSE?

By general consensus, many Wagnerians will tell you that the greatest Ring available is the grandieloquent Solti ring recorded by John Culshaw and the Decca team during 1958 to 1965. While I have nothing to say but praise for the several merits that constitute that great project, I cannot deny the fact that it lacks the realism brought to life in the confines of the theater. While many would steer you towards Karl Bohm's recording, I'd say that you should turn to this Ring conducted by Clemens Krauss with Astrid Varnay as Brunnhilde, Hans Hotter as Wotan, Gustav Neidlinger as Alberich, Josef Greindl taking the bass roles, Ramon Vinay and Regina Resnik as the Walsung twins, and a well seasoned veteran cast of well-trained Wagnerians under the baton of an excellent conductor who conducted with Furtwangler's philosophical perfection, Karajan's transparency, Boulez's fluidity, and Solti's drive. I'd say that among the aforementioned conductors, Krauss brings the most out of Wagner's score, and if it were not for the less than satisfactory yet entirely listenable sound, I would rank this as the best Ring on the market.

In my opinion, the best studio after Solti's already praised to the roof Ring would be James Levine's New York recording due to the godlike and very lyrical vision of the Ring he brought to Wagner's score. I need not expound on the Solti Ring, but the Levine Ring is glorious. The singers are very committed to text and produce some of the most compelling ensemble work even if they aren't the most fantastic Wagner singers in the world. That said, James Morris' Wotan is exemplary in every way, as is Matti Salminen's Hagen, Hanna Schwarz's Waltraute, Ludwig's Fricka, Moll's Fafner and Hunding, and to an extent, Hildegard Behrens' Brünnhilde. In Krauss' recording, you hear the Brunnhilde of the magnificent Astrid Varnay, who is in my opinion, one of the century's greatest Brunnhildes. In my opinion, she surpasses even Nilsson in terms of interpretation and dramatic committment. Hers is a large voice of pure black marble, and she can move you to tears like no other Brunnhilde can (except perhaps Regine Crespin).

Hans Hotter is Wotan in this recording. Where he was noble and tragic in the Solti Ring, he is captured in better voice here minus the vocal problems he encountered later in his career. I need not expound on the greatness of this artist as enough has been said about his definitive performances as the head god of Walhalla.

Wolfgang Windgassen sings a most youthful Siegfried and gives a thoroughly dramatic and exciting performance of this heldentenor role. I'd say that this is his best recorded performance of Siegfried, since the one he repeated for Solti years later was recorded when he was beginning to lose the bloom of his voice.

Siegfried's parents, Siegmund and Sieglinde, are taken by Ramon Vinay and Regina Resnik. Resnik's Sieglinde is very underrated, and I think she gives an excellent performance here, the peer of Rysanek many years later. And while Ramon Vinay's Siegmund is nowhere near the greatness of James King's, he makes one of the most convincing portrayals next to Vickers. I think he surpasses even Melchior in the sense that Vinay is quite the impassioned singer.

The rest of the cast, from Maria von Ilosvay's leadweight Erda, the youthful Rhinemaidens, the happy-go-lucky Valkyries, the aviary and playful Waldvogel of Rita Streich, the neurotic Mime of Paul Kuen, Ira Malaniuk's Fricka and Waltraute, Hermann Uhde's magnificent Donner and Gunther, Erich Witte's outstanding Loge (he really is outstanding, but is to be replaced by Ludwig Suthaus in the latter rings), and the mysterious Norns of Ilosvay, Malaniuk, and Resnik are all excellently vocalized...no weak links, in other words.

The only quibble I have with this recording is the balance of instruments. In certain portions, the bass instruments would drop such as in the prologue of Walkure Act II and certain portions where voices are covered like the entrance of Siegfried and Hagen's horn call. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with this Ring. It is beautifully packaged and well-remastered by Opera D'Oro with a booklet accompanying this magnificent set.

Although this does not have quite the level of excellence of the the commercially released sets from Bayreuth in the early 50s -- the Keilberth LOHENGRIN, the Knappertsbusch PARSIFAL -- I was stunned by the clarity of the voices in these recordings of the four Ring music dramas.

There is a buzz and some distortion in the brass at the opening of the RHEINGOLD prelude, which is partly alleviated as the strings surge into the scene. But the Rhine Maidens burst out of the climax like the sun emerging from clouds, bright and clear, light as air. It is a remarkable moment.

I needn't go on about the excellent cast. Let me say that the packaging is very well done for a low-priced issue. The artwork is handsome throughout, and each opera has unique slipcase illustrations with the disc number printed on as well. It is easy to pick out any of the four, though the plain, hard cardboard cases in the Keilberth set (also from 1953) might offer more protection.

That Keilberth set offers similar sound qualities to this set, and leaves me thinking that Decca, for which both conductors recorded, had a hand in recording these cycles. Keilbert's cast mirrors the Krauss cast, but Marthe Modl replaces Astrid Varnay as Brunnhilde.

I wouldn't hesitate to get this Clemens Krauss set as an alternate to any of the 'preferred' Solt-Bohm-Karajan tours of the Ring. If the very best sound is not an issue -- it really ought to be, though, in a work of this size -- this could well be a first choice on the basis of the cast and the quality of the voices.

I don't disagree with any of the comments below, with one exception. It is true that 1953 is the earliest year in which Wolfgang Windgassen's Siegfried was heard at Bayreuth, and that consequently he is in the freshest voice of his many portrayals that have appeared on disc (spanning 1953-1967). HOWEVER - it is rarely mentioned that along with this youthful vigour so ideal for the young Siegfried you have to put up with a lot of slips. The forging song in Act 1 in particular involves a lot of 'running before the beat' (though this was something he often did, so is not only noticeable here), small slips in notes and text, and in one verse of the song a complete memory loss for a couple of lines. This is not to diminish his artistry, or his voice at all, but I don't believe it's fair to call this his best recorded Siegfried. He is only very slightly less youthful in the Keilberth of 1955 and Knappertsbusch of 1956. Keilberth's 1953 cycle (identical cast to the Krauss, but swapping Martha Modl for Astrid Varnay's Brunnhilde) features some similar slips, though actually not as many as the evening captured under Krauss. The 1955 cycle (appearing throughout 2006 on Testament) has incomparably superior sound - and Windgassen two years into the role is still very fresh and now much more secure in the part. I would call 1955 his finest Siegfried.

Source: Live recordings from the 1953 Bayreuth Festival.

Sound: Excellent 1950s live mono. Naturally, the sound is limited by modern standards, but it is crisp, detailed and capable of providing pleasure to all but the most jaded audio purists.

Cast, "Das Rheingold": Woglinde - Erika Zimmermann; Wellgunde - Hetty Pluemacher; Flosshilde - Gisela Litz; Alberich - Gustav Neidlinger; Wotan - Hans Hotter; Fricka - Ira Malaniuk; Loge - Erich Witte; Erda - Maria von Ilosvay; Donner - Hermann Uhde; Freia - Bruni Falcon; Froh - Gerhard Stolze; Mime - Paul Kuen; Fafner - Josef Greindl; Fasolt - Ludwig Weber.

Cast, "Die Walkuere": Siegmund - Ramon Vinay; Sieglinde - Regina Resnik; Hunding - Josef Greindl; Wotan - Hans Hotter; Bruennhilde - Astrid Varnay; Fricka - Ira Malaniuk; Gerhilde - Bruennhilde Friedland; Ortlinde - Bruni Falcon; Waltraute - Lise Sorrell; Schwertleite - Maria von Ilosvay; Helmwige - Liselotte Thomamueller; Siegrune - Gisela Litz; Grimgerde - Sibylla Plate; Rossweise - Erika Schubert.

Cast, "Siegfried": Siegfried - Wolfgang Windgassen; Mime - Paul Kuen; The Wanderer - Hans Hotter; Alberich - Gustav Neidlinger; Forest Bird - Rita Streich; Fafner - Josef Greindl; Erda - Maria von Ilosvay; Bruennhilde - Astrid Varnay.

Cast, "Die Goetterdaemmerung": First Norn - Maria von Ilosvay; Second Norn / Waltraute - Ira Malaniuk; Third Norn - Regina Resnik; Bruennhilde - Astrid Varnay; Siegfried - Wolfgang Windgassen; Gunther - Hermann Uhde; Hagen - Josef Greindl; Gutrune - Natalie Hinsch-Groendahl; Alberich - Gustav Neidlinger; Woglinde - Erika Zimmermann; Wellgunde - Hetty Pluemacher; Flosshilde - Gisela Litz.

Conductor: Clemens Krauss with the Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele.

Most of the writings about the early days of the revived post-War Bayreuth Festival focus on the ground-breaking, minimalist productions of the Wagner brothers, grandsons of Richard, who had taken over control from the Nazi-tainted Winifred Wagner. With no money to speak of and a pressing need to break all ties, they offered a nearly bare stage, few props, non-specific costumes and elaborate lighting. Their productions wowed audiences by their sheer difference from the grandiose, realistic and expensive offerings of the--ahem--deplorable past. (I suspect, though, that a modern viewer might regard their productions as cheesy and immensely dull.) Less often acknowledged is that the revival of the Festival coincided with the flowering of a generation of Wagnerian singers, the like of which is not to be found anywhere in the world today. The arid productions of the Wagner brothers are confined to the dusty pages of theatrical history, but their magnificent singers, larger-than-life conductors and wonderful orchestra can still thrill us in recordings.

These recordings capture one of the triumphs of the reborn Festival. For more than fifty years this "Ring" under the hand of Clemens Krauss has been held in the highest regard. Many to this day still hold it to be the greatest of all recorded "Rings." The strength of the uniform cast is simply extraordinary. Hotter, Varnay, Vinay, Resnik, Greindl and Neidlinger are all caught in top form and, surely, this is Windgassen's best recorded Siegfried.

The Austrian conductor, Clemens Krauss (1893-1954), was a slightly dubious character who made something of a career out of snaffling up plum assignments abandoned by conductors who found themselves at odds with the Third Reich. Nevertheless, he was an absolute master of German opera. He conducted the premiere of "Arabella" in 1933. In 1942 he did the same for "Capriccio," as well as writing the libretto for that final opera of his close friend, Richard Strauss. This "Ring" displays him at his best as both technician and musician.

This is a captured set of live performances. It has imperfections but it also has a vitality that is not to be found in any artificially assembled studio product. Recorded at the very theater designed and built by Richard Wagner, these recordings offer the sound that the composer intended and demonstrate the underlying fallacies inherent in the overblown and over-hyped Solti-Culshaw production.

Five stars!

Wagnerites are fierce partisans, but to extol Clemens Krauss's 1953 "Ring" cycle as the best ever fails on many grounds. To begin with, the orchestra is very deeply recessed, which means that some of the greatest orchestral passages make hardly any impact -- at the magic moment in Rheingold when the sunlight glints off the submerged hoard, one can barely hear the solo trumpet that plays the main motto and stands for the light itself. The horn solo that begins Siegfried's Rhine Journey is situated in the next county. One could offer dozens of other examples, the overall effect being that the score is reduced to the scope of a tabletop AM radio. I have rarely heard such dismal instrumental sound in Wagner. The recorded sound is variable at best.

Second, whatever Krauss's reputation, his emphasis seems to be on a uniform tense swiftness. He is considerate of his singers, no doubt, but it's unfair to compare his good-enough leadership to the feats accomplished by Solti, Karajan, Boulez, and even the variable Keilberth.

Third, the orchestra plays with good-enough execution but nothing special, which one must mark down to Krauss, since in other years different conductors brought the Bayreuth Festival musicians into a more cohesive force. Boulez and Bohm, under similar live conditions, caused this ensemble to deserve its high reputation, but not Krauss.

Fourth, the lead singers, although the best for their day, improved in later seasons as they matured and settled into their roles. One cannot argue that this is a consistently fine singing cast, the rock on which this Ring stands. Hotter is exemplary as Wotan, his voice in the best shape one could hope for. However, Varnay was never gifted with a lovely voice, her chief virtues being intensity, stamina, and believable emotions. She is more secure and interesting as Brunnhilde for Keilberth in 1955. The biggest improvement, however, probably comes with Windgassen, who sounds youthful but cruelly overparted as Siegfried -- he's like a Verdi tenor caught by mistake in Gotterdammerung. Windgassen's portrayal made great strides under Keilberth, particularly in the strength of his vocal command. Compare the two Forging Scenes in Siegfried for a prime example.

On all these counts, I think a side-by-side comparison would instantly reveal every defect I've mentioned. They are by no means subtle. Whether or not this review gets a hailstorm of "Unhelpfuls," there must be newcomers to this much-hyped "Ring," and I don't want them to be as disappoointed as I was when I bought it some years ago. This is mostly a Ring cycle for those who value singing above everything else. As a first-choice Ring cycle, I remain dubious.

I take no exception to anything written by the reviewer from Japan other than his comment regarding the sound. 1953 wasn't all that long ago (for some of us) and good "hi-fi" recordings were being made then; this is certainly one of them -- a live recording which captures the famous Bayreuth sound magnificently well -- both for the superb cast and the orchestra. Among all the recordings of complete acts, operas and the entire cycle I'm familiar with, this is the one I'll keep coming back to. Varnay and Hotter, Resnik and Vinay, Windgassen -- they are the real thing. You can't go wrong with this set.

Here we have one of the best "Ring Cycle" recordings to come along in a long time! This set can easily compete with the Solti, Karajan, or the Bohm sets. While it is only Monorual sound
which is not a bad thing, The sound on this latest version is quite acceptible, You also have as fine a cast of Wagnerians as could be asked for. The only drawback is no libretto. A small quibble, but then when you are paying over half the price for a set like this compared with the price of a Solti, or Karajan set, a little thing like no libretto can be overlooked. And maybe by having sets like this one and the Naxos one being released perhaps the big companies will fianlly decide to re-issue theirs at mid-price or at budget price. If you want a really good "Ring" recording as a first one or as an additonal set this is clearly a first choice. The only other complaint I have with this recording is the perfomance of Natalie Hinsch-Grondahl, her Gutrune is not one of the best performances, she tries just a little to hard I think. There are many good performances to balance hers though. Astrid Varnay gives us a Brunhilde that is a benchmark performance. Rita Strich as the Woodbird is luxury casting indeed! As I said before a "Ring" to
compete with the big ones. Allegro is starting to put an online Libretto for the "Ring" on it's web site. They for some reason have started with "Gotterdammerung"

I have had this performance for 15-20 years, in dreadful sound (Foyer, Gala) At long last somebody had given the performance the quality transfer it needed and deserved. The sound is superior, the packaging is superior, and, it goes without saying, the performance is superior. It hasn't got a libretto, but they assume (correctly) that any collector who has gotten this far already has a pile of libretti.

I would not, however, recommend this version as somebody's first ring. That must be Solti's, because he set the standard, which stands to this day. Then, if you're hooked, you can start with the historic performances such as this one, the Kna '56, the Furt '53 and '50. You will also want to consider some of the more modern ones such as Boehm's, and Levine's DVD (much better than his CD version). Von Karajan is to be avoided. I have not heard the Kleiberth '55 yet, although I suppose I am going to have to get it when they get finished issuing it.

Krauss' 1953 Bayreuth edition is a strong contender among all recorded Nibelungen Rings, and a famous classic, partly because it was one of the first complete Ring to appear on record.

The ensemble is excellent, including, among others, Brouwenstijn, Greindl, Hotter, Neidlinger, Varnay, and Windgassen - i.e., the dream team, no less.

Krauss' conducting is very different when compared to Furtwängler's (EMI, Gebhardt) - it is much lighter (but by no means lightweight), with an excellent flow and pulse. It's a waltz-like conception, but nonetheless strikingly powerful and potent.

The "live" sound is less impressive than the sound we hear on the Kna 1956 edition (Music & Arts), but is nonetheless a very fine mono with little distortion (granted that this is not a HiFi product). There are of course, also as in the Kna recording, both stage noises and audience noises. But this matters little.

In sum, this is a classic performance from a great conductor, and, as such, it should be on every Wagnerite collector's CD shelf.

Now there are two editions of this performance; the present one and the Archipel edition. Which one is the one to choose? Both are fine, but my first recommendation is the present edition because of its better booklet, with a fine essay written by Robert Levine, and also because it's remastering sounds somewhat better.

Highly recommended!