Customer Reviews

Wagner: Siegfried ~ Keilberth (1955)

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I do not mean to gush but I must confess I was so taken with this release in genuine Decca-engineered stereo of a 1955 Bayreuth performance, I have listened to it once a week in the past 5 weeks that I have owned it. Only two other recordings of Siegfried have so enchanted me and they were the Solti and the Goodall. Varnay, Windgassen, Hotter, and Kuen are in their prime, Keilberth turns in a perfectly led performance capturing the drama and grandeur of the music without indulging in other excesses enjoyed by certain conductors. In view of Windgassen's performance, it seems ludicrous that Culshaw and Solti went to extreme lengths (which in the end proved futile) not to have Windgassen as their first choice for Siegfried. And what can I say about Kuen? His exemplary Mime (so well sung) is a welcome relief from Stolze's overly-whiny contribution to the Solti set. Mind you I don't really mean to bad-mouth the Solti wich for over 40 years has been my Siegfried of choice, but the impact of this Keilberth performance is bound to win many fans for all these performers who, alas, have either retired or passed away. Varnay was a magnificent artist and should be better known today. Thanks to the Testament label we can now experience these artists of the past in glorious stereo sound.

RING RESOUNDING, Culshaw's book on the making of the Decca RING, came with the Big Box I bought back in the 70's. In it he mentions the various Bayreuth RINGS, and 'sadly' concluded none were worth releasing as commercial recordings. At one point he dissed the Green Hill for using trombones instead of steer horns in Gotterdammerung.

True, Neo Bayreuth was never about the bells and whistles, and I fear it is the bells and whistles that nearly undo the Solti/Culshaw RING.

This recording of a live performance fror 1955 is another matter entirely. The singers are at the peak of their powers -- especially Hotter and Windgassen -- and Astrid Varney IS the woman within the Valkyrie. That final scene with her nephew (let's face it, this is incest) blazes with more heat than the ring of fire that Siegried storms through to arouse her from slumber.

I intend to get this entire RING as it is released; I have already ordered DIE WALKURE. The sound is sensational. It reminds me of the Reiner/CSO Strauss benchmarks recorded about the same time.

If Joseph Keilberth was a 'Kappelmeister' we could use a dozen such craftsmen today! All concened are alert, alive and on form for him.

Over the decades the Ring cycle has been evenly split between the two installments that have succeeded quite often on disc (Rheingold and Walkure) and the two that have succeeded very rarely (Siegfried and Gotterdammerung). When critics hailed the 1951 Bayreuth Gotterdammerung as an unearthed treasure a few years ago (also on Testament), I felt burned. The Siegfried in that performance, Bernd Aldendorff, was the epitome of a dreadful Heldentenor--beefy tone, constant shouting, no acting ability, little musicianship. Nor was I thrilled with Knappertsbusch's unimaginative, often lumbering conducting or the sloppy ensemble of the Festival orchestra. It was an expensive disappointment.

This Siegfried is altogether different. The reviews below offer the relevant praise: good stereo sound (amazingly so for 1955), workmanlike but agreeably brisk condcuting from Keilberth, whose beat provides an expressive underpinning for the singers, and above all, a cast that can sing their parts. The exemplary Mime, Wanderer, and Brunnhilde deserve only praise. However, the crux of the matter is Windgassen, because his older self sounds leathery and strained in Solti's recording. In 1955 Windgassen was a decade younger, and it makes all the difference in the world. He isn't really a Heldentenor, but Siegfried is a youth, and here we get a lyric, youthful voice put forth with infectious energy and enthusiasm. If you can forget Melchior (I certainly can, since he retired before I was born), Windgassen is every inch a musical singer and fine vocal actor in this inhumanly taxing part.

For all these reasons, one can feel secure laying out the considerable price of this set, even on the used market. If Keilberth had been Karajan, this would in all probability have ranked as the finest modern Siegfried. As it stands, it's very, very good.

I have never understood why Siegfried is the stepchild of Ring operas. This score, despite the dark moments involving the schemings of Mime, Alberich, the menace of Fafner and the ambivalent abdication of Wotan, is a joyous, spirited work which celebrates the dawn of a new, uncorrupted world, even though that illusion is shattered in Goetterdaemmerung, largely because Siegfried's freedom from Wotan and his dealings is also illusory. But for the while, we can rejoice in the promise of youth and love. And there is humor, albeit of a rather ironic nature, in the encounters between Siegfried and his pathetically villanous foster-father Miime. Siegfried certainly earns its nickname as the Ring's Scherzo.
Conductor Joseph Keilberth delivers the most exhuberant reading I have ever heard of this score. At first, I found his jarring, as though it did not fit with the character of Rheingold and Walkure, but as he works his way to Act 3 and Wotan's resigned encounter with Erda, the underlying gloom is there, alright, just momentarily supplanted by the courageous young Volsung who has forged his father's sword, gained his identity, and is off to experience the one emotion he has never received from anyone, love. It is impossible to speak of all the great details and character of Keilberth's performance save to say that it tops every other in drive, sensitivity (the Forest Murmurs have to be heard to be believed in their extreme sensitivity)and profundity. This is for me the very peak of great Wagner conducting.
The cast is probasbly the best ever assembled for this work. Windgassen completely surpasses himself; he is more tender and vulnerable than almost any other Siegfried (Max Lorenz is his equal, but no better, and Windgassen makes Melchior sound like a noisy bellower), but in addition, HE REALLY IS A HELDENTENOR HERE! He rings with heroic might in "Nothung! Nothung! Neidliches Schwert!" in Act 1, his musings in Acts 2 and 3 are the very height of gentleness (No Nazi, this Siegfried!) and he is freah and ardent in the great Awakening Scene. For sure, he has never equalled his sheer potency in this role. I am sure he will be at least as great in Goetterdaemmerung.
Hans Hotter completes his role of Wotan, under the guise of Wanderer. He is wise, humorous, resigned in his encounter with Erda in Act 3, but then suddenly reveals Wotan's self-delusions when he reacts aggressively to Siegfried, only to be rudely dismissed when his power is shattered. No other Wotan has ever reached these heights, and Hotter remains THE Wotan of all time, even beating such immortals as Schorr, Schipper, Bockelmann, and Sigurd Bjoerling.
Paul Kuen is really deliciously maliciuos as Mime, especially in his oily, poisonous attempt to kill Siegfried in Act 2; for once, there is no reason to pity this character, he is just SO nasty and slimy. Neidlinger's Alberich, by comparison, has dignity and just grievances against his counterpart Wotan ("Licht-Alberich", after all!). Greindl is frightening as Fafner, giant-turned-dragon, but dies with regret at having murdered his brother Fasolt and now suffering the same fate. Hollweg is an enchanting Forest Bird, almost sounding like a boy treble, as specified by Wagner. Von Illosvay is even more impressive as Erda here than in Rheingold, majestically implacable and outraged at Wotan's hypocrisy.
And then, there is Astrid Varnay.
Flagstad, Nilsson, Moedl, Leider, move over! ASTRID RULES!
Has there ever been as radiant a "Heil dir, Sonne!" as Varnay's? NO! She is perfection itself. From proud goddess to a woman fearful of human emotions to ardent lover, she is right there at every moment. How she could have been so unappreicated in America is appalling to me. She is truly the great Hochdramatische!
The sound is if anything even more impressive than in the previous two operss. Culshaw should be resurrected and hung byt he you-=know-whats for keeping this from the public ofr so many years.
No doubt about it, BAYREUTH, KEILBERTH, WINDGASSEN, HOTTER AND VARNAY RULE FOREVER!

Robert Levine I believe makes a slight mistake in his review of

the Testament release of "Siegfried" He states that Wolfgang

Windgassen did his first Siegfried in this recording.

This may have been Herr Windgassen's first "offical" recording

in this part, but not certainly his first recording. That honor

belongs to the 1953 Clemens Krauss Bayreuth recording now

available on Opera d' Oro. I find it interesting that almost the

same cast as the Krauss recording is assembled again on this

one. While this may end up being one of the most expensive

"Ring Cycle" recordings on the market. It will certainly become

the "Ring" of choice for many lovers of this cycle. Its a shame

that we had to wait so long to hear this one. Decca may wish

they had gone ahead and remastered it and released it themselves.

Many Thanks to Testament for releasing it.

Rarely do new releases live up to the hype, but in this case the buzz about the Testament releases of the live stereo Bayreuth recordings from the mid and early 1950s of Wagner's Ring operas was absolutely accurate. Windgassen was considered by some to be a little light-voiced for a true heldentenor, but he more than compensates for any possible lack of vocal heft with his artistry and musicality. And here he is in his prime, and unlike his later recording of Siegfried a decade later, his voice has lost none of its flexibility.
Hans Hotter is perhaps the greatest Wagnerian baritone of the 20th century. Others may have had darker or richer natural voices, but few have had voices with more character and none sang with greater artistry. And Astrid Varnay is nothing short of a revelation. She sings with a fiery richness, with almost a mezzo-soprano timbre, that makes her singing, particularly her final duet with Windgassen, simply electrifying. Interestingly enough, although all three sang at the Met, neither Windgassen nor Hotter had much of a Met career, and Varnay was essentially forced out of regular Met appearances--all because Rudolph Bing didn't like any of them. (What WAS he thinking of! This is probably the best cast for Siegfried assembled in the last 60 years!)
The smaller parts are also well sung, and the orchestra plays with a richness of tone and directness of purpose that is quite refreshing when compared to some other, more self-indulgent, performances. The sound quality is quite good--and is positively remarkable for a live stereo recording in 1955. The price is a little scary, but the recording is available for less from the other sellers on Amazon. It is worth it.

This recording of Wagner's "SIEGFRIED" 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 "SIEGFRIED" 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

Until this recording was issued, I thought that the Karl Bohm "Siegfried" was the best we were ever going to hear, but this 1955 live performance conducted by Keilberth supercedes it. This is largely due to the more sensitive singing of Hans Hotter as Wotan and the warmer, fresher, more technically accurate Brunnhilde of Astrid Varnay. Keilberth's conducting is a little less symphonically structured than Bohm, but just a little; and Windgassen is in much fresher voice here than he was 11 years later. You really need to have this as your first-choice "Siegfried."

Having listened to a copy recently purchased used for $60 I find this recording well worth the rather exorbitant price. I did not find Windgassen's Siegfried that much more youthful and energized over his 1962 Solti studio recording as did other reviewers but agree with them that Hotter's Wotan is decidedly fresher and more attractive. The real star of this recording may well be Paul Kuen's Mime and of course Varnay's radiant Bruennhilde. I have always enjoyed the Solti recording and certainly the Boehm Bayreuth 1966 recording, but am not a big fan of Nilsson's steely voice. This recording sounds amazingly good for 1955. I liken it to the RCA mid 50s recordings made in Boston and Chicago in terms of its detail and dynamic range. The orchestral sound is captured rather dryly while the voices exhibit a great deal more bloom and ambiance. There is some clipping in the loudest orchestral passages and pinched sounds coming from the brass sections, understandable and acceptable in a recording of this age. I was quite pleased with it, finding it warmer than the remastered Boehm 1966 recordings made by DGG. In short, if you wish to hear an outstanding Bruennhilde besides Nilsson's and prefer stereo sound, this is the one.

Though I am partial to Keilberth's 1953 Bayreuth Ring recording, this 1955 Siegfried's singing and conducting are exemplary. Truly an evening's pleasure.