WAYLTL: Die Walküre (Modl, Varnay, Vinay, Hotter, Kelberth)

Wagner: Die Walküre (1955). Modl, Varnay, Vinay, Hotter, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus, Joseph Keilberth (cond.) Testament

[@jdeeside]

This set is brilliant. Great singers that will never be matched. Varnay was a class act.

[@eddihaskell]

Here is a recording that I just received and listened to that perhaps matches it for singers. 1935 VPO, conductor Walter, Walkure Part 1, Lehmann, Melchior, List. Amazingly good momo.

[@karenbryan132]

Thank you for recommending Varnay's memoir. I found a copy and devoured it.

[@ellenmmartin]

just ordered it from thriftbooks!

[@UlfilasNZ]

I've been listening to the recent Parsifal on Sony with Kaufmann, Garanca, Zeppenfeld etc under Jordan. Surprisingly good.

[@wouterdemuyt1013]

It's great to hear these background stories. It makes me want to listen too.

[@michorg]

Thanks for your excellent review. Götterdämmerung from cycle 2 was also released by Testament. Not sure of the situation with Rheingold, but maybe there aren’t any differences worth mentioning when compared with the cycle 1 performance. The company claimed that there were problems with the Siegfried tapes that prevented release. However, Hänssler/Profil has just released it, the source being the mono radio broadcast. It sounds just fine. As was sometimes the case, Windgassen isn’t always together with Keilberth and the orchestra in Act 1. But the rest of the recording is splendid, and Mödl is thrilling in the final scene! I got my copy through Presto; it’s also on their streaming service.

[@eddihaskell]

I was listening to a womderful historic Rheingold yesterday- The Metropolitan Opera conducted by Artur Bodanzsky, 1937, in remarkably clear sound. It was released by Naxos a while ago. Frederich Schorr/ Wotan and Emmanuel List as Fafner are the only performers I recognize though.

[@michorg]

@@eddihaskell It‘s fantastic! There are lots of other Incredible Wagner Met performances from that era, with people like Flagstad, Melchior, Lehmann, and Lawrence. Definitely worth hearing!

[@NicholasBartlett-tx7co]

My favourite stereo Walkure! I love Keilberth's Wagner and prefer Modl as Brunhilde over Varnay. Whilst it's fascinating to hear Varnay as Sieglinde, I think she was better suited to the Valkyrie than the Volsung. I agree with all your comments and I'm glad you enjoyed listening to this set.

[@Tom-wf6ym]

Like you, I’m far from bring the Perfect Wagnerite, but I listen to the Ring operas from time to time, and once I heard the first Keilberth set, that was the one I wanted to hear (especially as I’m a fan of Gre Brouwenstijn). But now I’m really curious to hear this second cast. Thanks for the review, Dave. Interesting and sort of surprising to discover that this is what you’re listening to.

[@jgesselberty]

Lately? Busoni: Doktor Faust Schubert: Mass No. 5 Poulenc: Dialogues of the Carmelites (Nagano) Puccini: Madama Butterfly (Karajan) Must look into this Keilberth Ring.

[@bbailey7818]

I am a Wagner nut but this one was new to me! I have the 1955 "Decca" cycle and the 1951 Kna GD, both on Testament, but this one escaped me. So "Nun sei bedankt, mein lieber Dave." I've grabbed a copy. My listening most recently (this morning) was cpo's issue of Cimarosa's Le Astizie Feminilli. The restored original version in a solid performance. Not exactly Matrimonio Segreto but close.

[@jensguldalrasmussen6446]

Well, while you are at it, grabbing that is...make sure you grab the Clemens Krauss 1953 Bayreuth, out on Orfeo, too!

[@bbailey7818]

​@@jensguldalrasmussen6446 Oh that one I have. Three times. Initially on a label called Rodolfe pressed on double layer cds with a free switching device included. That was replaced by a Gala issue which became the victim of the worst cd rot you ever saw. And finally the Orfeo. Worthy sound and pressings.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I had the same miserable experiences with that one. Double layer CDs, my God! And those Gala discs falling apart like a layer cake disintegrating in the sun. What we put up with!

[@bostonviewer5430]

This is indeed very fine. For those who care, there is also a wonderful complete ring with Modl from Bayreuth 1953 also with Keilberth. Modl whose prime vocal years did not last long was in better voice in 1953 and goes from strength to strength from Walkure to Siegfried and on to Gotterdammerung with plenty of voice left for a very exciting Act II and Act III final scene. It's easily available on Opera Depot in very good sound. What a time that was in Bayreuth with so many great singers and, yes, they liked each other and worked well together as a team as detailed in the great Astrid Varnay's book 55 years in 5 Acts. Well written, interesting and worth reading.

[@NicholasBartlett-tx7co]

That Keilberth 1953 Ring is my favourite recording of the cycle. Keilberth conducts the work like no one else and the cast work together really well. Some of them surpass most other singers in the same parts. There are a few mistakes (it's a live performance after all), but I can forgive the errors considering how wonderful a recording it is.

[@rudyfan1926]

This is a great set! ❤

[@fabiopaolobarbieri2286]

Does a cast who are friends and get along perform better than one riven with diva rivalries? Actually, one famous case in popular TV argues against that. When you watch the last three seasons of Star Trek Voyager, you see Kate Mulgrew, mature, authoritative, warm-hearted, maternal, having a special, maternal and mentoring relationship with luminous, sexy, brilliantly funny Jeri Ryan, revitalizing a rather sleepy franchise, and - together with an otherwise marvellous cast, with Robert Picardo and Robert Beltran standing out - providing unforgettable entertainment. Behind the screen, it is well known that Mulgrew made Ryan about as welcome as Ho Chi Minh did the French Foreign Legion, and that, even though she may have since recognized that she went too far, the two have never really been reconciled. In fact, Ryan never seems to appear at conventions and such together with any of the other leads, even though they all did a superb job of acting together.

[@eddihaskell]

For a counter-arguement, sometimes tension between a conductor and cast member can make for a great performance. One of the more amusingly named videos on KZbin is "Vocalist disagrees with Bernstein's tempo". The vocalist just happens to be Christa Ludwig. The person posting the video makes her sound like she is a Kelly temp hired for the afternoon.

[@fred6904]

I have lately listened to Don Carlos by Verdi in the recording whith Solti conducting. It would be very interesting, I think, if you, dear Mr Hurwitz, would consider talking a little bit more about operas in the near future. ❤

[@francoisjoubert6867]

Hi Dave - can you please do a review of the Warner Keilberth Telefunken set? Big please?

[@asheko]

the studio recording with Furtwängler ist not with the Berliner Philharmoniker, but with the Wiener Philharmoniker

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Didn't I say that? Oops! Thanks for the correction. I knew it but it came out differently for some reason!

[@fokg3C]

Hey Dave, I used to listen frequently to the Ring (in many versions) back in the days. Have listened to this one but surely will do it again now after your video because I don't know very much about it anymore. Thanks for the reminder! To stay with Wagner, are you planning to do a review of pianist N. Lugansky's piano transcriptions of Wagner operas? Anyway, keep up the good work Dave!

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

No, I have no plans to cover that.

[@mylesbell9358]

Are you planning on reviewing the new Brahms Symphony Cycle by Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe? Would love your thoughts?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes. When I get it.

[@JPFalcononor]

Is the prompter intrusive in this recording? There are times in the Bohm version on Phillips where this is so.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I didn't notice, to be honest, but others may.

[@vrixphillips]

Honestly, I can't be bothered either, but Keilberth's Ring(s) is my favorite