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Wagner: Siegfried
from: Testament UK
Our Price: $91.98 Prices subject to change.
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0749677139223
Format: Import
Label: Testament UK
Manufacturer: Testament UK
MPN: 1392
Number Of Discs: 4
Publisher: Testament UK
Release Date: April 11, 2006
Studio: Testament UK
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Editorial Review:
This live-from-Bayreuth 1955 Siegfried, in stereo, was professionally recorded by Decca's engineers as part of what was to be the first full Ring Cycle on records. Contractual disputes and producer John Culshaw's desire to produce an "ideal" Ring in the studio killed the release of this Ring, and the tapes were locked away in some dark chamber until now. The result is breathtaking: Hotter, Windgassen (playing his first Siegfried), Neidlinger (as Alberich), and Varnay at their best, with Joseph Keilberth at the helm. Keilberth was not one for "interpretation" or anything other than telling a good story with drama, fine pacing, and musical accuracy. His tempi are invariably quick without ever being rushed, and he has some of Böhm's intensity, some of Solti's visceral excitement, and some of Furtwängler's grandeur, while at the same time presenting a Siegfried that is very much its own. I'm not certain that this is the "best" performance of this opera, but if it were the only one you owned, it would be enough. --Robert Levine
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - The King is dead, long live the King
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. ... Read More
Rating: - A "SIEGFRIED" for the AGES from a "RING for the AGES"
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 ... Read More
Rating: - Part 3 of the Definitive Ring
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 ... Read More
Rating: - None Better!
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 ... Read More
Rating: - AN EPIC RING - PART III
Ten years is a long time in the life of any singer but especially a Wagnerian singer. Comparing this recording with the wonderful Solti recording proves this. Hotter is magnificent here in 1955 and is stressed to the limits for Solti in the 60s. Windgassen is wonderfully lyric and even sweet and fresh in 1955. He's leathery and a bit pushed for Solti; maybe even a bit tight and tired sounding. This wonderful Bayreuth cast owned the Ring at this theater in the 50s; a true GOLDEN ERA @ Bayreuth. Don't ... Read More
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