Richard Wagner: Die Walkure [New York: March 30, 1946; Helen Traubel, Astrid Varnay, Lauritz Melchior, Joel Berglund, Kerstin Thorborg, Emanuel List; Paul Breisach]

This set is probably the best all-around "Live from the Met" complete performances from "The Golden Age of Wagnerian Opera" of Die Walkure. There are others worth seeking out. Some are fragmentary. Some are in poor sound. Some have second-stringers in the smaller roles. This set comes closest to "having it all".Helen Traubel, in my opinion, had the most beautiful voice for the great Wagner heroines. Flagstad could be more awesome. Varnay could be more exciting. Nilsson had all the elements. But, here is Traubel's Brunnhilde in all its glory. Speaking of Varnay, this was her debut. Not just her Met debut, but her first time singing opera on a stage. She was 23 at the time. She describes this in her autobiography "55 years in 5 Acts". Her Sieglinde is terrific. Those who took potshots at her voice even when she was without peer in the mid-1950's should find nothing to fault here.Melchior gives one of his best "live" Siegmunds. Period! Friedrich Schorr 's Wotan is, vocally, late in his career. Most of the time, his art and depth of character shine through.Thorborg and Kipnis are, deservedly, legends. Leinsdorf and the orchestra shine. Don't miss this set.

This live broadcast recording of DIE WALKURE (December 23, 1961) was the first time that legendary soprano Birgit Nilsson's Brunnhilde was aired by the old Met. She is joined here by a superb cast consisting of Jon Vickers (Siegmund), Gladys Kuchta (Sieglinde), Otto Edelmann (Wotan), and others of similar quality. Very simply, this is a superb performance, in very good sound. Interestingly, I've never been that much of a fan of Otto Edelmann, but his Wotan here is one of his best outings. Just listen to his Narrative in Act II or the closing, "Leb wohl," scene in Act III. Kuchta is wonderful as Sieglinde--I had forgotten how good she was (she went on to sing at Bayreuth). Vickers, of course, is much better known, and his Siegmund ranks with that of Melchior and Windgassen. He is excellent: just listen to his "Wintersturme" scene in Act I or the "Todesverkundigung" scene with Nilsson in Act II. Can anyone project the character of Siegmund in the same moving way? And, not least, there is Nilsson, who fully fulfills her reputation--she soars with ease, encompasses all the emotions, fears, and joys. She may lack the warmth of Flagstad, but her silvery tone overwhelms all.Erich Leinsdorf began his major career at the old Met back in the early 1940s; here he returned, and he conducts a stellar performance, in full command of the orchestra, which sounds just fine.This particular performance is part of a complete RING cycle from December 1961-January 1962 that Walhall has now released. I have as well DAS RHEINGOLD, SIEGFRIED, and the GOTTERDAMMERUNG in this cycle. All are excellent, with George London the Wotan in the RHEINGOLD and SIEGFRIED, Gottlob Frick the Hagen. Even Hans Hopf, the Siegfried in GOTTERDAMMERUNG and SIEGFRIED, sounds better than usual--perhaps due to the ensemble spirit of these performances. He has a beefy tenor, but never tires (as many Siegfrieds do!).A short word about the sound: although in monaural sound, all these performances are excellently reproduced, in truly fine and detailed sound. Included also is ample commentary by Milton Cross.In addition to being available through Amazon, these recordings can be had inexpensively from Norbeck, Peters and Ford (check them out).Highest recommendation.

Aside from the expert conducting and a cast that Wagnerians dream of hearing, this MET broadcast was UNCUT!! In the early 20th century, he MET occasionally staged uncut Ring cycles but would normally broadcast one or two acts. However this is the only uncut Walkure broadcast of this vintage. But definitely buy it fom Pristine Audio....FAR cheaper than any of these and better sound to boot.

A hair-raising account of Wagner is presented by the ideal cast of this era, with plenty of the theatrical punch demanded by this musical tragedy. The singing is incomparable in this extremely rare recording of a live radio broadcast from Boston with a cast straight from Valhalla. Kirsten Flagstad and Lauritz Melchior are magnificent together, in one of their superlative but scarce performances with the Met. Their archetypally ideal partnership did not last long thanks to the personality clashes between these titanic Wagnerian geniuses. She was touchy, he was silly and offensive, but their legendary music making has never been exceeded.Melchior is in perfect form - heroic, virile, with absolute command over the music and text. A more beautiful voice never tackled this role, and he seems inspired by the voluptuous, crazed Sieglinde of Marjorie Lawrence, also a renowned Brünnhilde. Easily trumpeting over the orchestra, he belts out a couple of his legendary Wälses and is every bit the musical superman this part requires.In every live recording I have with Melchior's Siegmund, he always pants with violent emotion on the same beat at the end of Act I, when Sieglinde sings "Sieglinde bin ich" (grunt). Flagstad is in majestic voice, the echt Wagnerian goddess and tragic heroine.This is a unique opportunity to hear Julius Huehn's superb, mellifluous Wotan. As fine a singer in this role as Hotter or Schorr, with a most beautiful, velvety dark voice, Huehn's dramatic singing is convincingly, broodingly suffering. He is authoritative but desperate and vulnerable in his monologue, and a young enough Wotan that he can hit all the notes. We happily avoid Schorr's cringe-producing high fortes.In the same league as the famous Eve of Pearl Harbor broadcast, also with Melchior, this is one representative of that small number of spectacular Wagner recordings from the WWII era. It took me a long time to find it. A priceless treasure of my collection - this is a museum quality performance that could never be duplicated today. Dramatic heft, gorgeous voices, frighteningly intense - a Walkure for the ages.