Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Das Rheingold
Wotan – Hans Hotter (bass-baritone)
Alberich – Gustav Neidlinger (bass-baritone)
Mime – Paul Kuen (tenor)
Fasolt – Josef Greindl (bass)
Fricka – Georgine von Milinkovic (mezzo-soprano)
Chorus and Orchestra of the Bayreuther Festspiele/Hans Knappertsbusch
rec. live, 13 August, 1956, Bayreuth
Reviewed as 24-bit FLAC download
Knappertsbusch The 1956 Wagner Ring Vol. 1
Pristine Audio PACO 210 [2 CDs: 158]
In my 2019 survey of Ring cycles, I considered Knappertsbusch’s 1957 cycle in comparison with that of the following year, but not this first of his three complete Bayreuth cycles, from 1956. It has previously been issued separately on the Andromeda and Orfeo labels, the latter being superior, and was also part of the whole cycle from Melodram and Music & Arts in 1997. It was always subject to a certain cavernous quality which is well tamed here but of course also given far greater depth, detail and spread by Pristine’s Ambient Stereo XR remastering. It is wonderfully immediate, as is apparent from the very first rumblings of those famous E-flat major chords; Alberich grumbles and sneezes from below, the Rhinemaidens float serenely above him and the listener is thoroughly immersed in the drama – it is really miraculously good for a live recording nearly seventy years old as I write, one of the very best of Andrew Rose’s restorations. Voices on stage are well forward but the balance between them and orchestra is excellent. Yes; there are a few irritating few coughs and a bit of stage machinery noise but nothing of any significance, and things like the sound of the treasure being piled up around Freia and Fafner’s clubbing to death of his brother only add to the vivid atmosphere of a live performance. Even ears used to the Culshaw-Decca sound effects will be satisfied by the din of the hammering on the anvils and the screams of the dwarf slave-workers as they scatter.
It is true that Kna’s spacious tempi, as in the reprise of “Walala! Lalaleia!”, are sometimes a little laboured but every strand of the music emerges clearly – which is just as well, as there are far fewer of the accidents in co-ordination which occur in Clemens Krauss’ cycle three years earlier and were to some degree covered by his more precipitate beat. His grip over proceedings means that the tale – the tautest narrative of the tetralogy – unfolds with unprecedented inevitability; nothing is rushed but momentum is invariably maintained. The descent into and ascent from Nibelheim in Scene 3, for example, are both thrilling.
The singing is stellar. The trio of Rhinemaidens is entirely alluring and homogeneous, yet each is individually characterful. Nothing more needs to be said about Gustav Neidlinger’s masterfully sung, definitively wicked and wholly entertaining Alberich; it is virtually identical to his for Solti, even down to his disappearance back into the depths clutching the gold, guffawing triumphantly. The same is true of Paul Kuen’s Mime, also repeated for Solti.
Kna’s handling of the transition to Valhalla and Wotan’s dream is wholly seamless and the massive sonority of Hotter’s bass-baritone instantly establishes him as an Immortal. He is matched by Georgine von Milinkovic’s steady-voiced, yet insistently hectoring, Fricka. The remastering throws into relief the crispness of their German diction as their accusations and rebuttals are batted back and forth – although she was of course Croatian. It is a real bonus to have the shimmering soprano of Gré Brouwenstijn sing the relatively small role of Freia and the imposing giants are the Bayreuth regulars Josef Greindl and Arnold van Mill. Greindl blares and bellows a bit but that is not inappropriate for the brutish Fafner; van Mill is aptly slyer and subtler both in voice and manner. Ludwig Suthaus is a spirited, strong-voiced Loge, hardly attractive of tone and occasionally bleaty but entirely inside the role. Having the limpid lyric tenor Josef Traxel as Froh is again nothing but an advantage. Jean Madeira as the divine prophetess Erda is as majestic as she was for Solti, her voice beautiful, booming and baleful. Eberhard Wächter’s virile Donner for Solti has spoilt me for all others in that role but Alfons Herwig is excellent, even if Kna’s more measured way with his gathering of the swirling mists before the hammer blow is grand rather than electrifying – and although we might miss the mighty impact of that blow as it sounds in the Decca recording, the subsequent rumbling thunder is impressive.
In many ways, this is every bit as satisfying as Solti’s reference recording, especially now that its sound is so full. Preference will depend upon whether Hotter or George London is your ideal exponent of Wotan, and whether you prefer Knappertsbusch’s monumental pacing to Solti’s fluid dynamism. I am happy to have both.
Ralph Moore
Availability: Pristine Classical
Other Cast
Donner – Alfons Herwig (baritone)
Froh – Josef Traxel (tenor)
Loge – Ludwig Suthaus (tenor)
Fafner – Arnold van Mill (bass)
Freia – Gré Brouwenstijn (soprano)
Erda – Jean Madeira (contralto)
Woglinde – Lore Wissmann (soprano)
Wellgunde – Paula Lenchner (soprano)
Floßhilde – Maria von Ilosvay (contralto)
