Nadezda Kniplova, Theo Adam, Hildegard Hillebrecht,
Eberhard Katz, Gerd Nienstedt, Janis Martin, Irene Dalis
Wolfgang Sawallisch

Roma

1968

OD 10449-3

In the fifties and sixties there was not an extensive history of Wagner performances in Italy, and rarer still were performances in German.  This performance, like the famous Furtwängler performances, shows that Italian musicians could master the demands that Wagner put on them.  I am speaking primarily about the orchestra, given that the singers for the most part were imported from outside.  There is a lyricism in the lilting quality of the string section that indicates a steady diet of Puccini and Verdi.  And their use of portamenti only enhances that quality.  At times, however, this comes at a cost to the precision, but the heart is there.  Wolfgang Sawallisch opts for brisker tempos, which create a more natural and speech-like quality to the singers' vocal production.  In the tital role Nedezda Kniplova's slavic voice may not convey the teenager quality of Brünnhilde as successfully as others, but she sings with great thrust and at times moving sensitivity.  Lovers of this opera will probably be familiar with Theo Adam's majesterial Wotan, and he does not disappoint in this performance either.  Hildegard Hillebrecht's voice is on the limpid side and cannot muster the kind of ecstasy that a Leonie Rysanek could, but her tones are generally attractive.  Eberhard Katz, a name with which I had not been familiar previously, does surpisingly well as Siegmund.  His voice is on the Lyric side which serves as a great asset during Winterstürme.  Janis Martin is a very good Fricka, and in a surpising casting choice Irene Dalis sings Waltraute, supposedly in an attempt to create consistency in the casting for when she would assume the same role in its longer iteration in Götterdämmerung.  The sound is very good.