Wagner: Das Rheingold - Hotter, von Milinkovic, Suthaus, Grümmer, Neidlinger, Stolze, Greindl; Knappertsbusch. Bayreuth, 1957
$9.95
Description:
The brilliance of Hans Hotter’s Wotan in Das Rheingold lies in his remarkable restraint. While he fully embraces the opera’s dramatic climaxes, his true strength is in his nuanced handling of the text. Rather than simply projecting authority, Hotter shapes the role as a storyteller, uncovering emotional and psychological subtleties that give the character lasting resonance. He is both singer and interpreter in equal measure.
Ludwig Suthaus brings star power and agility to the role of Loge, forming a dynamic counterpart to Hotter’s more introspective Wotan. Elisabeth Grümmer is radiant as Freia, her singing lending real poignancy to Fasolt’s infatuation. Gustav Neidlinger, later synonymous with Alberich, is here at his vocal peak. His tone is strikingly beautiful—at times even surpassing Hotter’s—and this vocal elegance adds a compelling ambiguity to the dynamic between hero and antihero. Wagner’s decision to write Wotan and Alberich for similar voice types feels especially intentional in this context.
In Mono
OD 11870-2