Wagner: Die Walküre - Lindholm, Adam, Rysanek, King, Martin, Greindl; Maazel. Bayreuth, 1968
$12.95
Listen to a Sample:
For this particular Ring Cycle, the decision was made to cast two different Wotans, two different Brünnhildes and two different Siegfrieds. The trade-off with this arrangement is that to a certain extent you loose the continuity. However, you can also see the wisdom in allowing Berit Lindholm with her spry athletic soprano to assume the younger Brünnhildes and let Gladys Kuchta's more voluptuous soprano sink her teeth into Götterdämmerung. Lindholm was a complete revelation. Her voice is truly perfect for this role with steely high notes and a youthful enthusiasm that is almost infectious. Her stoic sadness at the end of the opera reveals a girl who is afraid as opposed to a Teutonic she-ra. Theo Adam is an impressive Wotan. His bright baritone may lack some of the gravitas of a Hans Hotter, but he brings a robust and youthful tone which more than makes up for it. James King and Leonie Rysanek as Siegmund and Sieglinde are no strangers to lovers of the Ring and here they set the stage afire in Act I. The sound is very good.
OD 10699-3
