I'm sorry but the sound was disappointing in this performance. I was looking forward to the singers despite it being in German. The sound is not as clear as it should be for Germany in 1961. Look elsewhere for Aida in German.

Here's a throwback to the days when most operas were given in the vernacular. Aida goes well in German and this cast sounds terrific too.Davy was an African American soprano who made her Met debut in 1958 in this role. She sang only a couple of seasons there before moving to Europe and becoming one of the darlings of the German opera scene. She has a lovely voice with a good top albeit one without the finesse that Price or Rysanek had. She is very good in this role without being truly memorable in it. Thomas' beautiful singing here will astonish those who are used to hearing him in the Wagner repertoire from 7-8 years later. The vocal enamel wore off quickly, leaving him with a reliable, if leathery sound. He was a handsome, hairy-chested man who died too soon. Ludwig is an artful, smooth-voiced Amneris whose final "Sei verflucht!" is thrilling. This role apparently made her very nervous (she only sang three performances of it at the Met). Her husband (at that time) is a strong Amonasro though a little out of his true fach. Greindl is frightening, but frequently flat too. Bohm's tempos are a bit slower than we're used to; he keeps everything moving well.The sound is very good, but there are some momentary channel dropouts throughout the performance. It is a little irritating, but not a deal-breaker. Fans of these singers should snap this up. It may not be Italianate, but few singers today are on this level in this music!

It's always fascinating when Wagnerians do Verdi, and this is no exception. First of all, Karl Bohm takes it super-slowly, like PARSIFAL or the beginning of GOTTERDAMMERUNG, but his reading is also very muscular. Jess Thomas brings his characteristic combination of brains, sweet tone, and heroic commitment to his part. Josef Greindl as Ramfis is imposing and fascinating (as always), and he's supported by a fine chorus of bloodthirsty priests. Donald Grobe is very special, sweet and smart in the comprimario role of the Messenger. (Bias alert: I once had a very pleasant personal interaction with him, so I'm not entirely objective.) The weaknesses are Walter Berry and Christa Ludwig, who share the same problem: both are very smart but not big enough or nasty enough for their parts. Christa Ludwig always disappoints me when she tries to sing big villainesses like Ortrud. As far as I have ever been able to tell, neither she nor Walter Berry has a single mean bone in their bodies. I'm not impressed by Gloria Davy either, but that doesn't matter too much because the title character is not the most impressive character in this opera anyway--all she does is beg for mercy and whine, until the end when she goes even more passive and dies. So I usually don't care much about her.So: not perfect, but definitely worth the price of admission, especially if you're a die-hard fan of Josef Greindl and Jess Thomas, like me.

Aida in german: better than I thought