This Rheingold was part of my first Bayreuth Ring cycle on Discocorps LPS. It (and the rest of the cycle) was reissued on CD on various labels over the years, but most of those have gone out of print. Andy is to be commended for resurrecting this cycle at such an affordable price and in such excellent sound.We all know Hotter, Neidlinger, and Suthaus are superb, but just as great are all the other singers around them. The three Rhinedaughters make one of the best trios I've heard with Schartel's rich voice on the bottom and Siebert's shining timbre on the top. In the middle is American soprano Paula Lenchner who sang at the Met for years, mostly in comprimario roles. The three of them provide lots of coquettish laughter throughout the first scene. Milinkovic is a righteous, loving Fricka. Andy singles out Grummer for special mention above and rightly so. Traxel sings Froh's brief role so beautifully you wish his part was bigger. Blankenheim thunders effectively as Donner and the two giants are well-contrasted vocally and dramatically. Ilosvay is a wonderfully mysterious Erda. It should be noted that Paul Kuen sings Mime here, not Gerhard Stolze as listed (this has been a recurring error in past editions of this performance).Knappertsbusch's tempi are slower than some other conductors, but he knows how to tell a story without getting too bogged down in the details.Again, the sound is terrific as is the performance.