Das Rheingold

Richard Wagner (1813–1883)

DESCRIPTION

George London asserts himself as one of the greatest Wotans in the history of recorded sound. His burnished bass-baritone proves equally at home in the role’s dramatic bluster as in its more conversational passages, maintaining both authority and flexibility throughout. Elisabeth Schärtel offers a Fricka that may lack a degree of power, yet a youthful sheen in the voice lends the character a somewhat softened profile. Under Wolfgang Sawallisch, the score is shaped with a keen sense of orchestral color, the textures remaining full without becoming unduly heavy.

CAST

Wotan – GEORGE LONDON
Fricka – ELISABETH SCHÄRTEL
Freia – INGEBORG KJELLGREN
Donner – KARL SABLOTZKE
Froh – HERMANN WINKLER
Loge – HERBERT SCHACHTSCHNEIDER
Alberich – ZOLTAN KELEMEN
Mime – ERWIN WOHLFAHRT
Fasolt – GERD NIENSTEDT
Fafner – HEINER HORN
Erda – HELEN RAAB
Woglinde – LISELOTTE HAMMES
Wellgunde – HELEN DONATH
Floßhilde – HELGA JENCKEL

DETAILS

Location: Bühnen der Stadt Köln
Date: May 22, 1962
Conductor: Wolfgang Sawallisch
Catalogue Number: OD 12355-2
Label: Opera Depot
Number of Discs: 2
In Stereo