This is a particularly good Das Rheingold, and a major contribution to that is that the Alberich, Gustav Neidlinger is a 'singing' Alberich, eschewing the gulps and barks that often pepper the performance of this music. It is something of a luxury to have the great heldentenor Wolfgang Windgassen singing Loge, and Thomas Stewart's beautiful voice takes some of the unpleasant edge of Wotan, probably the most obnoxious character in all opera. Janis Martin's Frika is beautifully sung and somewhat restrained, making her a more sympathetic character than she can be. Josef Greindl brings some dignity to Fafner with his finely focused attractive instrument. Helge Dernesch's, big full voice though,does suggest a Freia quite capable of looking after herself.An excellent recording in excellent sound.

This performance of DAS RHEINGOLD from Bayreuth 1969 is very similar to the classic 1967 performance conducted by Karl Bohm which has been one of the mainstay albums since the vinyl days, the first live performance of this opera available in record stores. There are just a few differences and I'll review them:First and foremost, the 1967 performance was marred by Theo Adam as Wotan. He was a wooden actor and his technique was wobbly and his voice suffered from an unpleasant gurgle. Here in 1969 we have Thomas Stewart, who is much better. I am not a big fan of his; I usually find him boring, but here he acts well and uses his big, bluff baritone to good purpose.Another difference is Fasolt. In the 1967 performance we had a true giant, Martti Talvela. Here in 1969 we have Karl Ridderbusch instead. Both are excellent and it's difficult to say which is better. Ridderbusch sounds rugged and rocky as the character should, but he also sings softly and tenderly at times. In 1967, Fafner was played by Kurt Bohme, who grunted and went off pitch during the scene where he yells at the gods to pack the gold densely and stop up the cracks. Here in 1969 we have Josef Greindl completing his 20+ year gig owning this role. He gets Fafner's crudeness just as well as Bohme but also stays on pitch.The other differences are minor: Mime is played by Gerhard Stolze here in 1969; in 1967 it was Erwin Wohlfahrt. Both are excellent, sweet-sounding, thoughtful singing actors. Stolze is a little more affected than Wohlfahrt. Freia in 1969 is Helga Dernesch; in 1967 it was Anja Silja, who brought a silky sound and formidable celebrity value to the role. Here in 1969 as Fricka we have Janis Martin, whose performance is more or less similar to that of Annelies Burmeister who played Fricka in 1967.Now the overlap: in both performances Wolfgang Windgassen played Loge. In 1967 he was brilliant, vigorous, and standard-setting. Here in 1969 he's also very good but sounds a little tired at times. Finally, in both performances Gustav Neidlinger consummated his two-decade ownership of the role of Alberich. He was a true transformational genius, the first of his generation to sing this role with melody and line rather than as a series of disconnected grunts and bellowings. More than any other singing actor on record he possessed the ability to sound menacing. He was fully "on" both nights; on both nights his performance is second to none. He doesn't play Alberich; he IS Alberich.Both conductors--Bohm and Maazel--lead with a romantic, free-wheeling style. Bohm may be a little more precise than Maazel and the 1969 performance contains a couple of minor performance errors, the worst of which is Karl Ridderbusch coming in a bar too early when he bellows "Halt! Nicht sie beruhrt!" as he brings Freia back to the mountaintop.Really, it's very hard to choose a favorite from between these two impressive performances. If I were forced at gunpoint to choose one, I think I'd go with this 1969 performance because of Thomas Stewart's superiority over Theo Adam.