This Ring cycle has been available on various labels over the last several decades. It was always heard with the second broadcast of Die Walkure (with Varnay as Brunhilde) in place of the first one which wasn't discovered until just a few years ago. Nilsson didn't like singing the first two Brunnhildes so close together (a day of rest separated Siegfried from Gotterdammerung). In the next production an extra rest day was placed between Walkure and Siegfried making it more amenable to all the singers.In the event Varnay was a great Walkure Brunnhilde, but Windgassen was indisposed the second time around and gave an uncharacteristically weak performance as Siegmund. He is much better in the broadcast included in this set. My assessment of the various performances can be found under their separate titles so I won't go into detail here. Suffice it to say that Kempe's conducting and the singers make this a worthwhile addition to any Ring enthusiast's collection. Kempe would smooth out details in future seasons (he conducted this production until 1963), but is still impressive here.The sound is very good throughout. There are some moments of static in the Walkure, but they never obscure the music and are fleeting in any case. One caveat: a few lines are missing from the end of Gotterdammerung Act One. They are present in other copies I've heard of this performance; I don't know what happened.

Das Rheingold and Siegfried surprisingly have a beautiful sound quality which highlights the performances. Gotterdammerung is not as strong but still acceptable and more or less what you would expect from a historical recording. Die Walkure, unfortunately, is the weakest in terms of sound quality and has a static sound that is present throughout the opera and CDs. For me, it made it impossible to listen to and as a result the performances suffer. I understand that Die Walkure was originally an alternate recording and sadly it shows.

I already have the Orfeo/Kempe recording of Bayreuth 1961, and a Melodram recording of an almost identical performance as the new Opera Depot recording - with one notable exception. This recording has Nilsson singing Brunnhilde in Walkure. While one can never have too many Ring recordings, question is whether owning this recording is essential if one has the other two. It is great to hear Nilsson in her very early years at Bayreuth throughout the cycle, although there is a Covent Garden performance under kempe on Testament where she can also be heard. In other respects, I think the Orfeo performance is superior to the 1960 performances - mainly because of the casting. I really don't like Windgassen's Sigmund, and I don't think he enjoyed singing the role himself. And Regine Crespin as Sieglinde in the Orfeo recording is wonderful. The person I'm really impressed with is Hans Hopf as Siegfried in all the performances - he is an under-rated Siegfried and it's interesting that he seems to always take second place to Windgassen. I'm not sure why. I am such an admirer of Hermann Uhde that I am delighted to have his Wotan - but he does seem on occasions over-stretched, while Milligan (on Orfeo) and Hines are very strong performances. For me they don't have the authority of Hotter in earlier Bayreuth recordings, but the early death of Milligan was clearly a disaster. As always, then, definitely worth hearing. Lovely to have it. But not essential unless you are desperate to hear Nilsson in Walkure, or you don't have the other Kempe recordings from the same era.

The recorded sound is, for th most part, very good. Götterdämmerung has some muffled sound, but still, it's perfectly serviceable. Nilsson, in her first complete Bayreuth Ring, is superb. Both of the Wotans are wonderful, but I'm puzzled as to why Uhde didn't sing Die Walküre, and Hines sing the Wanderer. Vocally speaking, their different colors would have worked better in this order. Windgssen makes a wonderfully youthful Siegmund, and Hans Hopf is the closest to perfect as Siegfried as one could ask for.Peter Roth-Ehrang doesn't go completely over the edge as Fafner, so he sounds more sinister. Kempe never allows the music to lag, so the listener can enjoy a taut performance from beginning to end. I highly recommend this set to everyone, and especially to all Ring lovers!