Everyone was "on" the day this was performed. There are a few misalignments with the orchestra, but Knappertsbusch leads his forces with passion and drive from the first notes of the opening Storm music. Vickers sings with a beauty of tone that dissipated as the decades wore on. His Siegmund actually sounds like someone you wouldn't want to mess with. He fudges the one top A at the end of the first act, but that just makes him sound more human. Rysanek brings all the vulnerability and femininity to Sieglinde that one could want. Her top notes thrill us as does her primordial scream when Siegmund draws the sword from the tree (it would become more drawn out later on).Varnay and Wieland Wagner were always tweaking and experimenting with different moments in this production. Here it's most obvious during her war cries where she sustains the top Bs and Cs instead of touching them. The Todesverkündigung scene with Vickers is one of the highlights of the performance. Hotter is Hotter though this cycle finds him in rougher voice than in previous cycles. Gorr sings the blazes out of Fricka (and then comes back in Act 3 to sing Grimgerde). Greindl is a frightening Hunding and the Walküren are terrific: rarely do they sound this good. The sound is excellent: full and warm (thank you, Pirate Gods!)Onto Siegfried!