The sound is not very good, but Ava June is a definitive Sieglinde. Totally unexpected from a singer who seems to be known for her Violetta. I was just blown away by her dramatic involvement, and can only concur with other reviewers here. Impassioned, vulnerable, heart-rending, and everything else you could want in the role. The top notes are exciting. You really feel the serendipity and burgeoning hope in her finding love with Remedios's Siegmund, and the burst of renewed purpose in her gratitude to Brünnhilde in act 3 is chilling. She makes Margaret Curphey in the later performance seem cold by comparison. If nothing else, she makes this worth a listen. Remedios, Hunter, and Bailey are known quantities who absolutely have the voices for their roles. Neither disappoint, and they bring out a lyricism that is often missing in even the best singers of this repertoire. The Wotan monologue in act 2 is so compelling when given the immediacy of a language you understand. Clifford Grant gave me goosebumps as a spooky and brooding Hunding, and I wish he recorded more. It's a great disappointment for me that he wasn't the Hagen in the stereo Götterdämmerung from this production. Goodall confirms his reputation as slow and a bit plodding. It's not good for excerpts, but totally makes sense in context when you listen to an entire act, and brings out the long line. You really have to commit to listening to the whole thing but about 10 minutes in, I was sold on his conception.

Almost all of the leading singers here sang these roles when EMI and the Peter Moore Foundation decided to record the entire cycle several years later. The only difference is Ava June instead of Margaret Curphy as Sieglinde and different singers for the Valkyries in the third act. The EMI set (now on Chandos) is justly famous though this recording finds everyone in marginally fresher voice so it's worth hearing just for that. Hunter is magnificent in both, her shining, beautiful soprano balsam to the ear after so much of the wobble and splintered tone we've heard from other singers. Bailey not only has great diction, but sings with a vocal steadiness that would desert him in the ensuing decade. Remedios sings Siegmund's music with lovely tone and a glowing lyricism that would've made Wagner smile. June is a terrific Sieglinde, her voice admirably steady and powerful at the top. Her scream at the end of Act Two when Siegmund is killed is heart wrenching. Howard and Grant sings their roles so well one wishes their parts were longer. The Valkyries are an excellent team without any shrill Wobblers. Goodall's pacing is very measured and requires patience, but he makes it all work. If anything, it allows the singers time to enunciate Andrew Porter's very singable, lucid translation, a work of art in its own right.The sound is very listenable, but there is occasional static and other minor bumps along the way. It's worth enduring though for the fine performance.

A most moving and monumental Walkure from when the production was new so several years before the commercial recording. It created a sensation in the theatre some of which comes across here. Ava June was a fine actress as well as marvellous singer and created an unforgettable impression. Remedios is possibly the most lyrical Siegmund ever (and was eventually to be a matchless Siegfried). Both Bailey and Hunter proved overwhelming and Ann Howard was a formidable Fricka. Unmissable (and a superb and idiomatic English translation by Andrew Porter).