Conductor Georg Solti is reunited with several singers who participated in his legendary Decca recording of Der Ring des Nibelungen. Gwyneth Jones, who sang Wellgunde in Götterdämmerung, has now been promoted to Brünnhilde, bringing an ample voice and a characterization that does not betray the inherent youth of the character. As impressive as she is in the dramatic moments, as one would expect from this artist, she is at her best in the more vulnerable passages of Act III, combining vocal delicacy with a palpable sense of the character’s heartbreak.

Helga Dernesch, who sang Ortlinde in the Decca recordings and subsequently Brünnhilde in Karajan’s Ring cycle, moves here to the role of Sieglinde. Within a few years of this performance, she would make the transition to mezzo-soprano, and one can hear the wisdom of that decision in this recording. The voice had developed a notable richness in the middle register, while the top was beginning to sound somewhat tentative. Christa Ludwig reprises her role as Fricka after her decade or so of excursions into the soprano repertoire.

Theo Adam brings a forceful nobility to Wotan, while Peter Hofmann is heard at the height of his powers as Siegmund. Georg Solti adopts a more relaxed approach to his interpretation, favoring softer edges over brute force.