I think this was the first year that Gwyneth Jones sang all three Brünnhildes in one cycle. The next year would find her heading Patrice Chereau's landmark production that would transport her to the top of the operatic world. Wolfgang Wagner's production was, by most accounts, much tamer than what would follow, but a Brünnhilde has to start somewhere.She and the rest of the cast are excellent. Already she has developed the habit of lagging slightly behind the beat in order to give her more time to manipulate her voice which was growing larger and more cumbersome. All the same her singing is clean and involved with a good trill when she needs it. Napier's voice is more settled here than it was to become and King is a terrific Siegmund (one would never guess he was fifty and had been singing this repertoire for years). McIntyre sings more lyrically than he would in future seasons. The Valkyries are a strong lot with American soprano Jeanne Hieronymi a stand-out as Helmwige (this was her only Bayreuth season). Stein conducts a fluent performance.The sound is mostly very good. There are only very occasional jumps in the source tape, something with which this cycle seems to be afflicted.On to Siegfried!