Muy bueno, a ver si aparece completo algun dia.

First Ring in Bayreuth... War das letzte was mir von 1951 fehlte...

For a Rysanek fan this is obviously a must-have, but the sound leaves a lot to be desired.

Act Three of this famous performance was released by EMI years ago and has been available ever since. If you haven't heard it, get a copy: it's that good. Rysanek and Varney are terrific and Bjorling sings like the God he was portraying.Why the rest of Karajan's '51 cycle has gone missing is a mystery. Opera Depot has the Rheingold and Siegfried from that cycle, but the rest of this Walkure and the whole of Gotterdammerung have never appeared on CD. Knappertbusch's Gotterdammerung from that year finally appeared on the Testament label. It's expensive, but worth the money. It had the same cast as Karajan's cycle so at least the singers' portrayals were preserved. Now we just need the rest of Act One and all of Act Two of the Walkure to appear. I don't know that that will happen, but here - finally - is the last 20 minutes or so of Act One. Rysanek and Treptow are galvanized by Karajan's fiery conducting and give us a smashing conclusion to the act. Rysanek fans may be a little disappointed that she does NOT give her much acclaimed scream when Siegmund pulls the sword from the tree here. It certainly is there in the 1958 cycle under Knappertsbusch.The sound isn't great, but Andy has pitched it correctly and what is here is certainly listenable. Let's be grateful that we have it at all!

The excerpts from Act 1 of Die Walkure are in quite variable sound but are, none the less, fascinating to hear and left me wishing there was more. The bonus items consist of excerpts from Tannhauser, Ariadne auf Naxos, Salome and Elektra, all in better sound and well worth hearing. The Salome and Elektra items in particular are spine tinglingly incandescent (Jon Vickers as Herod is really creepy). If you're a Leonie Rysanek fan, you won't want to miss this.

Quality of the records is good.But one order,was not this recording,that I wanted to have. I ordered Meistersinger Bayreuth 1974 and got 1975.

The sound isn't brilliant but it cannot disguise the great performances of Leonie Rysanek as Sieglinde and Gunther Treptow, the Siegmund also on Furtwangler's Ring Cycle at La Scala in 1950, which I also have in my collection. I love live recordings and have most of the performances broadcast by Bavarian Radio from Bayreuth over the years. I have a complete Das Rheingold (Karajan), Siegfried (Karajan) and Gotterdamerung (Knappertsbush) from the 1951 season but only an Act 3 from Die Walkure also conducted by Karajan so to have this fragment from Act 1 is so valuable. Maybe one day a complete Walkure will appear but for now this a great addition to the collection. Thanks for finding it.

For any admirer of Leonie Rysanek, this is buried treasure. She is in secure, shining, utterly feminine voice that demonstrates why she was the vocal sensation of the '51 Bayreuth. The "high notes of death" are especially glorious. Gunther Treptow isn't an attractive-sounding Siegmund but he is virile and equal to the vocal demands of the scene. A splendid set of (unidentified) Rysanek aria performances rounds out the disc in generous fashion.

very important document of young Rysanek