I was there for the live performance in 1977. McCray was a fine singer, legato and lyric, but a bit underpowered for Siegfried (who isn't.) The rest of the veteran Seattle Ring cast was first rate. (I was also there for the first Seattle Ring in 1975. Many of the cast in this performance were old hands in the production by 1977.) Hagen gets my vote for the most engrossing character in opera, so often being seen as a one-dimensional thug and sung that way. A totally erroneous view. Thus hearing the great Simon Estes at his peak really sing the role is worth more than the price of the recording. I bought the flac format; the sound quality is very fine. I had no recollection that these performances were recorded in such excellent sound; a treasure to me.

Considering how auspiciously the Seattle 1977 cycle began, this "Twilight of the Gods" must be ranked a serious disappointment. If you root for the bad guys, you'll enjoy it, as the finest elements are Malcolm Rivers' Alberich (an interpretation worthy of comparison with Gustav Neidlinger and Zoltan Kélémen) and Simon Estes' Hagen, suave but scarifyingly villainous, a true criminal mastermind. Unfortunately, conductor Henry Holt takes each page seemingly as it comes and the orchestral playing is dodgy. The two Gibichung siblings are no more than adequate, maybe less, and Marvalee Cariaga's Waltraute strains earnestly. Geraldine Decker's First Norn gets the opera off to an impressive start but her sisters are not on the same level. (The anonymous Rhinemaiden threesome is all to the good, though.) A breath of fresh air in "Siegfried," James McCray is mostly disappointing here, rallying in the third act. In a similar mode, as though realizing that her work to do date has been underwhelming, Margaret Kingsley lights her afterburners and finishes the cycle with a strong Brünnhilde. Barring some odd bits of interference, the sound is as spacious as in the previous installments.