Eine solide Vorstellung mit guten Sängern. A solid performance with good singers.

This recording ist absolutely recommended and beside the great (stereo) Bayreuth sound there’s no weak link in the cast. Especially Kollo (which I’m generally not that fond of) delivers a incredible performance. Kollo’s voice here is it's early prime, without the ugly mannerisms that plagued almost any of his commercial recordings. His voice is much easier, clearer and without the fatigue of the later Karajan studio recording. The rest of the cast is without fault. Bode is a very feminine, vulnerable Elsa, Schröder-Feinen (before her vocal crisis and much better than for Karajan (Salzburg - live)) a great „soprano“ Ortrud. McIntyre without fault and much at ease with the high tessitura or Telramund. King Heinrich ist Ridderbusch (not Crass) and mellifluous als usual. VERY recommended. My favorite recording and the one I listen most to.

Early in his career there was a glow about Rene Kollo's tone, a sheen, that was lost fairly early on. This performance captures that glow as well as some of the mannerisms that would affect his singing later on. Not every high note is attacked perfectly and there is some scooping, but overall Kollo's Lohengrin sounds like the fish-out-of-water, extraterrestrial that Wagner imagined. Hannelore Bode was a first-rate singer whose timbre was rather anonymous. Her Elsa is not only well-sung, but captures the lady's tortured desperation. Ursula Schroder-Feinen certainly shows why the Bayreuth Festival management sat up and took notice. As a soprano she has no problem with Ortrud's high tessitura. While not quite as vituperative as Astrid Varnay or as vocally opulent as Christa Ludwig, she manages to hold her own. She is also one of the few singers who follows Wagner's stage directions and screams at the end when Ortrud is defeated. Donald McIntyre is a believable Telramund, Franz Crass superb as King Henry. Gerd Nienstedt had a distinctive timbre in the best sense and is a luxury as the Herold. The chorus and orchestra are in great shape and Silvio Varviso leads his forces with strength and commitment. There is a smaller cut than usual in the third act after "In fernem Land". The sound is excellent.If you love this opera or any of these singers (especially Schroder-Feinen), you owe it to yourself to hear this!