My recent order was fulfilled to my complete satisfaction !

Great interpretation, and acceptable sound.

My copy of disc 4 (Act Three) was defective. Andy replaced it and there are no clicks or glitches now - thank you, Andy!By the way, I meant to write "inflecting and coloring the text" in the main review. Oops.

The main attraction here is Martha Modl's first documented Kundry. She is already well within the role, infecting and coloring the text as though she had studied the role for years (she probably had). Vocally she is at her freshest with the top A's and B's sung with relative ease, the timbre warm and beautiful. Like most Kundrys, she does all the screams except the one at the end of the Second Act (she would occasionally add this one in later performances).Aldenhoff's vibrato is less annoying here than it would become. He sings with keen awareness of his character. Greindl's voice is more attractive, less gravelly than it would shortly become. His diction and comprehension of his role are never in doubt. Nillius is good, if not great, as Amfortas and Blasius is a terrific Klingsor. The Flowermaidens are exceptional; it would be great to know who they are. Kraus' conducting is capable, the orchestra and chorus excellent. The sound is also very good although there are some minor glitches in the last act (very brief clicking and skipping).If you love Modl, Aldenhoff, Greindl or Parsifal in general this is a recommended purchase.

Richard Kraus was never a conductor known for his galvanizing interpretations and he leads a safe-but-sane interpretation, highlighted by the solemnity with which he invests the Grail Scene and the pillowy lilt of the waltz section of the Flowermaidens scene. Still, it's a reading seemingly premised on doing Parsifal with as little 'interpretation' as possible.This is a radio-studio performance, meaning that the soloists are miked with Lux Radio Theater claustrophobia. You may not want Josef Greindl right in your ear but there he is, bawling away like Hagen set loose in Montsalvat. Much better notices are deserved for our two protagonists. Bernd Aldenhoff seems a young, ardent Parsifal, veryy touchingly in character and with none of the leathery tone that would begin to mar his word in just a couple of years hence. Also heard in the first bloom of youth is Martha Modl's Kundry, probably her greatest characterization. It's a primeval voice, seemingly hammered out of elemental metals, but all the more powerful for that.Robert Blasius is a stern, restrained Klingsor while Heinrich Nilius' Amfortas never persuades us of anything more than that his side hurts. Placed front and center, Helmut Fehn sounds like a spry Titurel in the prime of life. Sonics, as indicated, are very good indeed.

Excellent for the underrecorded Aldenhoff, Mödl's first Kundry and an unexpectedly suave Greindl. Good conducting.

This is an astonishing recording. Every element of the performance is first-rate, and the result is a radiant "Parsifal" in which the balance between musical and dramatic expression is achieved to near perfection.

Outstanding