Sawallisch certainly knew his way around a Wagner score: how to pace it, when to hold back, when to push forward. His account here isn't as profound or as moving as Knappertbusch's famous accounts for Bayreuth, yet he doesn't allow the music to bog down in one turgid tempo (as did a former famous American Met maestro).Kollo's voice has already lost some of the sweetness with which he began his long career. Fortunately, Parsifal doesn't lie very high, nor is it as long as some of the other Heldentenor roles he sang. Rysanek was in good shape the night of this recording. Her top is thrilling, her middle register more even than it could be. Her screams in Acts 2 and 3 are cathartic. Talvela makes a very impressive sound and he knows how to make Gurnemanz's long monologues interesting. Nimsgern is a sturdy, moving Amfortas, Probst a properly hectoring Klingsor. The Flowermaidens are good despite some wobbly voices. The sound is mostly good broadcast stereo. Sometimes the singers' voices are a little recessed until they step forward on the stage.I would've thought my money well-spent had I paid to see this performance in the house. If it doesn't stand out as memorably as some others, it's worth having for the individual performances.