Though vastly different as artists, Sándor Kónya and Astrid Varnay form a compelling and complementary pairing in this performance of Parsifal. Kónya's sweet-toned tenor captures the wide-eyed innocence of Parsifal in Act I, but it is his transformation in Act II that truly astonishes. Despite the lyric nature of his voice, he summons the intensity and fervor of a full-fledged heldentenor. Varnay's Kundry is both sensual and worn by experience, her voice perhaps past its bloom, but her command of text and dramatic intent remains formidable. Thomas Stewart is a noble, tormented Amfortas, and Josef Greindl brings gentle, paternal authority to Gurnemanz. Pierre Boulez favors relatively swift tempos, though his approach here is more relaxed than in his later DG Bayreuth recording, allowing for moments of real expansiveness.