Muy bueno, Gran Kundry

This disc was originally part of a three disc set that also contained most of Martha Mödl's last Götterdämmerung Brünnhilde (disc 1) and all of Birgit Nilsson's Götterdämmerung Brünnhilde under Heinz Wallberg from Buenos Aires 1962 (disc 3). For whatever reason that set has been discontinued so Andy wisely gives us the second disc on its own. Astrid Varnay is heard in the complete second act of Parsifal and the last twelve minutes or so of Siegfried (from "Ewig war ich" to the end).Both excerpts are from the later middle part of Varnay's career. She has no difficulty meeting any of the music's requirements and her long experience in this repertoire can be heard in every bar of music she sings. The top Bs and Cs are all there when she needs them though perhaps a bit tighter than a decade earlier. She provides a masterclass in interpretation in both roles. She also doesn't scoop up to pitches as was her wont earlier in her career (someone must've brought it to her attention). As Kundry, she also provides some believable screams in the first scene of Act 2 though (as with most Kundrys) not the scripted one at the end of the act. She nails the difficult donward leap on the word "lachte", jumping in a beat early on the high B. Her colleagues are very good; I wish the Flowermaidens were identified, but there we are. The sound is excellent in both excerpts. The last two bars of Parsifal Act 2 are missing from the original tape (not a big deal).All Varnay fans should have this disc.