Marianne Schech was often thought of as a second or third stringer, the house singer who went on when some other more glamorous soprano couldn't make it or called in sick. No longer - Schech is one of the best Kundrys I've heard. She is completely immersed in the character from first note to last. Her top notes soar and thrill, her middle voice steady and full. I have to give her extra points for her chilling screams and hysterical laughter during the Klingsor scene, one of the few Kundrys who is believable in that scene.Frantz is an excellent Gurnemanz and Metternich, with that glorious instrument of his, is a heartbreaking Amfortas. Proebstl makes much of Titurel's brief role and Peter is a frightening Klingsor. The unnamed Flowermaidens make a mellifluous ensemble, not a Wobbler among them. Which leaves us with the thoroughly mediocre Parsifal of American tenor Howard Vandenburg. His voice is unsteady and pushed and he sounds like he has no idea what he's singing about; maybe he was better in other roles.The biggest problem though is all the missing music. There is no Good Friday music at all in Act 3 - it's all AWOL. Both Acts 1 and 2 also have missing chunks (including Kundry's "So war es mein Kuss", painful when you hear how good Schech is).Not for your average Parsifal listener then, but if you're a fan of Schech, Frantz, or Metternich you should indulge in this even with all the missing music.

ganz gut

An interesting Parsifal with Howard Vandenburg who started and ended his career as baritone. Frantz and Metternich are great!

Je suis heureux d'avoir trouvé chez vous ce Parsifal où Ferdinand Frantz est Gurnemanz. J'avais juste un extrait (Titurel, der fromme Held) sur un 33T édité par melodram). A mon avis c'est un "très très" grand chanteur qui a souffert de la concurrence de Hotter. Mais son Gurnemanz est très bon! C'est à connaître et il est introuvable sauf chez vous et pour cela : un grand merci !!

I made two errors in my earlier review. Bernd Aldenhoff died in early October 1959, a little over four months AFTER Ferdinand Frantz who passed away in late May; and the deaths of both its lead tenor and bass baritone did indeed DEVASTATE the Staatsoper. Mea culpa!

The cuts to Act 3 are abominable. Around twenty five minutes of the act have been butchered and it destroys the continuity.This is from a 1957 Bavarian Staatsoper production with a beautifully conducted performance by Eugen Jochum. Marianne Schech, very under-rated over here, gives a fine performance as Kundry. Never noted as a great dramatic actress, she belies that opinion with a superbly nuanced interpretation of the sorceress. As Gurnemanz, we have Ferdinand Frantz who was one of the two or three greatest bass baritones of the last half of the 20th century. He sings magnificently and his death less than two years later (along with the slightly earlier death of Bernd Aldenhoff in October 1958) devestated the Staatsoper. Speaking of Aldenhoff, he sang the first performance Parsifal earlier that season with the same cast. There is a Gala recording of Schech and him in a scorching performance of the seduction scene of Act 2 — again with Jochum conducting — and it puts the vastly inferior Howard Vandenberg to a decided disadvantage. Josef Metternich and Albrecht Peterround out the cast of leading roles and both are excellent.It is our loss that Act 3 is truncated, but we are fortunate to have Frantz and Schech in top form. The sound is generally good — some scraping at the beginning of Act 3 (no problem because of the butchery) and some fadeaways.