I don't recall whether or not Knie or another soprano was indisposed for this performance, but it gave Brenda Roberts a chance to shine in the shortest, but highest lying Brunnhilde in the Ring. Roberts has no trouble with the B' and C's and sounds the womanly Brunnhilde to the life. Her timbre is rather like that of Anja Silja, but steadier in tone. She never lacked for work (and, in fact, did sing one Farberin at the Met); she'd be in greater demand today.Zednik is a superb Mime (as he always was), really digging into the text and making an unpleasant, yet appealing creature out of the dwarf. Cox makes a good Siegfried who has the stamina for the entire role. McIntyre is terrific as the Wanderer. Heinz Feldhoff (brother of Gerd) sings Fafner so beautifully one regrets he wasn't in the Rheingold or used more in other roles. Mazura makes the most of Alberich's brief appearance and Kawahara is a lovely Woodbird (some of her music is missing from the end of Act Two.)Stein once again leads a forthright performance that keeps the drama moving.Except for a few minutes missing from the end of the second act the sound is great, the engineers even capturing the opening timpani roll that frequently goes missing in older broadcast recordings.

I agree with Andy's praises of Brenda Roberts, Jean Cox (although both Roberts and Cox are sweet and smart rather than forceful or overwhelming), Heinz Zednik, and Donald Mcintyre. Andy is certainly right that Heinz Zednik and the Big Mac are both even better here--more spontaneous and alive--than in some of their later recordings and performances. But none of the reviewers have mentioned one of the most powerful members of this cast: the gritty, sulfurous, imposing, frenzied, snarling, uniquely malevolent Franz Mazura as Alberich. May the gods forgive me for speaking blasphemy, but honesty compels me to say: Mazura's Alberich is the equal of--and may actually surpass--the many interpretations by Gustav Neidlinger himself (PeaceBeUponHim). Another feature which no one has mentioned so far: Horst Stein's conducting is masterful: as lively as Josef Keilberth, as muscular as Karl Böhm, and as sensitive as Rudolf Kempe, Stein is really one of the great Wagner-conductors, especially of the RING, and the more I hear of him, the more difficult it is for me to understand why he is not a household name like Böhm, Furtwangler, or Levine.

In ending my response, I would like to quote a recent reviewer of my CD of Geman Romantic : Joseph Andrew Newsome of the Voix des Arts edition September 2, 2017 http://www.voix-des-arts.com/2017/09/cd-review-richard-wagner-richard.html „Amongst the chronicles of bad choices, overzealous ambitions, and abused natural gifts, there are occasional beacons of self-cognizance, well-informed decision making, and unimpeachable musicality, artists whose cognitive abilities are as refined as the products of their vocal cords. Shining amidst these exemplars of nurtured talent and continuously-honed technique is the career of American dramatic soprano Brenda Roberts

Thank you Opera Depot for my Bayreuther Siegfried Brünnhlde.  I am overjoyed that my Brünnhilde has not been lost forever in oblivion and overwhelmed by the wonderful review of my performance. Thank you deeply for your kind words.  I must respond, however, in order to correct history and the long  journey of my career! When I began my career in the opera world, I had just graduated from college. Over the next years, singing Elektra and Salome in my early 20’s, I received excellent, positive press. But there was also criticism that I, in their opinion, was singing on my natural, uneducated voice and the consensus of this opinion was that I was going to ruin my voice within two years. The truth is that I had studied voice since I was 11 yrs., training with the best vocal technique, maintaining that a voice has to be trained so well, that finally it would sound “natural”. I have survived a good number of years and have retained the lightness, range and technique in my singing - at last count, c. 165 Elektras, 160 Salomes, 70 Färberins, 65 Ortruds, etc. Wolfgang Wagner engaged me personally, having heard my Färberin in Nürnberg.Although I suffered in Bayreuth from incessant intrigues without manager, record company, agent, Horst Stein was wonderfully supportive. As GMD at the Hamburg State Opera, I was engaged for 9 yrs. and sang many memorable performances under his baton (Elektra, Senta, Ortrud, etc.) www.brendaroberts.net

One of the best recordings of this opera - I've been searching for years to find this special performance !