Some listeners will rejoice that there is very little dialogue in this performanceof Der Freischutz. It's obvious from the fragments at the beginnings and endings of tracks it did exist at one time. Someone (probably early on) decided it wasn't interesting and chopped it out thereby not giving us the entire performance. Half of Annchen's big Act Three aria is missing too - whether it was cut by the conductor or just missing from the tape source I can't tell. A great pity...BUT - all Freischutz- lovers should hear this performance. The young Tinsley sounds marvelous. If she doesn't capture the serenity of Agatha's music the way Grummer does, she is alive to everything else and sings up a storm to boot. The Annchen, Clare Walmsley, is lovely too, making the omission of half her Act Three aria a real letdown. Edward Byles sings a sterling Max and if Richard Golding doesn't have the dark bass timbre usually associated with Kaspar, he is very fleet where he needs to be and does the melodramatic dialogue in the Wolf's Glen scene well. Everyone else is more than competent and what snatches of dialogue that were allowed through are spoken well. James Loughran leads a strong ensemble.The sound is much better than I thought it would be, the voices clearly heard over the orchestra and few glitches in the source material. Tinsley is thrilling in the Salome final scene used as a filler. I'd highly recommend the entire performance also available from Opera Depot.

No complaints....the whole cast is excellent...especially Tinsley. Her dynamic range is remarkable. She begins the second act aria very softly...like a light lyric....and at the end, she's a dramatic soprano!!

I really enjoyed hearing Pauline Tinsley as Agathe, particularly recorded at such an early date when her voice remained lyric and had yet to acquire the heroic tones to which we are accustomed. Edward Byles was a regular of my early opera experiences with the Welsh National Opera in the early 1970s by which time he was essentially a character tenor. To hear him in his prime, and in such an heroic role, was a real pleasure. Recording quality is good but tends to favour the orchestra over the singers.