Wagner: Der Ring des Nibelungen [Box set]

This cycle of geniunely live performances in 1966 and 67 from Bayreuth is broadly contemporary to the Solti and Karajan cycles. It was recorded actually by by DG (DGG at that time) but languished on the shelf for some years because of company politics (i.e. Herbert von Karajan!). When Polydor, parent company of DG became part of newly formed Polygram it enabled the set to be released under the Philips imprimatur, at a price more than the cost of current Decca release. In todays terms it would be the equivalent of half a good week's wage-say around £250! I have lived with all these recordings in Vinyl and CD and I have all the commercial recordings of the Ring, and some derived from radio or internet broadcasts. I have my favourite cycle overall and this is not it-but I would never part with it, and it is the top recommendation now because of the price. This is, and always has been, the best Bayreuth Live Ring, the Keilberth notwithstanding. There is nothing "historic" about the sound quality as with the Keilberth, and the casting forms a second "Golden Age." Bohm's reading is swiftly paced, but never rushed and always masterfully shaped. He is not out to re-interpret the Ring-this is a Master Kapellmeister giving his best work, as with Keilberth.
There are flaws and drawbacks as with all live recordings, but fewer than with other live Rings-the prompter/repetiteur being all too often audible (just!) is a minor distraction, but Wieland Wagner's New Bayreuth productions were static, more like tableaux set against huge abstract sets with litlle scene changing-the result is less stage noise than on other recordings. The recording is very natural, with none of the dubious engineering of the Barenboim set where the voices are in a resonant acoustic totally alien to Bayreuth, and it is actually better recorded than the later Boulez. The Thielemann is similar in sound quality, but not in performance-avoid.
A few myths should be dispelled-Windgassen is a SUPERB Loge, wheedling, guileful and POWERFUL by turns-a real tour de force. Theo Adam is a SUPERB Wotan on this set-many of his later performances on disc were well-sung but dull-his Sachs for Karajan comes to mind-but here he excels in every way-strong characterisation, beautifully sung. He sounds youthful and virile in Rheingold, and more mature in his ,for me, superb Wanderer. Adam usually gets slated in comparison to Hotter-Hotter was not THAT great, and by the early 60's he was getting by on audience fond memory-his voice had developed a raggedness and wobble that made it torture to listen to, at least for me, one of the many reasons I do not rate the Knappertsbusch Parsifal as highly as others-but enough of Hotter, he had retired from these roles by 1967. Listen without prejudice and you will find Adam superb. James King is arguably the finest recorded Siegmund , at least in this recording, of the stereo era (Melchior is incomparable overall) and would that we had his like today.If Vickers was more impassioned for Karajan and Leinsdorf, then King is at least as heroic with steadier tone and less crooning. There is general conscensus that this is Nilsson's finest hour and she is indeed incomparably superb, and if Windgassen has to husband his resources a little more at this age, it is fascinating to hear him do so with such excellent results in his outstanding reading of Siegfried.He often sounds fuller and fresher than even on the 1955 set. The remaining cast is as if from a dream, with generally luxury casting for the minor roles, Neidlinger and Greindl as implacable and incomparable as ever, and even Thomas Stewart , by then already a great Wotan , giving us a superb Gunther. One weak link is Dvorakova as Gutrune,who starts off sounding too heavy of voice and who screams and wobbles alarmingly at times especially in her solo scene. Ironically, when this production premiered in 1965, the solo scene with Gutrune following Siegfried's death was cut-yes there are cuts even in the Temple of Wagner-but was restored the next year following the tsunami of vituperation that engulfed Wieland and Bohm for sanctioning it.Pity that Dvorakova-a fine singer who actually sang Brunnhilde in one of the 3 cycles in 66 &67 and was loved for this role in London -was way off form for this recording. Marha Modl's Waltaute is wobbly but dramatically strong but these are really the only major vocal glitches and are not catastrophic.
When I said this was not my absolute favourite recording, I am referring to hair's breadth preferences-in fact as I write this review, I begin to wonder if maybe it IS after all!
For those wanting to add to their collection, approaching the Ring anew, or wishing to experience a "Golden Age" of Wagner performing but without the sonic deficiencies-or cost-of the Keilberth, this is the absolute top recommendation. At this paltry price, ALL music lovers who do not own the set already should buy it without hesitation. Unlimited stars. Stewart Crowe.

For people who can't quite wean themselves off Solti and onto the joys of Keilberth or Krauss (both wonderful, and you can't have too many Rings) this offering might be a good answer; it's live, but the sound is modern and so is the feel of the orchestra. Boehm's conducting is beautiful, Nilsson impassioned and involved as well as searing, Windgassen much less tired than he was for Solti. Some people are mean about Theo Adam, and he won't remind you of Hans Hotter, but if you like Bernd Weikl as Hans Sachs you'll probably like Adam's Wotan; not mellifluous, but the god is hurting, so why should he sound calm and pretty? The Immolation Scene is to die for, and only Traubel and Lawrence do it better (neither is available, strangely, so soak up gorgeous Varnay or Flagstad). But soak this up too; you won't be sorry.

There are arguably better played and recorded complete Ring sets but no stereo recording has the real sense of urgent drama that Bohm conveys or the consistent strength of his cast. The slight drawbacks of the live recording (extraneous noises, occasional rough/ill-tuned orchestral playing) I found recede within minutes once you get drawn into the action. Alan Blyth in Gramophone 1994 felt that Bohm's set was still the most consistently rewarding in the face of the competition from Solti, Janowski or Barenboim.

The 14 discs are in plain paper envelopes in a solid card box. There is no libretto (that would be a miracle at this price) instead Decca provide a reasonably detailed seven-and-a-half page synopsis with cue points. The much vaunted 'new essay by George Hall' is a pitiful two-page blurb about Bohm and the main singers and their relationship with the music of Wagner and Bayreuth. But at this price I'm not complaining!