Wagner: Das Rheingold, Live at the 1955 Bayreuth Festival [Import]

It is ironic that a work like The Ring, which is a dauting challenge to conductors, orchestras, soloists and choruses, has been blessed with several outstanding recorded versions. Among stereo versions, the Solti has rightly been favored for its superb cast, great playing from the Vienna Philharmonic, passionate conducting, and still-remarkable engineering, including sound effects. Of course, there have been caveats, including the view that Solti, while certainly bringing forth the raw passion of the score, sometimes lacked a certain coutnerbalacing subtlety, which made for a certain brashness and lack of the gravitas and mystery also in the music. Because of this, I have always had a slight preference for the live Bayreuth versions under Krauss and Kempe, with the Krauss perhaps havng a slight edge because of certain of the soloists. Both recordings are hihgly desierable, although being mono, they lack the clarity and sonic impact of the Solti. Well, that situation may come to an end with the release of the Stereo Keilberth/Bayreuth performance from 1955.

As is well known, Decca recorded this cycle, only ot have John Culshaw veto its issue because of his prejudice against recording live performances. If this "Rheingold" is any measure of the rest of the cycle, this will be a Ring with which to contend. To begin with, Keilberth, well-known in Germany but not appreciated elsewhere, sounds like another unsung hero if the podium. His conducting is in the Krauss/Kempe manner, energetic, fiery, yet fully appreciative of the mystery of the music. The very first scene in the Rhine begins darkly, gravely, and gradually builds to swirling figures that really sound like water flowing. The Rhinemaidens are saucy and exhuberant, absolutely exhilirating in the "Rheingold! Rheingold!" hymn to the gold. Neidlinger's Alberich is even more brilliant here than other Rings, both demonic and desperate. Hotter delievers his finest Wotan, even firmer of voice than in the hallowed Krauss of three years earlier. Kuen likewise is a more musical Mime than usual, and the rest of the cast leaves nothing to be desired; I am especially impressed with von Illosvay's dark, foreboding Erda. Throughout, Keilberth maintains an unusually firm yet flexible hand on the music, taut but never rushed. How he could remain overlooked as one of the conductorial greats is mystifying. And the sound surpasses any other recording, even the Solti, because of the unique clarity and balance only found at Bayreuth. The stereo effect is entirely natural, never exaggerated. What you hear is the orchestra at your lap, supporting and never overwhelming the singers on stage. This is a "Rheingold" for the ages; if the rest of the Ring (I am soon going to purchase "Die Walkuere") measures up to this, then this will be the essential Ring.

It begins at about 1 hour 8 minutes in, and continues for about 25 minutes. It's undoubtedly annoying - like really bad tape hiss. But at *no* point does it (even slightly) obscure the voices of Hotter & Neidlinger etc. at their absolute peak, in (otherwise) excellent sound.

Anybody who dismisses this remarkable set simply because of that is just missing the forest for the trees. But if you're in doubt, all you have to do is listen to the audio samples that Amazon has so helpfully provided: those for Disc 2, tracks 2 through 6 show off the "hissing noise" at its worst.

For whatever it's worth, I think that those who are kicking up a fuss over said "hissing nose" are being more than a bit silly. And I can't help wondering whether they could deal, even for a moment, with the much more severe audio compromises required to appreciate the incomparable recorded interpretations of Frida Leider & Lauritz Melchior & Friedrich Schorr.

Once you become accustomed to the high standards of Keilberth's best Wagner (in the case of the 1955 Ring cycle, the best is Siegfried and Gotterdammerung), a sloppy Rheingold comes as a considerable letdown. I see that other reviewers are praising it as equal to the rest, but it isn't. The orchestra gets off to a wobbly start in the Prelude, and almost immediately we meet three vocally insecure Rhinemaidens, who unfortunately don't improve even though the orchestra does. The first appearance of the river's gold is marred by weak brass and feeble ensemble. In the first scene, only the great Gustav Neidlinger as a grim, ferocious Alberich upholds Bayreuth's famed reputation. (There's reason enough here to justify John Culshaw's decision not to release this Ring as the first one to appear commerically.)

Things improve with the appearane of Hans Hotter's commanding Wotan in the next scene, and by then Keilberth has gotten a grip, displaying his expressive, flexible best and his sympathy for the singers. All the secondary parts are very well done -- the giants are rock-solid, equal in their way to Wotan -- what a golden age for German bassos. Loge isn't mercurial, but to offset his beefy, somewhat menacing tenor, Lustig has dramatic heft. (There's a tradition of lighter-voiced Siegfrieds like Svanholm, Jerusalem, and even Windgassen singing the part of Loge.)

The transition to the Niebelungs' realm brings more blatty brass, followed by a mechanical device whose background hiss bothers several reviewers. It is loud, no doubt, sounding like a wind machine on stage. As a result, the magical Tarnhelm theme is robbed of mystery -- the machine drowns out the spectral music at that point. All goes well in the final scene except that the blatty brass return as the gods cross the Rainbow Bridge.

Obviously these deficits don't bother some listeners, and yet one must consider the competition. Das Rheingold is an easy opera to bring off, with no heroic roles of the type that face Brunnhilde and Siegfried. There are any number of excellent recordings--indeed, almost no bad ones--so I'd say that Keilberth's, despite a glorious Wotan and an outstanding cast in general, isn't a must-buy. Save your money for the Siegfried and Gotterdammerung installments. They are not only the best parts of Keilberth's Ring but also the ones that offer much stronger competition.