A wonderful set - and an outstanding bargain. Top contenders in this opera would be the versions of Furtwängler and Böhm. The recorded sound of this issue alone - it is beautifully spacious with perfect balance between singers and orchestra - puts it way ahead of the old Furtwängler, which in any case has in Flagstad an Isolde who sounds far too matronly. One gets more orchestral detail than in the Böhm version for Kleiber is a master at bringing out tiny details of woodwind colouring, as is immediately apparent in the Prelude. Margaret Price and René Kollo both sound convincingly young. Price is the loveliest-sounding Isolde I have ever heard, also the most ecstatic: no-one would know she hadn't sung the role onstage. Kurt Moll gives full attention to every word and is a rare example of a King Marke who isn't a bore. In fact, there isn't a single passage throughout the opera which drags, thanks to Kleiber's inspired direction. The opera can also be bought as part of a 12-CD set, an absolute bargain but the remastering may not equal the sound on this version.