Search - Wagner, King, Rysanek :: Die Walkure 1

The Most Gripping of All

Sean Coxen | Ijamsville, MD | 11/27/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Perhaps the finest hour of Boehm's "Ring" (recorded live at Bayreuth, 1966-67) is right here in the first act of "Die Walkuere", where Boehm brings to mind Bruno Walter's classic account. Boehm was, afterall, a protege of Walter, and he seems to have benefitted greatly from the senior maestro's tutelege. The prelude establishes an immediate urgency that holds throughout; the pulse of the Volsung's love music beats strongly but never sounds forced or without spontaneity; the finale combines a lyricism and visceral exitement that would never have held together in the hands of a less capable conductor.As for the singing, it's superb. James King as Siegmund has never sounded better on records: on that night, his voice was rich, heroic and utterly free. And his characterization is so involved -- a vast improvement over his earlier wooden self on the Solti recording. Leonie Rysanek's Sieglinde is a classic, miserably oppressed in the first half, coming thrillingly alive in the second, culminating in her now legendary scream when Siegmund draws the sword from the ash tree (at which point Boehm has worked the orchestra up to a feverish pitch). Only the dead could not respond to this moment. Nienstedt's Hunding hasn't the pitch black, bottomless bass that traditionally goes with the part, but he sings with overwhelming power and menace, delivering the words with more imagination than most Hunding's care to.The atmosphere and added adrenalin usually present in a live performance cinch it for this recording. This is without a doubt the most gripping Act 1 of "Die Walkuere" I have ever heard."

Never listen to only ONE act - except...

Sean Coxen | 03/19/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This recording from the Bayreuth Festival is stunning - and not least this first act. It is Wagner's "Romeo & Juliette". Nienstedt as Hunding is ominous, if not all that convincing, but King and Rysanek as the couple divided by conventions (they are twins) are terrific - really convincing! The last scene, where Siegmund (King) draws the sword from the tree-trunk is crowned by Sieglinde's cry of terror and delight - it's not in the score, and I've heard no other soprano do it, but it seems so RIGHT at this peak in the music! Buy it, if only for this moment!"