Search - Wagner, Bohm, Bayreuth Festival Orchestra :: Das Rheingold (2 CD Set)

A well-sung, theatrical Rheingold

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 09/26/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Sixties Ring cycle from Karl Bohm at Bayreuth, which overlapped the casting of that era's most famous studio cycles--Solti and Karajan--is more theatrical than either. Voices are quite immediate and infused with dramatic purpose. If you want to hear Das Rheingold move along in "live time," this is your best bet. Bohm's pacing can be impatient, as in the opening scene, but on the whole he has a good feeling for the breadth of Wanger's music.



The casting is strong. Theo Adam sings Wotan in the whole cycle. by no means an inspired artist, and afflcited with an unpleasant gurgle in his voice, Adam was nonetheless a strong figure on stage. Marti Talvela and Kurt Boehme stand out as the giants, and we get Solti's Siegfried, Wolfgang Windgassen, as Loge. Gustav Neidlinger, a stalwart Alberich for over twenty years, is here at his best vocally. In the small role of Freia, the young Anja Silja is riveting. The other roles, down to the three Rhinemaidens, are secure and enjoyable.



For me, the biggest glitch is the orchestra, recessed as it is under the stage at Bayreuth. A lot of detail sounds muffled here, and the ensemble itself, though good, is not remotely on the same level as the Vienna Phil. for Solti and the Berlin Phil. for Karajan. If that doesn't bother you, bohm's is still one of the most competitive Rheingolds around--and it's now available in a complete Ring box at budget price. ."