This Bayreuth Festival performance of Siegfried is nearly a triumph. Taped on August 14, 1952, Wagner's music drama was led by Joseph Keilberth, then a rising star among postwar German conductors. As with his performances of Das Rheingold and Die Walküre from earlier in the same festival, Keilberth is about as exciting here as he ever got as a conductor, which is to say, quite exciting. With the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra in the pit, Keilberth's readings of Act I's forging scene, Act II's battle between man and dragon, and ...
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This Bayreuth Festival performance of Siegfried is nearly a triumph. Taped on August 14, 1952, Wagner's music drama was led by Joseph Keilberth, then a rising star among postwar German conductors. As with his performances of Das Rheingold and Die Walküre from earlier in the same festival, Keilberth is about as exciting here as he ever got as a conductor, which is to say, quite exciting. With the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra in the pit, Keilberth's readings of Act I's forging scene, Act II's battle between man and dragon, and Act III's climax between man and woman are as thrilling as they have ever been. As in his earlier performances, Keilberth's attention does sometimes go slack between the big moments, allowing the orchestra to function merely as an accompaniment to the soloists. This is not always a wise move in Wagner, because the orchestral writing is often as interesting as the events on-stage. Most of the singers are excellent, while a few are anything but. Astrid Varnay is simply glorious as...
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