One could argue that the Ring cycle from which this Das Rheingold is taken is the greatest ever recorded. There may, of course, be younger listeners who'd say the honor should go to
Solti for its intensity or the
Karajan for its clarity or the
Levine for its lucidity, and older listeners who'd say it should go to the
Krauss for its fire or the
Keilberth for its drive or the
Knappertsbusch for its flow. But while few would deny the merits of those superlative recordings, the Ring that starts with this Rheingold is arguably greater.
To direct this Ring, Rome Radio hired
Wilhelm Furtwängler -- by common assent, the greatest twentieth century conductor of the nineteenth century Austro-German repertoire in general and of
Wagner in particular. To let the cast rest its voices and gather strength, this Ring was recorded one act at a time every two to four days in autumn 1953. Composed in an uninterrupted act, this Rheingold was taped in a single session on October 26 before a very quiet audience with very precise microphone placements to capture the best possible sound for later broadcast. The cast
Furtwängler chose was the best of its time, with the forceful Wotan of
Ferdinand Frantz, the sympathetic Alberich of
Gustav Neidlinger, the imposing Fricka of
Ira Malaniuk, the frightening Ruth Siewert as Erda, the comely Freia of
Elisabeth Grümmer, and, in a casting coup, the fiery young tenor
Wolfgang Windgassen as Loge.
Beyond the excellence of the cast, what makes this a great Rheingold is what makes this a great Ring: a first-class orchestra inspired by the excitement of performing the music for the first time led by a conductor whose uncanny ability to communicate the music's luminous magnificence was unequaled.
Furtwängler's control of the score's myriad details was complete and his grasp of its relentless drama was unyieldingly legendary, and he is able to bend tempos and shape forms with improvisatory genius on his way to the final gargantuan climax. Rising from the depths of the Rhine to the heights of Valhalla in one single, unbroken arch,
Furtwängler, his German soloists, and his Italian orchestra have created a mighty prelude to the Ring that's stunning on its own and staggering in its implications. Though the 1953 live radio monaural sound is antique, the quality of the performance is nevertheless sublime. Anyone who loves
Wagner should hear this performance.