Not quite hot-on-the-heels of the July 28, 1955 Götterdämmerung that triumphantly capped Decca’s long-buried stereo Bayreuth Ring cycle released by Testament comes an alternate recording from August 14, also previously unpublished. Here Martha Mödl replaces Astrid Varnay as Brünnhilde, Hans Hotter takes Günther over from Hermann Uhde, while Varnay assumes the Second Norn. Robert Levine’s accurately enthusiastic comments about the earlier performance apply here too (type Q10914 in Search Reviews).
If anything, Josef Greindl’s resonantly malevolent Hagen is vocally stronger in Act 2. Wolfgang Windgassen’s vivid, multi-dimensional Siegfried needs no further endorsement from these quarters; however, it’s interesting how subtly he adjusts his timbre at the end of Act 1 when assuming Günther’s form, as opposed to having it done for him via John Culshaw’s studio trickery nine years later. Gré Brouwenstijn’s bigger-than-usual if slightly wobble-ridden Gutrune and Maria von Ilosvay’s superb vocal acting as Waltraute are as consistently fine as they were a few weeks earlier. Hotter’s lieder-like inflections of Günther’s text contrast to Uhde’s more straightforward vocal strength. Although Mödl never matched Varnay’s Götterdämmerung Brünnhilde for power and projection, her sensitive shading in quiet passages stands out.
The stereo engineering is excellent for its time, and rectifies a few of the July 28 recording’s skewed balances (the way-up-front Act 2 trombones-as-steerhorns, for instance). Testament provides superb, informative notes by Mike Ashman and rare photos, but only offers a libretto via online PDF files.
