This performance of “Das Rheingold” by the Metropolitan Opera on tour in Boston in l937 helps let us experience what tends to be referred to as the “Golden Age” of Wagner at the Met. The underrated Artur Bodanzky leads a taut, fateful reading of the score which comes across vividly despite the somewhat constricted sound, and there are a handful of dynamite performances to boot: Friedrich Schorr’s Wotan is towering and arrogant and handsomely sung; Eduard Habich (an unfamiliar name to record collectors) sings an absolutely credible Alberich, also towering in his own way; Karen Branzell’s Fricka is womanly and elegant, and René Maison’s Loge is wise and cunning. Mention must also be made of Karl Laufkotter’s creepy Mime and Emanuel List’s Fafner. Julius Huehn as Donner is commonplace, as is Doris Doe as Erda, but this is still a very special, enlightening “Rheingold.” [Editor’s Note: This recording is not available for sale in the U.S.A.]
