This is a valuable release. To my knowledge, it’s the earliest recorded evidence of Solti’s way with Wagner–and very impressive it is. The rhythmic accuracy, the forward propulsion, the ability to breathe with the singers and give in to a dramatic use of rubato, and Solti’s prevailing firm, clean hand are all here in this live recording, in surprisingly good sound, from Munich in l947. Marianne Schech may not have had the most beautiful vocal quality for Sieglinde, but as on all of her recordings, we get a very feminine portrayal, one suffused with urgency and sincerity. Franz Völker’s Siegmund is predictably musical. Lacking the sheer muscle of Melchior or Ralf (but more potent than Windgassen), he sings off the text intelligently and sacrifices none of the heroics. Friedrich Dalberg’s Hunding is well sung but hardly erases memories of some of the finest. The Munich State Orchestra is not the Vienna Philharmonic, but it plays for Solti with respect and it picks up his energy nicely. One’s only Walküre? No–but very interesting indeed–and satisfying.
