This German Radio broadcast of Act 3 from Wagner’s Parsifal has had at least three previous CD incarnations, sounding best on Preiser (90261). Maggie Payne seems to have tweaked the mid-range up a bit for this Music and Arts edition, but you can do the same with your home equalizer. The sound is amazingly vivid for its time, without the stridency and exaggerated sibilants characteristic of RRG’s experimental tape recordings. Musically speaking, Knappertsbusch’s fluid pacing and light textures markedly differ from his clunky, elephantine 1951 Bayreuth recording, and are closer to his quicker, more transparent 1962 stereo remake, as well as the “unofficial” 1963/4 broadcasts in circulation. Aside from some ragged brass ensemble at times, the Deutschen Opernhaus Orchestra plays quite well–better, in fact, than the 1951 Bayreuth aggregation. Could it be that this conductor who hated recording actually did some of his best work in the studio? Certainly Ludwig Weber’s Gurnemanz is fresher, more dramatically alive, and note-accurate than in Bayreuth nine years later. His warm sonority and seductive legato are joys to behold. Karl Hartmann’s Parsifal is virile and full-bodied, but dramatically one-dimensional. Either Hans Wocke or Hans Reinmar (no one knows for sure) makes an effortful, slightly strained Amfortas. Elsa Larcén screws up Kundry’s one phrase in Act 3, singing a D-natural instead of a C-sharp on the second note. In sum, lovers of great Wagner singing won’t want to miss Ludwig Weber on terrific form in one of his best roles. Mention should also be made of David Breckbill’s frank and informative booklet notes.
