Sold Date: May 31, 2020
Start Date: April 29, 2020
Final Price: $22.95 (AUD)
Seller Feedback: 3091
Buyer Feedback: 13

This 1954 recording, live from Bayreuth, finds the very young Birgit Nilsson in the role of Elsa. It is an attractive portrayal; she plays Elsa, in a very believable fashion, for the frail, needy creature she is. The gleaming top notes are in evidence as well. Wolfgang Windgassen's not-quite heldentenor is precisely right for Lohengrin, and he sings with sensitivity and authority, in both introspective and public moments. Hermann Uhde's Telramund is a nice, evil conception, and Astrid Varnay's ferocious Ortrud is breathtaking--the slight ugliness that began creeping into her voice around this period is just right for the manipulative, odious Ortrud. Theo Adam's King is distinguished. The Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus perform as if the music were in their blood, which, of course, it is. Jochum's leadership can't be faulted. He keeps the action flowing with never eccentric tempi, and the ensembles hold together nicely.