Wagner: Siegfried

The natural-sounding quality of Böhms live recording from Bayreuth, coupled with his determination not to let the music lag, makes his account of Siegfried as satisfying as the rest of his cycle, vividly capturing the atmosphere of the Festspielhaus, with voices well ahead of the orchestra. Windgassen is at his peak here, if anything more poetic in Acts II and III than he is in Soltis studio recording, and vocally just as fine. Nilsson, as in Götterdammerung, gains over her studio recording from the extra flow of adrenalin in a live performance; and Gustav Neidlinger is unmatchable as Alberich… Soukupova is a positive, characterful Erda. Theo Adam is at his finest as the Wanderer… clean and incisive.
The Penguin Guide