The history behind this, the first commercially issued recording
of Götterdämmmerung, is by now well known,
but let me briefly relate it anyway. When John Culshaw, producer
for Decca, approached Kirsten Flagstad to discuss a series of
recordings with her, one condition from her side was that Decca
issued on LPs the Norwegian Radio’s recent studio recording
that had been broadcast live. After some discussions there was
a deal, but it turned out that there were some scenes missing
on the original tapes and an extra recording session was arranged
to ‘fill in the gaps’, except the brief orchestral
bridge between scenes 2 and 3 of Act I. The recording remained
in the catalogue until Solti’s stereo set was issued in
the mid-1960s. Since then it has been unavailable.
I listened to this almost 67-year-old set immediately after
the sonically superb Oehms Götterdämmerung
conducted by Sebastian Weigle from January-February 2012; the
difference was striking. However, having spent uncountable hours
over the last eight years listening to and reviewing re-issues
of operas from the same period it was not difficult to adjust
to the compressed dynamics, the mono sound and the limited frequency
range. The result is warm and the orchestra is well caught.
Øivin Fjeldstad was the foremost Norwegian conductor
of this period but he wasn’t particularly associated with
Wagner. In spite of that his is a worthy reading, not particularly
illuminating but nor are there any idiosyncrasies. The orchestral
playing has some blemishes but taken as a whole it is much more
than acceptable, considering that it was recorded ‘live’.
Having seen some rather dismissive reviews of the singers -
apart from Flagstad and Svanholm - it was a pleasant surprise
to find a lot of accomplished singing; several of the singers
had important international careers. Eva Gustavson (First Norn
and Waltraute), who died as recently as February 2009, spent
15 years on European and North American stages and was in 1949
chosen by Toscanini to sing Amneris in his recorded broadcast
of Aida. She is strong voiced, dark and steady - and
not every First Norn one hears today can compete in this latter
respect. The second Norn is Karen Marie Flagstad, Kirsten’s
younger sister, who also appeared internationally and took part
in the Furtwängler recording of Die Walküre
from La Scala. Here she was past fifty and there are signs of
unsteadiness. Ingrid Bjoner, the third Norn and doubling as
Gutrune, had one of the most illustrious careers of any Norwegian
soprano after Flagstad. She sang the big dramatic roles at Bayreuth,
La Scala and other stages, was at the Met 1961-1967 and can
be heard as the Empress in Die
Frau ohne Schatten from the inauguration of the Bavarian
State Opera in Munich in 1963. On the present set she is heard
very early but it is already a classy voice.
On the male side Waldemar Johnsen is at best a serviceable Gunther
while Per Grönneberg has a good strong bass-baritone with
secure low notes - important for the role of Alberich. His delivery
is rather blustery at times but when he sings softly he can
be quite touching. Egil Nordsjø’s warm, steady
tone and strong low notes tell us that he must have been a good
fatherly Sarastro. For the evil Hagen this isn’t enough,
the sinister side of the character must be more explicitly expressed.
Kirsten Flagstad at sixty is still regal, her characteristic
bronze-tinted tone as steady as ever. She may not be as free
and secure at the top, occasionally there is a certain shrillness,
but hers is a magisterial reading and the Immolation scene -which
was issued separately in Australian Eloquence’s monumental
tribute to her some years ago - is only second to Nilsson’s
and her own earlier recordings. In Set Svanholm she has a worthy
partner and his sturdy tenor has the steely ring so seldom heard
today. The tone is slightly drier than in the recordings he
made with Flagstad 6-7 years earlier and he misses some of the
poetry in the death scene but by and large his singing here
should be a model for any aspiring heroic Wagner tenor.
While this recording is hardly a first choice it should be in
every serious Wagner lover’s collection for the singing
of Flagstad and Svanholm.
Göran Forsling
see also reviews by John
Whitmore and Ralph
Moore
Masterwork Index: Götterdämmmerung
Naxos
Historical reviews on Musicweb International
Kirsten Flagstad (soprano) - Brünnhilde; Ingrid Bjoner (soprano)
- Gutrune/Third Norn; Unni Bugge-Hanssen (soprano) - Woglinde; Eva
Gustavson (mezzo) - Waltraute/First Norn; Karen Marie Flagstad (mezzo)
- Second Norn/Wellgunde; Beate Asserson (contralto) - Flosshilde;
Set Svanholm (tenor) - Siegfried; Waldemar Johnsen (baritone) -
Gunther; Per Grönneberg (baritone) - Alberich; Egil Nordsjø
(bass) - Hagen 