Wagner - Parsifal - London, Talvela, Hotter, Thomas - Knappertsbusch - Bayreuth, 19624CDs - Stereo
Philips 2001
George London, Hans Hotter, Gerhard Stolze, Martti Talvela, Sona Cervena, Dorothea Siebert, Ursula Boese, Gundula Janowitz, Gerd Nienstedt, Niels Moller, Georg Paskuda, Else-Margrete Gardelli, Irene Dalis, Anja Silja, Jess Thomas, Rita Bartos
This one from 1962 sits high on the list. There is a magnificent Gurnemanz from the great Hans Hotter, an impressive Amfortas from Thomas Stewart and a truly malign Klingsor from Neidlinger. Jess Thomas could be a very good actor on stage (I've never seen a Walther who looked more as though he was making up his Prize Song as he went along in Sachs's workshop in Act 3 of Meistersinger). The voice, though, could be a bit tight in its production for my taste. The weak link, and a crucial one, in this performance was Irene Dalis. She's just not a patch on the white-hot Marha Modl in Kna's 1951 performance. --Amazon customer
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