One of my greatest regrets is not to have visited Bayreuth in my youth to catch this Hollander of 1955. In its first post-war staging at the festival, Wolfgang Wagner appears to have done his best work ever and in a new interview for this set’s booklet he describes his intentions and their execution. Knappertsbusch conducted the first night, and that performance can be heard on a recently released Music & Arts issue that I referred to when reviewing the recent Sony version conducted by Levine. Decca, then allied to Telefunken, recorded later performances conducted by Keilberth, a version now appearing, belatedly, on CD for the first time.
You will miss one of the greatest pieces of dramatic singing ever committed to disc if you overlook Uhde’s superb reading of the title-part. His pained tone transferred into a haunting realization of the text is ideal in the role and sears one’s soul from start to finish. Listen, in his Monologue to “Nirgends ein Grab!” or “Vergeb’ne Hoffnung!” or again to “Ihr Welten, endet euren Lauf!” and you will hear the man’s anguish ideally conveyed. Then in the opening of the duet with Senta (second disc, beginning of track 5) Uhde commands the line and the intimate tone to suggest the Dutchman’s dreamlike wonder as he contemplates this woman who has appeared from nowhere apparently to ease his torment.
As that woman, Varnay is almost as good. It is true that by then she had become the leading Brunnhilde and Elektra of her day so that the voice is a shade unwieldy for the part, but one soon forgets that and an occasional sourness at the top for her understanding shown in the Ballad but even more in her opening phrase in the duet, beginning “Versank ich jetzt”. Windgassen on the first night is the more interesting and involved Erik, but Lustig has the stronger voice and sings with welcome conviction. Weber’s Daland is common to both performances and entirely admirable, a real character in terms of sound alone. Traxel is star casting for the Steuermann, singing his elegiac song with inner rapture.
Keilberth’s conducting has been unjustly denigrated. He can stand comparison with most of those who have been in charge of the work on disc, but Knappertsbusch conducts a more deliberate and intense interpretation. On both occasions the chorus and orchestra excel themselves. There may be moments of hesitant ensemble but these are as nothing when the immediacy of a live occasion is taken into account, with very few intrusions from stage or audience.
Oddly Teldec seem to have overlooked the stereo tapes used when Decca last issued the set on LP (7/78), which is a great pity. In any case the sound emphasizes some grittiness in the strings not present on LP or on the Music & Arts issue. These drawbacks are small in the face of the performance’s visceral excitement. Of course you can also hear that in the 1980s Bayreuth account on Philips, but that isn’t as vividly sung. Between Keilberth and Knappertsbusch, it is hard to choose but perhaps the latter has the edge by virtue of an even greater commitment on all sides. Whatever you do, when buying a set of this work, hear one or the other before making your decision.'