Stuart Skelton’s dark-toned Siegmund and Margaret-Jane Wray’s Sieglinde are also memorable, Stephanie Blythe an exceptional Fricka and Waltraute, Mark Schowalter a complex Loge, and Dennis Peterson’s formidable Mime sings rather than screeches, almost too like Siegfried. Richard Paul Fink, another long-timer, is an equally powerful Alberich, one of the finest on record. Greer Grimsley’s grainy baritone isn’t that ingratiating, but with long experience here he’s a commanding Wotan, noble, arrogant and tragic. Stefan Vinke’s Siegfried is a tower of strength, powerful enough to sound almost at ease in the killer passages, yet capable of lyrical nuances and touches of humour. The Seattle Symphony, though, is better: Fisch (in his second Ring recording) is much pacier, vibrant and thrilling and there are some equally fine singers.
It recalls Reginald Goodall’s live recording, much less polished than studio versions but more than compensating with theatrical immediacy and committed ensemble. But can it bear comparison with other recorded Rings? To a considerable extent it can.
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