[Met Performance] CID:130960
Siegfried {193}
Ring Cycle [70] Uncut. Matinee ed. Metropolitan Opera House: 02/20/1941.
(Review)
Metropolitan Opera House
February 20, 1941 Matinee
SIEGFRIED {193}
Der Ring des Nibelungen: Cycle [70] Uncut
Siegfried...............Lauritz Melchior
Brünnhilde..............Kirsten Flagstad
Wanderer................Friedrich Schorr
Erda....................Karin Branzell
Mime....................Karl Laufkötter
Alberich................Walter Olitzki
Fafner..................Emanuel List
Forest Bird.............Natalie Bodanya
Conductor...............Erich Leinsdorf
Review of Irving Kolodin in the Sun
Flagstad and Melchior Sing Uncut "Siegfried"
After an interval of two performances, in which Guest Conductor Bruno Walter and Edwin McArthur had charge of the proceedings, the direction of German opera at the Metropolitan returned to Erich Leinsdorf yesterday, with the uncut "Siegfried" of the matinee Wagner Cycle. Whether the hard-working conductor had profited from the interval of rest, or whether he was merely impelled to a greater effort by these recent events, his "Siegfried" was one of the most alert and well-controlled performances he has recently given us.
For the most part, the cast had been heard in earlier "Siegfried"s of the season, through the superlative vocalism of Kirsten Flagstad, in the final duet, gave a special touch of magnificence to the occasion. Apparently it has now become a policy of hers to avoid the final high C (which is just as well, since it can scarcely be heard in the orchestral turmoil, anyway) but this was a small detail in the mosaic of perfect parts that made up her achievement. Lauritz Melchior's Siegfried was also of excellent quality. As for the dramatic details of the final scene, there would have been as much illusion if the two singers had simply taken a position at the center of the stage and remained there without the exaggerated miming that was seen yesterday. The associated performers were Friedrich Schorr, who sang the first act admirably when the range was below E, Karl Laufkötter (Mime), Karin Branzell (Erda), Walter Olitzki (Alberich), Emanuel List (Fafner) and Natalie Bodanya (Forest Bird). Needless to say, the house was crowded.