Classical

Tristan And Isolde (Bayreuth 1958) Orfeo (3 CDs), out now HHHHH The Flying Dutchman (Bayreuth 1959) Orfeo (2 CDs), out now HHHHH Tannhäuser (Vienna 1970) Decca (3 CDs), out now HHHHH The exceptional verve and brio of the young conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch are very much in evidence in these two superb live recordings from Bayreuth: a Tristan And Isolde from 1958 and The

Flying Dutchman from 1959. In Tristan, Birgit Nilsson, born 100 years ago, displays thrilling vocal resources that show why she is arguably the greatest of all 20th-century Wagner sopranos. And what would we give to have a heldentenor like her Tristan, Wolfgang Windgassen, these days. Josef Greindl is a splendid foil as King Marke, and an even better Daland in the three-act version of the Dutchman, which Bayreuth’s presiding genius, Wagner’s sadly short-lived grandson, Wieland, put on the following year. This gothic Hammer horror show is compelling listening from first bar to last, with Greindl’s Daland well matched by George London’s Dutchman, while the young Leonie Rysanek, only 33 at the time, is a thrilling Senta. In Tannhäuser, Christa Ludwig – 90 this year – is the finest Venus on disc, and the young Helga Dernesch is a charismatic Elisabeth, with gleaming tone throughout. The men aren’t in the same exalted league, but René Kollo’s often criticised Tannhäuser sounds well by contemporary standards, and Werner Hollweg is a persuasive Wolfram. Solti and Decca produced, to great acclaim, the first studio Ring around the same time and this

Tannhäuser is every bit as distinguished.