Wagner: Lohengrin
James King (Lohengrin), Heather Harper (Elsa), Donald McIntyre (Telramund), Grace Hoffman (Ortrud), Karl Ridderbusch (King Henry)
Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Rudolf Kempe
the imaginative choice of Heather Harper pays off in spades in the Act 3 duet. She and the conductor, with James King's sincere co-operation, make a most subtle kind of chamber music together...Throughout...
Wagner: Lohengrin
James King (Lohengrin), Heather Harper (Elsa), Donald McIntyre (Telramund), Grace Hoffman (Ortrud), Karl Ridderbusch (King Henry)
Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Rudolf Kempe
Purchase product
the imaginative choice of Heather Harper pays off in spades in the Act 3 duet. She and the conductor, with James King's sincere co-operation, make a most subtle kind of chamber music together...Throughout...
About
1967 proved to be a transitional year, following the death of Wieland Wagner who had run Bayreuth Festival conjointly with his brother Wolfgang since 1951. Wolfgang then ran the festival on his own, until 2008. In his final year on the Green Hill, Rudolf Kempe was completely attuned to the theatre's special acoustics: here is a 'Lohengrin' of supremely subtle sonorities, with several singers making their huge successful house debuts.
Contents and tracklist
- Horst Hoffmann, Hermin Esser, Karl Ridderbusch, Thomas Tipton, Dieter Slembeck, Heinz Feldhoff, Donald McIntyre, Heather Harper, James King, Grace Hoffman, Natsue von Stegmann, Elke Georg, Lieselotte Kiefer, Margret Giese-Schröder
- Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Bayreuther Festspielchor
- Rudolf Kempe
- Recorded: 30 July 1967
- Recording Venue: Live recording, Bayreuth Festival Hall, Bayreuth, Germany
Spotlight on this release
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Sir Donald McIntyre (1934-2025)
17th Nov 2025
The New Zealand-born bass-baritone, who was a regular at the Bayreuth Festival for over two decades and triumphed as Wotan in the 1976 centenary production of the Ring Cycle, has died aged 91.
Awards and reviews
July 2012
the imaginative choice of Heather Harper pays off in spades in the Act 3 duet. She and the conductor, with James King's sincere co-operation, make a most subtle kind of chamber music together...Throughout the evening Kempe predictably makes the fullest use of the Bayreuth acoustic and sunken pit...A must for Kempe collectors and fans of Harper's musicality; less important as a Bayreuth or Lohengrin landmark.
