Wagner/ Windgassen/ Sawallisch - Tannhauser

Recorded live at the Festspielhaus, Bayreuth, this 1961 3 CD Tannhäuser, conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch, stars the then 24-year old, African-American mezzo-soprano Grace Bumbry, then at the start of her 50-year career and just coming off spectacular success in Paris as Amneris in Aida, leading to this engagement. The casting is superb: Griendl, Windgassen, Fischer-Dieskau, de los Angeles, Stolze, Crass, Adam. 24-bit re-mastered from an excellent master - stage noise unfiltered, the sound quality of the recording is all one could hope for in a performance of this brilliance.