# The Dream Siegfried.



## Pip (Aug 16, 2013)

Richard Caniell at Guild CDs was responsible for putting together the "Dream Ring" a few years ago by combining various recordings together and publishing it. It was not as bad as I thought it might be considering he mixed live and commercial recordings most of which were conducted by different people.
However it was by necessity limited by the type of recordings he was able to use.

Here now, we can dispense with those limitations and let the imagination run wild.
So here we go - the only rule is that all participants must be obtainable (live or not does not matter).

Siegfried - Lauritz Melchior,has to be undoubtably the greatest in history. (Hans Hopf a distant second)
Mime - Julius Patzak, a great artist, sings on the RAI Ring for Furtwängler
Wanderer - Hans Hotter circa 1953-58 - as with Melchior - no contest.
Alberich - Otakar Kraus -I saw both him and Neidlinger - both great - the difference is so small
Fafner - Josef Greindl, one of my favourite singers, although I would not say no to Emmanuel List
Woodbird - Joan Sutherland - luxury casting indeed, but you can buy the CDs on Pearl.
Brünnhilde - Kirsten Flagstad - the soprano , the greatest.

Conducted by Furtwängler(pre war) or Karajan circa 1952.

Venue - Bayreuth - it is the most incredible feeling in the auditorium when the house lights go down, because there is no light from the covered orchestra pit and the sound just begins in the darkness - wonderful.
It is the same effect with -Das Rheingold - sitting there in the darkness and from nowhere starts the low rumbling Eflat.
Oh yes, we will have to journey to Bayreuth for this.


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## Revenant (Aug 27, 2013)

I have nothing to add to that dream casting Pip. My favorite Alberich though, is Neidlinger but I don't think I've heard Kraus. I'm not that far yet into Wagnerland, but who ever is? BTW, Richard Canniell's Dream Ring (either the version you mentioned or an "update" of that effort) is now listed at his site, immortalperformances.org. I recently purchased the 1939 Met Simon Boccanegra and the first ever compilation of the entire discography of Florence Quartararo. Great remasterings both.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Siegfried: Alberto Remedios (none has sung the part with greater beauty of tone, IMO)
Mime: Gerhard Stolze (can't resist him, sorry)
Wanderer: Hans Hotter (no contest)
Alberich: Gustav Neidlinger
Fafner: Matti Salminen
Woodbird: Gundula Janowitz
Erda: Christa Ludwig
Brünnhilde: Linda Esther Gray (I'd love to have heard her sing this rôle)


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

One is assuming we have artists at their peak and not as heard on recordings made late in their careers.
Then Flagstad for Brunnhilde
Melchior for Siegfried (as Vickers never risked his voice with the part)
Neidlinger as Alberich
Hoffnung as Erda
Salmi end as Fafner
Schreier as Mime
Hotter as Wanderer
Conductor - Furtwangler, Krauss or Karajan


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## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

Oops, forgot my conductor. As this is a "Dream Siegfried", I'll go for Leonard Bernstein. I've often felt that _Siegfried_ is the most "Mahlerian" of Wagner's works, and I'd be intrigued to hear what Bernstein would make of it.


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## Chi_townPhilly (Apr 21, 2007)

Pip said:


> Richard Caniell at Guild CDs was responsible for putting together the "Dream Ring" a few years ago by combining various recordings together and publishing it. It was not as bad as I thought it might be considering he mixed live and commercial recordings most of which were conducted by different people.
> However it was by necessity limited by the type of recordings he was able to use.


I've known about the Caniell recordings there in the back-country of the commercial catalog- and have occasionally been tempted to pick a few of them up... but haven't just yet. [Maybe I'll put 'em on my Christmas List.]



Pip said:


> Here now, we can dispense with those limitations and let the imagination run wild.
> So here we go - the only rule is that all participants must be obtainable (live or not does not matter).
> 
> Siegfried - Lauritz Melchior,has to be undoubtably the greatest in history. (Hans Hopf a distant second)


Okay...


Pip said:


> Wanderer - Hans Hotter circa 1953-58 - as with Melchior - no contest.


All right- if you prefer him, I understand. But to say it's _no contest_ [?!]... well, Friedrich Schorr says hello.

See the more complete treatment in this spot.


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## Yashin (Jul 22, 2011)

For parts of the role i love Ben Heppner. Hear him on his Wagner cd and he sings the Siegfried role really well. Whether he can stand the role, or could have in the theatre is another question.

Lance Ryan on the recent Frankfurt ring cd/dvd sings oddly during Nothung but then impresses later on.

A very difficult role. Am looking forward to hearing more of Stephen Gould (new Janowski Siegfried). I know he has recorded the role for Thielemann on both of his Ring sets and i quite like his voice. What of Stuart Skelton on the Hamburg Ring conducted by Simone Young. I have her Walkure and Rheingold and enjoy them a lot.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

For my tastes, it's hard to find a better cast than Barenboim's at Bayreuth in the late '80s -- Jerusalem and Anne Evans as Sigi and Brünnhilde, Graham Clark as Mime, and John Tomlinson as the Wanderer.


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