# Bayreuth 1976 versus 1977



## Guest (Mar 28, 2019)

These are two god tier years at Bayreuth, but which one has the better performances?

I’m currently comparing the two Rings from these years and I’m finding that alone incredibly difficult. There’s something quite fresh and spirited about the 76 ring with a kind of raw energy that could possibly place it above the 77 ring, but I kinda prefer the 77 ring because it just seems to hold together better dramatically. 

76 definitely has the best Tristan.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

That must have been a bit of a shock for Tristan finding himself plucked from Kareol and thrust into the Norse mythos!


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2019)

Barbebleu said:


> That must have been a bit of a shock for Tristan finding himself plucked from Kareol and thrust into the Norse mythos!


Is there something Norse about Kleiber's 76 Tristan und Isolde? I'm not too aware of details regarding the production itself, but this would be interesting to know.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Ah, now I see what you mean. You are saying that apart from the Ring cycles, Bayreuth 1976 had the best performance(s) of Tristan und Isolde. That's debatable but nevertheless!!


I did wonder at the reference to Tristan in a comparison of the Ring!


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2019)

Fair enough. Currently listening to the 76 Siegfried on the way to uni this morning. Just finished aft 2. I actually think I’m coming to enjoy the 76 Ring a little more than the 77 one. I’m yet to hear Götterdämmerung in full, but it has Jess Thomas and not Manfred Jung, which is hopefully a positive thing for me.


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## Guest (Mar 31, 2019)

Jess Thomas definitely sounds older by 1976.


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## gellio (Nov 7, 2013)

I have both and they are both interesting, the '76 more so for how crazy the audience is at times. But, I prefer the '77 recording. Both are way better than the commercial release a few years later, imo.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

gellio said:


> I have both and they are both interesting, the '76 more so for how crazy the audience is at times. But, I prefer the '77 recording. Both are way better than the commercial release a few years later, imo.


I concur. Sometimes you wonder about the thinking of major studios!


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