Wolfgang Windgassen
The most important singer of the German Heldentenor repertory in the 1950s and 1960s, Wolfgang Windgassen employed his not-quite-heroic instrument, believable physique, and considerable musical intelligence to forge memorable performances on-stage and in the recording studio. Although his voice lacked the sensuous appeal of Melchior's or Völker's, it was never unattractive and never employed to obvious effect. Indeed, it conveyed a youthfulness that suited the young Siegfried especially well. Born to German parents, both of them singers, in French Savoy, Windgassen began his vocal studies with his father Fritz. He later continued his training with Alfons Fischer and Maria Raznow at the Stuttgart Conservatory. The tenor made his debut as Alvaro in La forza del destino at Pforzheim in 1941. In 1945, he joined the Württembergisches Staatstheater in Stuttgart, steadily moving from lyric roles to more heroic parts; he remained a singer there until 1972. Upon making his debut in the first postwar season at Bayreuth in 1951, he came to international attention. His Parsifal, growing from uncomprehending innocence to maturity and service, was a moving portrayal and was recorded live by Decca Records. Windgassen became indispensable at the Bayreuth Festival, excelling as Lohengrin, the two Siegfrieds, Tannhäuser, and Tristan. There, he earned the respect and devotion of the three leading dramatic sopranos of the age: Martha Mödl, Astrid Varnay, and Birgit Nilsson. Elsewhere, Windgassen made positive impressions at La Scala (where he debuted as Florestan in 1952), Paris (Parsifal in 1954), and Covent Garden, where he appeared as Tristan in 1954. Although regarded by English critics as somewhat light of voice for Wagner's heaviest tenor roles, his lyric expression and dramatic aptness were wholly admired. The Metropolitan Opera briefly heard him as Siegmund beginning in January 1957 (a role rather low for him) and as Siegfried. Windgassen did not return to America until 1970, when he sang Tristan to the Isolde of Nilsson at San Francisco. Beginning that same year, he turned to stage direction. Among Windgassen's finest recordings are his Bayreuth Parsifal, captured with a superb cast under Knappertsbusch's direction, his 1954 Bayreuth Lohengrin under Jochum, his Siegfrieds under both Böhm at Bayreuth and in the studio with Solti, and his Bayreuth Tristan with Böhm conducting and Nilsson as his Isolde.
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Wolfgang Windgassen: Die Walküre 1!.Aufzug
Clásica - Editado por Deutsche Grammophon (DG) el 1 ene. 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Das Rheingold
Wolfgang Windgassen, Ferdinand Frantz, Lorenz Fehenberger
Ópera - Editado por Past Classics el 3 oct. 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dokumente einer Sängerkarriere - Wolfgang Windgassen
Clásica - Editado por Preiser Records el 24 sept. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Lohengrin (Mono Version)
Eugen Jochum, Wolfgang Windgassen, Birgit Nilsson
Varios - Editado por BNF Collection el 1 ene. 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Der erste Heldentenor in Neu-Bayreuth - Wolfgang Windgassen, Vol. 8
Música vocal (profana y sacra) - Editado por Documents 2 el 13 dic. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, Extracts (Mono Version)
Ferdinand Leitner, Bamberger Symphoniker, Wolfgang Windgassen, Astrid Varnay
Clásica - Editado por BNF Collection el 1 ene. 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner, Beethoven & Others: Opera Arias
Ópera - Editado por Archipel el 15 ene. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Voices · Wolfgang Windgassen
Ópera - Editado por G.O.P. el 19 mar. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Tenors sing Wagner · Parsifal
Ópera - Editado por G.O.P. el 31 oct. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Der erste Heldentenor in Neu-Bayreuth - Wolfgang Windgassen, Vol. 7
Música vocal (profana y sacra) - Editado por Documents 2 el 13 dic. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Lohengrin
Wolfgang Windgassen, Astrid Varnay, Elenor Steber
Ópera - Editado por Past Classics el 1 ago. 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Airs d'opéras (Mono Version)
Josef Greindl, Wolfgang Windgassen
Varios - Editado por BNF Collection el 1 ene. 1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Récit du Graal & Adieux extraits de Lohengrin (Mono Version)
Clásica - Editado por BNF Collection el 1 ene. 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Airs de Siegfried & Les maîtres-chanteurs de Nuremberg (Mono Version)
Ópera - Editado por BNF Collection el 1 ene. 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Vienna Debut (Live)
Wolfgang Windgassen, Martha Modl, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Carla Martinis, Wiener Symphoniker, Wilhelm Schüchter
Ópera - Editado por Myto Historical el 29 jul. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Wagner: Der Fliegende Holländer
Herman Uhde, Astrid Vanrnay, Wolfgang Windgassen
Ópera - Editado por Urania el 1 ene. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Der erste Heldentenor in Neu-Bayreuth - Wolfgang Windgassen, Vol. 9
Música vocal (profana y sacra) - Editado por Documents 2 el 13 dic. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Der erste Heldentenor in Neu-Bayreuth - Wolfgang Windgassen, Vol. 10
Música vocal (profana y sacra) - Editado por Documents 2 el 13 dic. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Tenors sing Wagner · Siegfried
Ópera - Editado por G.O.P. el 27 oct. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner · die walküre
Wolfgang Windgassen, Martha Modl, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Orchestra Sinfonica Di Roma Della RAI
Clásica - Editado por G.O.P. el 28 dic. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Tenors sing Wagner · Götterdämmerung
Wolfgang Windgassen, Bernd Aldenhoff, Max Lorenz, Erik Schmedes, Joseph Keilberth, Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Heinz Tietjen, Max Lorenz
Ópera - Editado por G.O.P. el 30 oct. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo