The advent of electrical recording brought forth a flurry of Wagner on disc, culminating in this storied 1935 set, marking the first time a single act from a Wagnerian music drama was recorded complete. From the fiery orchestral Prelude to the radiant evocations of spring in the final scene, the Vienna Philharmonic is captured on their finest prewar form, abetted by Bruno Walter"s incisive yet flexible baton. As Sieglinde, Lehmann"s acute musicality and her attention to words and the emotion they convey outweigh any question of the great soprano"s less-than-youthful timbre at this stage of her career. List brings welcome lyric beauty to Hunding"s burly lines, while Melchior"s unfettered, sometimes rhythmically inaccurate Siegmund soars with authority whether in the low-lying reflective passages or the anguished monologue to himself at the beginning of Scene Three. Grammofono"s transfer is similar to EMI"s 1988 CD edition: a bit shrill on top, and more reverberant than the original 78s. No notes or texts. --Jed Distler