Born: June 26, 1914; Annamasse, France
Died: September 8, 1974; Stuttgart, Germany
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 youthfulnessRead more 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. Read less
Label: Gala
Catalog: 632
Release Date: 03/30/2010
Number of Discs: 3
Composer:
Friedrich von Flotow,
Albert Lortzing,
Carl Maria von Weber,
Carl Zeller
Performer:
Hilde Rössl-Majdan,
Waldemar Kmentt,
Teresa Stich-Randall,
Walter Berry
...
Conductor:
Franz Salmhofer,
Victor Reinshagen,
Ferdinand Leitner,
Wolfgang Sawallisch
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Symphony Orchestra,
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra,
Württemberg State Orchestra
...
Label: Gala
Catalog: GL999791
Release Date: 02/23/2010
Number of Discs: 14
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Gisela Litz,
Gustav Neidlinger,
Hans Hotter,
Ira Malaniuk
...
Conductor:
Clemens Krauss
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra,
Bayreuth Festival Chorus
Label: Decca
Catalog: 414110
Release Date: 02/11/2010
Number of Discs: 4
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Wolfgang Windgassen,
Kurt Böhme,
Dame Joan Sutherland,
Gustav Neidlinger
...
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Recommendation
Label: Testament
Catalog: 1432
Release Date: 10/13/2009
Number of Discs: 3
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Wolfgang Windgassen,
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
Georgine von Milinkovic,
Ramon Vinay
...
Conductor:
Joseph Keilberth
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bayreuth Festival Chorus,
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra
Recommendation
Label: Preiser Records
Catalog: 93455
Release Date: 09/08/2009
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Christoph W. Gluck,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Carl Maria von Weber,
Richard Wagner
...
Performer:
Christel Goltz,
Bernd Aldenhoff,
Max Lorenz,
Elisabeth Wysor
...
Conductor:
Arthur Rother,
Robert Heger,
Kurt Striegler,
Ferdinand Leitner
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Berlin RIAS Symphony Orchestra,
Bavarian State Orchestra,
Dresden Staatskapelle
...
Label: Myto Records
Catalog: 203
Release Date: 06/30/2009
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Ludwig Weber,
Melanija Bugarinovic,
Hertha Töpper,
Ira Malaniuk
...
Conductor:
Joseph Keilberth
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra,
Bayreuth Festival Chorus
Label: Myto Records
Catalog: 186
Release Date: 02/24/2009
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Wolfgang Windgassen,
Fritz Uhl,
Birgit Nilsson,
Erick Saeden
...
Conductor:
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bavarian Festival Chorus,
Bavarian Festival Orchestra
Label: Testament
Catalog: 1433
Release Date: 02/10/2009
Number of Discs: 4
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Martha Mödl,
Josef Greindl,
Gré Brouwenstijn,
Hans Hotter
...
Conductor:
Joseph Keilberth
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra,
Bayreuth Festival Chorus
Recommendation
Label: Decca
Catalog: 00115870
Release Date: 08/26/2008
Number of Discs: 5
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Ruth Hesse,
Gustav Neidlinger,
Dorothea Siebert,
Helga Dernesch
...
Conductor:
Karl Böhm,
Sir Georg Solti,
Silvio Varviso,
James Levine
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra,
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,
Bayreuth Festival Chorus
Label: Testament
Catalog: 1426
Release Date: 08/12/2008
Number of Discs: 13
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Birgit Nilsson,
Hans Hotter,
Wolfgang Windgassen,
Peter Klein
...
Conductor:
Rudolf Kempe
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus,
Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra
Recommendation
Label: Myto Records
Catalog: 152
Release Date: 07/29/2008
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Eugène d' Albert
Performer:
Wolfgang Windgassen,
Marianne Schech,
Hetty Plümacher,
Lore Paul
...
Conductor:
Walter Born
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Stuttgart Symphony Orchestra
Label: Testament
Catalog: 1412
Release Date: 02/12/2008
Number of Discs: 14
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Gré Brouwenstijn,
Astrid Varnay,
Hans Hotter,
Ramon Vinay
...
Conductor:
Joseph Keilberth
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra,
Bayreuth Festival Chorus
Recommendation
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Wolfgang Windgassen,
Birgit Nilsson,
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
Gottlob Frick
Conductor:
Sir Georg Solti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Recommendation
Label: Testament
Catalog: 1393
Release Date: 02/13/2007
Number of Discs: 4
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Maria Graf,
Jutta Vulpius,
Elisabeth Schärtel,
Maria von Ilosvay
...
Conductor:
Joseph Keilberth
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra,
Bayreuth Festival Chorus
Recommendation
Label: Testament
Catalog: 1392
Release Date: 04/11/2006
Number of Discs: 4
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Wolfgang Windgassen,
Gustav Neidlinger,
Hans Hotter,
Paul Kuen
...
Conductor:
Joseph Keilberth
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra,
Bayreuth Festival Chorus
Recommendation
Label: Orfeo D'or
Catalog: 660513
Release Date: 10/25/2005
Number of Discs: 13
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Georgine von Milinkovic,
Astrid Varnay,
Maria von Ilosvay,
Hilde Scheppan
...
Conductor:
Hans Knappertsbusch
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra,
Bayreuth Festival Chorus
Recommendation
Label: Archipel
Catalog: 281
Release Date: 04/26/2005
Number of Discs: 3
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Franz Crass,
Wolfgang Windgassen,
Birgit Nilsson,
Toni Blankenheim
...
Conductor:
Eugen Jochum
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra,
Bayreuth Festival Chorus
Label: Preiser Records
Catalog: 20036
Release Date: 03/29/2005
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Anneliese Kupper,
Wolfgang Windgassen,
Sieglinde Wagner,
Ernst Haefliger
...
Conductor:
Ferenc Fricsay
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Berlin RIAS Symphony Orchestra,
Berlin RIAS Chamber Chorus
Label: Urania
Catalog: 271
Release Date: 03/01/2005
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Richard Wagner
Performer:
Wolfgang Windgassen,
Josef Traxel,
Astrid Varnay,
Hermann Uhde
...
Conductor:
Hans Knappertsbusch
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra,
Bayreuth Festival Chorus