Who is 'Our Siegfried'?

Roger Travis

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Oct 31, 1996, 3:00:00 AM10/31/96

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I'm reading Culshaw's 'Ring Resounding' for the first time, and I have to
know (and would be amazed if this were a poser) who the Siegfried with
such potential but so little intelligence is, whom Windgassen replaced at
the eleventh hour. I'm very favorably impressed by Culshaw's talent as a
storyteller--this book is a must read for anyone who collects opera
recordings!

Roger Travis

James G. Jorden

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Oct 31, 1996, 3:00:00 AM10/31/96

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In <rmtravis-270...@peregrinus.hip.berkeley.edu>

rmtr...@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Roger Travis) writes:
>
>I'm reading Culshaw's 'Ring Resounding' for the first time, and I have
>to know (and would be amazed if this were a poser) who the Siegfried
>with such potential but so little intelligence is, whom Windgassen
>replaced at the eleventh hour.

I have always heard that "our Siegfried" was Ernst Kozub, a Solti
discovery. He sang Siegmund at Covent Garden in the early '60s, but
apparently the voice fell apart almost as quickly as Roberto Alagna's
is currently doing.

james
jjo...@ix.netcom.com

Mai Shields

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Nov 1, 1996, 3:00:00 AM11/1/96

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jjo...@ix.netcom.com(James G. Jorden) wrote:

>>I'm reading Culshaw's 'Ring Resounding' for the first time, and I have
>>to know (and would be amazed if this were a poser) who the Siegfried
>>with such potential but so little intelligence is, whom Windgassen
>>replaced at the eleventh hour.

>I have always heard that "our Siegfried" was Ernst Kozub, a Solti
>discovery.

I don't know where I read it, and it was a long time ago, but I
remember hearing somewhere that the unnamed Siegfried in question was
Reiner Goldberg. All I know about Goldberg is that he later recorded
Richard Strauss' first opera, Guntram, with the Hungarian State
Orchestra directed by Eve Queler.

Jim Shields
reds...@pipeline.com

Bidrum Vabish

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Nov 1, 1996, 3:00:00 AM11/1/96

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James G. Jorden (jjo...@ix.netcom.com) wrote:
: In <rmtravis-270...@peregrinus.hip.berkeley.edu>
: rmtr...@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Roger Travis) writes:
: >
: >I'm reading Culshaw's 'Ring Resounding' for the first time, and I have

: >to know (and would be amazed if this were a poser) who the Siegfried
: >with such potential but so little intelligence is, whom Windgassen
: >replaced at the eleventh hour.

: I have always heard that "our Siegfried" was Ernst Kozub, a Solti

: discovery. He sang Siegmund at Covent Garden in the early '60s, but

: apparently the voice fell apart almost as quickly as Roberto Alagna's
: is currently doing.

: james
: jjo...@ix.netcom.com
Kozub can be heard on two recordings I know of, as Erik on the Klemperer
Dutchman (EMI) and as Melot on the Solti-Nilsson Tristan.
Paolo

Tom Moran

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Nov 1, 1996, 3:00:00 AM11/1/96

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BK...@nycnet.com writes:

>REINER GOLDBERG is the (pretty lame) Siegfried on the James Levine/Met
>Orch Ring on DG

The above must have been referring to an earlier post that I can't find.
In any case he has misunderstood the question.

Readers of John Culshaw's book "Ring Resounding" know who "Our Siegfried"
is -- they just don't know his identity.

"Our Siegfried" is the unnamed tenor who was originally supposed to sing
the role on the Solti recording. Culshaw wanted a new, fresh tenor and
they thought they had found one. His voice was superb, but he was lazy
and disinclined to do the work necesary to learn the role.

The recording seemed to be foundering, but at the last minute Wolfgang
Windgassen stepped in and sang the role.

The above desription doesn't begin to do the passage justice -- it's one
of the most dramatic scenes in Culshaw's book.

I have always wondered, however, who "Our Siegfried" was. I don't suppose
it would be *too* difficult to figure out his identity. I, however, don't
have a clue...

Tom Moran

BK220

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Nov 1, 1996, 3:00:00 AM11/1/96

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REINER GOLDBERG is the (pretty lame) Siegfried on the James Levine/Met
Orch Ring on DG

k

Craig Werner

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Nov 2, 1996, 3:00:00 AM11/2/96

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rmtr...@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Roger Travis) writes:
>I'm reading Culshaw's 'Ring Resounding' for the first time, and I have to
>know (and would be amazed if this were a poser) who the Siegfried with
>such potential but so little intelligence is, whom Windgassen replaced at
>the eleventh hour.

As some posters have already mentioned, it was Ernst Kozub. I heard Kozub
in _Freischutz_ when the Hamburg State Opera did a few performances at the
Met around 1967. It's easy to see the attraction of Kozub: he had a
robust and deep timbre with plenty of volume. He brought excitement to
his work. Unfortunately, my memory is dim about his musicianship.

Craig Werner <wer...@iglou.com>

Mai Shields

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Nov 2, 1996, 3:00:00 AM11/2/96

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NEW...@prodigy.com (Tom Moran) wrote:

>BK...@nycnet.com writes:

>>REINER GOLDBERG is the (pretty lame) Siegfried on the James Levine/Met
>>Orch Ring on DG

>The above must have been referring to an earlier post that I can't find.
>In any case he has misunderstood the question. "Our Siegfried" is the unnamed tenor

>who was originally supposed to sing
>the role on the Solti recording.

He is probably responding to my posting, which I reproduce below:

I don't know where I read it, and it was a long time ago, but I
remember hearing somewhere that the unnamed Siegfried in question was
Reiner Goldberg.

Jim Shields
reds...@pipeline.com

Peter Rushton

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Nov 2, 1996, 3:00:00 AM11/2/96

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rmtr...@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Roger Travis) wrote:

>I'm reading Culshaw's 'Ring Resounding' for the first time, and I have to
>know (and would be amazed if this were a poser) who the Siegfried with
>such potential but so little intelligence is, whom Windgassen replaced at

>the eleventh hour. I'm very favorably impressed by Culshaw's talent as a
>storyteller--this book is a must read for anyone who collects opera
>recordings!

The Siegfried referred to by Culshaw was Ernst Kozub. Twenty years
later, when preparing a Bayreuth production with Sir Peter Hall, Solti
had a similar experience with Reiner Goldberg. Several posts in this
and previous threads have confused the two cases.

Kozub appears as Erik in Klemperer's EMI recording.

>Roger Travis

--
Peter Rushton

Mai Shields

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Nov 2, 1996, 3:00:00 AM11/2/96

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pe...@glaucon.demon.co.uk (Peter Rushton) wrote:

>The Siegfried referred to by Culshaw was Ernst Kozub. Twenty years
>later, when preparing a Bayreuth production with Sir Peter Hall, Solti
>had a similar experience with Reiner Goldberg. Several posts in this
>and previous threads have confused the two cases.

Right, now I remember where I heard about Goldberg and Solti. Thanks
for setting my errant memory straight.

Jim Shields
reds...@pipeline.com

James G. Jorden

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Nov 2, 1996, 3:00:00 AM11/2/96

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An interesting sidelight to this discussion: did you notice that the
stories of Kozub and Goldberg ran more or less parallel? Both relative
unknowns, discovered by Solti and pegged for major project, both fell
apart under the pressure? A "Star is Born" sort of story.

I think you could argue that Roberto Alagana is "Our Hoffman."

james

Dale G. Abersold

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Nov 4, 1996, 3:00:00 AM11/4/96

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k...@julian.uwo.ca,kang.ho...@lhsc.on.ca (Kang Howson-Jan) writes:

> reds...@pipeline.com (Mai Shields) wrote:
>>I don't know where I read it, and it was a long time ago, but I
>>remember hearing somewhere that the unnamed Siegfried in question was

>>Reiner Goldberg. All I know about Goldberg is that he later recorded
>>Richard Strauss' first opera, Guntram, with the Hungarian State
>>Orchestra directed by Eve Queler.
>

> Goldberg may have been "our Siegfried" for someone else, but not Solti--he
> didn't come on the scene until at least a decade after Solti was recording the
> Ring. That Goldberg was industrious enough to learn the role of Siegfried is
> illustrated in his recording of the same with Levine, not to mention his
> numerous stage appearances. Kozub was the man.

I think Mai may be confusing various Solti "Rings." In the star-crossed
Solti/Peter Hall Ring, Reiner Goldberg was to have been the Siegfried, but
he cancelled at the last second, and was replaced by Manfred Jung.

I believe that that Bayreuth Ring was to have been recorded, but after
Goldberg's cancellation, the recording was also cancelled.

Juan I. Cahis

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Nov 5, 1996, 3:00:00 AM11/5/96

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Dear Friends:

I understand that "our Siegfried" as it is mentioned in John Culshaw's
book about the recording of the complete Ring on Decca-London
conducted by Solti is Ernst Kozub, who it seems to me that he also
participated in Klemperer's recording of The Flying Dutchman as Erik.

Thanks
Juan I. Cahis
Santiago de Chile (South America)
Email: jic...@ibm.net
Note: Please, forgive me for my bad English, I am trying to improve it!

k...@julian.uwo.ca

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Nov 6, 1996, 3:00:00 AM11/6/96

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In article <55gh9f$k...@dfw-ixnews7.ix.netcom.com>,

I'm not quite sure I see the parallel. Goldberg was acclaimed as a
heldentenor in E. Germany where he started his career, before he got to
Bayreuth (well, even if it was only for the rehearsals). You'll have to check
the back issues of Opera for substantiation. In any case, his name was known
when he was chosen for the Solti Ring. As I recall, Goldberg's problem had to
do with stage fright. Anyone with inside info?

--Kang Howson-Jan
(k...@julian.uwo.ca)
(kang.ho...@lhsc.on.ca)
London, Canada