Die Walküre

Wagner’s powerful and wrenching tale of ill-fated love requires a cast of great singing actors, and that’s just what this broadcast provides. Jon Vickers and Régine Crespin are the brother and sister who fall rapturously in love, only to be torn apart by death. The legendary Birgit Nilsson sings Brünnhilde, the Valkyrie of the title who is punished by her father (the magnificent Theo Adam as Wotan) for doing what he really wants her to do. Herbert von Karajan conducts his final Met performance.