Waxing and Waning Wagnerians
936299
Two duets seems very mean for an entire album. Yet that's what we have on this CD - most of the last scene of Siegfried and a hefty chunk of Tristan Act 2. And it's an interesting recording for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it's good - great - to hear Pappano conducting his soon-to-be own band. He is slated to conduct a Ring cycle at Covent Garden 2005 and on this evidence it isn't likely to disappoint. He really has the measure of this music, and manages to contrast the moonlit passion of Tristan (all darksomely glowing orchestral undertones) with the fierce sunlight of Siegfried - the sound he manages to coax from the Orchestra is somehow much brighter and more open. Very clever. He has the broad sweep, the internal drive of these long scenes and he makes a real success of them.
As far as the singers are concerned, it's a fascinating combination. Domingo is nearing the end of his career and it looks as though Tristan and Siegfried will be forever out of his reach (more's the pity). Voigt, on the other hand, is approaching her prime, and has yet to scale the dizzy heights of Isolde and Brunnhilde. So we are faced with a seasoned Siegmund and Sieglinde facing together new territory. Domingo is taxed to his limit by Siegfried but supplies the excitement and fascination of the young man's mountain-top discovery with some really powerful climaxes. His Tristan is altogether more subtle and subdued, a really well-internalised reading of this anti-passionate love scene. His previous Wagnerian qualities are there in abundance and in addition his tone is more burnished, darker and more mature. Voigt's bright, beautiful soprano is (unlike most)unfazed by Brunnhilde's high tessitura, and she attacks the high Cs with great courage. She doesn't have the power that Birgit Nilsson had but the voice copes well. As Isolde (a part that surely can't be far off) she sounds well at home. Praise, too, for Violeta Urmana who miraculously manages to stay in tune as Brangaene.
A really satisfying disc, then. For sheer quality, it has to be awarded top marks.
3904978
This is a good introduction to Wagner's last opera, and has not only the German libretto, but an excellent English translation (written to be sung) by Andrew Porter.  One star got knocked off for the difficulty of using the (voluminous) set of musical samples in conjunction with the libretto, and for the low (I thought) quality of the illustration reproductions.
4166004
Ray Miller's Orchestra was one of the hottest white dance bands of the mid-late 1920s, and this CD contains a tasty sampling of the band's output. With sidemen like Frankie Trumbauer, Andy Sannella, Tom Satterfield, Larry Abbott, Rube Bloom, Charlie Margulis, Muggsy Spanier, and Miff Mole, how can you go wrong? There are some great "stompy" arrangements of some good tunes here, with plenty of room for jazz solo work. The two takes of "Cradle of Love" are notable for the possible presence of Bix Beiderbecke, who was on a short break from the Paul Whiteman at the time they were recorded in Chicago of January 1929. The "mystery cornetist" who solos after the vocal chorus on both takes is certainly a very creative fellow, and I remain undecided whether or not he is Bix. It doesn't matter too much to me though, whoever plays the solo turns an otherwise fairly ordinary record into something really special. Sadly, the sound quality on the disc is disappointing; everything is severely overprocessed, introducing some rather distracting digital artifacts at times and sucking the life out of the performances. I guess the good news is that if you detest hearing any trace of record surface noise, you won't have to deal with that here; every last bit of surface noise has been removed, but along with it went a good deal of music. What a shame. Generally, the people at the Timeless label produce excellent-sounding CDs, but their engineer goofed up this time. The musical material is excellent, and I hope the folks at Timeless (or another label) will revisit it again in the future with better transfers.
4319995
Of course, these have great historical interest; in addition, I found them good listening. Yes, MIKADO doesn't sound quite "cleaned up" -- you can hear the oldness of the recordings in whirrings and such. And I found myself less than enthralled with the great Henry Lytton's Ko-Ko. But, even after sating myself all autumn on the New Sadler's Wells 1987 RUDDIGORE, I still loved this older, more streamlined version, found George Baker a delightful Robin. Except for Lytton, these may not have been the first generation of Savoyards, but many of them were the second or third generation of performers, and hearing them feels almost like touching the first flush of enthusiasm for our beloved operas.
414922
This Met production returns to Wagner's original intentions, after decades of Bayreuth regietheater productions.  While these were interesting, they make what is already a complex story harder to grasp, at least for those new to opera. Although I know the ring quite well, I find regietheater Wagner gets annoying with repeated viewing.  It tells me more about the stage director's ego than Wagner's hidden messages.  Regietheater can be very good when the director has a worthwhile plan.

I have been able to watch many Wagner opera DVD. This Siegfried is much better than the others despite flaws in singing and staging.

Vocally this Siegfried is good by today's standards, but it's Brunnhilde and Siegfried do not compare to Nilsson and Windgassen on the 1962 recording conducted by Solti.  In compensation, we get James Morris as the Wanderer on this DVD who out sings his mentor Hans Hotter on the 1962 recording.  The remaining voices are equally good on both these versions.

Visually things are very good except for a Fafner which looks like a heap of dirty rags proped up with broken broomsticks.  Act one is as perfect as any Wagner staging could be with very realistic forging of the sword, lots of smoke and sparks, plus superb acting by all, provided you accept a very impulsive Siegfried.

Act two before Fafner appears and after his demise is fine too.  Act three has spectacular projected fire, followed by Brunnhilde awakening on a realistic rocky plateau.  Behrens and Jerusalem do better than I thought they would with the duet.  What's more they look good compared to some other wagnerian singers who shall be nameless.  The total effect is very exciting.

This is the only Wagner opera DVD I have that stands up in the long run.  The Met orchestra plays very well in this performance with only a few flubbed notes in act two.  Otherwise it holds it's own despite (sound only) competition from Solti, Boehm and Furtwaengler.  Levine has not always been a favorite conductor, but here he is inspired from beginning to end.

I have only checked out the stereo LPCM sound option which is clean, highly dynamic and demanding of playback equipment.  Voices are a bit forward, but not enough to rob power from the orchestra.  Again, this is as good a balance as one can expect live.

Considering that this is a great period for Mozart opera, but not for Wagner, this is a very welcome release.
147519
This paperback is a collection of some of Richard Wagner's writings, viz:
1)
To the German Army Before Paris (a short, and unimportant poem meant to be set to music by another composer);
2)
A Capitulation (a second-rate burlesque, lampooning the French);
3)
Reminiscences of Auber (where Wagner gives a back-handed compliment to the French by praising an obscure French composer and an even more obscure opera);
4)
Beethoven (which is about Wagner himself and his feelings about music much more than it is about Beethoven);
5)
The Destiny of Opera (here, Wagner re-plows the same ground as in "Opera and Drama");
6)
Actors and Singers (a long article where Wagner critiques the theater stage, not to be confused with the opera stage);
7)
The Rendering of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (detailing the "improvements" he made in the orchestration; the performance was for the dedication of the foundation stone laying at Bayreuth);
8)
Letters (to an Actor; to an Italian Friend [Arrigo Boito] on the Production of "Lohengrin" at Bologna; to the Burgomaster of Bologna; to Friedrich Nietzsche);
9)
Some minor (short) essays (a Glance at the German Operatic Stage of Today [detailing his criticisms about the German opera houses he visited while scouting for talent for his upcoming Ring performances at his new opera house in Bayreuth] ; on the Name "MusikDrama"; Prologue to a Reading of "Die Gtterdmmerung Before a Select Audience in Berlin").
10)
two reports about Bayreuth (where he is starting the construction of his personal opera house)
In 1893, the London Wagner Society published an English translation of the 8 volume set of Wagner's Collected Works.  William Ashton Ellis supplied the rather clumsy English translation, perhaps excusable since Wagner's prose was equally clumsy.  "Actors and Singers" is a reprint of volume 5 of that set, which covers the years 1870-1873.  Note that the title "Actors and Singers" is merely one of the articles contained therein and does not constitute the entirety of the book (it is, however, the longest one, but not the most important one); in fact, it could have any one of a number of titles, including "Beethoven" or "The Destiny of Opera".
Do I recommend this book?  Well, it is all written by Richard Wagner, so it is by nature at least a little interesting.  Much of the material here is pretty inconsequential.  Only "Beethoven" was of great interest to me, and, to a lesser degree, "A Glance at the German Operatic Stage of Today".  I do recommend it for that reason alone, but my endorsement is rather lukewarm.
3013350
When this period-style "Cosi" appeared in 1996, the Gramophone found the mot juste, calling it "aggressively buoyant."  The authenticity movement was in full swing in London, and here was Simon Rattle trying to beat Eliot Gardiner and Roger Norrington at their own game.  He attacks the music in a manic state, giving it few chances to relax or smile. All the more a pity because his singing cast is considerably better than the one heard on Gardiner's own live performance (DG Arkiv). Anyone who keeps up with the English opera scene will recognize some familiar names:

 Cos fan tutte,K588.
Hillevi Martinpelto sop Fiordiligi ; Ann Murray sop Despina ; Alison Hagley mez Dorabella ; Kurt Streit ten Ferrando ; Gerald Finley bar Guglielmo ; Thomas Allen bass Don Alfonso

Choir of the Age of Enlightenment; Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment/Simon Rattle

When I first encoutnered this performance I got a headache from Rattle's relentless pace, but on a recent listen I had to admire the energy and vocal polish of the cast, particularly the men. Gerald Finley would go on to fame as Doctor Atomic in John Adams' opera of the same name; Thomas Allen was already the top British baritone -- he gives a funnier, more canny Don Alfonso, however, in a later English-language "Cosi" on Telarc under Mackerras. The stylish German tenor Kurt Streit became a noted Mozart specialist.

As for the women, Rattle picked a relative unknown, Hillevi Martinpelto, as his Fiordiligi, and a Gardiner regular, Alison Hagley, as Dorabella. The two sisters blend nicely, but both give bland portrayals. Vocally they are no match for rivals on the order of Caballe, Janet Baker, Renee Fleming, and Anne-Sophie von Otter, not to mention great singers of an earlier generation. Ann Murray makes an effective Despina, more coarse than flirty or knowing, however.

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, borrowed from Gardiner's bailiwick, plays as expected, with zingy strings, no vibrato, and pert attacks. But under Rattle they are more polished than usual. In any event, the audience interrupts this live performance with occasional applause and chuckles, so we know they enjoyed the evening thoroughly. The record-buying public didn't respond, on this side of the Atlantic at least, and as a result this is one "Cosi" that has rather sunk out of sight.
828744
The long cycle of oratorios by the completely forgotten Felix Draeseke is interesting to listen to once or twice, and only then as a curiosity.  This work sounds like J.S. Bach's St. Matthew Passion as written by Richard Wagner.  He makes good use of traditional Lutheran hymns.  It is understandable though, why this work has fallen into obscurity (this recording being the first performance of the piece since the early 1900's).  Draeseke simply doesn't have the dramatic flair nor the theological insight to make the music interesting.
2417053
I was delighted to get this excellent set of transfers from Archeophone. The hit of the week holds a special place in the hearts of collectors of early 1930's music. They sound great and Archeophone is turning into a major player in remastering and ancient recordings. The problem is that these are not essential performances. The orchestrations lack inventiveness or anything of interest (except for the circumstances of the hotw series) in many cases and my reaction to many of these was, "ho hum." If it wasn't for the unique cultural history of these recordings, I doubt that I would have sprung for this collection. There are enough good songs and performances here but plenty of drab ones, also. I will get volume 2 since I collect this type of music, but I am not expecting much. The hits of the week may not have had what it takes to be hits of the century.
2673155
Arthur Rubinstein's earliest recordings of two of his favorite piano concertos are preserved here.  Rubinstein, like a fine wine, improved with age, at least in his performances of large scale works like these.  This CD contains his weakest performances of these works, despite the legendary pianist's patented brio.

Both the Brahms and Tchaikovsky Concertos on this disc are marred by rushed tempi, technical lapses, and overpedaling.  Making recordings during the 78-rpm era was a more challenging process for performers than it would later be.  Since there was no tape splicing, in the event of a technical slip, either the entire 4 1/2 minute side was re-recorded, or mistakes were left in the finished product.  The balance between piano and orchestra also leaves much to be desired.

For those wishing to hear Rubinstein in these concertos,  I would recommend his 1958 recording of the Brahms with Krips, and the 1963 Tchaikovsky with Leinsdorf.

The sound restoration is excellent--surface to noise has been reduced, but without excessive filtering.
1291973
Back on the 11th of March in 1902, a 34-year-old Arturo Toscanini conducted a 29-year-old Enrico Caruso creating the student Federico in the premiere of GERMANIA by the 41-year-old Alberto Franchetti at La Scala.  The following month, Caruso included two pieces from the new work in his very first recording sessions for Fred Gaisberg, and in subsequent years he re-recorded both of them.  So Toscanini and Caruso, two of the opera greats of the 20th Century, considered GERMANIA a worthy piece.  It resembles such verismo works of the same period as Cilea's ADRIANA LECOUVREUR -- lots of recitative and some spoken parts, interspersed with orchestral flourishes and vocal showpieces.
Unfortunately the Capriccio DVD which I picked up in Vienna last year has technical limitations--a choice between Dolby Digital 2.0 (hardly worth considering) and 5.1 (not sounding much better).  I also sent the sound to 7.1 through my own processor and couldn't milk any extra ambience out of it.  So this is it.  We have GERMANIA without Toscanini, without Caruso and without the best sound available today.  Still, so little else survives to remind us of what the Italian opera world of a hundred years ago was doing between Puccini premieres.  Between TOSCA and MADAMA BUTTERFLY, they had -- GERMANIA.  They weren't terribly deprived, and thanks to this DVD we aren't deprived any more now, either.
261636
This is a great video Lohengrin of a traditional staging (which is a good thing...I'm tired of avant garde time tunnels, etc.).  This was an early outing in Wagner for Domingo.  But it's a fine performance and well conducted by a young Abbado.  Since Monsalvat was allegedly in Spain, Domingo's Spanish accented German fits right in, I guess.  My biggest problem is that his wig color doesn't match the rest of his hair which for a house as important as Vienna seems quite surprising -- and highly distracting (visually).
4021225
I will straight away admit to being disappointed by this latest, sixty-second and last recording in the Chandos Opera in English series made in collaboration with the Peter Moores Foundation. That disappointment centres upon the very audible decline in the baritone of its protagonist, Simon Keenlyside, an artist for whom I have long had the highest admiration.

I heard him sing Macbeth in Italian at Covent Garden in October 2011 and was transported by the ringing virility of his baritone; since them, however, it would seem that a combination of aging and three years of singing heavier roles in big houses worldwide has taken its toll: the voice now verges on the hoarse, its lustre and smooth legato gone, its tonal centre blurred and its evenness marred by the dreaded wobble. He is still a splendid vocal actor with the top A flat the role demands but scarcely any longer recognisable as the baritone who sang Schubert Lieder with such patrician beauty; he now too often shouts his way through the part.

Latonia Moore, a distinguished Aida, has something of the smoky timbre typically associated with so many of the great Afro-American voices of the past but her lower register is cloudy and although she has the heft for the top notes, delivered with a quasi-hysterical intensity wholly apt to portray the demonic Lady, they border on the blowsy. Nor can she provide the visceral thrill we experience in the interpretations of previous exponents such as Callas whose cavernous low notes and portamento inflections really do incarnate "the voice of a she-devil" Verdi wanted. She manages the high piano D on her exit in the Sleepwalking Scene but it is only touched on and not eerily, delicately floated as it ideally should be.

Finally, on the debit side, Gwyn Hughes Jones' voice is too light and "British" to be a real Verdi tenor so his aria makes little impact.

The vocal honours go to bass Brindley Sherratt as a sonorous, imposing Banquo; his duets with Keenlyside are immaculately phrased, their voices always synchronised. The chorus is lusty and the orchestral playing far finer than has sometimes been the case with the ENO in previous years. Edward Garner conducts with verve and gusto and Jeremy Sams' English translation works really well, even for those of us already accustomed to the rhythms of the original Italian. The recorded sound is excellent: warm, balanced and immediate.

Yet none of these virtues much matter if the two principle singers do not measure up to the demands of their roles. The debate regarding the value and merit of opera in English is a contentious one but it seems to me that the ubiquitousness of surtitles and the availability of libretti have to some degree neutralised the arguments for it either live or in recordings and ultimately it is the quality of the performance, regardless of the language an opera is sung in, that determines its desirability. Thus I would in preference to this recording direct you to the many established, classic studio versions such as those by Abbado, Gardelli, Leinsdorf and Muti with artists such as Cappuccilli with Verrett and Sass, Rysanek with Warren, and Milnes with Cossotto. If you want the original 1847 score sung by British artists, John Matheson's excellent studio recording for Opera Rara with Rita Hunter and Peter Glossop is a safe recommendation. This Chandos recording provides as a bonus the alternative 1847 ending but Sherrill Milnes recorded excerpts from that for a 1974 recital album when he was in demonstrably better voice than Keenlyside here. The ne plus ultra amongst Lady Macbeths remains Callas, but sadly we have only a live 1952 performance in poor sound or the incomparable excerpts recorded with Rescigno, as she never made a studio recording of the complete opera.

It is to any of those that I shall return before this latest issue from Chandos.

[This review also posted on the MusicWeb International website]
406212
I was thrilled to find this book. It's hard to find really good analysis of Wagner's amazing operas, works that dwarf anything else in the genre, with the possible exception of Mozart's operas.

Magee does an excellent job of showing just what made Wagner a genius and how his towering achievements were built up. He traces Wagner's intellectual development and argues that Wagner underwent a development similar to that of many radicals, as he aged and became somewhat disillusioned with his dreams of revolutionary change. (During the 1850's Wagner was a close associate of the Russian anarchist Bakunin!) In mid life, he discovered the philosophy of Schopenhauer, who was somewhat influenced by Hindu and Buddhist thought. This is reflected especially in Tristan and Parsifal.

In the process, Magee refutes the mistaken idea that Wagner was a right-wing proto-Fascist. He does a good job of showing how Wagner fit into contemporary thought, and how mistaken it would be to use present-day political concepts to reach an understanding of his ideas. The theme of sexual love as a liberating force, for instance, was prominent in anarchist thought, as it is in Wagner's Ring cycle.

But Magee does not soft-pedal the key issue that has caused many people to disregard or even reject Wagner's music, his anti-semitism. He shows clearly that Wagner did stand out among his friends and associates, who were often embarrassed by his hateful stance. But anti-semitism was widespread in the period: notions that Jews were representatives of the worst aspects of modernity can be found even in Karl Marx. Magee makes the point that the association of Wagner's music with Hitler, who was a fan, has tarnished the composer rather unfairly. Dostoievsky also was a nasty anti-semite, but, since his work has little association with Germany under Hitler, no one suggests that we should stop reading his great novels.

My one disappointment with the book is that Magee is so concerned to show Schopenhauer's influence in Parsifal, Wagner's last opera, that he feels it necessary to downplay its Christian aspect. But, in my view, Parsifal is almost the sole work of art or drama to explore Christian imagery in an exciting way. The recent production with Jonas Kauffmann made clear how the theme of redemption through blood ("This is my blood which is given for you.") is everywhere in Parsifal.
720308
This an absolute must read for wagnerians. He is gentle but firm in his criticisms of how classical music is dying and how the pit at Bayreuth has a muting  effect on the orchestra. I read this book while attending Bayreuth and could hear what he was talking about. It is also a superb cultural history and very detailed in its descriptions of the wagner experience. Also excellent recommended recordings.
620586
At first sight, the whole cast of this performance is very promising. The main interest, I think, is placed on Birgit Nilsson's Elsa. And then we have Jochum, a very fine conductor.
But from the very first mesures, you hear something out of place: THE SOUND!!! Sadly, this is probably the worst recording from Bayreuth EVER. Even for 1954, the sound is lousy, infected overall with distorsions and interferences. There are previous recordings that sound far better! (Keilberth's, for instance). The second act is simply unbelievable... So, hope and will turn quickly into despair and pain...
As for the performers, the unforgettable Birgit gives us her best as usual, even when her voice is (as you can imagine before hearing this) a little bit... grand for the sweet and trembling Elsa in acts I and II. Windgassen is very committed to his part, and his voice is clear and emotional. Varnay... well, there are many Ortruds performed by she in Bayreuth, so you know what will you get: an enormous voice at the service of a great actress. Uhde had also performed Telramund before in Bayreuth (Keilberth's version), his voice is beautiful, but the role is a little bit high for him; but passionated like no other. Theo Adam, on the contrary, is not quite a bass for the King Henry, but works out the part. And Fischer-Dieskau is effective.
As for the orchestra and chorus, Jochum extracts some lyric sounds from woods and strings, the tempi are right, the concertanti are adjusted. But there is an unpleasant accident in the out-stage music of the second act, first scene. The fanfare musicians play as drunken brabantines as well... Yikes!!
At this point you think: except for Nilsson's presence, Keilberth's version is almost the same cast, and the sound and final result is much more better... Needless tou say what to do...
All in one, if this is your first contact with such a beautiful, romantic and lyric opera (among the best of Wagner's, I think), MOVE AWAY FROM THIS. If you are a collector, you must OF COURSE get Nilsson and Jochum... and sigh with mellancoly of what could have been if...
My personal recomendations:
- Kubelik`s (King-Janowitz as the main couple!!!)
- Kempes's (Thomas-Grmmer)
- Slti's (Domingo, digital sound!)
- Karajan's (with the usual orchestral machinery)
- Leinsdorf's (great direction, complete version, with Konya!)
- Sawallisch's (live version with Windgassen-Sillya-Varnay)
- Keilberth's (as said, almost the same cast, but better sound, complete version also)
- Pray for the perfect version, perhaps the Grial will send help...
1197131
I was somewhat disappointed by this album.  The Konzertstuck, a magnificent and devilishly difficult work for four horns and orchestra, receives a solid but unspecial performance.  Thielemann's tempos, particularly in the Schumann Symphony #2, seem ponderous and rather unorthodox. FOr the second symphony I much prefer Wolfgang Sawallisch's recording.

What I still find bewildering is that DG produced the greatest-ever recording of the Konzertstuck and yet that recording is now out of print.  The Chicago Symphony Orchestra recorded the Konzertstuck in the 1970s, with principal hornist Dale Clevenger playing the high part.  Those guys produced a spectacular "wall of sound" with pinpoint precision and accuracy.  And, the CSO of course is a much better orchestra than the Philharmonia.  Hopefully, someday DG will re-release this recording digitally remastered.