Wagner: The Great Operas from the Bayreuth Festival
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Free Music Notes for Wagner: The Great Operas from the Bayreuth Festival
Free Music Review: Some istening notes on these ten operas
Hit: 5 Stars
With over eighty responses to the detailed lead review for this huge box set, there's not much influence a late comer can hope to have. However, after listening to all ten operas, I had significantly different reactions. It goes without saying that anyone interested in Bayreuth will want to spring for these reissues. The basic facts, that these are notable performances in excellent sound, can't be disputed.
For me, it was the unexpected successes that brought the most pleasure. The 1962 Tannhauser under Sawallisch is a case in point. It has been acclaimed as the best on disc by the Gramophone, and one would have a hard time disagreeing, even with the equally acclaimed Solti studio version in sight. The spirit of dramatic excitement shines through, and Anja Silja as a girlish Elisabeth is very winning. The all-around singing rises to a very high level, with only Grace Bumbry as Venus sounding too effortful and not voluptuous enough.
Sawallisch never panned out as a great conductor, but here in his early promise he's very impressive. The Lohengrin and Flying Dutchman under him are both impressive, too. I was as impressed with the latter as with Tannhauser. Bohm's Tristan with Nilsson in her prime and Windgassen trailing off his needs no defense. It's been a classic for over four decades and grows stronger with time.
Leaving the Ring aside for the moment, it's the Meistersinger under Silvio Varviso and James Levine's Parsifal that will probably cause the most controversy. I have a neutral impression of the Meistersinger, balancing good and bad. Varviso's pacing is light and quick for the most part, and his ability to keep the action moving makes for a nice stage experience. Cox and Bode aren't stellar as Walther and Eva, but they fit into the ensemble well. I'd rather hear Cox's pleasant tenor than Rene Kollo's grating one, which all but spoils the studio sets from Karajan and Solti both. Ridderbusch isn't the most characterful Sachs, but hes' vocally assured. I'd rather hear him than the irritating Theo Adam for Karajan.
About the Parsifal I can't be very positive. thanks to Levine's agonizing crawl through the score and good-enough but not stellar singing in several major roles (Amfortas, Parsifal himself), this set doesn't prove very enticing.
Now the Ring. The lead reviewer claims that this is a "very, very great" reading, although some "revile" it. both extremes are unreliable. the cast duplicates Solti's cycle in most regards, and none of the singers, including Nilsson, is as fresh or secure as they are in the studio. This is no black mark against them; live Wagner has its ups and downs, and the taxing nature of the major roles makes perfection impossible. I strongly object o Bohm's rushd, impatient conducting, and there's lots of clunking in terms of stage noise. Still, this is a famous Ring cycle with many adherents. I can't understand why anyone would categorize the serviceable Wotan of Theo Adam as "very great," but then, I am allergic to his grainy, gargly voice altogether.
Looking at these ten performances, I would place the Tannhauser far above the lead reviewer's estimate, the Meistersinger a bit higher, and the Parsifal considerably lower. Nobody seems to reach consensus on all the Ring cycles now on the market. I'd rate the Bohm as one of the better live versions, along with Clemens Krauss and Pierre Boulez. So there you are.
Free Music Review: For Wagner Fans And At A Fantastic Price.
Hit: 5 Stars
When most music enthusiasts think of "great" Wagner conductors, usually the names of Von Karajan, Solti, and Furtwaengler come to mind. For some odd reason, Karl Boehm and Wolfgang Sawallisch are rarely considered and that's a shame. (No disrepect meant towards James Levine, an excellent conductor of Wagner or Silvio Varviso.) I'd venture as far as to say that Karl Boehm is one of the least appreciated "great" conductors, period. I had the good fortune to see him conduct Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos" in Vienna at the twilight of his long and illustrious career and well as having been to many Wolfgang Sawallisch-led performances at the Wiener Staatsoper in the early 70's. Many of the soloists featured on these live recordings from Bayreuth are or were famous for their Wagnerian singing and I was thrilled to get to hear them again.
Fortunately, all of these performances were recorded in excellent stereo, and the live audiences were quiet for the most part and the engineers have wisely excised audience applause. Some coughing is more noticable in some performances than in others reminding me of the old joke, "When people have a cough they don't stay home, they go to the opera!!"
And now Decca has re-issued all the "great" operas from Der Fliegende Hollander to Parzifal and if one is really desperate to have the "complete" operas, one can augment the collection to include "Das Liebesverbot", "Die Feen", and "Rienzi" still for a pittance when compared to buying the European-issued "Complete Wagner" series that includes those three early operas and at a much higher cost.
My only quibble is that one must do with plot synopses and not have the libretti included.
And all of this for only $56 bucks for 33 CDs?? Thank you, Decca and God bless you!! This is just too good to pass up for several reasons. Most current Ring cycles alone can cost over $100, so what are you waiting for??
Viel Vernuegen!!!
Free Music Review: Irresistible bargain for Wagnerites and explorers
Hit: 5 Stars
This 33-CD compendium is certainly one of the finest bargains Decca has made available. All these recordings were made from live and rehearsal performances at Bayreuth and all are in fine stereo sound, well-mastered, which captures the Green Hill acoustic wonderfully well. At least one of these performances (Boehm's TRISTAN UND ISOLDE) can lay claim to being the best available version; the old mono Furtwaengler version is its only real competition. Boehm's RING is also a fine achievement, capped by Nilsson's matchless Brunnhilde in white hot performances, perhaps preferable to her performances under Solti. The performances by King, Rysanek, Windgassen and Adam are classic and not to be missed, and Boehm's conducting of the scores is propulsive and all of a piece. No other RING performance is so well integrated as this one.
Levine's PARSIFAL is also on a very high level, with Waltrud Meier's excellent and thrilling Kundry and Hans Sotin's gorgeously sung Gurnemanz. The digital sound is especially winning here, capturing the opera in the theatre it was written for. I have real affection for Levine's way with this score. I saw him do it at the Met nine times over the years and those are among my most cherished operatic memories. He made several later recordings of PARSIFAL and all of them are wonderful.
The other performances might not be my first choice among competing versions, but all of them are fine, representative recordings with many delights and nothing to seriously disappoint one. I'm quite fond of Silja's performances (FLYING DUTCMAN, TANNHAUSER and LOHENGRIN - all superbly conducted by Sawallisch), and Astrid Varnay's Ortrud certainly burns up the soundwaves.
At less than two dollars per disc, what are you waiting for? This won't be around long.
Free Music Review: The Magic of Doing it Live...
Hit: 5 Stars
I first saw this package a few months ago and was weary about purchasing it. Sixty five dollars for all of Richard Wagner's mature operas seemed just to good to be true. As a college student who finds himself constantly on a budget, however, I decided to take the plunge-and was very glad to be drowned in it. From the storm-tossed sea of the Dutchman to Brunnhilde's fiery end, this set can be described as one word- fantastic! All of these performances are very beautifully done and the audience is very well behaved for the most part. (A little coughing in Lohengrin but the music is so exceedingly lovely that one soon forgets about this.) Of course, there are the singers, including some of the greatest Wagnerians of the century, such as Anja Silja, Birgitt Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, and many others. Many of these recordings are available separately and at a much higher cost. The Bohm Ring costs over 100 dollars by itself. So, is this the bargain of the decade? Absolutely. The quality of the recordings, while not top-notch studio, have a very energetic feel to them and are all in fine stereo sound. Thus, the wonderful acoustics of Bayreuth. Thus, the magic of doing it live.Free Music Review: A No Brainer
Hit: 5 Stars
Buying this set is a no brainer. The price for acquiring recordings of all of Wagner's major operas is irresistible. All of these performances range from good to great. Although recorded live, audience noise is almost non-existent and the balance between orchestra and singers is very good. The sound is as good as many of my recordings made in a studio. I had all recordings of all of these operas before buying this set. However, getting to hear other performances of these works was too pricey for me. This was a terrific way to add to my CD opera collection and hear recordings that I had coveted (Bohm's Ring for example) but would not have had the chance to experience. I recommend buying this set while it is still available. It will become a collector's item.