Weber: Der Freischütz ~ C. Kleiber
|
List Price: Our Price: $13.93 You Save: $5.05 (27%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Music CD See more new music releases 
|
|---|
Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store
Canadian Music Store
Free Music Notes for Weber: Der Freischütz ~ C. Kleiber
Free Music Review: Kleiber's genius is the key here
Hit: 5 Stars
For most listeners, taking on faith that this legendary recording really is great, there's nothing to be disappointed by. Before Carlos Kleiber came to the score, Der Freischutz was a comfortable staple in German opera houses, to be absorbed along with strudel and beer as an accepted thing. Kleiber set the music on fire, and it's due to him that every moment is riveting. DG's 1973 sonics, to tell the truth, are a bit edgy and thin, but the new remastering is a step forward.
The detractors at Amazon have a point about the singing. If you aren't tuned in to Kleiber as the opera's driving force, picking at Peter Schreier (too thin and screechy for the role of Max), Gundula Janowitz (cool and a bit hooty as Agathe), and Theo Adam (curdled tone, dull portrayal) comes easily enough. But no rival Freischutz is perfeclty cast, and the fiendishly difficult role of Max never found its perfect exponent in Fritz Wunderlich, who died before he could record it.
Taking all the minuses into account, the singers are imperfect but very fine, and by subsuming themselves to Kleiber's vision, they give us a Freischutz unmatched on records.
Free Music Review: A little fast, but thrilling
Hit: 5 Stars
I love this opera and this recording is truly first rate when it comes to the acting and the expressiveness of the singers. It is a litle too fast for me, though. The speedy tempo makes the Wolf's Glen scene truly spooky and the it tends to move the rest of the score along in some of the slower parts. The problem is that notes are lost in the process. Weber wrote into this opera some beautiful orchestral nuances that disappear as everyone seems to hop on the expressway and rushes to finish out the score. The EMI recording with Birgit Nilsson and Nicholai Gedda under Heger is much slower, filling out the richness of Weber's Bel Canto sound, but losing some of the punch that this recording has. I have yet to find a recording that is slow when it needs to be slow and fast when it needs to be fast. Everyone seems to take the entire opera at the initial tempo with little variability.In the end, DG's recording comes up first because it makes your heart pound. Janowitz and Schreier are second to none in their expression and vocal acting and the Wolf's Glen is a rushing mass of terror. All in all, a good recording with everyone in top form.
Free Music Review: Freischutz's best enactment
Hit: 5 Stars
Freischutz put into play by conductor Carlos Kleiber is allegedly the best recording. Along with the Dresden Staatskapelle orchestra, he managed to give a special sound to this famous and commonly played opera.
I've noticed quite a choice of Freischutz CDs on the web-market (even though opera is not at all trendy nowadays), I have listened to another enactment of this opera and also heard the opinion of a great listener of classical music (Thomas Wirz from Switzerland). So, when deciding to buy my own, I looked especially for this CD. The front cover is a little different to the original CD I held in my hands some 9 years ago, and it doesn't have a paper dust cover, but unless you are making up a CD collection, this is of no matter.
Enjoy it, and try to keep cool while the action moves to the Wolf's Glen... the storm will be over, forest spirits will go away (probably sensing upcoming century's deforestation), and Max will come out clean... with a promise get his hands on Agathe a year later... ;)
Free Music Review: 5 stars depite the jerks at DG
Hit: 5 Stars
This is, quite simply, the best recording of this incredibly important opera that you can find. It does Weber credit that after 200 years the Wolf's Glen scene can still make a person shudder. Cast and orchestra are in spectacular form, and the interscene dialogue in nicely truncated to keep things moving forward.My big gripe about this album is that DG's rerelease does away with all the liner notes that were a great addition to the initial release. Even the excellent (menacing!) cover art is placed askew. I realize that you can't beat th new price, but even Naxos provides a full libretto with their operas (for even cheaper). So, buy it, but narrow your eyes a little in protest at this new habit of stripped-down re-releases.
Free Music Review: A first-rate Freischutz!
Hit: 5 Stars
This is a wonderfully conducted version of Der Freischutz with a really strong cast of singers. At the top of these is Gundula Janowitz, who turns what is usually a relatively bland character into what Weber wanted... a lovely maiden of haunting purity. There is a stillness to the sweet sound of her voice that seems to stop time itself. If everyone else had been just average, it would still be the recording to buy just to hear her Agathe... however everyone else is terrific! The wolf's glen scene is particularly vivid and spooky. A wonderful recording!