Other Operatic Discographies
by RML

re:opera

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Fidelio | Dido and Aeneas | Die Fledermaus | Der Freischütz

 

~ Fidelio (Beethoven)

 

1 - Waltraud Meier (Leonore), Soile Isokoski (Marzelline), Plácido Domingo (Florestan), Werner Güra (Jacquino), Falk Struckmann (Pizarro), René Pape (Rocco), Kwanchul Youn (Fernando), Chor der Staatsoper Berlin, Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin, Daniel Barenboim

2 - Gundula Janowitz (Leonore), Lucia Popp (Marzelline), René Kollo (Florestan), Adolf Dallapozza (Jacquino), Hans Sotin (Pizarro), Manfred Jungwirth (Rocco), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Fernando), Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker, Leonard Bernstein

3 - Gundula Janowitz (Leonore), Lucia Popp (Marzelline), René Kollo (Florestan), Adolf Dallapozza (Jacquino), Hans Sotin (Pizarro), Manfred Jungwirth (Rocco), Hans Helm (Fernando), Chor und Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper, Leonard Bernstein

4 - Gwyneth Jones (Leonore), Edith Mathis (Marzelline), James King (Florestan), Peter Schreier (Jacquino), Theo Adam (Pizarro), Franz Crass (Rocco), Martti Talvela (Fernando), Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Chor der Staatskapelle Dresden, Staatskapelle Dresden, Karl Böhm

5 - Christa Ludwig (Leonore), Edith Mathis (Marzelline), James King (Florestan), Donald Grobe (Jacquino), Ingvar Wixell (Pizarro), Franz Crass (Rocco), Hans Hotter (Fernando), Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm

6 - Gwyneth Jones (Leonore), Olivera Miljakovic (Marzelline), James King (Florestan), Donald Grobe (Jacquino), Gustav Neidlinger (Pizarro), Josef Greindl (Rocco), Martti Talvela (Fernando), Chor und Orchester der Deutschen Oper, Berlin, Karl Böhm

7 - Hildegard Behrens (Leonore), Lucia Popp (Marzelline), James King (Florestan), Norbert Orth (Jacquino), Donald McIntyre (Pizarro), Kurt Moll (Rocco), Nikolaus Hillebrand (Fernando), Chor und Orchester der Bayerischen Staatsoper, Karl Böhm

8 - Christine Brewer (Leonore), Sally Matthews (Marzelline), John MacMaster (Florestan), Andrew Kennedy (Jacquino), Juha Uusitalo (Pizarro), Kristinn Sigmundsson (Rocco), Daniel Borowski (Fernando), London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Colin Davis

9 - Gabriela Benackova (Leonore), Marie McLaughlin (Marzelline), Josef Protschka (Florestan), Neil Archer (Jacquino), Monte Pederson (Pizarro), Robert Lloyd (Rocco), Hans Tschammer (Fernando), Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Cristoph von Dohnányi

10 - Leonie Rysanek (Leonore), Irmgard Seefried (Marzelline), Ernst Häfliger (Florestan), Friedrich Lenz (Jacquino), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Pizarro), Gottlob Frick (Rocco), Kieth Engen (Fernando), Chor und Orchester der Bayerischen Staatsoper, Ferenc Fricsay

11 - Hillevi Martinpelto (Leonore), Christiane Oelze (Marzelline), Kim Begley (Florestan), Michael Schade (Jacquino), Matthew Best (Pizarro), Franz Hawlata (Rocco), Alastair Miles (Fernando), The Monteverdi Choir, Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique, John Eliot Gardiner

12 - Jessye Norman (Leonore), Pamela Coburn (Marzelline), Reiner Goldberg (Florestan), Hans-Peter Blochwitz (Jacquino), Ekkehard Wlaschiha (Pizarro), Kurt Moll (Rocco), Andreas Schmidt (Fernando), Staatsopernchor Dresden, Staatskapelle Dresden, Bernard Haitink

13 - Inga Nielsen (Leonore), Edith Lienbacher (Marzelline), Gösta Winbergh (Florestan), Herwig Pecoraro (Jacquino), Alan Titus (Pizarro), Kurt Moll (Rocco), Wolfgang Glashof (Fernando), Hungarian Radio Chorus, Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia, Michael Halász

14 - Charlotte Margiono (Leonore), Barbara Bonney (Marzelline), Peter Seiffert (Florestan), Deon van der Walt (Jaquino), Sergei Leiferkus (Pizarro), Lászlo Polgár (Rocco), Boje Skovhus (Fernando), Arnold Schönberg-Chor, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

15 - Camilla Nylund (Leonore), Elizabeth Rae Magnuson (Marzelline), Jonas Kaufmann (Florestan), Cristoph Strehl (Jaquino), Alfred Muff (Pizarro), Lászlo Polgár (Rocco), Günther Groissböck (Fernando), Chor des Opernhauses Zürich, Orchester des Opernhauses Zürich, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

16 - Helga Dernesch (Leonore), Helen Donath (Marzelline), Jon Vickers (Florestan), Horst Laubenthal (Jacquino), Zoltan Kéléman (Pizarro), Karl Ridderbusch (Rocco), José van Dam (Fernando), Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan

17 - Christa Ludwig (Leonore), Ingeborg Hallstein (Marzelline), Jon Vickers (Florestan), Gerhard Unger (Jacquino), Walter Berry (Pizarro), Gottlob Frick (Rocco), Franz Crass (Fernando), Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra, Otto Klemperer

18 - Sena Jurinac (Leonore), Elsie Morison (Marzelline), Jon Vickers (Florestan), John Dobson (Jacquino), Hans Hotter (Pizarro), Gottlob Frick (Rocco), Forbes Robinson (Fernando), Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Otto Klemperer

19 - Sena Jurinac (Leonore), Maria Stader (Marzelline), Jan Peerce (Florestan), Murray Dickie (Jacquino), Gustav Neidlinger (Pizarro), Dezsö Ernster (Rocco), Frederick Guthrie (Fernando), Chor und Orchester der Bayerischen Staatsoper, Hans Knappertsbusch

20 - Karita Mattila (Leonore), Jennifer Welch-Babidge (Marzelline), Ben Heppner (Florestan), Matthew Polenzani (Jacquino), Falk Struckmann (Pizarro), René Pape (Rocco), Robert Lloyd (Fernando), Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, James Levine

21 - Anja Silja (Leonore), Lucia Popp (Marzelline), Richard Cassilly (Florestan), Erwin Wohlfahrt (Jacquino), Theo Adam (Pizarro), Ernst Wiemann (Rocco), Hans Sotin (Fernando), Hamburgischen Staatsoper Chor, Philharmonischer Staatsorchester Hamburg, Leopold Ludwig

22 - Birgit Nilsson (Leonore), Graziella Sciutti (Marzelline), James McCracken (Florestan), Donald Grobe (Jacquino), Tom Krause (Pizarro), Kurt Böhme (Rocco), Hermann Prey (Fernando), Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker, Lorin Maazel

23 - Gabriela Benackova (Leonore), Ildiko Raimondi (Marzelline), Anthony Rolfe-Johnson (Florestan), John Mark Ainsley (Jacquino), Franz Josef-Kapellmann (Pizarro), Siegfried Vogel (Rocco), David Wilson-Johnson (Ferrando), Edinbourgh Festival Chorus, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Charles MacKerras

24 - Angela Denoke (Leonore), Juliane Banse (Marzelline), Jon Villars (Florestan), Rainer Trost (Jacquino), Alan Held (Pizarro), Laszlo Polgar (Rocco), Thomas Quasthoff (Fernando), Arnold Schönberg Chor, Berliner Philharmoniker, Simon Rattle

Barenboim’s recording leads me to one question: why? There are already many recordings of this Beethovenian masterpiece and, even if I agree that there is always room for one more, why not making it with conductors who really have something to offer, such as Riccardo Muti, as his wonderful performances at La Scala have showed us. Barenboim’s tempi vary from adequate to slow, but the problem is the uninflected unclear phrasing, especially in the strings. This is particularly bothersome since the Staatskapelle Berlin is an excellent orchestra, but is made to sound sorely messy and inexpressive under the stolid conducting, which robs each moment of its necessary tension and/or animation. Worse than that - in key moments, such as in many passages of Er sterbe... , the orchestra takes such a retreat that it sounds as if it they were in another room and the door had been closed. Teldec’s tradition of good recorded sound guarantees that woodwind are heard, but they can’t conduct for a conductor who has nothing to offer and is, to a certain extent, underplaying the notes. There are weird things all over the place - no dialogues, Leonore 2 in the beginning (although all the other overtures are offered in appendix), the Marzelline aria appears before the duet (as in the original Leonore) and the first prisioner lines are taken by the choir. The cast sounds a bit at a loss with such an absent-minded conductor. At La Scala, Waltraud Meier showed that the role is really a stretch for her, but there she was pouring her soul in what she was doing - her vocally ragged but extremely intimate Abscheulicher was a prove of this. Here, with the help of studio conditions, she more or less deals with the intrincacies of the role without major problems, but the voice is harsh and unyielding. When she decides to be "dramatic", things get really worse, especially because it develops from nothing, since she is unconcerned the rest of the time. Soile Isokoski is a solid Marzelline, but she is neither particularly individual or illuminating - the voice itself is appealing and recalls Schwarzkopf’s all the way. Plácido Domingo’s top notes tend to pinch now and then, but it is the interesting performance here. His German is greatly improved and he shapes his lines most beautifully. The only thing lacking is some Angst. Werner Güra is a most pleasant Jacquino too. Falk Struckmann’s voice relies entirely on its power, since there is not much beyond this. The vibrato is particularly bothersome. René Pape and Kwanchul Youn have attractive rich voices, but they are a bit indifferent.

I imagine that Fidelio must have been a work with a special meaning for Bernstein because of his philosophical and political beliefs and, most of all, because, as Christa Ludwig says in her biography, he was the kind of conductor who inspired musicians to make music as an expression of an attitude. Maybe because of all that, Bernstein’s Fidelio is such an overwhelming experience. Of course, it has its heavy, unclear and unprecise moments. More than that, sometimes the idea surpasses its results, such as in the very fast act II finale. Anyway, it establishes communication in a unique way and everything Beethoven wanted to make clear about this work reaches the listener through his heart in this recording. He was particularly lucky to have the Vienna Philharmonic to aid him. I guess few other orchestras would have focused Bernstein’s ideas in such an efficient way and the recorded sound is immediate and clear enough. It also gives a natural sense of theatre, which is the whole essence of this performance and the enthusiasm caught in the end of the opera is genuine. It is interesting to find here Gundula Janowitz, whose poised singing style is almost the opposite of Bernstein’s emotional ways. But the truth is that this is one of Janowitz’s most animated recordings. First of all, there is her classical way of sculpting her phrasing which is exactly what Beethoven’s writing asks for. Of course the role takes her to her limits and the closing of Abscheulicher! is somewhat screechy, but, maybe unintentionally, the uncontained way with which Janowitz leads her heavenly soprano to the fearsome demands of her role is already a dramatic point. When Florestan calls her in his vision "Ein Engel" - it is easy to believe it here. When you have such an exquisite-voiced Leonore, it must be quite difficult to find a believably charming and feminine Marzelline in comparison. That is maybe why they engaged Lucia Popp, the lovely soprano, to fulfill the task. She is in warm voice and blends well with Janowitz. The casting of René Kollo was on paper an excellent idea, but his voice is a bit thorn into pieces here. He lacks firmness and the tone is rather pinched sometimes. Moreover, his initial "Gott!" is one of the strangest things ever sung by any singer - it starts as a white toned piano and passes through every kind of placement until it finally reaches wobbling fortissimo. Hans Sotin is in noble voice for Pizaro and this may be a problem in this opera. Manfred Jungwirth’s voice is rather worn, but he’s characterful. The Vienna State Opera choir is really into dramatic situations and contributes to the believable atmosphere of this recording.

Roughly at the same time Bernstein recorded Fidelio at the Musikverein, he was conducting this work at the Vienna State Opera with the same cast. One of these performances has been recording by the ORF and has finally been released on DVD. As one could expect, there is nothing as a difference of approach by the conductor. That said, even if the studio and the live recordings are quite similar in tempi and in its phraseology, the experience of listening to the CDs and watching the DVD are really dissimilar. To start with, while Deutsche Grammophon offers rich if not entirely crystalline orchestral sound surrounding the soloists, ORF has a somewhat more analytic perspective but the sound picture is far less focused. It is rather disputable when one says that the Vienna State Opera Orchestra is a doppelgänger of the Vienna Philharmonic and it is difficult to say if the Tonmeister is to blame if the studio performance has more incisive, polished and articulate strings than the live performance. When it comes to Gundula Janowitz, I first felt tempted to say she was in better voice live, but I am finally convinced that she was actually better recorded in spacious acoustics (where microphones always are always kinder to her high harmonics). As the video shows, this is a role to which she gives herself entirely. Although she has never been acknowledged as a singing actress, she is the only Leonore in my experience who is entirely convincing in her masculine disguise and at the same time as a loving and even passionate wife to Florestan. All this has an influence in musical values- she is more inclined to "act with the voice" live and ends on sounding less poised than in studio. Although Lucia Popp is vocally immaculate both in studio and live, her acting skills always have a positive influence on the musical aspects, making her Marzelline even more varied and sensitive. It is also curious to notice that she actually sounds lovelier and warmer-toned here than ten years earlier in Rolf Liebermann's film from Hamburg. René Kollo and Manfred Jungwirth too score some extra points in the acting department, but the truth is he sounds far rougher live than in studio: the tenor tenser and less inspired, the bass more unstable and freer about pitch and note values. As for Hans Sotin, he just didn't seem to be in a good day. His usually round and velvety bass sounds a bit greyish here. Hans Helm is the only singer not taken to studio, where the glamourous casting of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau can't help being more interesting. Stage director Otto Schenk makes the best of his cast and does not force his vision into the work as one would probably see in Vienna today. Some of the aesthetics in costumes and settings show its age, but again the straightforwardness is always welcome.

I could say that the opposite of Bernstein is probably Karl Böhm, who led his rehearsals without abstract nouns and was primarily concerned about structure and clarity. I think Böhm was a very clever man in his very particular way and the fact that his Fidelio is simply the most impressive I have ever heard proves that he concentrated in the right spots. Böhm’s Fidelio is urgent and drama is attained within the vocabulary of classical music (which was Beethoven’s aesthetic style - it is always good to remember that). His conducting has a level of clarity, structural sense and rightness of tempi unparaleled by almost every other conductor. Just sample his Er sterbe and you’ll see what’s lacking in the other recordings. He gathered a sensational cast for his audio recording. Gwyneth Jones is not a "perfect" vocalist - sometimes, it is too metallic, to start with - but she always knows what it’s all about and always goes to the heart of the matter - musically and dramatically. Her dramatic soprano is flexible enough for most of the runs and she also has exquisite pianissimi. Moreover, she doesn’t have to worry about the volume of the orchestra... nor Böhm has to worry about it when she’s singing. Edith Mathis is in pretty voice as Marzelline and her directness makes for a most successful Marzelline. She is the one I compare all the others to. James King is splendidly heroic as Florestan and finds no problem in the faster tempo in the end of his aria, since he is also in flexible voice. Also, his tenor is so handsome and expressive here that it is no wonder that Crass’s Rocco says to Jones’s Leonore that "this man has something in his voice..." Peter Schreier makes what is a secondary role into an interesting one. Theo Adam’s strong declamation and flexibility makes him an ideal Pizarro and Franz Crass sings the part of Rocco beautifully and with spirit.

There is not such thing as "just another" Fidelio from Böhm. This performance made live in Salzburg in 1969 sounds as if Böhm had decided to out-Bernstein Bernstein in excitement. Tempi are extreme and he takes the Vienna Philharmonic really towards its limits. Of course, this means that the Swiss-clock precision of his Dresden performance is not to be found here, but I can’t help thinking that this is on purpose. Just check his Leonore no.3 - it seems that the powers of nature are flooding from the pit of the Grosses Festspielhaus. When ensemble with singers are involved, those zipping tempi are not always helpful. Here you’ll find the fastest Es schlägt der Rache Stunde I have ever heard and singers eventually get a bit lost in those vortices of strings and thunderbolts of brass. In the Opera d’Oro release, the recorded sound is natural, clear, quite flattering to woodwind and faithful to the singers’ voices (taken in a well-balanced stage pespective) - however, it is quite variable, especially on CD2, where there is some distortion and change of perspective. Another drawback is that the choir (not in its best behaviour) may get congested. This is problematic for the closing scene, one of the less satisfying moments of the recording. Unfortunately, it was not a good day for Christa Ludwig. The voice is hard-pressed in act 1 and her approach to top notes involves sliding and shortening of note values. Although she is more at ease in act 2, she indulges in some mannerisms such as excessive portamento and abandoning the text in difficult passages. That said, it seems she was working at 100% powers - the big top notes and warm applauses witness that. On the other hand, Edith Mathis was in a very good night, offering a performance as charming and satisfying as the one in the Dresden studio recording. James King also appears to be in very strong voice. Not his subtlest performance of the role, but certainly the most dramatic. Donald Grobe is not as polished as in the Berlin studio performance, but is always a positive Jacquino. Ingvar Wixell’s tone may lack some finish, but it is certainly a trombone-like voice, what fits his intense manners. Although Franz Crass is in great voice, he seems a bit at a loss in Böhm’s white heat performance. He is also the singer most often behind the beat in this recording. Hans Hotter as Fernando only make sense as a tribute to a veteran singer.

 

When Böhm decided to take Fidelio again to the studio, now as a soundtrack for a film, it was most unfortunate that the fabulous orchestra of his first recording, the Staatskapelle Dresden, was not chosen again. The Deutsche Oper is a more modest group and, moreover, it is not so immediately recorded. However, Böhm’s audio in Dresden had the kind of fragile sound image DG used to have in the early 60’s which was very sensitive to fortissimo and the new one is free from this problem. I was glad to discover that, on DVD, the recorded sound is more immediate. Some singers of the audio recording are here again. King is in slightly less easy voice, but Jones is even better. However, I have to say that the quality of their acting is excellent, especially King. In the end of the video, if you’re not crying, you don’t have a heart. Olivera Miljakovic is only efficient as Marzelline and, although Donald Grobe’s voice is more pleasing than Schreier’s, he is less interesting an artist. Gustav Neidlinger also works wonderfully as a bad guy and his forceful singing is an asset. Alas, it was too late for Josef Greindl. He has almost no voice left, but - watching the video - one is inclined to like him.

 

There is also Böhm’s recording made live in Munich. By 1978, Böhm was not in his prime and had to give his all to achieve the good results here. This is not a full recommendation such as his two studio recordings, because, although the concept is the same, the final product is below his standard. Basically, he is overcautious - some tempi drag and he is always trying to make it comfortable for soloists and the orchestra. Moreover, he takes some time to catch fire and take the performance entirely under control - the result is a high level of mismatches. Even so, from the announcement of Don Fernando’s arrival, things get amazingly exciting. This is one of the best O Gott, welch ein Augenblick I have ever heard: emotion is running there unleashed. Hildegard Behrens offers a performance really superior to her later one for Solti. She is the kind of artist who sometimes lets HERSELF to be overwhelmed by her own performance. When that happens - the tone tends to get off focus and quite ugly, except in the top notes, where her radiance is almost unmatched. That said, after a gusty recitative, she launches a soaring performance of her main aria. However, the best singing here comes from the Marzelline. Replacing at the last minute Helen Donath, Lucia Popp took the flight from Vienna, where she was singing the same role for Bernstein, and simply outshines all the others with her warm tone, solid technique, expressivity and sheer charisma. Also, although she was the only member of the cast not taking part in the rehearsals, she is also the only one who doesn’t indulge in mistakes. James King was not in easy voice and has to press hard for his top notes, sometimes sung above pitch. He cheats a bit too in ensembles, but it is still a most commited performance of high emotional calibre. Norbert Orth is a forthright Jacquino, offering a strong voice. On the other hand, Donald McIntyre is one of the worst Pizarros in the discography. He has poor articulation, is free about pitch and note values and is in yawny voice. Unfortunately, Kurt Moll was not also in his best shape too. He is a bit grey toned in top notes, but it is a congenial singer in one of his good roles. There are some blunders in the orchestra, but it is sometimes inspired to great things and the strings are simply wonderful. The recorded sound is very good - the chorus is beautifully recorded and the clarity in ensembles is admirable.

 

If you are used to Böhm’s film, the Covent Garden may be a disappointing experience, unless you concentrate on recorded sound, because this video has natural spacious sound - something you won’t find in the Böhm film. Dohnányi’s conducting is correct. His orchestra doesn’t help him anyway. Gabriela Benackova used to have one of the most exquisite sopranos around, uniquely warm and bright, but overused it in dramatic repertoire and here one starts to notice that she should have been more careful. She has to cut phrases more often than her rivals, but still has beautiful top notes. I wished she showed more interest in the text she is singing, though. Her discrete and controlled ways do not fit this among all operas. Marie McLaughlin’s dark tones work wonderfully for Marzelline and she has a most pleasing partner in Neil Archer’s velvety and light tenor. Josef Protschka’s Florestan is a lost case. The part is too heavy for his voice and he does not have anything special to offer in exchange. He also looks as if richly fed in the prison. Monte Pederson is an incisive Pizarro and Robert Lloyd is a good Rocco. The video is nothing to die for - the direction is not particularly inspired and it is not visually unforgettable either.

Listening to the big, flexible and yet transparent sounds produced by the London Symphony in Colin Davis's live recording from the Barbican Hall, one is inclined to acknowledge an ideal old school Beethovenian sound - and the truth is that this score has rarely been so clearly and analytically realized as in this recording. However, a certain late Romantic gravitas begins to creep in and eventually takes over the whole concept of this performance. It is most commendable that Colin Davis concentrates on producing moments of beautiful and monumental orchestral sound, but this is the kind of approach intended for Wagnerian Musikdrama and seriously impares the rhythmic propulsion of Beethoven's classical structures. As a consequence, key pages such as the prisoner's chorus or both acts' finali end on sounding downright arthritic. That said, when a certain balance between weight, clarity and forward movement is achieved, such as in the duet Jetzt, Alter or in the quartet Er sterbe!, the results are certainly memorable. Most listeners would be ready to overlook these comments, if there was a cast similar to Klemperer's here to fill in the blanks left by ponderous conducting. Alas, this is not the case. Although none of these singers compromise with acceptable standards, I am afraid none of them really makes one eager for a second listening. The only possible exception would be Christine Brewer. Her big creamy soprano produces some astounding free and forceful top notes and is outstandingly homogeneous throughout the whole range. Her cantabile quality even in the most awkward Beethovenian phrase is even admirable - but there is something pasteurized in her performance. There certainly is some exquisite singing going on, but there is really little said about who is this woman called Leonore here. The fact that her German needs some serious training has a lot to do with that. Unlike most Marzellines in circumstances like that, Sally Matthews cannot steal the show - her soprano is rather opaque and she ends on sounding a bit mature and unsparkling. She too should take a look at her German. In fact, both sopranos have a great share of responsibility in the uninspired kind of dialogue acting featured in this recording. Canadian tenor John MacMaster does sound more concerned than his Leonore, but the writing of this part is beyond his abilities - when things get too high or too fast, his vocal production becomes frankly ungainly. In this sense, he is contrasted with the pleasant and spontaneous Jacquino of Andrew Kennedy. Juha Uusitalo could never be accused of blandness either - he knows when to play the "bad guy" effects to perfection and only the fact that his voice is beefed up to variable results in order to emulate an echt Heldenbariton stands between him and success. As for Kristinn Sigmundsson, I cannot avoid thinking that this fatherly figure deserved a less slim and more colourful kind of voice to come into life. Finally, Daniel Borowski misses the necessary nobility for Don Fernando. The recorded sound is spacious and natural and rather close to what the audience might have heard live in London.

 

Haitink’s recording has a grand atmosphere about it and, in a more understated way, has some points in common with Bernstein’s. First of all, it has a fabulous orchestra in the Staatskapelle Dresden and Philips’ recorded sound is exemplary. Haitink has a good sense of timing, and drama and music are quite together here. He lacks Böhm’s structural sense, though. Sometimes, although the sound is beautiful, phrases are a bit loose and lost in the middle of the orchestral bulk. Not only is this one of Jessye Norman’s best recordings, but also one of the best performances in the role of Leonore. She is in wonderful voice and offers power and flexibility in plenty. Moreover, she is really inside her role and is also very commited in dialogue. Pamela Coburn has a charming rich soprano and blends beautifully with Norman. Blochwitz is also a very good Jacquino. Wlaschiha goes for a sinister Pizarro, but he could have done it with less under-the-note effects. Kurt Moll is an excellent Rocco. However, Reiner Goldberg is not in the level of his colleagues. His voice is far from beautiful and sometimes he sails through his lines instead of really dealing with them, but reviewers have been mean to his Florestan. His voice is plausible for the role and he was in a good season when he recorded it.

 

Halász's recording has received good reviews and is considered to be a nice buy since this is probably the cheapest in the discography. His tempi are certainly fluent and woodwind are beautifully highlighted, but there is a group of drawbacks that renders this performance helplessly soft-centered to my opinion. First of all, the recorded sound tends to be unfocused, what makes articulation a bit blurred sometimes; second, the strings of the Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia sound too plummy to my ears, which is harmful to articulation again; third and worst of all, although Halász certainly keep things really animated, his conducting is so uninspiredly uninflected that one could think this is an oratorio, and not an opera. The brass in "Ein Stoß..." sounds so polite that one could never guess they are talking about murder. Inga Nielsen’s soprano, so radiant live in the theatre, sounds edgy and too well-behaved in this recording. She offers such a calculated performance that one never gets involved in the drama. In her favour, she negotiaties well the difficulties of her role. On the other hand, Edith Lienbacher is a most pleasant Marzelline. The case with Gösta Winbergh is a bit worse than Nielsen’s - he has the same problems, but it is easier to notice that even with his 100% powers, he still cannot do everything required from him. Alan Titus was also in bad shape here - he’s yawny in an old-Hans-Hotter-way all the way. A bit lost here is Kurt Moll’s Rocco, an already well known and well loved portrait. Wolfgang Glashof is desperately unsteady as Fernando too.

 

It is a pity that Harnoncourt was in his whimsical days when he recorded it. To start with, why is articulation is so unclear? I didn’t get the point. Sometimes, I did get the point, such as in the slow O namenlose Freude, but I couldn’t help think that the point was rather Harnoncourt’s than Beethoven’s. It is a pity, for the Chamber Orchestra of Europe was in top form and Teldec recorded it really nicely. I don’t know if I like this cast. I certainly don’t like Charlotte Margiono’s Leonore. She is too soft-centered for the role and the tone tends to get pale in the more outspoken moments. It is very important that conductors and producers understand that the role of Leonore simply does not work with careful singing. This atmosphere contaminated Barbara Bonney in a strange way. The role should have been a piece of cake to her - but she is singing it as if it she were sleepwalking through the score. Peter Seiffert is a fresh lyric Florestan. Maybe I miss the strain in most other tenors, but I have the impression that he could be somewhat more commited. His voice is very beautiful, though. Deon van der Walt is an excellent Jacquino, but Sergei Leiferkus is a weird Pizarro. The sound of his voice is bizarre and he was a bit at a loss singing German at this stage of his career. I did not like at all Polgar’s sophisticated Rocco. Moreover, his voice is a bit whitish here.

Ten years had a healthy effect on Harnoncourt. Although he still has his own agenda to deal with beside the score, it seems he has developed a less obtrusive way of inserting it among Beethoven's ideas. Although tempi are quite similar to his studio recording, his performance at the theatre seems more forward-moving and the playing simply less fussy. Camilla Nylund's velvety jugendlich dramatisch soprano is a balm to the ears and her technique is faultless. She is also very much engaged in the proceedings and offers one of the most smoothly sung accounts of the role of Leonore. A true find - I hope to hear more from her. Her Marzelinne, Elizabeth Rae Magnuson is pure-toned, stylish and dramatically alive. A beautiful performance. The young German tenor Jonas Kaufmann has the right dark hearty sound for the role and will certainly grow into an exemplary Florestan in the future. Right now he cunningly adapts his high register to produce softer dynamics as a means to express his character's inanition. Alfred Muff' is miscast as Pizarro and it is difficult to see and hear beyond the avuncular appearance, woolly unstable tone and inaccurate pitch. On the other hand, Lászlo Polgár seems more inclined to produce legato live than in the studio. Cristoph Strehl and Günther Groissböck are serviceable as Jacquino and Don Fernando. Jürgen Flimm's minimalistic staging has some anachronism going on and some bizarre directorial choices, such as having Florestan and Leonore sing "you again on my bosom" while they are five meters apart and a closing scene in which almost everyone on stage has a weapon.

 

Karajan’s recording is definitely puzzling - its most striking feature being its high level of theatricality. Dialogues are superbly delivered and the whole performance has always the apt "scenic" atmosphere. For example, when characters are supposed to be speaking for themselves, they do sing in lower dynamics - and these singers are obviously interacting. This alone makes it an interesting performance. When the overture starts, some predictable Karajan mannerisms appear - the string articulation is too soft for Beethoven, although the sound they produce is certainly massive. With such a "frame", the aggressive percussion and brass used here do not make lots of sense. Also, there is this fondness for extreme dynamics and some slowing down effects. In the overture, it always works in an interesting, although far from natural way, but, when singers appear, the orchestral playing gets a recessed quality, only to be shifted to loud, verging on unsubtle, playing, which sounds like someone has been pressing some buttons on the sound desk. All this leads to a serious problem - in various scenes, one cannot listen to important phrasing clearly, either because singers are in such clear advantage or because string articulation is so imprecise. When Karajan chooses to accelerate the pace, such as in the final choir, it is downright tangled. One could think that the tempi chosen here are slow, but this is not the case. They are generally well chosen - Er sterbe..., for example, is as fast as Böhm’s. I don’t mean its slow moments sound as Furtwängler’s - definitely not. But, contrary to his predecessors, he has always nice details to show us when he slows down, as he had done in his recording of Wagner's Die Walküre, for example. His cast is also excellent, entirely made of the subtlest and most intelligent artists. Helga Dernesch’s Leonore is delightful - there are some pinched notes and she cheats once or twice in Abscheulicher, but it has such warmth, good taste and sheer emotion that she ends on being one of the most convincing Leonores in the discography. Also, she uses the text beautifully. Helen Donath is one of the most exquisite Marzellines - her voice being really pretty and distinctive. Jon Vickers’ Florestan is far from natural - due to his playing with dynamics and not entirely idiomatic German - but it is always amazing that such a big bright voice could float so easily on mezza voce. Moreover, his feeling for this music is palpable. Zoltan Kéléman’s voice is on the light side for Pizarro, but it is powerfully handled and he really means what he is singing. Karl Ridderbusch is a pleasant-voiced Rocco, not the most animated, but sung with true musicianship. They make beautiful ensembles, but sometimes the engineering is intrusive, such as in the act 1 finale, where the women voices get inexplicably recessed and we hear basses in frontal perspective.

 

Klemperer’s recording is seen as the classic in the discography and maybe it is still the safe choice. After a lifetime listening to Böhm’s recordings, I still think Klemperer is not in his level, mainly because of his tempi. It is not that they are hopelessly slow as Knappertsbusch's - the thing is that you keep feeling that things would get more focus if the phrasing were a little more pointed and there were more animation going on. The closing scene, for example, sounds too well behaved for my ears, while the idea should be untamed rejoycing (just listen to Böhm to see the point). The sound image of the Philharmonia is also too plummy sometimes, betraying an idea that this would be a kind of proto-Wagnerian opera. In Klemperer’s favour there is his usual attention to woodwind and the guarantee that drama is preserved through sheer intensity of sound (again, tempi are unhelpful in this sense). That said, all the rest about this recording could be counted as advantage. EMI recorded sound is natural enough and allows for vertical clarity. Also, singers are recorded with plenty of space around them. The cast has legendary status. First of all, Christa Ludwig’s Leonore - a reference performance, sung in rich tone, homogeneous through the whole range and totally inside the predicaments of her character. Ingeborg Hallstein has a pleasant lyric soprano, a bit operetta-like - she is not the most individual of Marzellines, but has lovely top notes. Jon Vickers is for many THE Florestan. Although his voice is not the most beautiful one could think, it is certainly the most powerful in the discography and also able to scale down for mezza voce when necessary. This performance is one of the best by this singer and certainly superior to the one he would sing for Karajan, where the emotional quality displayed here is replaced by a certain affectation. Gerhard Unger is pleasant all the way as Jacquino too. As for Walter Berry’s Pizarro, it is certainly sung with total ease and dramatic commitment - sometimes he could be less choppy with his phrasing, though. Gottlob Frick is also engaged and characterful as Rocco. Franz Crass, on the other hand, is in most beautiful voice as Fernando, but is blank interpretatively. The dialogues are done with enthusiasm, some times too much of it.

All I can say about Kna’s Fidelio is that it is one of the most puzzling opera recordings ever made. It is sloooow in any standards and, worse than that, there is no backbone in his pace - sometimes it changes with no reasonable explanation. Sometimes, he surprises even his musicians and things get a bit untidy. There is nothing that can redeem this recording - it is a horrible distorsion of everything Beethoven wrote. Anyway, I bought the discs and doing my best Pollyana efforts, because of the exotic disposition of the orchestra (low strings in front of high ones with divided violines - at least, the booklet states so!), you keep finding some new stuff on the cellos now and then. Well, that’s the positive point. Sena Jurinac’s lyric soprano deals with the role of Leonore with total commitment, but the fact is that she does not have one moment to relax during the whole opera. It is quite uninspiring, although the voice is still pretty enough. On the other hand, Maria Stader is incredibly kitsch as Marzelline. She does sound like the kind of thing not even Jacquino would want. Jan Peerce is an all-edge Florestan and his idea of phrasing is very close to hammering most of the time. Murray Dickie is a strong-voiced Jacquino, but he doesn’t blend with the rest of singers. Gustav Neidlinger is very ill at ease here - he sounds really better in the Böhm video. Dezsö Ernster and Frederick Guthrie are woolly voiced as Rocco and Fernando. The chorus is very expressive but the recording (1961 stereo) is not very flattering (it could have a bit more atmosphere). The orchestra could have a bit more presence too. Finally, the dialogues are unintentionally comic - it seems there was no director to organize the whole thing.

The Metropolitan Opera DVD is probably the best idea if you want to see Fidelio on video. The performance is so close to perfection that one tends to be picky when reviewing it. First of all, the great champion of the whole venture is conductor James Levine, who shows complete grasp of the score, offering sensible tempi throughout, understanding of musical and dramatic structure and real animation. If one could question some overcarefulness, one should also have in mind that it often results from adapting the conductor's ideas to the forces available. The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra offers rich sounds, but not the Swiss-watch articulation which is the hallmark of their Dresdner and Viennese coleagues, while the chorus still has poor discipline. Those side problems concur to impare the full effect of the final scene, probably the less interesting moment of the recording. All in all, it is refreshing that Deutsche Grammophon has recorded it in such clear but spacious perspective - thus Levine's powerful yet classical conducting is preserved in its closest to what it may have sounded at the Lincoln Center. Although she looks amazingly boyish in the role of Leonore, Karita Mattila is probably the most feminine sounding soprano ever to record the part. Her warm, velvety and sensuous powerful lyric soprano makes Beethoven awkward phrasing sound at its most elegant. Also, her ability to float long lines help her out in many tricky passages, especially in Abscheulicher!, here sung with Mozartian poise. That said, in many key moments one does miss the abandon that only a genuinely dramatic voice can bring to the part. One may point out that Gundula Janowitz has even lighter a voice than Mattila and does not meet with the same criticism, but the fact is that Mattila's ease might sound too low profile while Janowitz's edge does make her more dramatically alive in moments such as O namenlose Freude. In the theatre, of course, there is no doubt that Mattila's exquisite big vocalism would make all this sound like ranting. Jennifer Welch-Babidge's creamy imposing young sounding lyric soprano is most welcome for the role of Marzelline and her acting is subtle and natural. Ben Heppner's handsome tenor is used with good taste, but his lack of flexibility forces the conductor to adopt a somewhat slower pace for the stretta of his aria. It is a pity that his lack of physique de rôle and poor acting abilities are an unforgivable drawback on video. Curiously, in the dungeon scene, he seems to deliver his spoken lines with far more passion than the otherwise more dramatically connected Mattila and Pape. Falk Struckmann is in better shape here than in Barenboim's studio recording. His voice is dark and big enough for his role and he is dramatically alert - only a tendence to unfocused top notes takes from the quality of his performance. René Pape also offers a better performance than in the Teldec recording. Here the whole compass of his dark velvety bass is registered by the microphones. His performance is most intelligent as well, but I could not understand what the stage director wanted him to accomplish. As it is, his Rocco looks overyoung, overperky and overdressed. Matthew Polenzani is a pleasant sounding Jacquino. The idea of setting the action in the 1940's is interesting, but much of the impact is lost, especially in the prisoners' choir and the closing scene.

Leopold Ludwig's Fidelio is the soundtrack of Rolf Liebermann's 1968 movie. As in the other films in this series, the primitive colour system makes it looks older and the approach is rather conservative. In any case, although the dramatic temperature is rather low, the director could benefit from the cast's acting gifts, even if restraint is the keyword. The young Anja Silja is an almost ideal Leonore. Her bright soprano may have its metallic patches in the higher reaches, but at 28 she could boast an almost instrumental ease in the tessitura and offers an utterly stylish, young-sounding and sensitive performance. In the beginning of her international career, Lucia Popp is an irresistible Marzelline and one who knows how to act for the camera. Although Richard Cassilly is not exactly immaculate - he has his nasal and overcareful moments - he also is in fresh voice and tackles the fast tempi in his aria's stretta with elegance. Although nothing has been written about this, it seems he has been dubbed in his dialogues. Theo Adam is always a powerful Pizarro, although he is a bit more nuanced in Böhm's recording. Even deprived of his aria, Ernst Wiemann is a congenial Rocco. Erwin Wohlfart is a spontaneous Jacquino and Hans Sotin is a noble Don Fernando. Leopold Ludwig offers a stylish, but rather comfortable version of the score. The recorded sound could give the orchestra a bit more definition, but there is enough space for the big scenes with soloists and chorus.

 

Maazel is the only other conductor who gets the same kind of theatrical excitement plus musical accuracy that Böhm achieved in his recordings. The Vienna Philharmonic is also wonderful here. I don’t have an opinion about his using a smaller orchestra for some more intimate moments - it doesn’t sound bothersome on continuous listening, though. The recorded sound is typical Decca - very big and spacious but unnatural. The casting here is really really weird. On paper, Birgit Nilsson is an excellent idea for Leonore. However, I disliked her performance as a whole. First of all, her intonation is far from flawless and her phrasing could be more beautiful. In her favour, there are her legendary powerful top notes. Graziella Sciutti's Marzelline is small-scaled and kitsch. On paper, James MacCracken's voice is on paper right for the role of Florestan and the first impression is not entirely negative. Then, vulgar phrasing and other rough details start to appear and in the end you are hating it. Tom Krause is a light but forceful Pizarro, but there was not much voice in Kurt Böhme when he recorded it here. With such uneffective casting, why bothering to fetch the marvelous Hermann Prey for Fernando?

 

Mackerras's performance is connected to the Edinburgh Festival and features the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. The distinguished ensemble, using "period" brass, fits beautifully into the conductor's transparent perspectives and thoroughly clear articulation. His ability to focus the structural aspects of the score with purposeful phrasing, undemonstrative understanding of accent and absolute feeling for tempo are admirable. One often feels mesmerized by the elastic way how the Australian maestro shapes phrasing according to dramatic situations, without ever giving an impression of distortion or artifficiality. It must be pointed out, however, that those who expect depth or power in a Beethovenian orchestra might be disappointed by the light colourful sound of the SCO. Unfortunately, the cast is not up to Mackerras's level. Although one easily notices that Gabriela Benackova must have had an amazing voice, those days are clearly gone in this recording. Her middle register is unfocused and the low notes are thrown in abrupt chest voice. Provided that the dynamics do not go beyond mezzo forte, the high register is still pleasant and appealing. Otherwise, top notes might sound undersupported, especially in tricky passages, such as the closing of Abscheulicher, when she even tries to make up a pointless cadenza to make up for an akward climax. Interpretatively, she seems primarily concerned in enunciating her text in clear German and producing the notes. She is, nevertheless, quite animated in dialogue. Ildiko Raimondi's fruity soprano works beautifully for Marzelline, while John Mark Ainsley is an excellent clear-toned and characterful Jacquino. The role of Florestan is quite a stretch to Anthony Rolfe-Johnson, who has to open the tone and his vowels to cope with the heavy demands on him. Franz-Josef Kapellmann's really-bad-guy Pizarro involves lots of off-pitch effects and an intrinsical absence of legato. Siegfried Vogel is really rusty and woolly as Rocco, often grey-toned. The edition adopted here includes a recitative for Don Fernando cut in the 1814 version and a different version of the Leonore no.3 based on a score used by Carl Maria von Weber in a performance in Prague.

 

Simon Rattle's recording, made live in concert in Berlin, has the hallmark of the conductor's performances with the Berliner Philharmoniker: transparent crystal-clear sound. Although tempi tend to be flowing, there is something inorganic about Rattle's approach to structure. As much as I admire his sense of clarity and desire to show the mechanics of phrases which sound rather impressionistic in most performances, the result is inconsequent development, slack sense of structure and awkward transitions in plenty. Worse than that: although phrasing is beautifully articulated, the dramatic gesture implied by it is almost never there. It is most praiseworthy that Rattle has understood that Fidelio is Classical (as opposed to Romantic) in style. Nevertheless, it seems that his view of Classicism is elegant sprightly pretty sounds. Therefore, Leonore's predicaments are presented in a balletic jaunty way and when she says Ich habe Mut, the orchestra is saying "and we're in very good mood". A French reviewer has said that this is the worst sung Fidelio ever. I think this is too much of an exaggeration. Angela Denoke has an admirable voice: it is firm, warm, clean, bright, easy in the ear and capable of some heft when necessary. Her phrasing is pleasant, beautiful and absolutely natural. She would be a lovely Eva in Wagner's Meistersinger, but as Beethoven's Leonore she is sorely unconcerned, dealing with the climactic moments in the most unexciting manner. Basically, the most exposed passages are handled with mezza voce or, when this is really impossible, with a kind of wiry mezzo forte. Together with Rattle, she offers the less dramatic Abscheulicher ever. On the other hand, Juliane Banse is a charming Marzelline, singing with dexterity and creamy tone, which, however, may sound too mature. As I could witness live, Jon Villars has big enough a voice to deal with the role of Florestan, provided the audience can put up with his far from beautiful tonal quality. This becomes particularly bothersome when, for expressive purposes, he resorts to a bleached out mezza voce. In this recording, his singing lacks legato and his pronunciation is far from natural. Rainer Trost is a successful Jacquino. The voice tends to harden a bit, but it never becomes unpleasant and he is dramatically alert. Alan Held too has sense of theatre and tries to colour his voice accord to the various situations, but he may sound affected now and then. The voice lacks a bit depth and gets strained in the most exposed moments, but the phrasing is clear and energetic enough. Laszlo Polgar, in very good voice, offers a performance far more spontaneous and pleasant than for Harnoncourt. Finally, Thomas Quasthoff is an imposing, if not exactly ingratiating Don Fernando. The Arnold Schönberg Chorus sings beautifully, but seems affected by the prevailing dramatic lassitude.

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~Die Fledermaus (J.Strauß)

 

1 - Gundula Janowitz (Rosalinde), Renate Holm (Adèle), Wolfgang Windgassen (Orlofsky), Waldemar Kmentt (Alfred), Eberhard Wächter (Eisenstein), Heinz Holecek (Falke), Erich Kunz (Frank), Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm

2 - Anneliese Rothenberger (Rosalinde), Renate Holm (Adèle), Brigitte Fassbaender (Orlosfky), Adolf Dallappozza (Aldred), Nicolai Gedda (Einsentein), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Falke), Walter Berry (Frank), Wiener Symphoniker, Willy Boskovsky

3 - Lucia Popp (Rosalinde), Eva Lind (Adèle), Agnes Baltsa (Orlofsky), Plácido Domingo (Alfred), Peter Seiffert (Eisenstein), Wolfgang Brendel (Falke), Kurt Rydl (Frank), Münchner Rundfunk, Plácido Domingo

4 - Anny Schlemm (Rosalinde), Rita Streich (Adèle), Anneliese Müller (Orlofsky), Helmut Krebs (Alfred), Peter Anders (Eisenstein), Herbert Brauer (Falke), Hans Wocke (Frank), RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, RIAS Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, Ferenc Fricsay

5 - Adrianne Pieczonka (Rosalinde), Edita Gruberová (Adèle), Carmen Oprisanu (Orlosfky), Jörg Schneider (Alfred), Thomas Moser (Eisenstein), Georg Tichy (Falke), Gottfried Hornik (Frank), Chorus and Orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera, Friedrich Haider

6 - Edita Gruberová (Rosalinde), Barbara Bonney (Adèle), Marjana Lipovsek (Orlofsky), Josef Protschka (Alfred), Werner Hollweg (Eisenstein), Anton Scharinger (Falke), Christian Bösch (Frank), Concertgebouw, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

7 - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Rosalinde), Rita Streich (Adèle), Rufolf Christ (Orlofsky), Helmut Krebs (Alfred), Nicolai Gedda (Eisenstein), Erich Kunz (Falke), Karl Dönch (Frank), Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan

8 - Hilde Güden (Rosalinde), Erika Köth (Adèle), Regina Resnik (Orlofsky), Giuseppe Zampieri (Alfred), Waldemar Kmentt (Eisenstein), Walter Berry (Falke), Erich Kunz (Frank), Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan

9 - Julia Varady (Rosalinde), Lucia Popp (Adèle), Iwan Rebroff (Orlofsky), René Kollo (Alfred), Hermann Prey (Eisenstein), Bernd Weikl (Falke), Benno Kusche (Frank), Bayerische Staatsoper, Carlos Kleiber

10 - Pamela Coburn (Rosalinde), Janet Perry (Adèle), Brigitte Fassbaender (Orlofsky), Josef Hopfewieser (Alfred), Eberhard Wächter (Eisenstein), Wolfgang Brendel (Falke), Benno Kusche (Frank), Chor und Orchester der Bayerischen Staatsoper, Carlos Kleiber

11 - Kiri Te Kanawa (Rosalinde), Edita Gruberová (Adèle), Brigitte Fassbaender (Orlofsky), Richard Leech (Alfred), Wolfgang Brendel(Eisenstein), Olaf Bär (Falke), Tom Krause (Frank), Wiener Philharmoniker, André Previn

 

It is said that it was Offenbach who first suggested to Strauß that he should write for the stage. He took some time to convince himself of that, but finally decided to compose operetta. However, he was dealing with libretti which were simple formulae. Finally, when he was given the text based on the vaudeville "Le Réveillon", by Meilhac and Halévy (Offenbach’s collaborators, by the way), he must have felt as when Mozart met Da Ponte or Strauss met Hofmannsthal. Finally, his genius could set music to a text which was according to his own creativity - a subtle comedy where some nasty criticism of contemporary social life was disguised in dance, animation and frivolity. The fact is that Strauß took the musical world on surprise with his "Die Fledermaus" - people didn’t even know how to call it. All that couldn’t simply be labelled operetta! The overture, disguised in pot-pourri, is in fact a symphonic piece in the classical manner, every character has its own musical "personality" in the way Mozart would have done and the orchestral effects are worthy of Strauss, Richard... The vocal parts are also quite sophisticated, especially the part of Rosalinde, which is the closest in German repertoire to the Italian Fach of drammatico d’agilità. As Gundula Janowitz once said, it is probably the most difficult part for soprano in German language. The part of the Prince Orlofsky is cast with a mezzo soprano for the same reason R. Strauss chose a soprano for Octavian and the Composer - the idea was to depict a lad around the age where the voice is bound to break. The part of Eisenstein is also problematic. It is a tenor part, but as it is not that high, high baritones (more easily found than tenors, anyway...) sometimes take it (with some lower options). It has also become a tradition to insert a gala in act II. The tradition started in New York, where the work is usually staged on Dec 31st, with starry guest artists. Sometimes, one replaces it for a piece by Strauß himself, such as the Unter Donner und Blitz polka.

 

Karl Böhm’s performance technically is an echt Viennese one - but a more careful reader would notice it is the Vienna PHILHARMONIC, that the conductor is BÖHM, that there are JANOWITZ and WINDGASSEN. This careful reader would be shocked to notice that, although Böhm’s tempi are in the serious side, his articulation and rhythmic variety are fabulous. The many coloured sounds he obtains from the orchestra in the overture are simply unique. Also, his attentive eyes to "concertante" writing (the "classical" term adopted on purpose) is wonderful. Sometimes, you have singers and clarinette, flute or horn in the same level. It is doubly sad that the Tonmeister had decided to record singers so close to the microphone - it places a hard edge on everyone’s voice - but not surprisingly Gundula Janowitz and Eberhard Wächter are the main victims. This is a serious flaw and for many it is reason enough to avoid this set. As a matter of fact, this recording is the soundtrack to a most funny film (it would have been my favourite video of Fledermaus, if it was not for the Covent Garden English version with wonderful singer/actors, an excellent translation and surprisingly nice conducting from Richard Bonynge) and the theatrical element is noticeable in every member of the cast. Gundula Janowitz is, above all, very funny as Rosalinde. Her Hungarian countess may sound overdone - but to those who know the film, it is really delicious. However, she suffers a lot from the close recording and her top notes sound invariably pinched or thin. Renate Holm is the example of soubrettish singing as Adèle. It is competent, but not particularly inspiring. Although Windgassen is not horrible as Orlofsky, the very idea of casting it with a tenor is problematic. Especially when Windgassen is clearly not having fun. I know that Orlofsky is supposed to be permanently bored - but we are supposed to have fun with that! Waldemar Kmentt is in easy voice as Alfred, but Eberhard Wächter is particularly effortful as Eisenstein. He clearly savours the text and is funny most of the time, but it is not really ingratiating. Heinz Holecek is direct and velvety-voiced as Falke and, although there is not a lot of voice in Erich Kunz by that time, he is still elegant and funny.

On the other hand, Boskovsky's performance is made in Vienna and echt Viennese. The conductor has a liftime experience with the repertoire and knows how to play all the tricks. It is vivid, spontaneous, clear and articulate - and the orchestra is really in its element. As Rosalinde, Anneliese Rothenberger is clearly overparted and has to cheat more often than one would like to get the job done, particularly in the Csardas. Of course, she has a basically charming voice and is characterful all the way. This is probably Renate Holm's best Adèle - the tone is more substantial than in Böhm's recording to start with. Brigitte Fassbaender, in fresh voice, is a superlative Orlofsky. Adolf Dallappozza's tenor also sounds taylor-made for the role of Aldred and he is entirely at easy with operetta-tenor singing. With the famous "smile" in his voice, Nicolai Gedda is irresistible as Eisenstein, but those who know the Karajan recording will certainly miss the extra liquid quality and charm of the previous recording. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau has his affected moments, but the role is fit to his voice and personality. Also, Walter Berry is an excellent Frank.

 

Domingo’s recording is unfairly neglected - it is an excellent production after all. Let’s start with the controversial point - Domingo as a conductor. Of course, he is not the most skilled of maestros. He mishandles some transitions and the phrasing lacks a firmer hand, but his conception is very well judged. He tries to interfere the less he can with Strauß’s natural dance rhythms and - compared to some other recordings - all I can say is that it works. In some ways, Böhm has achieved that in his recording - your feets are always tapping the floor listening to it, but sometimes it is too serious, a mistake avoided by Domingo. He has a good orchestra and spacious recording by EMI. However, it is probably the glamourous cast that calls attention here and, truth be said, Domingo is very nice to singers as a conductor. He always give them time to make the best of it. In Lucia Popp he has a Rosalinde who was a favourite in Munich. I could say that she is the overall best interpreter of her part - she has the low notes, the high notes, the coloratura, a seductive tone, is witty and charming and is wonderful in dialogue. Moreover, she is one of the only two sopranos recorded who sings the complete version of the Csardas (including some extra coloratura). However, sometimes I think her voice is too wide of focus here and, although the sound is really distinctive, I tend to think that a brighter tone would work better. I also wished that she did not take the optional in alt’s - some of them are a bit pinched. As for Eva Lind, as always, she is only efficient: the voice is not beautiful and she is not creative. Agnes Baltsa, on the other hand, is a total success as Orlofsky. She is in wonderful voice, phrases beautifully and is very funny. More than that - the "manly" voice she uses for dialogues is sensational! I don’t know if I like Domingo’s Alfred. He is in particularly poor German and, although his tone is gorgeous, it sounds too grand for this lighter atmosphere. In the plus side, he sings almost everything you can imagine while in jail. Peter Seiffert is in healthy voice as Eisenstein and the good taste with which he sings his role really makes difference. I only think he sounds too much "the good guy". A bit of mischief would be welcome. On the other hand, Wolfgang Brendel is very witty and funny as Falke. Also, his baritone is exquisite. Kurt Rydl is a bit heavy as Frank, but he is Viennese and uses it for good effects. The rest of the cast is sensational. Ah, there is a gala! The guest artists are Lucia Popp, Eva Lind, Agnes Baltsa, Peter Seiffert and Plácido Domingo. Eva Lind is shallow, but Lucia Popp, Agnes Baltsa and Domingo are sensational - they sing Strauß - he does "Ach, wie so herrlich zu schau’n" from Eine Nacht in Venedig; Popp sings "Wer uns getraut?" from Der Zigeuner Baron and Baltsa sings the Zigeunerlieder from the same opera.

 

Harnoncourt’s recording. How to define it? There are things I like and things I do not like here, but I cannot live without it. As usually, Harnoncourt decided to investigate the original scores and discovered tons of distortion - 2/2 when it should be 4/4, a note played E when it should be D etc etc. I couldn’t be more grateful that he solved all that and included extra bars in places such as Nein, mit solchen Advokaten and the Csardas, but my question is: should it not sound more natural? He says that almost every other composer plays with tempo in a way that goes against Strauß’s thorough tempo indication, but it is this recording that gives the impression that someone has been fussing with the beat. Sometimes, dance rhythms are impossible to dance at all. Although I understand that there is generally a dramatic point about those features, I think that the natural pace should be felt. However, there are sometimes when it does work. I particularly like the Csardas - when everything makes wonderful sense. Rosalinde is a part Edita Gruberová used to sing in the Vienna State Opera and, if she had better low notes and her in alt’s were not that metallic, she would be perfect. For once, trills and runs sound the easiest thing in the world and her phrasing is incredibly sophisticated (including sensational high pianissimi). On the interpretative side, her Rosalinde could be a bit more provocative, though. Barbara Bonney is a most successful Adèle. She avoids the soubrettish approach and sounds creamy-toned and charming all the time. Marjana Lipovsek is also an excellent Orlofsky, singing with real gusto. Josef Protschka is disappointing as Alfred - the voice is really pale and he lacks flamboyance. Werner Hollweg is more characterful as Einsenstein, but he is desperately pinched and nasal. Anton Scharinger works hard for elegance as Falke and Christian Bösch follows the usual "funny, but not really vocally acomplished " standard for Frank. The Concertgebouw Orchestra is very animated and Teldec’s recording would have been perfect if it was less reverberant.

 

Karajan’s mono recording of Fledermaus is something he himself felt to need a remake. It lacks fire, to be short. The orchestral playing and recording are rather pale and uncommunicative. The tempi are a bit on the heavy side and I utterly disliked the idea of casting Orlofsky with a cabaret-like tenor. Well, now the good sides. The rest of the cast is wonderful. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf is a model Rosalinde. She’s incredibly witty and is in warm voice. I like the undemonstrative way with which she deals with the difficulties of her part. Moreover, she knows intimately the Viennese style and the clock duet with Gedda is simply delicious. Rita Streich is in pretty voice as Adèle but Karajan should have given her better tempi. She is far more interesting in her recital disc on DG. The men are wonderfully stylish and characterful, but Gedda’s Eisenstein and Kunz’s Falke must be singled out as classical performances.

 

Karajan’s second visit to Fledermaus has more animation and the Vienna Philharmonic plays it splendidly, but Decca’s recorded sound is too big and sadly lacks focus. A pity - this lack of immediacy is particularly harmful for comedy. However, one can still enjoy Karajan’s sophisticated colouring and well-chosen tempi and rhythms. To describe the cast, one must use the word "but" all the way. Hilde Güden is light voiced for Rosalinde, but she is charming. Only in the Csardas one feels she is overparted. Erika Köth’s voice is on the thin side, but she is characterful enough. Regina Resnik’s Orlofsky is certainly classy, but she cheats when things get too high or too fast. Giuseppe Zampieri’s is a full-toned and funny Alfred, but Waldemar Kmentt’s voice is on the hard side and he lets too many nice opportunities go. More properly cast, Walter Berry and Eberhard Wächter have wonderful sense of theatre and are the centre of attentions whenever they are singing. During act II, there is a gala performance, with recorded tracks of Decca’s most famous artists at the time, the most endearing being Giulietta Simionato and Ettore Bastianini singing Anything you can do I can do better.

 

Carlos Kleiber’s studio recording is probably the most sought after in this discography. Some complain it is too fast and lacks grace. I do not think it is that serious. I think that the recorded sound lacks some naturality and that Kleiber may be sometimes extreme with dynamics and tempo, but in a way that never stands between his ideas and animation, for it is essentially a very animated recording. If he had the kind of verve the Vienna Philharmonic offered to Böhm it would have been indeed a classic. As it stands, it would be the perfect candidate to "safe choice", but the casting of Iwan Rebroff is on the annals of operatic recording as "the most grotesque piece of casting in a recording". I am by principle against casting countertenors in roles not specifically written for their voices, but Jochen Kowalski was quite well in the Bonynge video. The problem about Iwan Rebroff is that he is NOT a countertenor - he is a kind of male-Yma Sumac bass cum falsettist and sings his lines in the most awkward manner, not to mention that he SPEAKS on broken voice... In a word, prepare your stomachs! The rest of the cast is simply splendid. Julia Varady was in fresh voice and is astonishingly at ease with her coloratura. She avoids the breaking into chest register so typical of her more recent recordings and it is endearing that she herself is Hungarian and was able to chose a nice discrete accent for the clock duet. In Lucia Popp, Kleiber found an hors concours Adèle. The level of musical and theatrical accomplishment of her performance is unimagineably superior to her rivals. Just sample her act III couplet - how ingenuously seductive in "Sö, Schlimmer, Sö", how majestic in "ja, ganz in meiner Gloria!", how debauchée in "ach, im dritte werd’ ich schwach", how coquettish in "Verzeihung, flöt ich, er verzeiht"... It is simply a lesson to most singers. René Kollo is in his element as Alfred, Hermann Prey is the best baritone Eisenstein and he is most of the time taking the high options and Bernd Weikl is a pleasant strong voiced Falke. Benno Kusche is probably the founder of the "speaking"-Falke style, but he is funny.

 

In the same opera house, Kleiber decided to commit his Fledermaus to video. He was more relaxed here and the recorded sound is really better. His casting, alas, is not in the level of his first attempt, although there are some nice performances. Pamela Coburn, to start with, is in creamy voice as Rosalinde and acts and sings superbly, especially in the Csardas, where her dress looks rightly voluptuous. If I was her husband, I would flirt with her. Janet Perry is also pleasing as Adèle and is at ease with the coloratura. Brigitte Fassbaender is a marvellous Orlofsky, not only the part fits her voice to perfection, but also she has panache in plenty. Nobody acts her part as she does. Hopfewieser is indifferent as Alfred and does not look his part. Wächter was understandably, at this stage of his career, in grey voice and his performance, although charmingly acted, is difficult to listen to. Wolfgang Brendel is a congenial Falke, but Kusche is amazingly after all these years his usual self as Frank.

 

British reviewers are really enthusiastic about Previn’s Fledermaus. It is a performance close to being a candidate to "safe choice". The tempi are right, the cast is good and the recorded sound is pleasing. However, Previn’s phrasing lacks focus. I compared his overture with Böhm’s (because it is the same orchestra), and, after Böhm, Previn sounded a bit blurred. He is more comfortable in more lyrical moments, such as in his very romantic Brüderlein und Schwesterlein. I also disliked Philips’s silly sound effects - all this chatting and laughing sound really annoying in repeated listening. Kiri Te Kanawa is really rich voiced as Rosalinde, but I suspect that her voice is the wrong instrument for the role. She does all she has to do all right, but she lacks naturality throughout. It lacks a lighter touch, but, truth be said, it is one of her most animated recording and she goes indeed to some optional top notes with gusto. Edita Gruberová is in metallic voice as Adèle, but is, as usual, remarkably agile in coloratura and coquettish too. Brigitte Fassbaender is again a model Orlofsky. I have never heard Richard Leech in such luscious voice - he is surprisingly good as Alfred and offers real "tenor seduction" here. Wolfgang Brendel is Eisenstein, for a change. He is in pleasant voice and deals with some of the high options with ellegance and ease. Bär’s lighter baritone offers similar qualities and Tom Krause takes - probably for once - the role of Frank seriously.

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~Der Freischütz

 

1 - Karita Mattila (Agathe), Eva Lind (Ännchen), Francisco Araiza (Max), Ekkehard Wlaschiha (Kaspar), Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Colin Davis

2 - Luba Orgonasová (Agathe), Christine Schäfer (Ännchen), Endrik Wottrich (Max), Matti Salminen (Kaspar), Rundfunkchor Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

3 - Inga Nielsen (Agathe), Malin Hartelius (Ännchen), Peter Seiffert (Max), Matti Salminen (Kaspar), Chor und Orchester der Opernhauses Zürich, Nikolaus Harnoncourt

4 - Sharon Sweet (Agathe), Ruth Ziesak (Ännchen), Peter Seiffer (Max), Kurt Rydl (Kaspar), Rundfunkchor Berlin, Deutsche Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Marek Janowski

5 - Irmgard Seefried (Agathe), Rita Streich (Ännchen), Richard Holm (Max), Kurt Böhme (Kaspar), Chor und Symphonie des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Eugen Jochum

6 - Elisabeth Grümmer (Agathe), Lisa Otto (Ännchen), Rudolf Schock (Max), Karl Christian Kohn (Kaspar), Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Berliner Philharmoniker, Josef Keilberth

7 - Gundula Janowitz (Agathe), Edith Mathis (Ännchen), Peter Schreier (Max), Theo Adam (Kaspar), Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Carlos Kleiber

8 - Hildegard Behrens (Agathe), Helen Donath (Ännchen), René Kollo (Max), Peter Meven (Kaspar), Chor und Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Rafael Kubelik

9 - Arlene Saunders (Agathe), Edith Mathis (Ännchen), Ernst Kozub (Max), Gottlob Frick (Kaspar), Hamburgischen Staatsoper Chor, Philharmonischer Staatsorchester Hamburg, Leopold Ludwig

10 - Charlotte Margiono (Agathe), Sabine Ritterbusch (Ännchen), Jorma Silvasti (Max), Albert Dohmen (Kaspar), Hamburgischen Staatsoper und Chor, Ingo Metzmacher

11 - Margaret Price (Agathe), Helen Donath (Ännchen), James King (Max), Karl Ridderbusch (Max), Coro e Orchestra di Roma della RAI, Wolfgang Sawallisch

12 - Petra-Maria Schnitzer (Agathe), Johanna Stojkovic (Ännchen), Cristoph Prégardien (Max), Georg Zeppenfeld (Kaspar), WDR Runfunkchor Köln, Capella Coloniensis des WDR, Bruno Weil

 

Some works are deeply particular and universal at the same time and that’s so fascinating about them - that is why Der Freischütz (with its quite untranslatable title) has kept its appeal after all that time and is seen as Weber’s masterpiece. Even if it is the most German of German operas, with a collection of Urromantisch symbols and a kind of magic/bizarre/cruel universe typical of the German fairytale, it deals in a very effective way with myths and, through them, reaches universality. For non-German people such as most of us, it may sound a bit "extraordinary", since it is rarely performed outside German countries. But in those places, it is a repertoire piece and every year not only the big houses such as Munich, Berlin and Vienna present it, but the small theatres also keep it regularly in their seasons. Moreover, it is a favourite with conductors and singers of the German repertoire.

 

Colin Davis’s recording is viewed by British critics as miraculous and I think that there is a strong exaggeration here. It is an interesting recording, with fabulous playing from the Staatskapelle Dresden and impressive recorded sound by Philips. English magazines say it has an unique "dark" vision of the work, which, in plain language, means - it is slow and heavy (just listen to the Wälzer). Nevertheless, the richness of the orchestral sound makes for continuous listening. As a matter of fact, it is a good experience. Then, you listen to Jochum, Kleiber, Harnoncourt et al and see what you’re missing. The phrasing lacks purpose and variety and sometimes you loose the overall idea due to indifferent phrasing and slow tempi. The Wolfschlucht scene is the most impressive moment of the recording, but not because of the silly sound effects, but to the forcefulness of the orchestral playing. I have not read a positive review for Karita Mattila as Agathe, but - well - it is never too late to start. So, here it goes, Karita: you were lovely as Agathe. Her tone is so warm and pleasing and her phrasing so sensitive that I cannot understand how someone could call this unexpressive. Some concentrate on under-the-note singing... There is some of it, to say the truth, but, at least for my ears, not in disturbing level. I know there are people who seem to have the supernatural power of hearing intonation problems even on their coffee machines. Well, I am glad I am normal... for I can enjoy Karita’s Innigkeit and velvety tone in Und ob die Wolke. Eva Lind is unimpressive as Ännchen, but it is Francisco Araiza who suffers from misconception about his Max. I wonder why some lyric voiced singers think that they should produce a different "voice" to sing heavier repertoire. This is a mistake never commited by, let’s say, Nicolai Gedda. If Araiza had used his usual vocalization (which is so beautiful), he would not only be a more pleasant Max but also could pierce into orchestral textures more easily. Here, he’s really strained and unfocused. Ekkehard Wlaschiha is firm-voiced and does all the tricks to sound sinister as Kaspar.

 

Harnoncourt’s recording was not really welcome by reviewers and I think that this was really unfair, for this is a most interesting performance, with slightly slower tempi, in order to show all the nicesties in Weber’s score. The Wälzer has a sophisticated rhythmic perspective, Kaspar’s drinking song’s accompaniment is as eloquent as Matti Salminen and Leise, leise has Harnoncourt scaling the formidable Berlin Philharmonic to the softest pianissimo. All that is more impressive, considering that this was recorded live (although from a concert performance) and Teldec offers amazing recording. It simply sounds as if you were in the theatre. However, the Wolfschlucht scene suffers a bit from the overall conception - the spaciousness of the recording, Harnoncourt’s fussing with tempo and the obvious disadvantage of a Samiel without microphonic help (he basically shouts all the time). It is beautifully done, but doesn’t take you to the edge of your seat. The cast is outstanding. Luba Orgonasova’s Agathe insists on mezza voce, but I think that it was Harnoncourt’s idea and Orgonasova does have floating pianissimi. Moreover, her lyric soprano is charming and creamy. Christine Schäfer is an unsmiling Ännchen, but sings with purposefulness and good taste, almost making the song about the dog a really serious piece. I like Endrik Wottrich’s Max. For a lyric tenor, he has quite a dark voice and powerful top notes. If he resists temptation and gives it time to develop, maybe he could deal with heavier repertoire later. Matti Salminen is a very characterful Kaspar and defies the years with a strong performance. The second roles are taken by a distinguished group of singers.

Harnoncourt's performance in Zürich, available on DVD, is a disappointing entry in the discography. Although the recorded sound offers extra clarity compared to the already impressive recording on CD by Teldec, the performance woefully misfires in its search of rough sonorities (aided by some period instruments, such as valveless brass and Alice Harnoncourt in the orchestra). The slimmer strings, the lack of forward movement and the conductor's mannerisms simply make it unnatural and unexciting - and the undisciplined choral singing only makes things worse. All that is particularly harmful to the Wolfschlucht scene, which does not build to a climax - probably the less dramatic ever recorded. Inga Nielsen once had a close to ideal voice to the part, but unfortunately recorded it too late in her career. She has intonation problems and a hooty, fluttery vocal production that simply ruins Und ob die Wolke. Also, her flaccid declamation makes for a rather indifferent Leise, leise. Malin Hartelius is a vivacious Ännchen, using her creamy soprano with charm, but a bit overemphatically in her intent of being funny. Peter Seiffert is the jewel in this cast. His tenor has developed in strength and in consistence of medium and low registers since he recorded the part for Janowski, without loosing its flexibility and beauty of tone. Matti Salminen's voice sounds richer than in the Berlin performance recorded by Teldec and its impact is better conveyed in the DVD's recorded sound. Lászlo Polgar is a noble Hermit, but the other minor parts are poorly cast. The production is ugly and inefficient - the idea was to remove all the "local peasant colour" and replace it by "Russian constructivism". As a result, the work becomes pointless - divorced from its cultural references and inserted in an aesthetic ambiance which has nothing to offer in terms of extra insight and that makes the story telling impossible to follow. The actors' direction is downright silly, making these singers look uncomfortable and unconvincing.

 

Janowski’s recording, beautiful as it is, is a bit unnecessary with such competition. He has a good orchestra and natural recorded sound. His tempi sound right and you can hear everything you want, but everything is really understated. What is fizzing in Jochum or Kleiber only appears here. It really lacks ideas and it is, I am afraid to say, what one calls kapellmeisterlich. Sharon Sweet is an acquired taste as Agathe. Her voice is too vibrant and ungainly, but - if one perchance succeeds in overlooking those problems - one would notice that she tries to be expressive and musicianly all the way and that her tone, at its best, is warm and full. Ruth Ziesak, who usually is phlegmatic, is a most charming Ännchen. Peter Seiffert seems like the perfect idea for Max. Nevertheless, the results are a bit disappointing. He oversings what naturally sits well in his voice. Maybe he got used to sing overparted and couldn’t shift back for his natural Fach. The voice is beautiful and he is animated (he seems to be having lots of fun in the dialogue) - if I am not mistaken, this used to be his favourite part (he named his son Max) - but the truth is that the top notes sound forced and the low ones are unsupported. Kurt Rydl has a dark and powerful voice, with nice top and low notes. It could be firmer, though, but he is convincingly demonic as Kaspar.

 

Maybe Freischütz is Jochum’s best operatic recording. The intensity and atmosphere reached here are simply amazing. He encourages the Bayerische Rundfunk orchestra to adopt a rougher sound which helps to create the idea of a countryside landscape and dark forests. His tempi are alert and he has a strong pulse. I think that the record of the most frightening Wolfschlucht’s scene is his - the slightly claustrophobic sonics and Ernst Ginsberg’s vehement Samiel being particularly helpful. Irmgard Seefried’s voice was past its best here - it is a bit dry and never floats. However, she is quite in control of her resources and is really at ease in the end of Leise, leise. She is less satisfactory in Und ob die Wolke, though. Rita Streich is in pretty voice as Ännchen, but could be more communicative. Richard Holm is a nice Max. His tone is not really beautiful, but he sings with naturalness and his Fach is exactly the one of the role. Kurt Böhme is very effective as Kaspar. His voice deals nicely with the difficult demands made on it and he knows how to create the right dramatic impression. The dialogues are nicely done too.

 

Carlos Kleiber’s recording established a weird controversy: most reviewers call it capricious and exaggerated, but this is the best seller recording in this discography. This is a work which always fascinated him and it seems that he thinks that Freischütz must be something that take you by the throat when you less expect. So, basically the atmosphere is tense and urgent from the beginning. The Wälzer is virtually impossible to dance, so fast it is made to sound here. Nevertheless, Kleiber keeps us amazed throughout - the Staatskapelle Dresden is in splendid shape and, even in the fastest speeds, everything they do is simply clearer and more accurate than in other recordings. He also makes wonders of orchestral effects - every moment has momentum. DG recording is bright and forward and the "Originals" release is really more pleasant than the older one. Gundula Janowitz’s Agathe is a favourite with CD buyers. Her purity of tone, charming phrasing and heavenly pianissimi make some moments to be irreplaceable. For instance, Und ob die Wolke. This is the one - just forget about the others. The only moment where she is not at ease is the closing of Leise, leise, where the exposed top note is a bit tight. Edith Mathis is a pleasant Ännchen, without any comic effects (and thank God for that). Peter Schreier is not exactly the tenor for Max. His tone is made to sound hard and pinched and his efforts to sound heroic end on sounding Mime-like. On the other hand, Theo Adam is a sensational Kaspar, with fantastic articulation and top notes in Schweig, schweig.

Recorded live in Rome, Sawallisch's concert performance with the RAI orchestra is a valuable memento of some favourite artists. Maybe the fact that he was in Rome had an effect on the conductor. He is at his liveliest here. Although the orchestra cannot compete with the Staatskapelle Dresden or the Bavarian Radio Symphony orchestra, these musicians are genuinely devoted to Sawallisch in producting a theatrical experience, never faking any of Weber's exciting orchestral effects. In the end, this is a musically and dramatically convincing performance - dubious German choral singing and dialogues notwithstanding. Just sample the Wolfschlucht scene to see how effective Sawallisch and his Roman forces can be. Although singers are rather closely recorded, there is still plenty of atmosphere in the sound image. Margaret Price's velvety creamy floating soprano is taylor-made for the role of Agathe and she sings affectingly throughout. A reference performance. As in Kubelik's studio recording, Helen Donath is a charming bell-toned Ännchen. James King's Max is far from subtle and he does not sound boyish at all. His customary intensity, however, is particularly convincing and there is no lack of variety in his performance. It is particularly admirable that the usually noble-toned Karl Ridderbusch was able to produce such a dark menacing sound for Kaspar. His top notes are occasionally tremulous, but this is going to be a minor flaw in such an intense performance. Predictably, he is the member of this cast who offers the best acting in dialogues. Rolf Tasna is a most effective Samiel, but this recording can boast to feature the worst Ottokar in the discography.

 

Kubelik’s Freischütz is considered to be everyone’s _second_ Freischütz. I think that the reason is that Kubelik decided to play safe. Everything sounds consistently right all the time. It never gives the impression of being too fast as Kleiber or too slow as Harnoncourt. It always sounds "as it should be". One could consider that it must be something similar to Janowski, but it is not. In Janowski, there is understating in the music making. Not so here - every detail of Weber’s score is faithfully presented here and also under the right dramatic light. More than that - Kubelik’s ear to orchestral colouring always makes for beautiful effects, with the help of the exquisite sonorities of the Bayerische Rundfunk orchestra. Moreover he has a pleasant cast. Hildegard Behrens is especially successful as Agathe. Her performance is radiating and she sings with good taste throughout. Moreover, she doesn’t have to scale down to sound bright and pure - so her Agathe has a bit more energy than usual. Helen Donath is somewhat cute as Ännchen and that disturbs me a bit, but she’s in good voice and is a nice contrast to Behrens. René Kollo has a natural voice for Max and sings well, except when he gets a bit rough with his phrasing. Peter Meven is an efficient Kaspar. The recorded sound is traditional Decca.

 

Der Freischütz hasn’t been particularly lucky on video. Before this production from the Hamburg Opera, there was only one especially silly/unpleasant video from Stuttgart, if I am not mistaken, with poor performances from Catarina Ligendza, Toni Krämer et al. Here stage director Peter Konwitschny tried to evoke the atmosphere of bizarre and grotesque through Expressionist aesthetics. The results are controversial, since he simply re-created the whole libretto and sometimes scenes are barely recognizable. However, there are no doubts about the music making here. I couldn't praise more Ingo Metzmacher's conducting! He probably offered the best conducting I have ever heard in this piece these days. He has the best of Kleiber and the best of Kubelik. It has drama, power, clarity and perfect control of phrasing and dynamics. Charlotte Margiono has never sung better in her life. I always thought her voice to be a bit smoky, but her Agathe has forward warm tone, sensitive phrasing and heavenly pianissimi. I'm afraid Sabine Ritterbusch career won't be as successful as she deserves, only because she is not beautiful as...let’s say...Angela Gheorghiu. However, record companies shouldn't be as prejudiced as stage directors. She is a wonderful lyric soprano, with bright natural easiest voice, amazing legato and thorough musiciality. Jorma Silvasti is a pleasant Max - a very characteristic German style tenor, with forward bright slightly nasal tone that sounds always pleasant and never stressed. He is a most careful musician who doesn't refuse to hold back to piani where necessary. Albert Dohmen is very powerful and flexible as Kaspar. With the exception of Theo Adam, I have never heard the role better sung. He is also one of the most gifted actors I ever seen on an operatic production. He could easily be in a straight theatrical play.

Found in the vaults of German TV archives, Rolf Liebermann/Joachim Hess's film is a relic from the past. Although the movie was made in 1968, you could have found something like that in a German theatre in 1938. Colour technology was already developed in the late 60's, but one could easily mistake from a movie of Erroll Flynn's days. The whole concept was obviously outdated back then and has hopelessly aged, but its glimpse-of-an-earlier-era atmosphere does have its untouched echt charm (primitive special effects included). Leopold Ludwig provides experienced and effective conducting. Although you are not going to find anything truly exciting (mainly recessed orchestral sound to blame), the unpolished sounds he encourages in his Hamburg forces are truly apt. Arlene Saunders is the perfect singer for this recording. Although she is a contemporary of Gundula Janowitz and Lucia Popp, her whole approach goes back to Elisabeth Grümmer's or Hilde Güden's age. What is beyond doubt is her effortlessness and sensitivity. If you keep in mind that she is supposed to look and behave like what people considered to be lovely in 1950, she does a decent job about her acting here. The young Edith Mathis is even more convincing and I can guarantee you will never find her in better voice as she is in here. Ernst Koszub also looks and sounds like a tenor from older days, only he does not share with his Agathe the musicianly and affecting phrasing. He is invariably stentorian and unlegato-ish and only the solidity of his Heldentenor makes him get away with his unconcerned performance. On the other hand, it is difficult not to laugh of Gottlob Frick's Monty Python-like Kaspar. His singing is vehement and convincing, even if he tiptoes for top notes. There is some glamourous casting going on minor roles here - the young Franz Grundheber is a spirited Killian, Tom Krause is an elegant Ottokar and Hans Sotin is a dignified Hermit.

Bruno Weil’s is the first recording of Freischütz in period instruments. His orchestra, the Capella Coloniensis is extraordinarily polished and has virtually flawless brass. However, this is in the core of this recording’s main drawback - the well-behaved orchestral sound. It obviously lacks weight. As a result, it never suggests a frightening atmosphere in Kaspar’s scenes and the lyric arias also need more warmth and ultimately... tone. Nevertheless, this doesn’t prevent Bruno Weil from presenting conducting of the highest level. His tempi are always reasonable and flirt with Kleiber’s, but he never speeds out of the "safety zone" as Kleiber does. His conducting in the Wolfschlucht scene is particularly remarkable for its forward movement and energy. Although the cast is pleasing, it is entirely unimpressive because of the excessive lightness of those singers' voices. Petra-Maria Schnitzer is completely at ease and sings with admirable accuracy, but, besides her indifferent use of the text, her voice is naturally more suited to Ännchen than to Agathe. Worse than that: Johanna Stojkovic, the Ännchen, is richer of voice than her. She is also the most spirited singer in the cast and only her shrill top notes stand between her and success. Cristoph Prégardien’s Max exists because of microphonic help. His voice is too small and light for his role. Hence, his lines lack true legato and his top notes are often hooty. Of course, he is an expressive singer, phrasing with intelligence and sensitivity, but even Peter Schreier sounds like a dramatic tenor compared to him. Georg Zeppenfeld’s case is similar to Schnitzer’s - his bass is easy enough but pale and too modest in tone. Finally, it must be remarked that the self-defeating idea of replacing the original dialogues for new texts declamed by Samiel was adopted. Even if Markus John is a most effective actor, the whole idea is stylistically bizarre and, therefore, silly - especially when there is an entirely native speaker cast as here. Also, my favourite line - "Sechse treffen, sieben äffen" - was deleated in favour of the dull "Sechs Kugeln treffen blind"...

 

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