commented
discography of richard strauss operas
by RML
re:opera
Die
Ägyptische Helena |
Arabella | Ariadne auf Naxos | Capriccio
| Daphne | Elektra
| Die Frau ohne Schatten Intermezzo
| Der Rosenkavalier | Salome
| Die Schweigesame Frau
~Die
Ägyptische Helena
1 - Gwyneth Jones (Helena), Barbara Hendrickks (Aithra), Menelaus (Matti
Kastu), Willard White (Altair), Detroit SO, Antal Dorati
Although Dorati’s conducting is first rate, Gwyneth Jones, despite
her obvious good taste and imagination, is not in her best voice and
the tenor, Matti Kastu, is overparted and strained in an unpleasant
way. On the other hand, Barbara Hendricks as Aithra is in luscious voice.
Decca’s recording is very good, but soloists could have had a
bit more space around them. As a matter of fact, this is not one of
Strauss’s most inspired works and would need more persuasive singers,
especially in secondary roles.
~Arabella
1 - Maria Reining (Arabella), Lisa della Cassa (Zdenka), Herma Handl
(Fiakermilli), Rosette Anday (Adelaide), Horst Taubmann (Matteo), Hans
Hotter (Mandryka), Georg Hann (Waldner), Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl
Böhm
2 - Lisa della Casa (Arabella), Hilde Güden (Zdenka), Mimi Coertse
(Fiakermilli), Ira Malaniuk (Adelaide), Anton Dermota (Matteo), George
London (Mandryka), Otto Edelmann (Waldner), Wiener Philharmoniker, Georg
Solti
3 - Lisa della Casa (Arabella), Anneliese Roothenberger (Zdenka), Eva
Marie Rogner (Fiakermilli), Ira Malaniuk (Adelaide), Georg Paskuda (Matteo),
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Matteo), Karl Christian Kohn (Waldner), Bayerisches
Staatsorchester, Josef Keilberth
4 - Montserrat Caballé (Arabella), Olivera Miljakovic (Zdenka),
Jeannette Scovotti (Fiakermilli), Oralia Dominguez (Adelaide), René
Kollo (Matteo), Siegmund Nimsgern (Mandryka), Kurt Moll (Waldner), Orchestra
della RAI Rome, Wolfgang Rennert
5 - Gundula Janowitz (Arabella), Sona Gazharian (Zdenka), Edita Gruberova
(Fiakermilli), Margherita Lilowa (Adelaide), René Kollo (Matteo),
Bernd Weikl (Mandryka), Arthur Korn (Waldner), Wiener Philharmoniker,
Georg Solti
6 - Julia Varady (Arabella), Helen Donath (Zdenka), Elfriede Höbarth
(Fiakermilli), Helga Schmidt (Adelaide), Adolf Dallappozza (Matteo),
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Mandryka), Walter Berry (Waldner), Bayerische
Staatsoper, Wolfgang Sawallisch
7 - Kiri Te Kanawa (Arabella), Gabriele Fonttana (Zdenka), Gwendolin
Bradley (Fiakermilli), Helga Dernesch (Adelaide), Peter Seiffert (Matteo),
Franz Grundheber (Mandryka), Ernst Gutstein (Waldner), Royal Opera House,
Covent Garden, Jeffrey Tate
8 - Ashley Putnam (Arabella), Gianna Rolandi (Zdenka), Regina Sarfaty
(Adelaide), Keith Lewis (Matteo), John Bröcheler (Mandryka), London
Philharmonic, Bernard Haitink
9 - Kiri Te Kanawa (Arabella), Marie McLaughhlin (Zdenka), Natalie
Dessay (Fiakermilli), Helga Dernesch (Adelaide), David Kuebler (Matteo),
Wolfgang Schmidt (Mandryka), Donald McIntyre (Waldner), Metropolitan
Opera, Christian Thielemann
Arabella is one of Strauss’s most charming works. Many accuse
him of not being really inspired when he composed it. Maybe that is
true, but the conscience of not being in rich melodic imagination (a
great deal of the lyric moments are re-writings of Slavonic folk songs)
led him to concentrate on structure and that makes it a compact and
congenial work.
Böhm’s recording is a broadcast from the Salzburg Festival
- August, 12, 1947. Although Arabella was the opera which established
the first contact between Böhm and Strauss, the fact is that he
would never conduct it again after those Salzburg performances. It is
a great pity, because we could imagine what he would have done in the
context of better recorded sound later with his usual collaborators
- Janowitz, Mathis, Schreier, Berry... Anyway, we are lucky enough to
have this performance recorded. First of all, it must be said that DG
did a great job here. There is no hiss, no boxiness and the level of
distortion is minimal. The orchestral sound can be rich and clear, but
this is not 100% of the time. Also, voices have too much of an advantage
over the orchestra. Despite all that, Böhm’s unique and fascinating
vision of this score is preserved for posterity. To start with, the
motivic coherence and clarity are outstanding. Even in the most emotional
passages, without any effort, the listener is able to recognize all
thematic references. This is also done in the most natural way without
any hint of a didactic approach. Most endearing is Böhm’s
mature approach to the score. He plays it as if he was conducting a
tone poem- refusing any sentimentality and giving the music all the
time or all the excitement it needs. Of course, there are some cuts
now and then, but I am sure that the sense of natural flow obtained
here has nothing to do with it. His second act, by far the most difficult
to pull out, is exemplary. And there is a legendary cast, with a singer
like Julius Patzak for the small role of Elemer. Maria Reining’s
singing is like a beautiful and charming woman. You see her, get bewitched
and forgive her all her flaws. The loveliness of her voice, the ease
with which it floats over orchestral climaxes and the atmosphere of
sophistication it creates are irresistible. Her vivid response to the
text also helps her to win us over from the first bars. However, truth
be said, Reining’s breath is not long enough for some key moments
and she resorts to tricks unacceptable for today’s standards -
sometimes she just abandons notes abruptly, sometimes she cuts the line
in a shameless way. Worse - sometimes she just CHANGES the line, succh
as in the end of Und du sollst mein Gebieter sein. Before being the
Arabella of her generation, Lisa della Casa also lent her silvery voice
to the younger of the Waldner’s daughters. Although some of her
top notes are glassy, della Casa brings a creamy youthful quality and
an urgence that makes Zdenka still more congenial than she usually is.
Horst Taubmann is short on legato and tonal beauty. On his side, the
fact that he does not sound intimidated by what he has to do. And there
is Hans Hotter’s Mandryka. The role is a bit high for him and
he has his bumpy moments. The tone may get bleached and the approach
is overemphatic, in a way that makes us think of Fischer-Dieskau. However,
in his pre-rye-fever days, Hotter’s big voice, dramatic skills
and musicianship are undeniable assets. His Mandryka sounds like the
big half-educated guy who goes to Vienna to do some bold and some foolish
things - always in total sincerity. Rosette Anday and Georg Hann offer
strong voices and a real sense of fun to the Waldners and Herma Handl
is a Fiakermilli that does sound like a yodeller.
Solti was a rather athletic conductor by the time he recorded Arabella.
One could say it could have a bit more charm, but it is good that things
are kept in such animation. The Vienna is in splendid form and is becomingly
recorded. Lisa della Casa was THE Arabella of her generation. She sure
had a model Straussian voice, with its radiant pure floating sound,
but I am afraid that her good looks and sophisticated attitude have
lots to do with her reputation. She is not particularly creative and
her voice resents the orchestral climaxes. In his biography, Solti tells
that she and Hilde Güden could not stand each other and things
were very difficult in the studio. Well, I guess this was healthy for
Güden, because I think she has the edge on della Casa and maybe
she should be singing the leading role. She is in fresh voice and is
extremely communicative all the way. Few other tenors would sound so
elegant as Anton Dermota in the role of Matteo and George London is
an excellent Mandryka. His voice is undeniably opressively weighty sometimes,
but it portrays wonderfully Mandryka half-farmer attitude (as he says
himself). Secondary roles are consistently well cast.
Keilberth's performance was recorded live in the Bavarian State Opera
in 1963 and gathers a cast with some legendary singers. Judging from
the photos, the production, directed by Rudolf Hartmann must have been
wonderful. I mention this because the sense of theatre is probably the
strongest feature of this recording. Keilberth is at his most kapellmeisterlich.
Some moments actually sag, such as the Waldner/Mandryka scene in act
I. Even if ensemble is often imperfect, the orchestra has a beautiful
sound. The warm recording is not exactly clear, although some may find
its atmospheric quality a fair compensation. I certainly would mention
that I have listened to it with genuine pleasure: you just need to listen
to this Und du wirst mein Gebieter... to understand why. Although a
great deal of the youthful brightness of Lisa della Casa's had been
gone by then, she lives to her reputation through her interpretation
skills, far improved since Solti's recording. Here, one really feels
that she is pouring her heart in every word and note - a moving if flawed
performance. I myself prefer it to the cool and doll-like performance
in Solti's recording. Anneliese Rothenberger's creamy soprano and urgent
interpretation make her a winsome Zdenka. In this cast, Georg Paskuda's
hooty tenor sounds even more amateurish. I wonder what a Nicolai Gedda
would have done in this performance... In any case, Fritz Uhl's richly
sung Elemer serves to expose the weakness of the tenor taking the part
of Matteo. Fischer-Dieskau is a clearer-toned Mandryka than usual, but
his forceful voice and artistic generosity place him in the shortlist
of the best exponents of this role. Some could point out that it is
too sophisticated a performance for a fellow like Mandryka, but that
is irrelevant compared to the variety and richness of feeling he brings
to this part. Moreover, his voice was in great shape. Ira Malaniuk is
a nice Adelaide, but Karl Christian Kohn is rather indifferent as Waldner.
Most people do not have the faintest idea that Montserrat Caballé
was a Straussian soprano. The first years of her career were spent in
Germany and she acquired a beautiful pronunciation of German language.
Her Salomé was a famous portrayal, but she also sang the roles
of Ariadne and the Marschallin on stage, not to mention his songs in
recital. However, Caballé never was very disciplined about herself.
In this Rome performance, she has her moments. Whenever Arabella has
to sound grand, Caballé is in her own element. As a matter of
fact, Mein Elemer! is beautifully done, but there are many awkward moments,
especially in lower tessitura, where Caballé shows a passaggio
problem. The raison d’être of the release of this broadcast
from Rome, of course, is Caballé, but it is also a good performance.
The conductor follows Solti’s example in many ways, but his orchestra
is not the Vienna Philharmonic. The recorded sound does not help him
either, it lacks space and is very dry, placing an edge on the sopranos’
voices. This is particularly harmful to Olivera Miljakovic, who is rather
screechy and has poor intonation. The rest of the cast is very pleasing,
with Kollo in good voice for Matteo and Nimsgern as a powerful Mandryka,
capable of scaling down for the lyrical moments. The RAI deserves our
applauses for gathering such a nice group of singers for the secondary
roles.
Solti’s second try with Arabella could be really great. He had
almost everything to surpass his first recording - a great cast, the
same beautiful orchestra and he is more relaxed here, but, alas, the
Tonmeister is to blame. The orchestra sounds recessed and never develops
a rich embracing sound. The sound is really dry for comfort. This only
ruins Gundula Janowitz’s good efforts. Her voice was a very difficult
one to record, because her richness of high harmonics almost invariably
led to distortion with the microphones. Whoever heard her live knows
how differently her high notes sounded in the flesh. Here, the upper
range sounds really congested and never builds into a climax. The result
is very cool. More than that, judging from the film (to which this recording
is a soundtrack), one can see that Gundula and Arabella are not a perfect
combination. Sona Gazharian is a decent Zdenka, Kollo is again in velvety
voice for Matteo (but I expected him to have a better top c), but it
is Bernd Weikl’s ardent Mandryka who steals the show. His baritone
was in such a healthy resplandescent shape that it is a pity that he
did not record it again. The secondary roles are wonderfully taken by
the Vienna State Opera folks, especially Edita Gruberová as Fiakermilli,
who callls all attention.
If we were going to choose orchestral playing, conducting and recorded
sound to decide which is the best Arabella, Sawallisch’s would
be it. It is a wonderful performance - expressive and incredibly faithful
to the score. Sawallisch has been an advocate of this opera and I would
be happy if the Bavarian Radio was generous enough to release two performances
of his which are precious for straussians - the one with the marvellous
Lucia Popp and Wolfgang Brendel and the beautiful account with Felicity
Lott and Bernd Weikl. If we had had the cast of the Popp performance
(Kaufmann, Lipovsek, Seiffert...), this would have been the Arabella
to keep. Julia Varady is in good voice and avoids breaking into her
characteristic chest notes, but is this the voice of the sophisticated
provocative character Hofmannsthal portrayed? It is a bit on the steely
side. So, it is quite easier for Helen Donath to steal the show. She
is in sensational voice and is the center of interest whenever she appears.
Adolf Dallappozza is a plausible Matteo, but Fischer-Dieskau is too
grey of voice to be a decent Mandryka. Fortunately, he still had beautiful
mezza voce for his duet with Arabella. Among the minor roles, it is
Walter Berry who stands out as Waldner.
Jeffrey Tate’s recording is not as bad as reviewers want us to
think. It is a bit on the slow side and the strings could have better
articulation, but it does not drag. Tate’s bent for lyricism is
admirable and the key emotional moments benefit from the conductor’s
ear for beautiful sounds. It is particularly helpful that woodwind is
recorded with such prominence. Kiri Te Kanawa’s voice and attitude
fit splendidly the role of Arabella. Her voice is sophisticated in sound
and she expands naturally in the climaxes. I think that this is a perfect
match between role and singer. It is sad that Gabriele Fontana was chosen
to sing Zdenka. Her ill-focused soprano seems rather unpleasant next
to Te Kanawa’s velvety tones. Fortunately, she blends well with
Kiri in Aber der Richtiger. Seiffert is a wonderful Matteo, turning
an uncongenial role into a charming one. Reviewers were also really
hard on Franz Grundheber. Of course, there are some other singers who
made more of the role - but there is nothing to fault here. On the contrary.
There are also fine contributions from Helga Dernesch and Alexandru
Ionita. We cannot forget that this recording has Gilles Cachemaille
and Reinhild Runkel for the tiny roles of Dominik and the fortune teller.
The Haitink video is a simple curiosity. The orchestral playing is
below standard and the conducting is uninteresting. It lacks charm,
above all. Ashley Putnam looks her part and has a good voice for Arabella.
Zdenka’s disguise as a boy wouldn’t fool anyone if she looked
like Gianna Rolandi. Moreover, her voice is edgy. To make things worse,
Keith Lewis and John Bröcheler sound ill-focused.
Thielemann’s performance is admirable, more so because it was
made live. His conducting is delightful - clear and precise, but rich
and exciting at the same time. He makes the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
give its best recorded performance. Although Kiri Te Kanawa looked then
older than her role, her portrayal is fascinating. Her identification
with it is supreme and, even if she is not as fresh-voiced as she was
for Tate, she is successful in every key moment. The part of Zdenka
is a bit high for Marie MacLaughlin, but her creamy sound is exactly
what one needs to make a team with Kiri. David Kuebler is a bit metallic
as Matteo. His top notes are impressive, though. Mandryka was one of
Brendel’s main roles. His voice is a bit suave for those used
to George London, but it is so beautiful and moves so gracefully that
one cannot resist him. However, he was not in a good day here. The voice
is not responding completely when asked to do big things. To my surprise,
some small cuts were made here.
IN CONCLUSION: While Sawallisch’s Munich Arabella with Popp is
not released, Thielemann’s video is a good idea. If you have to
have it on CD, the Solti is definitely the one.
top
~Ariadne
auf Naxos
1 - Maria Reining (Ariadne), Alda Noni (Zerbinetta), Irmgard Seefried
(The Composer), Max Lorenz (Bacchus), Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm
2 - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Ariadne), Rita Streich (Zerbinetta), Irmgard
Seefried (The Composer), Rudolf Schock (Bacchus), Hermann Prey (Harlekin),
Philharmonia, Herbert von Karajan
3 - Lisa della Casa (Ariadne), Hilde Güden (Zerbinetta), Irmgard
Seefried (The Composer), Rudolf Schock (Bacchus), Wiener Philharmoniker,
Karl Böhm
4 - Leonie Rysanek (Ariadne), Roberta Peters (Zerbinetta), Sena Jurinac
(The Composer), Jan Peerce (Bacchus), Walter Berry (The Music Master/Harlekin),
Wiener Philharmoniker, Erich Leinsdorf
5 - Gundula Janowitz (Ariadne), Sylvia Geszty (Zerbinetta), Teresa
Zylis-Gara (The Composer), James King (Bacchus), Peter Schreier (The
Dance Master), Theo Adam (The Music Master), Hermann Prey (Harlekin),
Staatskapelle Dresden, Rudolf Kempe
6 - Christa Ludwig (Ariadne), Reri Grist (Zeerbinetta), Sena Jurinac
(The Composer), Jess Thomas (Bacchus), John van Kesteren (The Dance
Master), Barry McDaniel (Harlekin), Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm
7 - Hildegard Hillebrecht (Ariadne), Reri Grist (Zerbinetta), Tatiana
Troyanos (The Composer), Jess Thomas (Bachus), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
(The Music Master), Barry McDaniel (Harlekin), Symphonieorchester des
Bayerischen Rundfunks, Karl Böhm
8 - Gundula Janowitz (Ariadne), Edita Gruberová (Zerbinetta),
Trudeliese Schmidt (The Composer), René Kollo (Bacchus), Heinz
Zednik (The Dance Master), Walter Berry (The Music Master), Barry McDaniel
(Harlekin), Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm
9 - Leontyne Price (Ariadne), Edita Gruberová (Zerbinetta),
Tatiana Troyanos (The Composer), René Kollo (Bacchus), Walter
Berry (The Music Master), Barry McDaniel (Harlekin), London Philharmonic,
Karl Böhm
10 - Anna Tomowa-Sintow (Ariadne), Edita Gruberová (Zerbinetta),
Trudeliese Schmidt (The Composer), James King (Bacchus), Dale Duesing
(Harlekin), Wiener Philharmoniker, Wolfgang Sawallisch
11 - Anna Tomowa-Sintow (Ariadne), Kathleen Battle (Zerbinetta), Agnes
Baltsa (The Composer), Gary Lakes (Bacchus), Hermann Prey (The Music
Master), Urban Malmberg (Harlekin), Wiener Philharmoniker, James Levine
12 - Jessye Norman (Ariadne), Kathleen Battle (Zerbinetta), Tatiana
Troyanos (The Composer), James King (Bacchus), Urban Malmberg (Harlekin),
Metropolitan Opera, James Levine
13 - Jessye Norman (Ariadne), Edita Gruberová (Zerbinetta),
Julia Varady (The Composer), Paul Frey (Bacchus), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
(The Music Master), Olaf Bär (Harlekin), Gewandhaus Orchester,
Kurt Masur
14 - Margaret Price (Ariadne), Sumi Jo (Zerbinetta), Gösta Winbergh
(Bacchus), Opéra de Lyon, Kent Nagano
15 - Deborah Voigt (Ariadne), Natalie Dessay (Zerbinetta), Anne Sofie
von Otter (The Composer), Ben Heppner (Bacchus), Albert Dohmen (The
Music Master), Staatskappelle Dresden, Giuseppe Sinopoli
16 - Emily Magee (Ariadne), Elena Mosuc (Zerbinetta), Michelle Breedt
(The Composer), Roberto Saccà (Bacchus), Michael Volle (The Music
Master), Orchester der Oper Zürich, Cristoph von Dohnányi
It may sound shocking to many fans of this opera that Strauss only
composed it to satisfy his librettist, Hofmannsthal. He said that the
libretto made no sense at all for him and fulfilled bureaucratically
his duties. The first version of the opera did not have the prologue
and was inserted as the divertissement in Molière’s Le
Bourgeois Gentilhomme. It was a catastrophic event and Hofmannsthal
insisted that Strauss and him re-arranged the work. The prologue was
written and Strauss finally found some interest in this venture, because
he became fond of the role of the Composer. There is only one recording
of the original version, which is Nagano’s. All the others use
the definitive version, with Prologue.
Ariadne entered the opera houses’ repertoire due to the advocacy
of Karl Böhm. He considered the orchestration of the piece the
work of a genius and was always fascinated for the contrasted colors
Strauss could create with a group of less than 40 musicians. As Böhm
was Strauss’s favourite conductor, he was the one chosen to perform
this very work in the composer’s 80th year birthday. The performance
was recorded and every Straussian cherishes the fact that the creator
of the piece was there and applauded in the end. I guess reviews are
unnecessary here... Anyway, Böhm produces a really exciting performance
with the Viennese musicians and the recorded sound is quite good for
the time. It lacks atmosphere, but it has astonishing clarity. Irmgard
Seefried, in her early twenties, is the most remarkable soloist, offering
a truly exciting Composer. Alda Noni is an accurate Zerbinetta, but
the voice is not very beautiful. However, Max Lorenz is the chief offender
here. He is too free about his phrasing and sings his "own"
version of the score. On the other hand, Maria Reining, a favourite
from Strauss, is enchanting as Ariadne. Her voice is creamy and velvety
and her phrasing is extremely gracious. She lacks a bit of technical
security, though, and cuts some phrases, such as "Ein Schönes
war", for extra breaths.
The Karajan recording was probably the performance with which most
Straussians came to know the opera. If music was a static art, it would
be heavenly, but since it is diachronic, it is a disappointing affair.
It is slooooow and there is not much sense of consequence in the phrasing.
The prologue would be better if Karl Dönch actually sang out. Irmgard
Seefried is as interesting as she was for Böhm, although the voice
had lost a bit of its freshness. Rita Streich is a most charming Zerbinetta,
but she is entirely concentrated on singing the notes. Although she
never sang the title role on stage, Ariadne is Elisabeth Schwarzkopf’s
best recorded performance of an opera by Richard Strauss. She sings
beautifully throughout and adds her own kind of intense textual expression
to the role. Rudolf Schock is simply the best Bacchus in the discography
- and he also understands the underlying comic aspects of his role.
The minor parts are taken by singers such as Hugues Cuenod and Hermann
Prey.
Böhm’s Salzburg Ariadne with Lisa della Casa is an interesting
performance, although quite flawed. The conductor was in urgent mood,
but the orchestra was not in its best shape - mistakes appear now and
then. Della Casa is unsubtle as Ariadne and takes her pretty voice to
its limits sometimes. Hilde Güden is extremely vivacious as Zerbinetta
and richer of voice than most her rivals. Her performance is very naughty
and her Zerbinetta has more than a touch of Mae West in her. Her artistry
makes for some technical limitations and she does not seem to be scared
from what she has to sing. Irmgard Seefried cannot rely entirely on
her vocal powers anymore to sing the Composer. There is some insistent
use of "acting with the voice" here, but it is still a compelling
performance. Rudolf Schock is not as subtle as he was for Karajan. Still,
he is a most ardent and handsomely sung Bacchus. The recorded sound
is a bit aggressive and there are some of the drawbacks of live performances
- noises and variable sound image.
I have bought Erich Leinsdorf’s performance just to complete
my collection, but had quite a positive impression after all. The Vienna
Philharmonic is entirely at home in this music and the performance develops
in the most natural and spontaneous way. It is not the ultimate performance
of Ariadne, but it is a very good one. Even if Leinsdorf is a bit square
in some less melodic moments, there is still clarity aplenty, aided
by Decca's spacious recording. The ensembles are not the most polished
you could find, but this is apt in the fast pace of the arlequinades,
sung with real sense of humour by the Vienna State Opera soloists, especially
by the congenial Walter Berry. Leonie Rysanek is a passionate Ariadne
and her beautiful pianissimi are an indisputable asset. Sometimes, when
she has to sing low notes, we get the famous Rysanek hoarse sound, but
it is still one of her best behaved performances on disc. Sena Jurinac’s
beautifully sung Composer ought to be more interesting, but Roberta
Peters’ Zerbinetta is a winning performance despite of the occasional
shrillness. She is in easy voice and builts a flirtatious and coquettish
character - more in the Marilyn Monroe style. It seems as if Jan Peerce
was tracked in previously recorded material, since the perspective of
his voice is different from the rest of the cast. I do not know if this
is actually the case- maybe he only needed special microphonic care.
His Bacchus is far from handsome-voiced but he does (almost) all the
notes.
Rudolf Kempe’s performance is a thoroughly satisfying musical
experience. There is such care in the phrasing of each instrument in
the Dresdner orchestra (recorded in dry and analytic sound) that it
almost seems that you are listening to a new work in some passages.
Gundula Janowitz is in heavenly voice and James King is admirably heroic
- they sing wonderfully together. Teresa Zylis-Gara is in pretty voice
for the Composer, but is quite anonimous as a performer. Sylvia Geszty's
soprano is far from beautiful and her phrasing could be more subtle,
but at least she is concerned about sounding charming. The secondary
roles are cast with people such as Peter Schreier, Theo Adam and Hermann
Prey.
I cannot tell which is the source Myto is using to release Böhm's
Ariadne from Salzburg with Christa Ludwig. Mine is noisy and a bit distorted.
The conductor was here in elegiac mood; some scenes feature heavenly
sounds if somewhat slow pace, such as the ones involving the nymphs
(including the young Lucia Popp). Christa Ludwig is a stately Ariadne.
She is magnetic and the richer voiced singing adds deepness to the character.
For a mezzo, she has easy top notes, but you will not find perfect legato
up there. That is irrelevant for me anyway - her Ariadne has this mythic
quality so rare to produce on stage. Jess Thomas seems to be taken by
the same spirit of Ludwig’s. Moreover, he is in wonderful voice.
Their closing duet is a collector item. Sena Jurinac finally offers
the engaged performance as the Composer one should expect from her,
but it is Reri Grist’s evening. It is arguably her best recorded
performance.
It is a pity that Christa Ludwig had declined the role of Ariadne before
she could appear in Böhm's studio recording. The alternative soloist
in the Salzburg performances, Hildegard Hillebrecht stood in and offers
her hallmark shallow tone and poor intonation. Some may be turned off
by that and discard this performance, but that would be a shame. This
is Böhm’s best Ariadne. It has a structural understanding
and an accurate dealing with the comedy and tragic (or pseudo-tragic)
elements of the plot lacking in almost every other performance, even
by himself. Alas, Jess Thomas and Reri Grist did not repeat what they
had done in Salzburg. He is a bit short of top notes and she is a bit
inaccurate and rather nasal. On the other hand, Tatiana Troyanos offers
her most splendid Composer. She even throws some high mezza voce effects
once in a while. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is an excellent Music Master
and the secondary roles are beautifully cast with the likes of Arleen
Augér and John van Kesteren. The Bayerische Rundfunk orchestra
produces beautiful sounds and, even if some accuse some ensembles to
lack the last degree of polish, I think that everything here works wonderfully
for the right effect. The recorded sound could not be more appropriate.
Böhm would be back to a new production of Ariadne in Salzburg,
which he finally took to film studios. The movie is beautiful and the
soundtrack features a most reliable performance from Böhm. It is
his most average performance, though. It is not animated as the one
with della Casa, elegiac as the one with Ludwig or witty as the one
with Hillebrecht - it is just Ariadne, done comme il faut. Gundula Janowitz’s
Ariadne is more dramatically engaged here than in Kempe's studio recording,
but her low register is, unfortunately, a bit less functional. This
is Edita Gruberová’s first recorded Zerbinetta. A friend
of mine who saw this love has told me it was the longuest applauses
he has ever witnessed in the theatre - even Böhm was clapping his
hands... And this has a reason, because Gruberová is the definite
Zerbinetta. The role poses her no problems and she concentrates exclusively
in building her character. Gruberová’s Zerbinetta is not
entirely alluring - she is more resourceful than seductive and I guess
there is nothing sophisticated about her. She is a plain girl with a
good way with guys. And it works wonderfully. Trudeliese Schmidt is
an ardent composer, outstandingly idiomatic. René Kollo has a
plausible voice for Bacchus, but he may sound nervous with the top notes
he has to sing. The secondary roles are taken by the likes of Walter
Berry and Heinz Zednik.
Georg Solti has a cast astonishingly similar to the previous Böhm
recording. Although the orchestra here is the London Philharmonic, you
will not be missing the Vienna Philharmonic. The Londoners produce nice
chamber-like sonorities and it is endearing to find Geoffrey Parsons
as the pianist. The recorded sound is excellent and Solti’s conducting
is remarkably effective and spontaneous. It does lack the ultimate level
of imagination of Böhm’s performances - but, well, so do
anybody else's too. Leontyne Price could have been a nice Ariadne. She
adapts her Verdian manners splendidly and cunningly makes her voice
sound like the one of a "German" soprano most of the time.
More than that - her feeling for her lines is genuine and her mezza
voce is admirable. However, it was too late for her. Her voice is a
bit undersupported sometimes and there is under-the-note attack in dangerous
levels. Although Gruberová is in creamier voice here than for
Böhm, she is less dramatically engaged. Of course, this is comparing
her with herself - it is still a masterly performance. Tatiana Troyanos
knows everything about her role and is more moving than almost all her
rivals, but I miss the mezza voce in Böhm's studio recording. René
Kollo feels more comfortable with Bacchus this time. Nevertheless, it
is still a role which - for a mysterious reason - does not work entirely
for him. Maybe if he relaxed more and did not try to sound like a dramatic
tenors, the results would have been more spontaneous.
Wolfgang Sawallisch's live performance from Salzburg is an important
document of the talents of a great Straussian. This luxuriant performance
has a conductor who knows how to highlight details and to play with
tempo without letting it sag. Aided by a clear and warm recording, the
German condutor sets a loving eye on the score and, through imaginative
phrasing and absolute clarity, achieves a touching performance, full
of endearing details. The members of the Vienna Philharmonic take profit
of the conductor's congenial approach to play it like chamber music
and offer memorable turn of phrases, especially in the prologue, made
it slower as to give singers and orchestra all the time they need to
produce beautiful and moving moments throughout. Some may point that
this is an approach where music has pride of place over theatre, but
the cast is characterful enough to make it work. As it is a live performance,
there are tiny problems here and there - especially with the soloists
- but the atmosphere created by Sawallisch is indeed admirable. As Ariadne,
Anna Tomowa-Sintow offers an uneven performance. Those who are used
to her recording with Levine will be positively surprised on finding
her voice in firmer and brighter shape and her manners a bit more gracious.
However, there is a great deal of carelessness going on here - an extra
breath here, the wrong word there etc. She does gather her resources
for a moving closing scene, though, and ends on a positive note. Edita
Gruberová sings a smooth Zerbinetta here. In the end of the aria,
she has a couple of overmetalic notes, but this is overall one of the
most exquisite renditions of the part. The booklet quotes a review saying
she "inspired the audience with her erotically charged and sensuous
display of coloratura fireworks". I make mine his words. It is
also a great opportunity to listen to the sadly neglected Trudeliese
Schmidt at the top of her powers, offering a highly emotional Composer,
sung in the grand manner. In the excitement of the big moments, a couple
of notes may be not perfectly tuned, but that is a minor detail in this
beautiful performance. In 1982, the part of Bacchus was beginning to
become strenuous for James King and the final duet finds him pinched
and straining for top notes. Walter Berry is in his element as the Music
Master and Dale Duesing, Kurt Equiluz, Murray Dickie and Siegfried Vogel
are wonderfully perky in their arlequinades.
James Levine’s recording from Vienna is an interesting affair.
The Vienna Philharmonic is in splendid form, even if the recording lacks
space sometimes. The conductor makes sure that this is a moving experience
above all - and he is quite successful about his aim. It is a rather
Romantic view of the score - the sort of thing one would expect of late
Karajan and I guess that "late Karajan" would be the idea
here if the tempi were not - fortunately! - so vivid. I say that because
we are also getting a "late Karajan" cast. The problem is
that Levine did not take the pain of formatting his prima donna in the
straight-jacket way Karajan used to do. Anna Tomowa-Sintow simply seems
a totally different singer from the one who sang the Marschallin live
in Salzburg and in DG's studio recording. Her voice here is in its worst
shape - its metallic vibrancy in irritating leveels. It is simply rough,
ungracious and ugly. The role of Zerbinetta is a bit of a stretch for
Kathleen Battle, but she offers an interesting perspective on the character
- and one really compatible with the conductor’s view. Her Zerbinetta
is a good girl who is seeing all these guys because she really really
wants to find the right one. Exactly for this reason, Battle’s
Zerbinetta is almost uniquely satisfying in the lyric passages and her
duet with the composer is exquisite. In the more showy moments, however,
it lacks a bit of flamboyance. Agnes Baltsa seems to be controversial
casting whenever she takes a German role. And I think that unfair. She
has been living in German forever and, even if she has a light accent,
she knows exactly what her words mean and uses them purposefully. More
than that, I do think that her voice sounds more beautiful in German
repertoire, where it seems brighter, better focused and more homogeneous.
Her Composer has a very bad temper and she is in her element when he
loses it. Whenever the role asks for dreaminess and delicacy, she tries
a bit too hard - but it is still a commendable performance. Gary Lakes
is a carefree Bacchus. His big bright voice does not find many difficulties
in the role, but the performance is rather blank. The cast as a whole
is, by the way, glamourous: Hermann Prey’s Musikmeister, Dawn
Upshaw, Barbara Bonney and Helga Müller-Mollinari as the nymphs...
even Günther von Kannen appears just to sing two phrases, but that
makes me ask - why could not they find a better Harlekin?
With his own Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Levine’s emotional
approach got a bit overcooked. Maybe it is the orchestra's relative
lack of experience with the score compared to the Viennese musicians
(who are always able to focus adventurous conductors' ideas in this
repertoire) or the fact that one has to make it big in the Met otherwise
the Family Circle will have a pale idea of what is going on - I don’t
know. If you need to show someone how close to Puccini Strauss could
get, this is your recording. Its trump card is the majestic Ariadne
of Jessye Norman. Since Christa Ludwig, no one has made such a grand
impression in this role. She uses every note of the score to portray
the development from tragedy to bliss. As a matter of fact, she places
so much spirit in it that in the end you could imagine that Ariadne
is in other level of existence. Her performance does have "das
Geheimnis der Verwandlung" that the Composer describes in the prologue.
Also, she is very funny as the Prima Donna. With the help of image,
Kathleen Battle’s Zerbinetta is a complete success, even if she
cuts one note here for an extra breath and the in alts are a bit difficult.
Her performance is theatre of the best level and her partnership with
Tatiana Troyanos in their duet is wonderful. Nobody sings Ein Augenblick
ist wenig as she does. Tatiana Troyanos’s Composer, at that time
of her career, was not so subtle anymore, but it had acquired an intensity
that fits Levine’s purposes. All I can say is that the conductor
was really lucky to have such leading ladies for this enterprise. Alas,
in James King’s case, it was really too late. He still has the
most beautiful of Heldentenor voices, but he is desperate to sing what
he has to sing. The small roles are nicely taken, but I still think
that Levine could have found a better Harlekin...
Although Kurt Masur’s Ariadne has been a best-seller since the
beginning, I cannot really say that his conducting excel in any aspect
of the score. With the help of his prestigious orchestra, he is able
to produce the right atmosphere, but some tempi are a bit testing and
the strings could have clearer articulation. On the positive side, the
chamber-music idea is never out of sight and the members of the Gewandhaus
grab the opportunity to make the best of it, although the balance is
more favourable to singers. Most of all, Philips offers excellent recorded
sound, with exemplary perspective of the sound of the piano. Jessye
Norman is again in excellent voice as Ariadne and retains the intensity
of her live performances in studio conditions. Edita Gruberová
offers her best Zerbinetta here. The voice is less metallic than it
used to be and she has developed every expressive point to the optimal
level. It is a performance every Straussian should cherish. Julia Varady,
finally a soprano in the role of the Composer since Tatiana Troyanos
established the mezzo pattern here. Her performance causes a flashing
impression, with her appealing bright voice and the extra rich low register.
Paul Frey is an unremarkable Bacchus, but sings his part comfortably.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is in grey voice for the Musikmeister, but
Olaf Bär is excellent as the Harlekin.
Kent Nagano’s decision of recording the original version should
be cherished by every Straussian. He offers all the strategic key numbers
missing from the Bourgeois Gentilhomme suite plus the complete original
version of the opera. The part which endured more alteration is Zerbinetta
and this is quite remarkable, since it was Margarethe Siems and not
Selma Kurz to sing it in the first version (and this only proves how
fascinating the Dresdner soprano was). Her big aria is even higher than
in the final version and has some fiendishly difficult extra coloratura
to sing. And Sumi Jo is entirely in control of everything and still
has time to sound charming and funny. Jo has only one other recorded
performance in a Strauss opera, the Voice of the Falcon, in Solti’s
Frau ohne Schatten, and that is quite unfair - I would have liked to
see her as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, for example. However, the most
perverse thing about casting here is that, considering that the part
of Ariadne has been treated with bad singing as a rule, WHY did they
took so much time to invite Margaret Price to record it? She would have
been marvellous in her best days. Here, she was is a bit past her best,
but, due to the talent and technique of this great artist, still pulls
off a beautiful performance. Gösta Winbergh is a plausible Bacchus.
Nagano’s conducting concentrates above all on orchestral colours,
while keeping a natural and comfortable pace.
Considering his success in the Straussian repertoire, everybody was
eager to see Sinopoli conduct Ariadne. I have travelled all the way
to Milan to see him conduct this piece and it was one of the best operatic
performances I have seen in my life. His conducting was revelatory,
focusing on the darker aspects of the score, bringing a Stravinskian
touch to the commedia dell’arte characters’ music, enhancing
the dissonances throughout and exploding in a wonderful climax in the
final duet. Moreover, his cast had the expressive Laura Aikin and Iris
Vermillion as Zerbinetta and the Composer. So, when I read that he was
going to record it with the Staatskapelle Dresden, my level of expectation
was very high. Only to be disappointed. This recording is very impersonal
- which was atypical of Sinopoli's. In an interview, he said that he
tried not to interfere with the "living" tradition of Strauss
playing in the Dresden orchestra. But I guess that that was his fault.
It lacks ideas in a general way, although the level of clarity is astonishing.
The orchestral playing is, of course, excellent and Deutsche Grammophon
recorded it beautifully. The cast was supposed to be the best possible,
but the fact is that none of these singers were really "plugged-in",
even if they are indeed reliable. Deborah Voigt’s voice never
sounded Straussian to my ears - it is too grainy and unvariable in colour.
And this is the way she sings Ariadne - the first note already tells
you how it is going to be the last one. Considering that Natalie Dessay
is so creative and innovative about what she sings, I was disappointed
that her Zerbinetta is so indifferent. Of course, her ease in this difficult
part is astonishing, but, even so, she does it in such a phlegmatic
way that one does not feel really enthusiastic about it. Anne Sofie
von Otter was on paper a good idea for the Composer, but, in order to
cope with the high tessitura, she adopts a girlish sound that goes against
everything this part should be about. Moreover, her voice sounds worn
whenever she has to sing forte and the performance has something artifficial
about it after all. Ben Heppner’s case is similar to Voigt’s,
except for the fact that his voice is really plasant on the ear
The video from the Zurich Opera's shining feature is Cristoph von Dohnányi's
immaculate stylish performance. This experienced Straussian finds here
the optimal balance between almost radiographic clarity and flowing,
expressive phrasing. The house orchestra lovingly responds to its conductor,
offering warm yet crystalline sounds throughout. Particularly praiseworthy
is the way the conductor handles the difficult transitions from Ariadne
music to the commedia dell'arte music in the opera, while encouraging
a cantabile approach from his cast and rich expressive playing from
his orchestra in the Prologue. Debuting in the role of Ariadne, Emily
Magee's healthy lyric soprano is at its best at the testing highlying
forte passages, but lacks variety and fluency in the more introspective
moments. What is beyond any doubt is her impressive acting skills. Although
Michelle Breedt's mezzo-soprano is not remarkable in itself, she handles
her voice exquisitely, offering a stylish and intelligent performance.
Elena Mosuc's Zerbinetta has many metallic moments, but she has rock-solid
technique and imagination. Her truly funny and insightful performance
has more than a splash of Joan Collins - the enthusiastic applauses
for her big aria are more than deserved. As much as it was for his Ariadne,
this was a first time for Roberto Saccà. His tenor is far from
ingratiating, but he handles the dangerously high heroic passages with
comfort. Claus Guth's staging is rather puzzling - he did not seem to
know what to do with the Prologue (which ends here with the Composer's
suicide - his ensuing ghostly appearances in the opera are really
silly). The idea of showing Ariadne as a depressed mature woman
alone in a restaurant table increasingly intoxicated with wine and pills
makes sense psychologically speaking but collides with the libretto
now and then. There are many creative ideas going on here, but the final
scene with Bacchus goes woefully astray, especially when the tenor "magically"sets
fire on a bowl and then starts to make grape juice with his own hands
(how ludicrous does that sound?!). The recorded sound is exemplary.
IN CONCLUSION: The Böhm with the Bayerische Rundfunk is fundamental
because of the conductor’s understanding of the score, the Kempe
because of the thorough musicianship of the maestro and there are Gundula
Janowitz and James King, but these are not safe choices regarding cast.
These would be the Böhm beautiful film with Janowitz, Gruberová
and the Vienna Philharmonic and, on CDs, the Masur, masterly recorded
by Philips and characterfully sung by Norman, Gruberová and Varady.
top
~Capriccio
1 - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Magdeleine), Christa Ludwig (Clairon), Nicolai
Gedda (Flamand), Eberhard Wächter (The Count), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
(Olivier), Hans Hotter (La Roche), Philharmonia, Wolfgang Sawallisch
2 - Gundula Janowitz (Magdeleine), Tatiana Troyanos (Clairon), Peter
Schreier (Flamand), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (The Count), Hermann Prey
(Olivier), Karl Ridderbusch (La Roche), Bayerische Rundfunk, Karl Böhm
3 - Anna Tomowa-Sintow (Magdeleine), Trudeliese Schmidt (Clairon),
Eberhard Büchner (Flamand), Wolfgang Schöne (The Count), Franz
Grundheber (Olivier), Manfred Jungwirth (La Roche), Wiener Philharmoniker,
Horst Stein
4 - Kiri Te Kanawa (Magdeleine), Tatiana Troyanos (Clairon), David
Kuebler (Flamand), Håkan Hagegård (The Count), Simon Keenlyside
(Olivier), Victor Braun (La Roche), San Francisco Opera, Donald Runnicles
5 - Kiri Te Kanawa (Magdeleine), Brigitte Fassbaender (Clairon), Uwe
Heilmann (Flamand), Håkan Hagegård (The Count), Olaf Bär
(Olivier), Victor von Hallem (La Roche), Wiener Philharmoniker, Ulf
Schirmer
6 - Renée Fleming (Magdeleine), Anne Sofie von Otter (Clairon),
Rainer Trost (Flamand), Dietrich Henschel (The Count), Gerald Finley
(Olivier), Franz Hawlata (La Roche), Orchestre de l'Opéra National
de Paris, Ulf Schirmer
7 - Felicity Lott (Magdeleine), Iris Vermillion (Clairon), Gregory
Kunde (Flamand), Thomas Allen (The Count), Stephan Genz (Olivier), Gunther
von Kannen (La Roche), South West German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Georges
Prêtre
For an opera unknown to the major audiences, Capriccio is particularly
lucky on recordings. All the performances above are very good. As a
matter of fact, it is Richard Strauss’ last opera and he shares
with Clemens Krauss, the conductor, the authorship of the libretto,
which deals about a question - which should come first in opera - the
words or the music?
Although the Sawallisch recording is mono, it has the perfect intimate
atmosphere for this opera and is clear enough. The Philharmonia is in
top form and Sawallisch’s conducting is natural and undemonstrative.
The central question of this opera is far from a challenge to the characterful
team of soloists - all of them in splendid voice. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
is in her element as the Countess and offers a warm account of the closing
scene.
Karl Böhm makes wonders with the euphonious Bayerische Rundfunk
orchestra - there is such an understanding and purposefulness in his
conducting that you really don’t need a score to follow - everything
IS there. I am not so happy about the recording, which lacks space and
makes voices and instruments sound hard. I particularly like Tatiana
Troyanos’ Clairon - her voice is so beautiful that it is easy
to imagine the allure of the actress she is portraying. It is also Peter
Schreier’s best recorded performance. His voice displays an ease
not usually associated with his vocal production. The baritones are
excellent, but it is a special pleasure to listen to Karl Ridderbusch’s
gorgeous bass in a role where his interpretative skills have more opportunity.
As for Gundula Janowitz, she is enchanting from the first phrase and
is utterly musicianly, ingratiaging and witty throughout. Only, the
recording places an edge on her top notes and the closing scene lacks
warmth and Schwung.
Horst Stein’s is a live performance and I am sure that the evening
in Salzburg (1985) must have been really nice. For home listening, it
is still an admirable event that a live performance of this most complex
score is presented with relatively few flaws. The Vienna Philharmonic
is in luscious sound and strings are beautifully recorded. Moreover,
Stein is determined to prove that this is beautiful music and goes for
a very romantic performance. When the orchestra is playing alone (except
in the sextett, when it is a bit dim), the recorded sound is very spacious
- even if a bit more focus would be welcomme. However, when singers
are there, they have a clear advantage. Sometimes, this makes for less
atmosphere than one would wish. Balancing pros and cons, Anna Tomowa-Sintow’s
Countess is a very positive performance. Her tone is not glamourous
and sophisticated as it should be, but she is in creamy voice and responds
beautifully to the text throughout the opera. Also, her wide ranging
close scene is very emotional and is preferable to the one she recorded
for Karajan - even if she doesn’t display her famous floating
pianissimi here. Trudeliese Schmidt has the right ideas about Clairon,
but her voice is too high for the role. In the key moments, Eberhard
Büchner proves to have a ringing lyric tenor - in most of the rest
his voice is a bit on the white side. Nevertheless, I liked the way
he portrayed Flammand as somewhat snob. Wolfgang Schöne is a pleasing
Count, less hammy than his rivals. As for Franz Grundheber, it is a
good performance, not particularly engaging. I thought that, apart from
his gleaming top notes, the rest of the voice didn’t look particularly
attractive. As for Manfred Jungwirth, he is very inside his character,
but he doesn’t care much for phrasing. In the theatre, it must
have been interesting. I only wonder if Orfeo is going to release the
performance (in the same production) with Lucia Popp. I have my doubts,
since the circumstances are really similar - but I guess Popp should
have had pride of place.
The video from the San Francisco Opera is a delightful one. The settings,
costumes and stage direction are gorgeous and nobody is as aristocratic
and ellegant on stage as Kiri Te Kanawa. The closing scene has a wide
range, with heavenly pianissimi and powerful top notes in the most outspoken
moments. Tatiana Troyanos, in her last recorded performance, is also
delightful. Among the men, Simon Keenlyside is the most interesting,
with a compact and handsome baritone. David Kuebler lacks some poise
as Flamand, but uses the nervousness of his vocal production for dramatic
effects. Victor Braun is an effective La Roche, but lacks the vocal
glamour of Ridderbusch. Runnicles’ conducting is faultless and
the orchestra is in better shape than one could imagine.
The Decca recording of Capriccio is an event about Kiri Te Kanawa.
All Straussians are indebted to her for her advocacy on behalf of this
piece and many theatres around the world staged it for the first time
due to her intervention. Her Countess benefits from her velvety voice
and sophisticated musicianship, but the truth is that she’s less
verbally specific than either Schwarzkopf or Janowitz. Also, her voice,
although still in good shape, is not so fresh anymore. Brigitte Fassbaender
is a characterful Clairon, less vocally alluring than either Ludwig
or Troyanos, though. Uwe Heilmann was a nice surprise as Flamand - he
is in charming voice and sings ardently. Hagegård is congenial
as the Count, but Olaf Bär and Victor von Halem are less interesting,
vocally speaking. The Vienna Philharmonic is beautifully recorded and
Ulf Schirmer is something close to what used to be called Kapellmeister,
i.e., it’s quite accomplished, very professional, but without
much personality.
George Prêtre's recording, made live in Mannheim, is above all
a passionate performance of Strauss's charming farewell to opera. The
conductor's flexible handling of the score, faithfully adjusted to fit
the different moods of conversation, is this set's shining quality.
Also, his orchestra - less distinct than those in the rival sets - plays
con gusto throughout, and the recorded sound judiciously blend singers
and instruments. Moreover, the harpsichord available for this performance
is by far the best-sounding in the discography. The cast gathered here
is also admirably fluent and expressive while keeping a pleasing cantabile
quality even in the most complex moments. This is indeed the performance
in which the difficult polyphonic ensemble sounds its best. Although
Felicity Lott's fresh-toned days were past, the in-built sophistication
of her phrasing, imagination and charm work the magic that only genuine
Straussian sopranos can do. Iris Vermillion is in lush voice and creates
a sexy impression as Clairon. Gregory Kunde's Italianate tenor is an
interesting idea for Flamand. He offers ardor and variety of tone, if
also some overemotional high phrasing. In top form, Thomas Allen is
the most elegant Count in the discography. Gunther von Kannen brings
charisma and spirit to his La Roche, but his phrasing tends to be choppy
and emphatic. Finally, Stephan Genz is a velvety-toned intelligent but
spontaneous Olivier.
The new DVD from the Opéra National de Paris features the generation's
leading Straussian diva, Renée Fleming, in the role of the Countess.
Although she still retains some of the ugly mannerisms that have distorted
her earlier performances, most notably an insistence of abandoning the
end of phrases in an abrupt manner, her Countess is generously sung
in rich creamy voice and has plenty of spirit, also a sex appeal which
becomes the character. Her stage presence is glamourous and mesmerizing
as well. As Clairon, Anne Sofie von Otter offers her best recorded performance
in a Strauss opera. Her mezzo is at its seductive best and her portrayal
of a grand charismatic actress is irresistible. Even if one could wish
for a more honeyed tenor for the role of Flamand, Rainer Trost delivers
his text with absolute clarity and elegance in his easy homogenous lyric
tenor. Clear delivery is also a quality of Dietrich Henschel's Count,
but his voice is a bit light for his role and he ends on being overemphatic
at times. On the other hand, Gerald Finley's baritone is smooth, firm
and flexible. Unfortunately, Franz Hawlata is impossibly overparted
as La Roche. He is uncomfortable with the tessitura and lacks nuance.
Ulf Schirmer presents an animated if not particularly detailed account
of the score. In his studio recording, the Vienna Philharmonic was able
to produce the translucent sound that keeps interest going no matter
what. Here the Opéra orchestra is not able to do that, and when
things get wrong, such as in La Roche's long monologue, one feels time
pass. Director Robert Carsen sets the action in the 1940's in an opera
house stage. The result is certainly pleasant to the eyes and the actors'
direction is truly admirable. On DVD, some extra filming without an
audience has been added in order to make for a sense of story telling.
top
~Daphne
1 - Maria Reining (Daphne), Melanie Frutschnigg (Gaea), Anton Dermota
(Leukippos), Karl Friedrich (Apollo), Herbert Alsen (Peneios), Wiener
Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm
2 - Hilde Güden (Daphne), Vera Little (Gaea), Fritz Wunderlich
(Leukippos), James King (Apollo), Paul Schöffler (Peneios), Wiener
Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm
3 - Renée Fleming (Daphne), Anna Larsson (Gaea), Michael Schade
(Leukippos), Johann Botha (Apollo), Kwanchul Youn (Peneios), WDR Sinfonieorchester
Köln, Semyon Bychkov
4 - Lucia Popp (Daphne), Ortrun Wenkel (Gaea), Peter Schreier (Leukippos),
Reiner Goldberg (Apollo), Kurt Moll (Peneios), Bayerische Rundfunk,
Bernard Haitink
5 - Stefania Woytowicz (Daphne), Hertha Töpper (Gaea), Fritz Wunderlich
(Leukippos), James King (Apollo), Gottlob Frick (Peneios), Chor und
Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Josef Keilberth
Daphne is a sadly neglected opera, a bucolic tragedy, according to
Strauss. The libretto from Josef Gregor is not a masterpiece (especially
to someone who had worked with Hofmannsthal and Stefan Zweig), but its
mythic basis makes up for a beautiful work. The opera was dedicated
to Böhm and, as he used to do in relation to many Straussian works,
he did he best to ensure that it would be part of the repertoire. He
wasn’t successful, although Sawallisch has also tried to do something
about that. I think that the reason is the very difficult casting -
a lyric soprano with flexibility and strength for the occasional dramatic
top notes, a Heldentenor (an avis rara these days...), a lyric tenor
with some power and, to make things more difficult, a contralto and
bass in the Wagnerian manner.
Böhm’s performance from the 40’s is astonishing in
its clarity and intelligence and is the best in this discography. However,
the recorded sound, at least in Preiser, has its problems. Although
it is astonishingly clear and immediate, it has wavery pitch sometimes
and distorts soprano voices, which makes repeated listenings more difficult.
But it is certainly worth while the experience. Maria Reining is a model
of Straussian singing and is in creamy voice throughout. Towards the
end of the opera, she - understandably - shows signs of fatigue and
misses a couple of notes. The tenors here are simply superb. Karl Friedrich
is one of the best heroic tenors I have ever heard in the German repertoire
and sings with untiring grace. Anton Dermonta doesn’t need further
explanation. He is ellegance in the the form of a tenor and sings with
ardour and intelligence. The rest of the cast is of excellent level
too. The Preiser issue has the enormous advantage of offering excerpts
of the opera with the original cast - Margarethe Teschemacher and Torsten
Ralf - in excellent recorded sound. These items are precious and music
making of the highest order.
Böhm’s second recording is generally praised and it indeed
has lots to offer, although the recorded sound is rather boxy. James
King and Fritz Wunderlich are dream casting in their roles and Vera
Little and Paul Schöffler are also characterful. My doubts are
about Hilde Güden. She sings with her usual engagement, but the
results are a bit pedestrian - at least to my ears. She never moves
me and the opera is about the singer who takes the main role. Böhm’s
conducting is consistent with his first recording, a bit less energetic,
though.
EMI gave Haitink the kind of recording that fits marvellously Strauss’
kaleidoscopic score. For that reason alone, this set would be a recommendation.
Moreover, the Bayerische Rundfunk orchestra is heavenly. Haitink is
not a conductor with lots of personality, but he deserves applauses
for the clarity and cleanliness of the orchestral sounds and the well-judged
tempi. Reiner Goldberg is only efficient as Appolo, but Peter Schreier
is in particularly poor voice. That is a pity, since the rest of the
cast is excellent. Kurt Moll and Ortrun Wenkel are expressive and in
good voice, but the truth is that Lucia Popp, the marvellous Straussian,
is reason enough to buy this set. She is in such beautiful voice and
fully commited throughout. The kind of singing she offers here, with
no reserves, is a rare pleasure to music lovers.
IN CONCLUSION: The rational choice would be Böhm’s second
recording, which has everything but a really engaging Daphne and good
recorded sound. That is why my heart goes for the Haitink, which has
the lovely Lucia Popp and a model recorded sound for Straussian repertoire.
top
~~Elektra
1 - Eva Marton (Elektra), Cheryl Studer (Chrysothemis), Brigitte Fassbaender
(Klytämnestra), James King (Ägysth), Franz Grundheber (Orest),
Wiener Staatsoper, Claudio Abbado
2 - Deborah Polaski (Elektra), Alessandra Marc (Chrysothemis), Waltraud
Meier (Klytämnestra), Johann Botha (Ägysth), Falk Struckmann
(Orest), Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin, Staatskapelle Berlin,
Daniel Barenboim
3 - Inge Borkh (Elektra), Marianne Schech (Chrysothemis), Jean Madeira
(Klytämnestra), Fritz Uhl (Ägysth), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
(Orest), Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm
4 - Leonie Rysanek (Elektra), Catherina Ligendza (Chrysothemis), Astrid
Varnay (Klytämnestra), Hans Beirer (Ägysth), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
(Orest), Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm
5 - Deborah Polaski (Elektra), Anne Schwanewilms (Chrysothemis), Felicity
Palmer (Klytämnestra), Graham Clark (Ägysth), Franz Grundheber
(Orest), WDR Rundfunk und Sinfonieorchester Köln, Semyon Bychkov
6 - Eva Johansson (Elektra), Melanie Diener (Chrysothemis), Marjana
Lipovsek (Klytämnestra), Rudolf Schasching (Ägysth), Alfred
Muff (Orest), Chor und Orchester des Opernhaus Zürich, Cristoph
von Dohnányi
7 - Astrid Varnay (Elektra), Hildegard Hillebrecht (Chrysothemis),
Martha Mödl (Klytämnestra), James King (Ägysth), Eberhard
Wächter (Orest), Chor der Wiener Staatsoper, Wiener Philharmoniker,
Herbert von Karajan
8 - Gerda Lammers (Elektra), Hedwig Müller-Bütow (Chrysothemis),
Georgive von Milinkovic (Klytämnestra), Edgard Evans (Ägysth),
Otakar Kraus (Orest), Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House,
Covent Garden, Rudolf Kempe
9 - Birgit Nilsson (Elektra), Leonie Rysanek (Chrysothemis), Mignon
Dunn (Klytämnestra), Robert Nagy (Ägysth), Donald McIntyre
(Orest), Metropolitan Opera, James Levine
10 - Hildegard Behrens (Elektra), Nadine Secunde (Chrysothemis), Christa
Ludwig (Klytämnestra), Jorma Hynninen (Orest), Boston Symphony,
Seiji Ozawa
11 - Eva Marton (Elektra), Cheryl Studer (Chrysothemis), Marjana Lipovsek
(Klytämnestra), Hermann Winkler (Ägysth), Bernd Weikl (Orest),
Chor und Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Wolfgang Sawallisch
12 - Alessandra Marc (Elektra), Deborah Voigt (Chrysothemis), Hanna
Schwarz (Klytämnestra), Siegfried Jerusalem (Ägysth), Samuel
Ramey (Orest), Wiener Philharmoniker, Giuseppe Sinopoli
13 - Birgit Nilsson (Elektra), Marie Collier (Chrysothemis), Regina
Resnik (Klytämnestra), Gerhard Stolze (Ägysth), Tom Krause
(Orest), Wiener Philharmoniker, Georg Solti
Elektra is considered by many Strauss’s masterpiece and it certainly
was the most modern work of its time in many aspects. The problem is
finding the right conductor. As Strauss said, "I can compose it,
but I can’t conduct it". The fact is that, again as Strauss
said, the orchestra should be dealt with a light hand - otherwise the
complex poliphonic and harmonic structure is lost and singers are obliged
to shout. Very few conductors have realized that and the truth is that
there are very few wholly satisfying recordings. As the title role is
very demanding, many cuts (generally 6) are made in the score and there
is no complete live recording. However, Sinopoli’s studio recording
kept them - the reason is a mistery. There are only three complete recordings:
Solti, Sawallisch and Bychkov.
Rudolf Kempe's Elektra was caught live at the Royal Opera House on
May 29th 1958. The conductor from Dresden was a favourite in London
and it is easy to see why. Away from the paramount excellence of the
Staatskapelle Dresden in this repertoire, he was able to encourage the
Covent Garden orchestra to produce its most powerful performance ever
recorded. Do not look for polish here - Kempe produces a wild, spectacular
performance that highlights all the dramatic points in the score. Unfortunately,
the recorded sound is far from crystalline and really variable. Because
of that, it is difficult to make this a reference. Replacing an indisposed
Christel Goltz, German soprano Gerda Lammers offers an amazingly uncomplicated
performance of the title role. Her dramatic soprano has a vulnerable
young-sounding quality allied to remarkable cleanliness of phrasing.
In her voice, the role never sounds unsingable and - what is better
- she is no canary. Her intelligent performance is genuinely animated
without any hint of exaggeration. The same cannot be said of her Georgine
von Milinkovic. Although her mezzo fills Klytämnestra's lines splendidly
and she has a very good ear for the difficult intervals Strauss reserved
for her, her singing is almost unintentionally funny in its overdone
inflections. To make things worse, she found it important to add noisy
breathing, sighs, laughs, moans and all sorts of unwelcome little "dramatic"
features that only disfigure her interpretation further. Next to her,
Edgard Evans's Aegisth sounds unusually elegant. Otakar Kraus is a reliable
Orest, but Hedwig Müller-Bütow's sour-toned Chrysothemis is
far from enticing.
Karajan’s live performance is a most fascinating entry in the
discography. It is a pity that he never recorded it on studio, because
the sound here is mono and sometimes one feels that this score really
needs perfect recording technique. Anyway, Karajan got to the work's
spirit in an almost unparalelled way. The orchestra relies rather on
colouring than on power and nobody could produce the waltz rhythms from
the Elektra/Ägysth scene as he does. Here the singer wouldn’t
need to be expressive at all - all the irony is in the orchestra. There
is no exaggeration on saying that this is one of the most intelligent
and accomplished Straussian performances ever recorded - both drama
and music are regally served by Karajan and the Vienna Philharmonic.
Astrid Varnay's Elektra is the work of a truly great artist. Her bright
and warm multicoloured dramatic soprano is a ductile instrument in the
service of the inexaustible imagination of this most cherished singer.
Even late in 1964, she is up to the challenge of this difficult role,
although earlier live documents may show her in more youthful and solid
voice. However, the opportunity of listening to the combination of Karajan's
and Varnay's talents is a reward in itself. Hildegard Hillebrecht is
way below Varnay's paramount level, but this is one of her best recorded
performances. She is here truer to pitch than she used to be and also
at her firmest and brightest. Although the artist is subpar, the voice
is entirely fit to the role of Chrysotemis. Martha Mödl is more
relaxed than usual in a role that does not test her high register. She
is an intense singer and charismatic singer, but her voice lacks substance
in the mezzo soprano tessitura. As a matter of fact, her low register
is weaker than Varnay's, but one can tell she is playing the "older
woman" role because of the lacklustre vocal production. Of course,
Mödl is never to be overlooked, but the truth is this Elektra and
this conductor required a more volcanic Klytämnestre. Eberhard
Wächter's baritone is also too high for the role of Orest, but
he is dramatically engaged and interacts beautifully with Varnay. The
five maids (Helen Watts, Margarita Sjöstedt, Cvetka Ahlin, Lisa
Otto and Lucia Popp) are cast from strength and James King's Ägysth
is close to what one calls embarras de richesse.
Karl Böhm’s performance of Elektra also has a most valuable
quality - the graphic effects in the score have never been so intelligently
performed. It is a most theatrical affair and he himself insisted that
singers should be recorded in prominence so that every word could clearly
reach the listener. I disagree about his choice, since the sound perspective
ends on being artifficial. Moreover, DG's studio recording is too fragile.
All the climaxes become congested or noisy. There was a time when seeing
Elektra meant seeing Inge Borkh. It was a most energetic portrayal,
as one can listen to here and in the Mitropoulos recording with Lisa
della Casa. Her dramatic soprano was far from subtle and the Recognition
Scene is the weaker spot of the performance. On the rest, her bite and
power are rewarding. Marianne Schech is a feminine Chrysothemis and
Jean Madeira is a regal Klytämnestra, sung provocatively in solid
tone. Fritz Uhl is a self-contained Ägysth and Fischer-Dieskau
has a particular way with this role. Although the tone is not as dark
as one would wish, it simply works wonderfully for him.
The Solti recording is one that either you love or hate - but the fact
is that you cannot live without it. To start with, it is one of the
only two complete performances available. Most of all, it has one of
the most famous Straussian performances - Brigit Nilsson’s Elektra.
The role simply poses no problem to her and her radiant top register
and well-shaped phrasing are everything this part asks for. Her vision
of the role is eminently hysterical. She is all venom and irony and
is ready to get furious towards whoever cross her way. The Recognition
Scene is the only moment where she is already too full-voiced to slow
down and offer some lyric singing. Never mind - this is something you
have to listen to - and marvel. Marie Collier has an unattractive tone
and her shouting at Orest’s presumed death is simply ridiculous.
Regina Resnik is really over the top as Klytämnestra and one could
rightly say that her tons of mannerisms were meant to produce an atmosphere
of grotesque. Well, Strauss wanted Klytämnestra to be an attractive
woman... and Resnik sounds like a witch. But, this is an interesting
witch and her spacious low notes are indeed impressive. Gerhard Stolze...
well, HE is the very impersonation of grotesque. Tom Krause is a competent
Orest. The Vienna Philharmonic is in top form, but Solti’s conducting
could be described as "either you’ll like it or get deaf
by the middle of it". The whole idea is to thrill and decibels
are not spared. This goes completely against what Strauss had in mind
and does no favour to the score, but I have to say it is an impressive
experience anyway.
Böhm’s second studio Elektra is the soundtrack to an interesting
film. It was his last performance and it is said that he died during
the recordings and someone, probably Leonard Bernstein, conducted the
remaining passages. I have no confirmation of that. It is essentially
an elderly conductor’s Elektra. The conducting is softer, but
not intentionally so. The recorded sound lacks immediacy as well. This
is Leonie Rysanek’s only performance as Elektra. She never sang
it on stage because she thought that she couldn’t compete with
Nilsson. I think that her performance is totally different from Nilsson's
and all the best for that. This Elektra has a bitter sad underlying
feeling and is readier to soften her tone when necessary. The Recognition
is moving with its floating mezza voce and, when she tells Orest that
she was beautiful once, her creamy pianissimi makes us believe that.
Catherina Ligendza is slightly hard-voiced as Chrysothemis, but contrasts
well with Rysanek. Even if some high notes are a bit edgy, Astrid Varnay’s
Klytämnestra is a complete success. No other singer makes this
rather declamatory role sound so melodic, not to mention every inflection
is in its right place. Hans Beirer offers rich tone as Ägysth and
Fischer-Dieskau remains an excellent Orest.
Birgit Nilsson's voice had lost a bit of its ease and roundness when
caught live at the Metropolitan Opera House's tv broadcast. There is
a lot of under-the-note attack, but I think that watching Nilsson sing
this part is a most rewarding experience. Every expressive feature of
the role is under her control and, during the performance, she gets
warmer and even offers some nice floated sounds in the Recognition Scene.
On the other hand, Leonie Rysanek was in top form and offers lots of
creamy singing as Chrysothemis. Mignon Dunn is an efficient Klytämnestra,
with her appealing mezzo and homogeneous registers. The men are not
particularly inspired - especially Donald McIntyre, who was not in good
voice. The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra is not totally up to the task,
but Levine’s conducting has dramatic urgence and he does his best
to avoid noisy orchestral playing. The recorded sound is natural.
Ozawa is one of the conductors who understood better Strauss’s
suggestion of playing it the "Mozartian" way. The Boston Symphonic
is in splendid shape and Ozawa makes sure that every little phrase of
the score is played at its most melodic. It gives a surprising dramatic
variety to the piece and more space for the singers to operate. Although
the part is heavy for her, Hildegard Behrens’s Elektra offers
a most compelling performance. She sounds younger than her rivals and
produces beautiful soft singing when required. But Behrens is not primarily
concerned about beautiful singing - she gives it all in the declamatory
passages and is not ashamed of resorting to unglamourous vocalization
for theatrical purposes. Nadine Secunde, on the other hand, is in luscious
voice as Chrysothemis and the contrast with Behrens is quite telling.
Some accuse Christa Ludwig of recording the role too late in her career.
It is true that the voice, if firm and still forceful, had acquired
by then a certain nasal and grainy quality, but that certainly does
not spoil the fun. Although she handles the text with dexterity and
imagination, her interpretation involves some effects and sometimes
it makes one thinks of the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel. As a curiosity,
back in the 60’s, Karajan invited Ludwig to record for him the
role of Elektra, but she declined the invitation (The curious Straussian
may like to investigate her RCA recital, in which she and Walter Berry
sing an unforgettable Recognition Scene). The men are really below standard,
but Philips recorded this in warm and natural sound. Ah, it wasn’t
Christa Ludwig who risked her vocal chords to produce the terrifying
screams in Klytämnestra’s death scene. It was a professional
shouter.
As much as Ozawa's, Wolfgang Sawallisch's performance gravitates around
softer textures and true Straussian orchestral playing (richly provided
by the the Bayerische Rundfunk orchestra). The conductor's lifelong
experience with Richard Strauss's music shows in the naturalness with
which the complex score is lovingly presented to the audience. Some
may find it lacking drama, but the large-scale neoclassical atmosphere
here provided is precisely what both conductor and librettist had in
mind - this is definitely the best way to listen to the complete version.
The cast is quite interesting. Eva Marton’s big dramatic soprano
lacks firmness in the top notes, but her Elektra is quite appealing
in its more feminine and sensitive phrasing. The overall result is actually
very believable and the Recognition Scene is well integrated in the
rest of the performance. Cheryl Studer is a total success as Chrysothemis,
with her utterly Straussian sound and accurate phrasing. Marjana Lipovsek
is also a most satisfying Klytämnestra because of her unexaggerated
interpretation and purposefulness. Hermann Winkler is a competent Ägysth
and Bernd Weikl is a sensitive Orest. The recorded sound is excellent.
It is indeed a pity that Abbado never recorded Elektra in studio. His
live performance in Vienna has most exciting conducting, balancing musical
and theatrical values in an optimum level. Some orchestral details come
out with astonishing clarity and the Vienna State Opera responds accordingly.
Although Cheryl Studer is perfect as Chrysothemis and Franz Grundheber
offers rich tone as Orest, the truth is that the part of Elektra on
stage leads Eva Marton to her limits. Towards the end of the opera,
she is desperately strained and gets unprecise about rhythm and pitch.
Not to mention that her vibrato, kept more or less in control in Sawallisch
's studio recording, can be bothersome here. Also, Klytämnestra
is too much for Brigitte Fassbaender and she tries to disguise that
with "acting with the voice", to catastrophic effects. James
King, nearing the end of his career, as Aegysth is an endearing detail.
The recorded sound is very natural and the balance between voices and
orchestra is very good.
Daniel Barenboim’s live performance from Berlin benefits from
splendid recorded sound from Teldec. As a matter of fact, the Tonmeister
is responsible for the success of this performance. One can notices
that the level of clarity reached here has lots to do with microphones,
since the phrasing is a bit foggy and unspecific. Deborah Polaski’s
powerful dramatic soprano does not take nicely to microphones and sounds
stressed in the climaxes, but she pulls out a beautiful Recognition
Scene. Alessandra Marc is ill-focused as Chrysothemis and Waltraud Meier
is a sophisticated but desperately light Klytämnestra - sometimes
one can barely hear her low notes, more spoken than sung. Although Johann
Botha is on paper glamourous casting for Ägysth, he misses lots
of interpretative points - a mistake not made by Falke Struckmann, but
his Orest suffers from his less than firm vocalization.
From the purely musical point of view, Sinopoli’s Elektra is a
success. It has a fantastic level of clarity - harmonic and poliphonic
- but - theatrically - is a total flop. One understands that the conductor
wanted to avoid Solti’s misconception, but instead of working
on the expressive powers of phrasing, such as Ozawa and Sawallisch,
he simply ignored it. And the cast doesn’t help him at all. Alessandra
Marc, now in her focused-toned self, has an impressive voice for Elektra
- warm, powerful and flexible, but she is indifferent to words and only
in her exquisite Recognition Scene she compells any admiration for her
interpretation. However, it is nice to know that there is someone with
these top c’s around. Deborah Voigt is even more disappointing.
The tone is unvaried and not as appealing as Marc’s. Moreover,
the voice sounds too grainy for Chrysothemis in my opinion. Again, the
role of Klytämnestra is cast with a desperately light voiced singer,
Hanna Schwarz. However, she is very clever and succeeds in making us
believe that she can deal with the vocal demands of the role, but it
lacks verve. Also, her shouting in the death scene is really silly!
Siegfried Jerusalem is in grey voice and Samuel Ramey was miscast -
the voice is worn and he is clueless aboout what he is singing. The
Vienna Philharmonic is in great shape and the recorded sound is excellent.
Semyon Bychkov's love for the score of Elektra shows in every bar of
his studio recording of the uncut edition with his WDR forces. Under
his direction, this orchestra has achieved world-class Straussian status
and does not let down his conductor for a moment, offering rich thoroughly
precise multicoloured sonorities throughout. The conductor achieves
the rare balance between grand late-Romantic sound picture and Mozartian
clarity and goes for a forward-moving unforced performance. The recorded
sound is impressive: even if voices are immediately recorded, there
is plenty of space and no loss of bloom in the orchestral sound. Although
Deborah Polaski's big slightly veiled dramatic soprano could suggest
an earthy approach, the truth is her Elektra is surprisingly self-possessed.
The years have robbed the impetuosity of her always rebelious top register,
which now sounds unvariably rather unstable, but her phrasing now has
a certain legato quality (when not tested by the high tessitura) rarely
found in this role. Anne Schwanewilms's radiant flutey soprano does
bring the necessary contrasting touch of femininity and vulnerability.
However, forte high-lying passages test her cruelly. Felicity Palmer's
lean mezzo soprano seem to pierce well through the orchestra and she
delivers her text with admirable clarity. It must be said, though, that
the sound is not imposing per se and her approach tends too often to
bizarrerie. Graham Clark and Franz Grundheber have seen better days,
but are entirely at ease in roles that set no trap they cannot avoid.
Live from the Zurich Oper, TDK's DVD features Martin Kusej's production,
boldly placing the action in a kind of decadent glamour brothel: Klytämnestra
as a rather decayed Madame and Ägysth as a sexually ambiguous resident
gangster. It is true that sex and crime play a leading role in Hofmannsthal's
play - and Kusek does not spare naked people and kinkiness on stage
- but from a certain moment on the concept goes astray: the brothel
inexplicably becomes an asylum (a rather clichéed stage solution
for this work by the way) and towards the end dancers from the carnival
in Rio (!) show up on stage. Maybe the point is that Elektra's mind
might be deranged, but stage directors are far deeper into dementia.
Musical values are far more faithfully preserved. Cristoph von Dohnányi
extracts crystalline sounds from the house orchestra - the harmonic
clarity in Klytämnestra's nightmare narration is truly amazing
- but comparisons with Böhm, Karajan, Sawallisch and even Ozawa
will show that there is very little theatrical sense going on in the
pit. Although you can hear every instrument in the orchestra, there
is little purpose in their phrasing and motivic coherence is largely
lost. Eva Johansson is a serviceable Elektra. Hers is no dramatic soprano,
but she has amazing stamina. Although she is generally squally and strident,
her tone is also always firm and, whenever she can relax into her natural
Fach, she easily floats round top notes. Her phrasing is also rhythmically
alert, but she distorts her vowels too often. All that said, she has
forceful stage presence and her approach to her role is extremely convincing.
Creamy-toned Melanie Diener is strongly contrasted to Johansson. She
has a natural way with Straussian phrasing, but the role is a bit on
the high side for her. As for Marjana Lipovsek, the years have not being
entirely kind to her Klytämnestra. She still retains her unique
way of projecting the text most musicianly, but her voice has lost some
of its former lustre and she has advanced into the territory of mannerisms.
Alfred Muff is scenically and vocally too old to play Orest - it is
disturbing to see Johansson addressing this white-haired plump gentleman
as "Mein Kind". Finally, Rudolf Schasching still has to figure
that Richard Strauss does not belong to Johann Strauss's family.
IN CONCLUSION: It is fundamental to have the complete version. So,
if you are up to a very hysterical event, the choice is Solti. On the
other hand, if you want a more musicianly and subtle performance, then
the one is Sawallisch. However, these versions aren’t completely
fulfilling all the tasks developed by Strauss and Hofmannsthal. I personally
think that a Straussian collection cannot part with both Karajan and
Ozawa.
top
~Die Frau ohne Schatten
1 - Leonie Rysanek (The Empress), Christel Golz (Dyer’s Wife),
Elisabeth Höngen (The Nurse), Hans Hopf (The Emperor), Paul Schöffler
(Barak), Kurt Böhme (Spirit Messenger), Wiener Philharmoniker,
Karl Böhm
2 - Leonie Rysanek (The Empress), Christa Luudwig (Dyer’s Wife),
Grace Hoffmann (The Nurse), Jess Thomas (The Emperor), Walter Berry
(Barak), Walter Kreppel (Spirit Messenger), Wiener Staatsoper, Herbert
von Karajan
3 - Gundula Janowitz (The Empress), Gladys Kuchta (Dyer’s Wife),
Grace Hoffmann (The Nurse), Jess Thomas (The Emperor), Otto Wiener (Barak),
Walter Kreppel (Spirit Messenger), Wiener Staatsoper, Herbert von Karajan
4 - Ingrid Bjoner (The Empress), Inge Borkh (Dyer’s Wife), Martha
Mödl (The Nurse), Jess Thomas (The Emperor), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
(Barak), Hans Hotter (Spirit Messenger), Bayerische Staatsoper, Josef
Keilberth
5 - Leonie Rysanek (The Empress), Christa Ludwig (Dyer’s Wife),
Ruth Hesse (The Nurse), James King (The Emperor), Walter Berrt (Barak),
Martin Egel (Spirit Messenger), Wiener Staatsoper, Karl Böhm
6 - Leonie Rysanek (The Empress), Birgit Nilsson (Dyer’s Wife),
Ruth Hesse (The Nurse), James King (The Emperor), Walter Berry (Barak),
Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm
7 - Cheryl Studer (The Empress), Ute Vinzing (Dyer’s Wife), Hanna
Schwarz (The Nurse), René Kollo (The Emperor), Alfred Muff (Barak),
Andreas Schmidt (Spirit Messenger), Bayerische Rundfunk, Sawallisch
8 - Julia Varady (The Empress), Hildegard Behrens (Dyer’s Wife),
Reinhild Runkel (The Nurse), Plácido Domingo (The Emperor), José
van Dam (Barak), Albert Dohmen (Spirit Messenger), Wiener Philharmonik,
Georg Solti
9 - Cheryl Studer (The Empress), Eva Marton (Dyer’s Wife), Marjana
Lipovsek (The Nurse), Thomas Moser (The Emperor), Robert Hale (Barak),
Bryn Terfel (Spirit Messenger), Wiener Philharmoniker, Georg Solti
10 - Deborah Voigt (The Empress), Sabine Hass (Dyer’s Wife),
Hanna Schwarz (The Nurse), Ben Heppner (The Emperor), Franz Grundheber
(Barak), Staatskapelle Dresden, Giuseppe Sinopoli
If Frau ohne Schatten (from now on FroSch) is now a repertoire opera,
we owe it to Karl Böhm. He was responsible for the first recording
and he was the one who organized the team of artists who took the opera
all over the world so that it became known by major audiences. Böhm’s
dedication to this work certainly has to do with the fact that Strauss
regarded it as his best operatic work. It certainly is the most complex
and ambitious. As a matter of fact, the demands on singers and orchestra
are almost impossible to be accomplished. Not only that - many of the
stage instructions in the sccore are impossible to be followed. To make
things easier, live performances are almost invariably cut - although
no two versions have the same cuts. Karajan edition includes the change
of order of two scenes and some extra material composed to accomodate
the alteration. Only three versions are complete - both Solti performances
(although the live one has a shorter Melodram) and the Sawallisch.
FroSch’s discography started with a touch of generosity. Following
the performances in the Vienna State Opera, Karl Böhm tried to
move the president of Decca to record the opera. But, as the enterprise
was risky, he didn’t agree. So, Böhm proposed that no fees
should be paid and things were settled. So, basically everybody worked
for no money at all and the heating was off in the studio, to make things
worse! Also, as they had to save tape, each act was practically recorded
in one take. All that not only makes the whole venture more endearing,
but also makes us astonished with the level of perfection obtained here.
If we’re going to say the truth, this is the most expressive performance
of this opera and it is almost miraculous that the early stereo sound
is so clear and has such a focused sound image. Böhm’s conducting
is not only dramatic, but make each of Strauss effects" speak".
Some moments, such as the interlude before Falke! Du wiedergefundener,
where you can clearly hear the "flapping" of the wings of
the falcon, are unsurpassed. The cast is very interesting. Leonie Rysanek
was the main member of the Böhm’s FroSch team here. As a
matter of fact, the role of the Empress "belonged" to her
for some decades. Nobody would think of calling other soprano unless
Rysanek was unable to do it. It was HER role and she gave herself entirely
to it. Here the voice is very fresh and creamy, although one notices
that the top notes don’t have the expansion and floating quality
they had live. Christel Golz doesn’t have a beautiful voice, but
her dramatic soprano works really well as the Dyer’s Wife (from
now on Färberin) and she is particularly poignant in moments such
as Dritthalb Jahre bin ich dein Weib. Elisabeth Höngen is very
fluent as the Nurse (she was a favourite of Böhm’s), Hans
Hopf, despite some awkward phrasing, is in heroic voice for the Emperor
and Paul Schöffler is a sensitive Barak. No real fan on this opera
could part with this recording.
Despite the mono sound, Karajan’s performance has the highest
level of theatrical sense and his conducting has the right touch of
lightness and a sense of forward movement, not to mention the beautiful
orchestral playing from the Vienna State Opera. Most of it, considering
it is a broadcast, the level of clarity is amazing - you can hear things
more easily than in most recordings: for example, the glass harmonica
when the Empress gets her shadow, among many other niceties. Although
it is really really sad that there are all those cuts, Karajan offers
here one of the most impressive Straussian performances ever - his understanding
of the work’s structure, particularly how to highlight the Hauptstimme
while keeping perfectly clear polyphonic perspectives, is unsurpassed.
No Straussian would dare to call himself so without this miraculous
performance - probably the best night at the opera of one’s life.
There is also this legendary cast. Leonie Rysaneck voice has rarely
sounded so beautiful in recordings as here. There is some under the
note attack, but the radiance of her soaring top register is entirely
preserved in this recording, not to mention that she doesn’t miss
one dramatic point. Christa Ludwig brings allure to the Färberin.
As a matter of fact, the beauty and sensuousness of her singing place
her above any competition. She was also part of the Böhm team for
a while and shows here all her understanding of the role. The development
of the character is beautifully conveyed and even the sound of her voice
changes during the opera to express that. It is particularly nice that
Ludwig has such an accomplished partner in the role of the Nurse. Grace
Hoffmann is vocally really comfortable in such a difficult role and,
not only does she sing with exquisite tone, but also she’s always
there theatrically. I can’t think of someone better than her in
this most challenging part. Also, Walter Berry was in sensational voice
and sings with congeniality and richness of tone. It is a pity that
Jess Thomas’ top notes were a bit strained that evening- his voice
is warmer than in Keilberth’s recording, but there is too much
of an edge in his voice here, unfortunately. Fritz Wunderlich was not
in top form either as the Erscheinung des Jünglings, but Lucia
Popp is very nice in a series of small roles. Once again - the edition
is weird (beside the cuts there is a change of the order of the scenes
in act II - the falcon’s house goes straight to the Empress’
Nightmare and scenes III and V in Barak’s house become one big
scene).
Karajan was to conduct FroSch again in the Vienna State Opera, keeping
the same peculiar edition and some members of the cast. The recording
was made in the dress rehearsal (there is an audience that doesn’t
make any noise but applauds in the end of each act). Karajan’s
structural understanding and horizontal clarity (not to mention the
beautiful orchestral sound perspectives) are all there, but the performance
lacks the polish and excitement of the earlier performance. The recorded
sound, although more natural than in the previous broadcast, is unclear
and favours some instruments (such as the brass) instead of other (such
as violins). It is far from unpleasant, but it harms vertical clarity
sometimes and there could be a bit more immediacy too. To many collectors,
the main interest in this set is Gundula Janowitz’s only experience
with the role of the Empress, a performance that only adds to her reputation
as a Straussian, although she was only 27 and did it only because Karajan
persuaded her to accept it. She is in splendid voice and faces the heavy
demands on her voice with fearlessness and poise. The very sound of
her voice, crystalline and etheral, is the sound image of her role and
the cleaness of her phrasing is a delight to the ears. Her top register
is also in excellent shape and she is the most distinguished member
of this cast. Gladys Kuchta is also an interesting Färberin, offering
a warm dramatic soprano with some rounded top notes and some dramatic
imagination. The voice is not the most beautiful one could think and
her articulation could be clearer sometimes. Grace Hoffmann is again
a model of vocal ease in the role of the Amme, but she is less alert
than in her first recording. It is also a pity that Jess Thomas is even
less at ease - vocally - too. Otto Wiener shows imagination as Barak,
but the voice is routine and he ignores the meaning of legato. The bonus
tracks are precious, because you’ll find here Böhm’s
1974 Vienna performance in excellent sound.
Keilberth’s recording portraits one evening in a series of performances
in the re-opening in the Bavarian State Opera. It is a good orchestra,
but it doesn’t sound as well as it should, since Keilberth’s
conducting is really kapellmeisterlich. It is heavily cut too. I suppose
that the main reason for it is its cast, which contains some compelling
performances. First of all, it is a pleasure to see the seriously neglected
Ingrid Bjoner as the Empress. Her voice has a floating purity associated
with power that is very rare among sopranos. It is simply the voice
for the role and she sings with musicianship and good taste. Inge Borkh
is one of the best Färberinen on records - she is a scornful woman
with an aggressive sensuality and, although the voice is not intrinsically
beautiful, it is consistently exciting with its powerful top notes.
Jess Thomas was in exciting and forceful voice, although he’s
a bit raw, sometimes. However, it is Fischer-Dieskau who steals the
show with the most humane Barak in the discography. He is also in outstandingly
good voice. In the minus side, there is a throaty spirit messenger in
Hans Hotter and an awful Nurse from Martha Mödl. The voice is poorly
focused and she is in such difficulty to sing top notes that she even
resorts to transposing them down. The recorded sound is ok - it could
have better balance, though. Many important details in the score simply
disappear here.
When Böhm decided to record FroSch again - now live in Salzburg
- things were not working as they should - his approach tends to be
more careful in the more complex moments and the orchestra is not as
clearly recorded as such a sophisticated score demands. However, there
is real sense of theatre going on here and a complete interpretative
symbiosis with the conductor and his musicians. The Frosch team is here
complete - only Nilsson finally took the place of Ludwig (in between,
there were some stand-ins, such as Gladys Kuchta). Although she has
lost her in alts, Rysanek’s voice is firmer here than in 55. She
has developed some distracting mannerisms, though, but I prefer this
performance to the old one, due to its naturality and sensitivity. Birgit
Nilsson plays the part of the Färberin from the shrewish side.
Of course, the Färberin is a shrew, but Nilsson’s character
ends the opera as a shrew too. Moreover, her voice in 1977 wasn’t
as round as it used to be and one cannot see the attractive young woman
from Hofmannsthal’s libretto here. However, the truth is that
it is very exciting to hear such a powerful, firm and bright voice in
this role. It is a pity, however, that James King was past his best
when he recorded it. His top notes are a bit short, but - truth be said
- his enthusiasm and ardour make this role more interesting than it
usually is. Walter Berry seems to have lost the interest in the part
after repeated performances all these years. He’s a bit careless
and unsubtle here, although it is still a voice that works really well
in this part. Finally, Ruth Hesse is a vivid Nurse, even if the voice
lacks some weight and variety. The recorded sound is rather metallic
and balances are unhelpful to gentler sounding instruments and is defintely
favourable to singers.
One shouldn’t forget to mention Böhm’s 1974 performance,
made in the Vienna State Opera, where he had his original "Frau
ohne Schatten" team. Opera d’Oro released it complete, but
I had read that the sound is not very good. However, the Karajan FroSch
released by Gala (with Janowitz, Kuchta and Wiener) offers a generous
collection of scenes of each act, centering around Christa Ludwig, in
excellent sound. Böhm was at his most inspired in this recording
and offering the perfect symbiosis between music and theatre in this
fascinating performance. Even if the 1977 DG is stereo, should the complete
performance be released in good sound, the 1974 would be definitely
the one to keep. In these highlights, Christa Ludwig only reinforces
her supremacy in the role. The performance is entirely different from
the Karajan 10 years before. Here, the voice is darker and rounder and
the character is sexier and naughtier. Walter Berry is also in very
good shape and Ruth Hesse is in slightly fresher voice.
Until this point of our discography, FroSch didn’t have a complete
recording. So, Decca decided to advertise the fact that they were going
to make it for the first time (and that it would going to be a £
1,000,000.00 venture). However, EMI was faster and took profit of the
Bavarian Opera production to make their recording. So, this was it.
We had Sawallisch, who had a long experience with the work on stage,
and the lovely Straussian orchestra, the Bayerische Rundfunk, and the
results are admirable. In EMI crystal clear recorded sound, one can
listen to music making that is successful in every sense: vertical and
horizontal clarity, beauty of tone, well-judged tempi, you name it!,
it’s here. This is probably Sawallisch’s most accomplished
operatic recording - one made with the serious purpose of revealing
all the beauty in Strauss’ score. His cast benefits from one unforgettable
performance - Cheryl Studer’s Empress. It will be difficult to
describe how good her performance is. If someone ever was perfect in
a part, this was Cheryl Studer as the Empress. This performance alone
would have made her a diva. She has a good partner in Hanna Schwarz,
who turned the disadvantage of being light voiced into an advantage,
bringing quick articulation for the role and a clean vocal production.
The rest of the cast, alas, is not in the same level. René Kollo
has some moments as the Emperor, but he’s gritty most of the time.
Ute Vinzig is the kind of soprano that became characteristic of the
part of the Färberin - powerful voice, ugly tone and awkward phrasing.
Alfred Muff is a bit better - he’s a decent Barak.
Whether Decca spent sensibly all that money, this is a difficult question.
A fact is that Solti really developed into a more relaxed conductor
and ensures that the Vienna plays beautifully throughout. I think that
it lacks a distinctive feature, though - it is not expressive as Böhm
55, exxciting as the Karajan or magic as Sawallisch. It is a good performance
- no more, no less. Decca tried to gave a big sound for a big score,
but I think that a bit more intimacy would have worked for some scenes,
but it is not artifficial as one could imagine. I only regret that Behrens
has a weird halo around her voice. I think that she was tracked in,
since the booklet says that they had to "wait for" her in
order to complete the cast. I can’t imagine Plácido Domingo
on a bench asking "So, are we doing it today?"... Well, it
is, as usual with Solti, an international cast and, this time, I am
afraid that they really don’t develop into a team. Julia Varady
learnt the part for this recording and never sang it again. Not surprisingly,
that never shows in her confident singing, which is dramatically engaged
and virtuosistic, although she has her sour moments. Behrens is a good
Färberin, but somehow I can’t convince myself that I like
her performance. Maybe this artifficial "halo" around her
voice has something to do with it. I think it lack focus both vocally
and interpretatively, but maybe I’m being picky. Reinhild Runkel
has an eerie voice, but I think it works for the Amme. I saw her live
in this part and she certainly has more than enough power and range
to deal with it and her articulation of the text is exemplary. Plácido
Domingo was the "selling" feature of the recording and he
also learned the role for the recording and never sang it again. I think
it is a pity, for it is one of his best recording of German opera ever
commited to disc. His German makes more sense than previously and he’s
in glorious voice. His beauty of tone and exciting phrasing really give
more glamour to the role. I am sure Strauss would have enjoyed it a
lot. However, José van Dam disappointed me as Barak. I thought
it to be too small in scale to cause a real impression. It is stylish
and accomplished, but definitely not amazing. The minor roles are nicely
taken - Albert Dohmen is a forceful Spirit Messeenger, but I think that
Sumi Jo is so amazing as the Voice of the Falcon that the role really
gains a new dimension.
When Solti decided to conduct this work live in Salzburg, he must have
given a second thought about this score, for his concept matured a lot.
It is one of the best live performances of Strauss recorded. It is wonderfully
focused and theatre and music are one in this performance. Moreover,
the Vienna Philharmonic plays wonderfully. The original idea was Varady
for the role of Empress, but it didn’t turn out and Cheryl Studer
was called to sing the role. Although she is slightly less at ease compared
to the EMI performance, she still has no rivals in this part. The naturalness
and floating quality of her soprano fit the part extraordinarily. Eva
Marton’s is not a Straussian voice - it suffers from excess of
vibrato and can be unfocused, but she was in a healthy day and, from
the interpretative point, she is an interesting Färberin. Interpretation
is also the strong point of Marjana Lipovsek. She is fascinating (especially
watching the video), but the role is a bit high for her voice. The role
of the Emperor is a real stretch for Thomas Moser, but he has a charming
voice and musicianly phrasing. Robert Hale is a heroic Barak. He could
be a bit subtler, but his voice is very pleasing. He’s rather
tired towards the end of the opera. The secondary roles are wonderfully
taken by people like Bryn Terfel and Andrea Rost. The recorded sound
is excellent.
I’ll never forget how much I longed for the Sinopoli FroSch and
how fast I bought it when it was released. However, it disappointed
me. Sinopoli had a strange way with this score, both here and live at
La Scala. It is slower and he plays no effects. It is a stern vision
of this opera. He seems to be almost entirely concentrated on vertical
clarity and the phrasing tends to be lacking in forward movement and
the overall structure sense is left to the listeners’ imagination.
It is particularly weird that a live recording in the theatre is so
undramatic, even if the Dresden orchestra is playing beautifully. We
can’t blame Teldec either, since it has excellent recorded sound.
I think that the cast has also a lot to do with it. Deborah Voigt, although
she copes heroically and effortlessly with what she has to sing, not
only is unvaried as the Empress, but also her voice is unsuited to the
part. Nothing suggest the crystaline spirit here. Sabine Hass, in the
other hand, has a good idea of her part. She sings it in a very provocative
way, but her voice is metallic. Hanna Schwarz improved a lot her already
good Nurse. Here it has even stronger declamation. As a matter of fact,
Schwarz and Hass’s scenes are the most interesting in the recording.
Ben Heppner is again an example of liquid and easy singing, but his
Emperor is so phlegmatic that I would gladly exchange him for James
King and some effortful top notes. Franz Grundheber is a reliable Barak.
IN CONCLUSION: For the complete version, either Sawallisch’s
crystaline recording or Solti’s exciting video. But you have to
have the Böhm 55 in your collection.
top
~Intermezzo
Lucia
Popp (Christine), Adolf Dallappozza (Baron Lummer), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Robert),
Bayerische Rundfunk, Wolfgang Sawallisch
How
many obscure operas can boast to have such a fantastic recording? The truth is
that it is so good that I doubt that it is going to be recorded again! Intermezzo
is a most charming piece, the libretto by Richard Strauss inspired in a real event
of his life. Moreover, the role of Christine Storch (i.e., Pauline Strauss) is
a most fascinating one. The opera has lots of declamatory passages, but the composer
lets his melodic and orchestral powers to reach its peak in the evocative intermezzi
and the final scenes of each act. Lucia Popp is probably the dearest singer to
any Straussian. The level of vocal and interpretative sophistication she uses
in a role she learnt just for this recording is simply amazing and proves why
she is one of the most popular singers among music lovers. In the same level,
there is Fischer-Dieskau using all his powers to portray the alter ego of Strauss
himself. The reunion of these singers in this recording makes this something to
cherish. Adolf Dallappozza is a believable rogue as Lummer and Sawallisch is a
persuasive advocate of this unique piece.
top
~Der
Rosenkavalier
1 - Christa Ludwig (Die Feldmarschallin), Gwyneth Jones (Octavian),
Lucia Popp (Sophie), Margherita Lilowa (Annina), Plácido Domingo
(Italian Tenor), Murray Dickie (Valzacchi), Walter Berry (Baron Ochs),
Ernst Gutstein (Faninal), Wiener Staatsopernchor, Wiener Philharmoniker,
Leonard Bernstein
2 - Marianne Schech (Die Feldmarschallin), Irmgard Seefried (Octavian),
Rita Streich (Sophie), Anton de Ridder (Italian Tenor), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
(Faninal), Kurt Böhme (Baron Ochs), Staatskapelle Dresden, Karl
Böhm
3 - Christa Ludwig (Die Feldmarschallin), Tatiana Troyanos (Octavian),
Edith Mathis (Sophie), Cvetka Ahlin (Annina), Anton de Ridder (Italian
Tenor), Gerhard Unger (Valzacchi), Otto Wiener (Faninal), Theo Adam
(Baron Ochs), Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm
4 - Adrianne Pieczonka (Die Feldmarschallin), Angelika Kirchschlager
(Octavian), Miah Persson (Sophie), Elena Batoukova (Annina), Piotr Beczala
(Italian Tenor), Jeffrey Francis (Valzacchi), Franz Grundheber (Faninal),
Franz Hawlata (Baron Ochs), Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor,
Wiener Philharmoniker, Semyon Bychkov
5 - Gundula Janowitz (Die Feldmarschallin), Yvonne Minton (Octavian),
Lucia Popp (Sophie), Doris Soffel (Annina), Luciano Pavarotti (Italian
Tenor), David Thaw (Valzacchi), Ernst Gutstein (Faninal), Kurt Moll
(Baron Ochs), Wiener Philharmoniker, Cristoph von Dohnányi
6 - Kiri Te Kanawa (Die Feldmarschallin), Anne Sofie von Otter (Octavian),
Barbara Hendricks (Sophie), Claire Powell (Annina), Richard Leech (Italian
Tenor), Graham Clark (Valzacchi), Franz Grundheber (Faninal), Kurt Rydl
(Baron Ochs), Staatskapelle Dresden, Bernard Haitink
7 - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Die Feldmarschallin), Christa Ludwig (Octavian),
Teresa Stich-Randall (Sophie), Kerstin Meyer (Aninna), Nicolai Gedda
(Italian Tenor), Paul Kuen (Valzacchi), Eberhard Wächter (Faninal),
Otto Edelmann (Baron Ochs), Philharmonia, Herbert von Karajan
8 - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Die Feldmarschallin), Sena Jurinac (Octavian),
Anneliese Rothenberger (Sophie), Hilde Rössl-Majdan (Annina), Giuseppe
Zampieri (Italian Tenor), Renato Ercolani (Valzacchi), Erich Kunz (Faninal),
Otto Edelmann (Baron Ochs), Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
9 - Anna Tomowa-Sintow (Die Feldmarschallin)), Agnes Baltsa (Octavian),
Janet Perry (Sophie), Helga Müller-Mollinari (Annina), Vinson Cole
(Italian Tenor), Heinz Zednik (Valzacchi), Gottfried Hornik (Faninal),
Kurt Moll (Baron Ochs), Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
10 - Maria Reining (Die Feldmarschallin), Sena Jurinac (Octavian),
Hilde Güden (Sophie), Hilde Rössl-Majdan (Annina), Anton Dermota
(Italian Tenor), Peter Klein (Valzacchi), Alfred Poell (Faninal), Ludwig
Weber (Baron Ochs), Wiener Philharmoniker, Erich Kleiber
11 - Gwyneth Jones (Die Feldmarschallin), Brigitte Fassbaender (Octavian),
Anneliese Waas (Annina), Lucia Popp (Sophie), Francisco Araiza (Italian
Tenor), David Thaw (Valzacchi), Benno Kusche (Faninal), Manfred Jungwirth
(Baron Ochs), Bayerische Staatsoper, Carlos Kleiber
12 - Felicity Lott (Die Feldmarschallin), Anne Sofie von Otter (Octavian),
Barbara Bonney (Sophie), Anna Gonda (Annina), Keith Ikaya-Purdy (Italian
Tenor), Heinz Zednik (Valzacchi), Gottfried Hornik (Faninal), Kurt Moll
(Baron Ochs), Wiener Staatsoper, Carlos Kleiber
13 - Anne Schwanewilms (Die Feldmarschallin), Anke Vondung (Octavian),
Maki Mori (Sophie), Elisabeth Wilke (Annina), Roberto Saccà (Italian
tenor), Oliver Ringelhahn (Valzacchi), Hans-Joachim Ketelsen (Faninal),
Kurt Rydl, Staatsopernchor Dresden, Staatskapelle Dresden, Fabio Luisi
14 - Régine Crespin (Die Fledmarschallin), Yvonne Minton (Octavian),
Helen Donath (Sophie), Anne Howells (Annina), Luciano Pavarotti (Italian
Tenor), Murray Dickie (Valzacchi), Otto Wiener (Faninal), Manfred Jungwirth
(Baron Ochs), Wiener Philharmoniker, Georg Solti
15 - Kiri Te Kanawa (Die Feldmarschallin), Ann Howells (Octavian),
Barbara Bonney (Sophie), Cynthia Buchan (Annina), Dennis O’Neil
(Italian Tenor), Robert Tear (Valzacchi), Jonathan Summers (Faninal),
Aage Haugland (Baron Ochs), Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Georg
Solti
16 - Régine Crespin (Die Feldmarschallin), Elisabeth Söderström
(Octavian), Hilde Güden (Sophie), Heinz Holecek (Faninal), Wiener
Philharmonic, Silvio Varviso (highlights)
17 - Evelyn Lear (Die Feldmarschallin), Frederica von Stade (Octavian),
Ruth Welting (Sophie), Sophia van Sante (Annina), José Carreras
(Italian Tenor), James Atherton (Valzacchi), Derek Hammond Stroud (Faninal),
Jules Bastin (Baron Ochs), Rotterdam Philharmonic, Edo de Waart
Der Rosenkavalier is the most successful of Strauss operas. Although
Strauss melodic powers were at 100% here, I think that Hofmannsthal
has lots to do with it. The characters are so engaging and so nicely
depicted in music that you just can’t resist seeing real human
beings in them. The work is a serious challenge to a conductor, because
there must be a balance between the comic and dramatic elements - otherwise,
long passages of the opera may sound dull. There are some minor cuts
in live performances, but some studios, such as De Waart, Bernstein
and Karajan I, are also cut.
Erich Kleiber's studio recording is deservedly regarded as a classic
performance. His understanding of the score, the perfect balance between
comic and serious elements and the refusal to allow any sentimentality
in the music making are praiseworthy. Although this is a mono recording,
it is very spacious and astonishingly clear. Even if Maria Reining was
past her best and some top notes are unfocused, her natural delivery
of the text, coupled with elegant phrasing and spontaneous charm, makes
her a most succesful Marschallin. She has a pleasant view of her character
- a very practical woman who deals with the whole situation with aristocratic
poise. Sena Jurinac is not only in top silvery voice, but is also a
noble Octavian, and Ludwig Weber is one of the best Ochs in recordings
- his bass is supple and pleasant and he is splendidly Viennese. Although
Hilde Güden is overcute as Sophie, she has a rich voice and the
minor roles are nicely cast, especially Anton Dermota’s Italian
Tenor.
Karl Böhm’s studio recording is remarkably similar to E.
Kleiber’s. Both these conductor share a similar idea about the
score and the comedy elements, instead of being a nuisance between exquisite
music, sound like the natural development of the lyric moments. Unfortunately,
the recording has the fragile sound that DG used to have in the 50’s.
Marianne Schech is a bit anonimous as the Marschallin, but she is in
healthy voice. On the other hand, Irmgard Seefried is very characterful
as Octavian, but she was past her best and employs some under-the-note
attack. Rita Streich is a wonderful Sophie, with floating tones in plenty.
Kurt Böhme was in good voice for Ochs (he used to be considered
a great exponent of the part) and Fischer-Dieskau is glamourous casting
as Faninal.
Herbert von Karajan's first studio recording is considered to be THE
Rosenkavalier by many and, whether you like it or not, it was the most
influencial performance of this piece. Almost everything done here has
been taken as standard. First of all, Karajan has a quite peculiar way
with this score. In his opinion, a melancholic and utterly Romantic
piece. So, tempi tend to be slower and the emphasis is on orchestral
colouring rather than on articulate phrasing. Then there is Elisabeth
Schwarzkopf’s Marschallin. Although she is in warm voice and in
top pianissimo form, this Marschallin moves less than it entertains
us. It is a thought-through portrait with every little inflection clearly
and thoroughly displayed. Schwarzkopf’s fans call it "intelligence",
Schwarkopf’s haters say it is "exaggeration". It is
up to you to decide. Christa Ludwig was not the first mezzo to sing
the role of Octavian, but she certainly was the singer with whom most
people knew the part of Octavian. Since then, you’ll rarely find
a soprano in this part which, as a matter of fact, is a soprano part.
Anyway, Ludwig is in creamy voice and exciting manners, although it
was not the moment of her career where she had top notes some sopranos
would kill for. Teresa Stich-Randall is controversial casting as Sophie.
Some call it expressive and technically accomplished; others call it
artifficial and with problems of intonation. Although I am inclined
to be in the second group, I think that there is another problem: her
voice is too close in sound to Schwarzkopf's in the final trio. Although
he is rather a bass baritone, Otto Edelman is a very good Ochs - a very
funny performance. This is experimental stereo, recorded with a couple
of microphones (two or three), but the results are outstanding - very
clear and spacious. For those who thought that good old mono was better,
EMI released it later in mono. I used to have the remastering previous
(black cover) to the new one (purple cover) and I think that, although
black cover had tape hiss, its sound image was really more precise.
Although Karajan's film (taped in Salzburg) is less known than the
CD performance, I believe it is a superior performance. Karajan is in
urgent mood, the Vienna Philharmonic is at its best and the performance
has clarity, intelligence and exquisite sounds aplenty. The recorded
sound could have more bloom, but is atmospheric enough. Schwarzkopf
is consistent with the CD recording. Not only is Sena Jurinac superb
as Octavian - better than for E.Kleiber and better than Ludwig (who
never liked the part anyway) - but also Anneliese Rothenberger is really
really superior to Stich-Randall. She is at her creamiest, purest and
most floating voiced form. Otto Edelmann is even funnier with the visual
elements and the second cast has endearing details, such as two Italians
in the tenor parts of Valzacchi and the Tenor - Renato Ercolani and
Giuseppe Zampieri, both splendid. The production is the same which would
be re-edited in Karajan's 1982 video. In VHS, the colors are too artifficial.
I hope that Kultur's delay in releasing this amazing performance has
to do with the fact that they are refurbishing it for DVD format.
Silvio Varviso's studio highlights are a most intriguing affair. I
am suspicious that it is an aborted complete recording. There even is
a Faninal, Heinz Holecek, just to say Sind halt aso, die jungen
Leut’ . Anyway, what we have is mainly about Régine
Crespin’s exemplary Marschallin, the best ever, in my opinion.
She has both the intelligent inflections of Schwarzkopf together with
Reining’s naturality and nobility. Moreover, her voice is more
luscious, seductive and feminine than both those singers’. It
is nice to have a soprano in the part of Octavian, Elisabeth Söderström
(one of the few singers who came to sing the three main female roles
in this opera), in a forceful performance. Hilde Güden is more
spontaneous here than in E. Kleiber's set, but the voice is slightly
less fresh. Varviso’s conducting is excellent - it has clarity,
purposefulness and naturality. It is a real shame that they did not
record the complete opera.
Karajan's Rosenkavalier performances in Salzburg were seen as some
of the Festival's classics and I guess only Karl Böhm would risk
to conduct this work just after Karajan's hegemony over this opera in
the Grosses Festspielhaus. Böhm still has the balance between comic
and lyric elements of his previous studio set, but now he encourages
his orchestra to perform it in a grander, more intense manner. As a
result, the Austrian conductor achieves the ideal standard for a performance
of this opera - amazing clarity, rich sounds and an analytic intelligence
to keep everything in place, without forgetting the right emotional
touch when necessary. The recorded sound is natural, although there
is some stage noise, not in annoying levels, one must recognise. The
casting of the roles of Octavian and the Marschallin with two mezzos
is quite unusual, but it is not as weird as it sounds in paper. The
problem about Christa Ludwig’s Marschallin is that she lacks a
wide range of dynamics and vocal shades as regular sopranos usually
have in the role. Although she is constantly warm and rich and has more
than enough wit for the declamatory passages, it is a less "sophisticated"
performance of the role - the Marschallin is seen here as a more down-to-earth
woman with a more commanding nature. Tatiana Troyanos has an excellent
voice for Octavian - it is youthful, exciting and sensuous. Edith Mathis
is quite dark-toned for Sophie too, and she lacks pianissimi for the
key moments. However, I suppose that Theo Adam is the controversial
casting for most, since his voice is definitely light for the role.
He compensates that with his fluent delivery of the text and I think
he is quite successful until he has to do the Ochs tricks. Then, he
lacks the lower notes, to start with.
Leonard Bernstein's set is the result of a successful series of performances
in the Vienna State Opera, where the American conductor took the Viennese
by surprise with his austere view of this work. On CDs, it is a bit
heavy, lacking some forward movement and dramatic timing. Bernstein’s
fans will say that he gives time for the score to "breathe"
and that this music has gained a deeper dimension with his conducting.
I think that he overdid it, but he has a fine cast. Christa Ludwig again
lacks a bit of lightness in the role of the Marschallin, but is more
delicate here than live. I think that reviewers were very mean towards
Gwyneth Jones. She is a very positive Octavian with a powerful bright
voice and heavenly pianissimi. She is not exactly Viennese in style
and the Mariandl episode is somewhat mishandled, but she certainly does
not deserve the bad press. Lucia Popp is a creamy toned and charming
Sophie and Walter Berry’s low notes are better than one could
expect in the role of Ochs. As a matter of fact, conductor and members
of the cast were under a bad flu when the recording was made. Maybe
THAT gave Berry the deep bass notes - who knows!
Georg Solti 's recording also suffered from bad press and again I think
it was unfair. Sure Solti is a bit heavy-handed and the more lyrical
episodes may sound uncomfortable. However, the level of accuracy of
the Vienna Philharmonic is astonishing and the pulse never sags. He
has a good cast too. Régine Crespin’s voice was harder
when this was made and some top notes are edgy, but her warm tone and
insight still are reward enough. Yvonne Minton starts a bit nervous,
but later her pleasing and clean mezzo settles into an impetuous and
charming performance. Helen Donath is a delicate Sophie with bell-like
top notes. Manfred Jungwirth is a decent Ochs. The recorded sound used
to be a bit metallic, but Decca re-mastered into a spacious, clear and
warm sound image.
Cristoph von Dohnányi's recording is a broadcast from Salzburg.
His conducting may be called either undemonstrative or unexceptional
- it depends of your point of view. It is particularly animated, clear
and flowing and the recorded sound, although a bit boxy and unfavourable
to singers, is natural. Gundula Janowitz is an almost unparalleled Marschallin.
She is not a sentimental Marschallin, but rather a rational young sounding
woman. However, she shifts for a heartfelt intimate Monologue and offers
heavenly silvery tone throughout. Yvonne Minton works really better
live - her Octavian is boyish and proud, a beautiful performance. Lucia
Popp is in exquisite voice and sings beautifully, but most unfortunately
takes the wrong note in the closing of the opera (as a matter of fact,
her last note). Kurt Moll was already an outstanding Ochs, wonderfully
at ease with what he has to sing and owner of the most impressive lower
register. Luciano Pavarotti, as he was in Solti's studio recording,
is an excellent Italian Tenor.
Carlos Kleiber’s Munich performances were more than revelatory
- the contemporary press in all Germanic world stood in awe. Reviewers
said that Kleiber has cleaned the score of all the spurious tradition
and restored it its original shape. The fact is that no conductor can
claim to be better than Kleiber Jr. in this work. It is also curious
to compare him with his father in the Decca recording. While Kleiber,
father, is as analytic as the son, Kleiber, Jr., offers more warmth
and tonal beauty. It is also difficult not to mention the gorgeous stage
production in this video - it makes so much sense as a performance that
it looks as a Visconti film, with good acting from all the women. Gwyneth
Jones is particularly convincing with her good and aristocratic looks.
Her voice is not the one of the Marschallin - it is clearly a dramatic
soprano scaling down. However, her natural delivery of the text and
careful phrasing make her particularly successful in the role. Brigitte
Fassbaender is boyish in acting and in voice, making a dark-toned and
passionate Octavian. Lucia Popp offers a uniquely full and creamy tone
in the role, not to mention intelligent and sensitive delivery of the
text. Unfortunately, Manfred Jungwirth was already past his best when
he recorded it and has to resort to effects. It is also a pity that
Francisco Araiza was not in top form as the Italian Tenor. The Bavarian
State Orchestra was in top form and the recorded sound is crystalline,
but could be a bit more spacious and natural.
I bought the Edo de Waart recording just to complete my collection,
but was lucky enough to discover that his conducting is really competent
in the Straussian repertoire. It has a sense of forward movement and
theatricality that deserved a better orchestra than the Rotterdam Philharmonic,
the strings of which are rather wiry in tone. His recording is clear,
but the cast is too uneven. Evelyn Lear may have been a fine Marschallin
when her voice was functional. Here it is really worn and not even her
Schwarzkopf-like interpretation redeems it. Also, Ruth Welting's doll-like
soprano is not to everyone's taste- but Jules Bastin’s white-toned
Ochs remains the less satisfying performance here. Lost in this cast
is Frederica von Stade’s delightful Octavian, softer in tone than
most and displaying beautiful high pianissimi. José Carreras
is also in handsome voice as the Italian Tenor.
Karajan’s second try with Rosenkavalier in studio exaggerates
even more his melancholic view of the score - here verging on gloom.
Sure, the Vienna Philharmonic produces splendid orchestral sound, but
this cannot avoid the misconception about this work, beautiful as it
may sound. The cast is very starry and has some cherishable performances.
Anna Tomowa Sintow never sung so exquisitely as she sang here, producing
a flow of creamy tone worthy of the most famous Straussian singers.
Her phrasing is beautifully sculpted and abounds in beautiful dynamic
effects, but she lacks a personal involvement. One may almost feel she
is repeating something carefully rehearsed. However, it would be silly
to deny that this is a pleasant performance. Most people dislike Agnes
Baltsa’s Octavian, but I consider it to be particularly successful.
She sings with a tenor-like vigour that makes the role sound uniquely
masculine in atmosphere - her voice, of course, is the forceful bright
mezzo of always. Janet Perry’s contribution is limited to the
delicate high pianissimi in the delivery of the silver rose. In the
rest of the opera, she is rather twittery. Kurt Moll is a sovereign
Ochs, gorgeously sung - but one could genuinely accuse him of sounding
too noble for the part. Vinson Cole’s Italian Tenor sounds amazingly
comfortable. The recording is warm, but the balance between voices and
orchestra is slightly unnatural. However, the live performance, now
on DVD with excellent recorded sound, is quite preferable to the CDs.
To start with, the sound perspective is rather natural and Karajan has
a lightness in the comedy episodes not available in the studio. The
Vienna Philharmonic is also in wonderful shape, offering an exquisite
violin pianissimo in the end of Act I. Also, every singer in the cast
is in better shape live, particularly Anna Tomowa-Sintow. She is a congenial
dignified Marschallin and offers what lacks on CD - her emotional engagement.
Perry’s voice also benefitted from the Grosses Festspielhaus acoustics
- it is rather less wiry here. Moll’s acting is sensational and
it is very nice to see him unconcered with the difficulties of the demanding
part concentrating on building his character from a theatrical point-of-view.
The staging is the traditional one used in the old film from with Schwarzkopf
and it still works really well.
Georg Solti's performance from the Royal Opera House features a lacklustre
production, although the efficient stage direction makes sure that this
is worth while watching. Unfortunately, the conductor is rather heavy-handed
and the orchestra is not responsive enough. The result is laborious,
lacking forward movement and charm. Also, the recorded sound favours
the stage rather than the pit, an unforgivable mistake in this opera.
However, if you want to sample Kiri Te Kanawa's Marschallin, this is
your performance. She is in glowing voice - her velvety, soaring and
flexible soprano in its prime, although the role ideally requires a
more exuberant low register. She is also more responsive to the text
than in Haitink's studio recording, even if there is difficult to speak
of a wholly developed character. As it is, her Marchallin is unusually
good-humoured and provocative. Her appealing looks and aristocratic
manners are also most welcome. Anne Howells is a competent Octavian,
responding to all challenges made on her with confidence and animation.
It is true that her voice is undistinguished, but her excellent stage
performance more than compensates that. On the other hand, Barbara Bonney
is a model Sophie - offering charming floating pianissimo, a voice entirely
even throughout her range and also physique du rôle. Aage Haugland
does have a dark spacious bass and masters the low tessitura, but his
phrasing is not entirely musical, and pitch goes astray too often for
comfort. Small roles are generally well cast, with the likes of Jonathan
Summers and Robert Tear - but German-speaking audiences may have their
doubts.
British reviewers were fascinated by Bernard Haitink's recording, but
I have to confess that I find it exceptionally bland for its unimaginative
conducting and lack of pulse. The result is flaccid and unengaging.
Also, when he tries to be more animated, things tend to get explosive
and lack finish. The recorded sound is spacious and warm and the Staatskapelle
Dresden offers some of the loveliest orchestral sounds I have ever heard.
The closing of act I has one of the most exquisite high pianissimo ever
performed by violins. Kiri Te Kanawa was not at her purest-toned when
she recorded it. Except for a beautiful monologue and the ensuing scene,
she sounds particularly unconcerned and offers lazy articulation. The
part of Octavian is a stretch for Anne Sofie von Otter and the voice
lacks poise, unless when she is singing her beautiful mezza voce. Barbara
Hendricks is the most animated in the cast, but the voice lacks purity
for Sophie. Moreover, she is not totally comfortable with the top notes
in the delivery of the silver rose. Kurt Rydl is richt-toned if unsubtle
as Ochs, but the rest of the cast is very commendable, with the exception
of Richard Leech, not really comfortable as the Italian Tenor.
Kleiber Jr.'s second Rosenkavalier is very consistent to his first
recording. His understanding of the structure of the score and its relationship
with the dramatic situations is secondary probably only to Karl Böhm’s.
The main difference to the Munich performance, besides the cast, is
the Vienna State Opera Orchestra’s more crystaline sound and drier
and more analytic recording. The staging is ellegant, but doesn’t
follow some of Hofmannsthal stage instructions, such as the Rose Knight
dressed completely in silver in act II. Felicity Lott is light-voiced
as the Marschallin, but has a most incisive delivery of the text and
produces heavenly pianissimi throughout. This Marschallin is not very
passionate, rather a meditative and sophisticated character. Anne Sofie
von Otter still finds the role of Octavian on the heavy side for her
and never for a while looks believable on stage as a boy. Alhough the
tone is less fresh than in her studio recording for Haitink, she still
has her moments, especially when she scales down to softer dynamics.
Barbara Bonney and Kurt Moll remain impressive in their roles and are
more dramatically engaged here.
Robert Carsen's production of Der Rosenkavalier for the 2004 Salzburg
Festival was a controversial affair - the staging shows the pre-WWI
Vienna and takes many liberties with the libretto, especially from act
II on. To start with, the only kind of convent Sophie could have studied
in is some of those depicted in Pedro Almodovar's movies: she wears
a very strange dress with a decolleté that leaves very little
to imagination, strips to her underwear in front a horde of military
guests while discussing with her impassive father, overtly flirts with
Octavian (who arrives at her dining room on horseback... you see: inside
the house) before she meets her Zukünftiger (of whom she seems
to have a positive first impression before he starts to paw her only
to finish by throwing her to the floor - again before Herr von Faninal's
approving eyes)... During the opera's closing chords, she is actually
having her, so to say, honeymoon before the wedding - again with the
consent of her father. Have I forgotten to mention that act III takes
place in a brothel with lots of naked people, a brothel where the Marschallin,
a respectable married woman, sees no problem to publicly stop by? The
fact that Faninal lets her daughter into such a place causes no surprise
considering their scandalous behaviour during the whole opera. If I
were going to make a list of abominations in this production, it would
fill a book, but there are some positive aspects to mention. The roles
of Baron Ochs is very sharply conceived - although his manners are a
bit rustic, he is clearly a gentleman whom the Marschallin could call
her relative. The complete reversal of attitude conceived for the tête-à-tête
with Mariandl in act III (she is a vamp and he experiences some sort
of erectile dysfunction) sheds an interesting light of his exaggerated
macho attitude, but it is difficult to imagine that young Octavian could
conceive such a psychologically informed plan. Peter Pabst's sceneries
are beautiful and the Grossesfestpielhaus's large stage is intelligently
used, but his costumes are problematic - the Marschallin looks particularly
frumpy in act I. As to the musical direction, Semyon Bychkov has been
praised by some reviewers by the way he gives a rougher edge to the
score in order to fit the staging. This goes against the golden rule
for conducting R. Strauss's music - if you let the score speak for itself,
it will sound powerful enough, tamper with it and it just becomes a
mess. Without the Vienna Philharmonic, I suspect this would have been
a catastrophic affair. As it is, this most translucent of orchestras
offers a more robust performance than usual while keeping some vertical
clarity - you can more or less hear what every instrument is doing at
a particular moment, but what you hear does not amount to a coherent
whole. The result is just unpolished and confuse and unable to express
either the complex motivic structure or the musical-dramatic effects
which are the hallmark of the operas by Richard Strauss. If I am not
making my point clear, listen to Karl Böhm's Salzburg performance
on DG and you will probably never touch your Bychkov DVD again - not
even for the digital recording. In order to compensate an overloud orchestra,
singers' voices are recorded in a somewhat unnatural perspective. Adrianne
Pieczonka's warm creamy soprano is entirely fit for the role of the
Feldmarschallin. Although her delivery of the text is quite crispy,
her act I still seems stiff, as if she lacked a longer acquaintance
with the role. It is strange to say that, but it is only in act III
that her Marschallin finally takes off. There she seems bien dans sa
peau, floats some beautiful mezza voce and beautifully deals with all
the tricky passages in the final trio. Her Octavian, Angelika Kirchschlager,
is light-voiced for the role, especially in such a large hall and is
taken to her limits in high-lying forte passages, but is never less
than fully commited. She is a musicianly singer, has no problem with
soft dynamics and, being herself Austrian, handles the Mariandl episodes
commendably (even if she never behaves as a boy dressed up like a girl).
I am not so convinced about Miah Persson's Sophie. She is a stylish,
elegant singer, but her top register does not soar as required and she
is often small-scaled and/or edgy. Franz Hawlata's bass is not rounded
and full as some famous exponents of the role of Baron Ochs, but he
sings forcefully and has the necessary low notes. Unfortunately, he
has his rough moments and too often sacrifices phrasing for the sake
of comedy. Among the minor roles, Jeffrey Francis stands out as bright-toned
Valzacchi.
In Semperoper's first visit to Japan, a Rosenkavalier (conducted by
Hans Vonk and released by Denon) has been recorded (only in audio) and,
maybe as the beginning of a new tradition, the Dresdner opera house
staged again Rosenkavalier, now released on DVD. Uwe Eric Laufenberg's
production transfers the action to the 1940's but does very little violence
to the spirit of Hofmannsthal's libretto. The sets are elegant, the
stage direction is inteligent and sensitive - I cannot say the same
of the costumes, which leave more than something to be desired. However,
the weakest link in this staging is predictably the third act, which
is essentially impermeable to modernisation with its vice squad agents
questioning noblemen where their mandatory wigs are. If Der Rosenkavalier
were a theatrical play, Anne Schwanewilms would be an ideal Marschallin
- she has the looks, the attitude, the insight and the spiritual generosity
for the role. However, the job description also involves the musical
performance. Although the part of the the Feldmarschallin has a great
deal of declamatory passages, they are supposed not to be treated as
recitative, but instead sung in warm and flowing cantabile style - you
just have to check back Lotte Lehmann (and every other famous exponent
of this role) to see you can have clear enunciation keeping up with
legato. Schwanewilms, on the other hand, sings se-pa-ra-ted notes throughout
and tends to peck on the ones above the stage. When she indeed has to
sustain them, they sound fixed and mechanical, except at the occasional
mezza voce, which she handles commendably. On the other hand, Anke Vondung
does not look boyish at all as Octavian, but her high mezzo soprano
is taylor-made for the role, which she sings with the right combination
of elegance and animation. Moreover, she aptly portrays the character's
hubris that annoys the Marschallin in act I and looks charming to the
eyes of Sophie in act II. In this role, Japanese soprano Maki Mori offers
a reliable performance - her phrasing is always musicianly, but her
extreme high notes might acquire an acidulous patina and her delivery
of the text is rather indifferent. Other than this, she acts as if she
were playing Liesl von Trapp in The Sound of Music. Kurt Rydl's Ochs
is very much consistent with his studio performance for Bernard Haitink
(and the same orchestra), but his voice has grown rougher and less compact
these days. He has a good sense of comedy, balances well the rustic
and the ruling-class sides in his character and does not have to fake
a Viennese accent (because he was born there). Secondary roles are perfunctorily
taken. Considering the reputation of the Staatskapelle Dresden, it is
a pity that conductor Fabio Luisi is such a heavy-handed Straussian.
In spite of the warm and spacious recording, the sound picture lacks
polish, the strings' phrasing is indistinct and there is very little
structural clarity to speak of. The chamber-like accompaniment of the
Marschallin music tend to succomb under slow tempi and saccharine emotionalism,
while the kaleidoscopic music devised for Ochs sounds blurred and pointless.
Comparing these performance to Carlos Kleiber's DVDs from Vienna had
on me the same effect of wearing glasses for an astigmatic person.
IN CONCLUSION: The Kleiber family dominates the discography. Kleiber,
senior, has the Viennese flamboyance, the complete edition and some
paragons of Viennese singing style, while Kleiber, Jr. has two beautiful
videos, interesting casts and his energy and faithfulness to the score.
If pressed to choose, I’d pick the first because Jones, Fassbaender
and Popp are legendary singers who also act wonderfully. A serious collector
would want Böhm’s ideal conducting in Salzburg, despite his
casting problems. The remaining items in a collection depend on personal
preferences about this or that singer.
top
~Salome
1
- Birgit Nilsson (Salome), Grace Hoffmannn (Herodias), Gerhard Stolze (Herod),
Waldemar Kmentt (Narraboth), Eberhard Wächter (Jochanaan), Wiener Philharmoniker,
Georg Solti
2
- Christel Goltz (Salome), Siw Ericsdotttir (Herodias), Helmut Melchert (Herod),
Heinz Hoppe (Narraboth), Ernst Gutstein (Jochanaan), Staatskapelle Dresden, Suitner
3
- Montserrat Caballé (Salome), Regina Resnik (Herodias), Richard
Lewis (Herod), James King (Narraboth), Sherril Milnes (Jochanaan), London
Symphony, Erich Leinsdorf
4
- Leonie Rysanek (Salome), Grace Hoffman (Herodias), Hans Hopf (Herod),
Waldemar Kmentt (Naraboth), Eberhard Wächter (Jochanaan), Wiener
Staatsoper Orchester, Karl Böhm
5
- Gwyneth Jones (Salome), Mignon Dunn (Herodias), Richard Cassilly (Herod),
Wieslaw Ochmann (Narraboth), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Jochanaan), Hamburg
Oper, Karl Böhm
6
- Hildegard Behrens (Salome), Agnes Baltsa (Herodias), Karl-Walther
Böhm (Herod), Wieslaw Ochmann (Narraboth), José van Dam
(Jochanaan), Wiener Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
7
- Teresa Stratas (Salome), Astrid Varnay (Herodias), Hans Beirer (Herod),
Wieslaw Ochmann (Narraboth), Bernd Weikl (Jochanaan), Wiener Philharmoniker,
Karl Böhm
8
- Catherine Malfitano (Salome), Anja Silja (Herodias), Kenneth Riegel
(Herod), Robert Gambill (Narraboth), Bryn Terfel (Jochanaan), Orchestra
and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Cristoph von Dohnányi
9
- Maria Ewing (Salome), Gillian Knight (Herodias) Kenneth Riegel (Herod),
Robin Leggate (Narraboth), Michael Devlin (Jochanaan), Orchestra and
Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Edward Downes
10
- Cheryl Studer (Salome), Leonie Rysanek (Herodias), Horst Hiestermann
(Herod), Clemens Bieber (Narraboth), Bryn Terfel (Jochanaan), Deutsche
Oper, Giuseppe Sinopoli
11
- Catherine Malfitano (Salome), Leonie Rysanek (Herodias), Horst Hiestermann
(Herod), Clemens Bieber (Narraboth), Simon Estes (Jochanaan), Deutsche
Oper, Giuseppe Sinopoli
12
- Jessye Norman (Salome), Kerstin Witt (Herodias), Walter Raffeiner
(Herod), Richard Leech (Narraboth), James Morris (Jochanaan), Staatskapelle
Dresden, Seiji Ozawa
13
- Catherine Malfitano (Salome), Hanna Schwarz (Herodias), Kenneth Riegel
(Herod), Kim Begley (Narraboth), Bryn Terfel (Jochanaan), Wiener Philharmoniker,
Christoph von Dohnányi
Salome
was Strauss’s first big operatic success. The provocative theme
(the libretto is Hedwig Lachmann’s translation of Oscar Wilde’s
play with some cuts) had a great share in its its success in the occasion
of its première, but its original and colourful score and powerful
musical-dramatic effectsare the reason why it is considered one of the
great works in late Romantic operatic repertoire.
Otmar
Suitner’s recording is an underrated entry in this discography.
However, it is a most valuable recording. The Staatskapelle is in top
form and the conductor has such a masterly control of the musical material
that he reaches an almost unparalleled level of clarity and purposefulness
in this most difficult score. It is a pity that Christel Goltz, a legendary
Salome (she was a dancer and dramatic soprano at the same time) who
had recorded the part before, was really past her best here. She never
sounds young or even alluring, but shows her skill and insight - more
than that, her lifetime experience with the role in every second, even
when challenged in the most demanding passages. The rest of the cast,
although not exceptional, is incredibly natural and dramatically engaged.
The recorded sound is amazingly fresh for its age.
Leinsdorf’s
recording is primarily Montserrat Caballé’s recital. It
was one of her favourite roles and it was recorded here in here youthful
best and before she acquired mannerisms. The level of beauty, ease and
expression in her performance places it among the very best Straussian
recorded performances. The childish perversity of Oscar Wilde's character
is effectively conveyed and the eerie tone she acquires in Ach, ich
habe deinen Mund geküsst is really frightening. Regina Resnik is
characterful as Herodias, but I think that Richard Lewis should be singing
Narraboth and James King, the Herod. Although they offer most reliable
performances, one cannot help noticing that the exchange of roles would
be the more convincing - a matter of vocal personality. In spite of
his scarce aquaintance with Straussian style, Sherrill Milnes was in
excellent voice. The London Philharmonic is in top form, but Leinsdorf's
conducting is too irregular to make of it a full recommendation. Moreover,
sound perspectives are too variable. This is particularly annoying in
- of all places - the closing scene.
Producer
John Culshaw used all his technical possibilities to provide Solti recording
with atmosphere in plenty. I just wonder if there is not too much of
that. The effect of Nilsson whispering at your ear in the closing scene
sounds a bit artifficial and silly in my opinion, for example. Anyway,
the spectacular effect in this score, in theory, could fit Solti’s
early blustery conducting style, but the truth is that he avoids to
be excessively brutal this time. The Vienna Philharmonic is in great
shape, but the recorded sound really lacks naturality. Birgit Nilsson
is in silvery voice for Salome and produces some beautiful pianissimi,
but the performance (and not the voice) does not suggest the young alluring
selfish princess. It is a vocal tour de force nevertheless. Grace Hoffmann
is an unusually elegant Herodias and Eberhard Wächter adeptly suggests
the vehement nature of Jochanaan. However, I am less inclined to like
the tenors - I think that Kmentt is a bit artifficial and Stolze is
simply too charicatural to be taken seriously as the Herod.
As
Böhm was more concerned about making Strauss's less known operas
available to audiences worldwide, he was something of an infrequent
guest to Salome. It was one of the operas by Strauss he conducted less.
It is a pity, though, because his view of this work is fascinating.
He clearly sees it as grand guignol and the ironic elements of the score
appear very clearly, especially in the dance of the seven veils. Alas,
the orchestra and the cast are not reliable as the conductor. Gwyneth
Jones has a plausible voice for Salome, but it is too heavy for the
part and it gets more difficult for her to scale down as the opera goes
on. So, there is some raw and unsubtle singing, even if her energy and
commitment are admirable. Mignon Dunn is an excellent Herodias, sensuous
and noble in tone, but it is Richard Cassilly who offers the most satisfying
performance in this set. His Herod is aptly heroic and proud in tone.
For once, his infatuation with Salome does not sound ridiculous. Wieslaw
Ochmann is in the first of his many Narraboth and is reliable as always.
It is a pity that Fischer-Dieskau was too short of voice for Jochanaan
when he recorded it. He is struggling with the part most of the time
and he cannot be interesting under these circumstances. The recorded
sound is the typical broadcast of those days - it is clear but lacks
some space in the orchestra, but not around voices.
If
you would like to listen to Böhm's Salome in more natural theatrical
acoustics, then there is his 1972 performance recorded live in Vienna.
The recorded sound is spacious and vivid and voices are recorded with
plenty of space, but do not expect the last degree of clarity in the
most complex ensembles. That night, Böhm was at his most energetic,
producing a highly dramatic, dashing and exciting account of the score.
You do not need to be offered Jochanaan's head to feel like dancing
to such sensuous rhythmic account of the Dance of the Seven Veils! I
have a problem with Leonie Rysanek's Salome - it seems she is having
far more fun than us. She is so taken by the atmosphere that she does
not have time to concentrate on pitch, note values and vocal placement.
The result is at once animated and enervating. Eberhard Wächter
is a bit rough-toned, but is forceful and charismatic enough to survive
the competition with the leading lady. Next to these two, Mr. and Mrs.
Herod sound almost too pleasant for the circumstances. Grace Hoffman
is a fierce yet warm and firm-toned Herodias and the veteran Hans Hopf
offers a heroic and unexaggerated account of the role of the Herod.
Salome
is one of Karajan’s best operatic recordings. The Vienna Philharmonic
is in excellent shape; the conductor obtains from those musicians sounds
that are deeply theatrical and musically clear and shapely. Moreover,
he has a fabulous cast. Hildegard Behrens’s voice has never sounded
so beautiful in recordings. Her Salome is irresistibly sensuous and
she never resorts to ugly effects to make her theatrical points. It
is a Straussian performance of the highest calibre - fascinating and
vocally faultless. Agnes Baltsa’s tone is admirable for the part
of Herodias and Karl-Walther Böhm is a light unexaggerated Herod.
José Van Dam is in wonderful voice as Jochanaan and if one really
wants to find a fault here, it would be that his Prophet is too civilized
sometimes. The recorded sound could have more space and immediacy, though.
When
Böhm decided to take Salome to the studio, it was as a sountrack
for a film of Götz Friedrich. The performance is less flamboyant
than the live from Hamburg, but it counts with the Vienna Philharmonic
transparent’s sounds, which Böhm takes profit of to produce
a 100% clear and chamber music-like performance. Sometimes, one misses
a bit of orchestral impact, but this is in keeping with Böhm's
lighter and more sophisticated approach. He invited for the title role
the young Teresa Stratas, who looked her part and, with the help of
microphones, offered a most persuasive performance of Salome in which
she can be sweet or a harpy depending of the moment. Astrid Varnay finds
the comedy in her part and Hans Beirer is a heroic Herod. Bernd Weikl
is a lighter Jochanaan, but a very engaged one. Götz Friedrich’s
film finds the decadent, the comic and the bizarre in Oscar Wilde’s
play and counts with a cast of real singer actors.
The
recent transfer to DVD of the Covent Garden’s Salome did it a great
service. The recorded sound is natural and clear and highlights Edward
Downes’s lyrical approach to the score. He does not has many new
ideas about his music, but rather concentrates on making it sound the
most beautiful and clear it can. Even if the Covent Garden's is not
the best orchestra in the world, the result is more than acceptable.
The stage is a bit ugly and it seems singers are let to do what they
think to be best most of the time. Maria Ewing’s singing and acting
is a total misconception. She seems to be playing a harlot and not a
15 year old virgin princess. Although her diction is very clear and
the voice has a pleasing floated quality when not stressed (i.e., 15%
of the time), she is miles away from what Straussian singing should
be. First of all, the role is impossibly high for her voice and she
is unable to connect her top notes to the rest of the phrases they should
belong to. Also, she scoops, slides, shouts and - worse than that -
employs her own ideas of Sprechgesang and Sprechstimme whenever things
get difficult. It is an unacceptable performance. Gillian Knight is
rather light voiced for Herodias, but both tenors are good. In Kenneth
Riegel’s case, he is in strong voice and has completely idiomatic
German. Michael Devlin’s voice, on the other hand, is light-toned
for his role too and sounds tense most of the time.
Sinopoli’s
performance is highly theatrical and sometimes has more to do with explosive
effects than shapely phrasing. This is particularly noticeable because
of the Deutsche Oper orchestra, not in the level of their colleagues
in the Vienna or Dresden. The recorded sound is very immediate and allows
some orchestral storms from the loudspeakers, which, however, are kept
in control by Sinopoli’s firme pulse. He has an excellent cast.
Cheryl Studer’s purity of voice and clean phrasing evokes Ljuba
Wellitsch. It is a fascinating performance, with the childish aspects
of the role to the fore - Strauss would have been fascinated by it,
I am sure. She has a Jochanaan of her level in Bryn Terfel, in his first
major operatic recording, but sounding as an experienced singer with
his eloquent firm-toned performance. Clemens Bieber is a pleasant Narraboth,
but Rysanek and Hiesterman are past their bests and over the top as
Mr. and Mrs. Herod. Sinopoli has also conducted it live in Berlin -
the run of performances has been captured on video. Alas, the whole
affair is a bit disappointing. The staging is ugly and the orchestra
is recorded on the dim side. Catherine Malfitano is a nice actress but
sounds strained and unsubtle all the way (she is quite better in the
Dohnányi CDs). The rest of the cast is similar to the CDs, but
for Simon Estes’s Jochanaan, a bit vague as a performer, but the
owner of a dark-toned powerful voice.
Ozawa
finds the grand guignol in Salome too - but his way of showing it is
quite different from Böhm’s. It is shown in almost black-humor
perspective, with exaggerated effects and expressionistic vocal performances,
while the Staatskapelle Dresden offers impressive orchestral playing.
Jessye Norman is not a natural idea for the role of Salome. Her voice
is on the mezzo-ish side and far from girlish. However, she is a smart
singer and, although she is not entirely convincing, her tricks to sound
an adolescent are fascinating. Moreover, the development of the character
is all the more fascinating when Norman uses every sort of effect (including
some Sprechgesang-like touch-and-leave attack, which may displease some
Straussians) to perform a sadistic claim for Jochanaan’s head.
Kerstin Witt is the better behaved of soloists and her Herodias, although
reliably sung, does not leave a lasting impression. Richard Leech is
a sensuous-toned Narraboth with some full top notes, but Walther Raffeiner’s
Herod can sound really grotesque sometimes. Of course, to provide effective
contrast, James Morris makes a noble Jochanaan. His voice could be firmer,
though. The recorded sound is very clear and spacious.
In
his studio recording with the Vienna Philharmonic, Dohnányi displays
thorough sense of Straussian style. Helped by crystal-clear recording
and by utterly perfect playing from his orchestra, he builds a performance
that never overstates - he lets the score speak for itself. In his almost
Mozartian perspective of this music, harmonic clarity and masterly orchestral
balance allow disonances and instrumental effects to give life to Oscar
Wilde's darkly poetic atmosphere. Some may find that he lacks punch
for some more outspoken moment, but this is definitely the most sensuous
dance of the seven veils recorded. Alas, the cast does not share the
conductor's point of view. In the case of Catherine Malfitano, it is
not exactly a matter of approach, but of means. It is clear that she
has thought over and over about what kind of character Salome is, and
her understanding of the role - from the musical and dramatic points
of view - is evident in every note she sings. She always knows the right
tone colour for each word and moment and works hard for girlishness
when necessary. The problem is this role really takes her to her limits
and by that stage of her career, the natural brightness that would make
it work was no longer there. As a result, instability and downright
wobbling really creep in and prevent her in most cases to achieve the
desired effect. On the other hand, Bryn Terfel is in strong voice and
even darker and deeper than for Sinopoli. Kenneth Riegel is here too
much the Charaktertenor, acting with the voice in levels close to disturbing,
but the tone - if penetrating and far from flattering - is firm. Hanna
Schwarz does something similar, but knows better how to keep things
under better dramatic control and interact beautifully with her Herod.
Kim Begley does not sound young and passionate at all as Narraboth .
IN
CONCLUSION: The Karajan is my definitive choice - a perfect cast, intelligent
conducting and beautiful orchestral playing. Second options depend on personal
preferences for a particular soprano.
top
~Die
Schweigesame Frau
1
- Hilde Güden (Aminta), Georgine voon Milinkovic (The Governess), Fritz Wunderlich
(Henry), Hans Hotter (Sir Morosus), Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm
2
- Jeanette Scovotti (Aminta), Annelies BBurmeister (The Governess), Eberhard Büchner
(Henry), Theo Adam (Sir Morosus), Staatskapelle Dresden, Marek Janowski
The
Silent Woman is a most difficult opera to perform. Zweig’s libretto, inspired
on Ben Johnson (and remarkably similar to Donizetti’s Don Pasquale) is really
wordy and in Strauss’ constant indecision between music and words this time
words had the pride of place. The whole idea of musical theatre here makes us
think of Verdi’s Falstaff, but German may be more difficult to most listeners
than Italian and some editions don’t even offer a translation!
The
natural choice here would be Karl Böhm’s recording and the performance
itself is simply perfect and wonderfully cast, but the source is a pirate recording
with very poor quality. So, I guess that the Janowski should be anyone‘s
first idea. The orchestral playing and conducting are of outstanding level, but,
apart from Theo Adam’s characterful Morosus, all the other singers are efficient,
no more.
top
re:opera
homepage