Karajan

[gerberk]

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. EMI Classics.

"If I could hear only one opera for the rest of my life, it would have to be
Die Meistersinger,
and so if I were sent to Siberia with only one record album, it would be
the album here reviewed.
Hearing it has been a joy, a profound and moving experience."

Hans Sachs - Theo Adam
Vett Pogner - Karl Ridderbusch
Kunz Vogelgezang - Eberhard Büchner
Konrad Nachtigall - Horst Lunow
Sixtus Beckmesser - Geraint Evans
Fritz Kothner - Zoltan Kélémen
Walther von Stolzing - René Kollo
David - Peter Schreier
Eva - Helen Donath
Magdalene - Ruth Hesse

Chor der Staatsoper Dresden - Chor des Leipziger Rundfunks
Staatskapelle Dresden

Herbert von Karajan

[Mike Scott Rohan]

Post by gerberk
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. EMI Classics.
"If I could hear only one opera for the rest of my life, it would have to be
Die Meistersinger,
and so if I were sent to Siberia with only one record album, it would be
the album here reviewed.
Hearing it has been a joy, a profound and moving experience."
Hans Sachs - Theo Adam
Vett Pogner - Karl Ridderbusch
Kunz Vogelgezang - Eberhard Büchner
Konrad Nachtigall - Horst Lunow
Sixtus Beckmesser - Geraint Evans
Fritz Kothner - Zoltan Kélémen
Walther von Stolzing - René Kollo
David - Peter Schreier
Eva - Helen Donath
Magdalene - Ruth Hesse
Chor der Staatsoper Dresden - Chor des Leipziger Rundfunks
Staatskapelle Dresden
Herbert von Karajan

When it came out this was an immensely controversial interpretation -- bear in mind that people at that time accused Kempe of turning Wagner into chamber music! Karajan's approach seemed even more diminishing. I personally don't hear that; I think it's a natural consequence of K's increasing quest for sheer sensual beauty in the orchestral side of opera, which was soon to produce some less happy results -- in his Pelleas et Melisande, for example, which is glutinous, and in aspects of his Tristan, where he often had Vickers reducing his natural tones to the point of crooning. His Meistersinger doesn't go that far, but for me it does devitalise some of the sparkle and crispness that one can find in it. It's immensely persuasive, I understand your admiration for it, but -- for me -- it's not definitive.

One reason is that K paid less heed to the effect of the voices, notably the Sachs and David, Adam and Schreier, who are distinctly dry in tone and in Adam's case notoriously unsteady by then. Even Kollo isn't exactly honeyed compared to contemporaries -- Sandor Konya, for example. There's a suspicion that politics lay behind the choice; Adam in particular was a force in East German musical affairs, so much so that it was hard to make a Wagner recording without him. I heard him on stage about this time, and was surprised, as I've said before, how much better he sounded live; but he still wasn't equal to the Karajan sound. He may have been partly the price paid for being allowed to use the celebrated Dresden sound, with their unique old instruments. But the result -- again, for me -- is a slight feeling that the voices are slightly detached from the flowing orchestral stream, rather than integrated with it.

For me it's possible to find a different kind of beauty in the music, less over-egged, drier and crisper and better balanced with the voices-- champagne brut instead of Benedictine, if you like. Kubelik comes very close to that, I think, lacking only that extra warmth and inherent smile. Solti's final version comes close, but it's flawed for other reasons; Sawallisch too, a little generalized. But for me Kempe has a lot of what Karajan doesn't, mono sound, reedy Walther and all. No doubt others will have their own ideas!

Cheers,

Mike

[Bert Coules]

When it came out this was an immensely controversial interpretation...

Yes, indeed - but what I remember as being even more to the fore at the time
was the simple fact that it came out at all. It was an *event*, in the way
that very few Wagner recordings have been since (and indeed, had been
before): the first commercial stereo Meistersinger, the first alternative to
the old mono Kempe which had been the only available version for so long.
The Wagner Society held a public pre-release playback which packed out the
sizeable Rufdolf Steiner Hall in London.

[Herman van der Woude]

Post by Bert Coules

When it came out this was an immensely controversial interpretation...

Yes, indeed - but what I remember as being even more to the fore at the time
was the simple fact that it came out at all. It was an *event*, in the way
that very few Wagner recordings have been since (and indeed, had been
before): the first commercial stereo Meistersinger, the first alternative to
the old mono Kempe which had been the only available version for so long. The
Wagner Society held a public pre-release playback which packed out the
sizeable Rufdolf Steiner Hall in London.

I still hear it as a superb recording.

[Jay Kauffman]

Post by Bert Coules

When it came out this was an immensely controversial interpretation...

Yes, indeed - but what I remember as being even more to the fore at the time
was the simple fact that it came out at all. It was an *event*, in the way
that very few Wagner recordings have been since (and indeed, had been
before): the first commercial stereo Meistersinger, the first alternative to
the old mono Kempe which had been the only available version for so long.
The Wagner Society held a public pre-release playback which packed out the
sizeable Rufdolf Steiner Hall in London.

But wasn't the Eurodisc Keilberth set from 1963 the first stereo Meistersinger????

[Bert Coules]

Post by Jay Kauffman
But wasn't the Eurodisc Keilberth set from
1963 the first stereo Meistersinger?

Is that the one with Otto Wiener's Sachs sounding like an even more than
usually unpleasant Alberich? Was it ever widely commercially available in
the UK, or only as a specialist import? My impression now is that by the
time the Karajan was released the Keilberth had come, gone and been
forgotten.

But technically, yes, the Karajan was not the first stereo recording.
Thanks for the correction.

On the subject of Alberich/Sachs hybrids, I've just been reminded that
Gustav Neidlinger sang the cobbler in Bayreuth in the late fifties under
André Clutyens. That I would like to hear.

[Jay Kauffman]

Post by Bert Coules

Post by Jay Kauffman
But wasn't the Eurodisc Keilberth set from
1963 the first stereo Meistersinger?

Is that the one with Otto Wiener's Sachs sounding like an even more than
usually unpleasant Alberich? Was it ever widely commercially available in
the UK, or only as a specialist import? My impression now is that by the
time the Karajan was released the Keilberth had come, gone and been
forgotten.
But technically, yes, the Karajan was not the first stereo recording.
Thanks for the correction.
On the subject of Alberich/Sachs hybrids, I've just been reminded that
Gustav Neidlinger sang the cobbler in Bayreuth in the late fifties under
André Clutyens. That I would like to hear.

Neidlinger also sang it in Buenos Aries and its better than you would think. Wiener is really awful on that 63 set and its hard to enjoy Meistersinger with a bad Sachs.

[Bert Coules]

Neidlinger also sang it in Buenos Aries and it's better than you would
think.

Was it recorded? Or the Bayreuth performance? I must check. He also sang
Kothner, I believe, and was known for some broad comic roles too. The
intelligence and subtlety of his Alberich certainly does suggest that he
could well have been a versatile enough actor-singer to encompass a wide
range of parts, however strongly associated he was with one particular type.
There's an interesting, if reversed, parallel in Derek Hammond Stroud, a
celebrated buffo performer whose casting as Alberich raised not a few
eyebrows but which turned out to be a triumph.

[Jay Kauffman]

Post by Bert Coules

Neidlinger also sang it in Buenos Aries and it's better than you would
think.

Was it recorded? Or the Bayreuth performance? I must check. He also sang
Kothner, I believe, and was known for some broad comic roles too. The
intelligence and subtlety of his Alberich certainly does suggest that he
could well have been a versatile enough actor-singer to encompass a wide
range of parts, however strongly associated he was with one particular type.
There's an interesting, if reversed, parallel in Derek Hammond Stroud, a
celebrated buffo performer whose casting as Alberich raised not a few
eyebrows but which turned out to be a triumph.

Yes the 57 Bayreuth is available commercially on Walhall, the 68 Teatro Colon through private sources - here is a sample. The end of a long evening and there is some shouting but you hear some of the subtlety you get earlier on

[Bert Coules]

Jay, thanks for that. Very interesting. Neidlinger is a little hard-edged
to be an ideal Sachs for me, but his command of the part is clear. And to
judge from the audience reaction, the whole show was a great success.

[Mike Scott Rohan]

Post by Bert Coules

Neidlinger also sang it in Buenos Aries and it's better than you would
think.

Was it recorded? Or the Bayreuth performance? I must check. He also sang
Kothner, I believe, and was known for some broad comic roles too. The
intelligence and subtlety of his Alberich certainly does suggest that he
could well have been a versatile enough actor-singer to encompass a wide
range of parts, however strongly associated he was with one particular type.
There's an interesting, if reversed, parallel in Derek Hammond Stroud, a
celebrated buffo performer whose casting as Alberich raised not a few
eyebrows but which turned out to be a triumph.

Yes, although at the time of the Goodall Gotterdammerung Opera Magazine was saying he should stick to G&S! He didn't have as huge a voice as Neidlinger, but part of both their power was their superb diction.

Neidlinger, so far as I know, only appeared once on video, as Pizzaro in Karl Bohm's Fidelio, and it was a great disappointment to me. No trace of the verbal subtlety I expected, and appalling acting -- like a Bela Lugosi imitator. Gottlob Frick was equally disappointing; I only ever saw him live as a dignified Gurnemanz, but his Caspar in the Hamburg Freischutz is a capering ham with the general aspect of Captain Haddock.

Cheers,

Mike

[Bert Coules]

Mike, I recall that when Hammond Stroud first played Alberich (was it in The
Twilight of the Gods?) he performed the role in a sort of
super-Sprechtgesang style, whispering, shouting, speaking, almost doing
everything but singing. One critic wrote (from memory): "If he is to be
given the part in Rhinegold, I beg him to rethink his approach". I wondered
at the time if it was a deliberate attempt to break away from his well-known
G&S-type vocal style and general comic personality, but then I came across
an interview in which he quoted Goodall in rehearsal: "More Sprecht! More
Sprecht!". Given Goodall's penchant for bringing out the melodic and
lyrical elsewhere, it's an interesting insight. He did tone the style down
considerably - almost completely, in fact - in later outings.

Your reaction to Neidlinger on film parallels mine to Hotter in the YouTube
clip.

[Mike Scott Rohan]

Post by Bert Coules
Mike, I recall that when Hammond Stroud first played Alberich (was it in The
Twilight of the Gods?) he performed the role in a sort of
super-Sprechtgesang style, whispering, shouting, speaking, almost doing
everything but singing. One critic wrote (from memory): "If he is to be
given the part in Rhinegold, I beg him to rethink his approach". I wondered
at the time if it was a deliberate attempt to break away from his well-known
G&S-type vocal style and general comic personality, but then I came across
an interview in which he quoted Goodall in rehearsal: "More Sprecht! More
Sprecht!". Given Goodall's penchant for bringing out the melodic and
lyrical elsewhere, it's an interesting insight. He did tone the style down
considerably - almost completely, in fact - in later outings.

Yes, I didn't see the first run of Twilight -- had to wait till it came to Oxford on tour (those were the days!) -- but by then his performance was very much as it is on disc. His approach always seemed to me to be strongly word-based, a lieder-singer's method -- based perhaps on his studies with Gerhard Husch. Could be Goodall found it a shade "pretty" at first. Certainly the degree of malevolence he managed to get into the role was amazing, given that his own manner always seemed to be a sort of benign twinkly camp.

Post by Bert Coules
Your reaction to Neidlinger on film parallels mine to Hotter in the YouTube
clip.

I don't know -- I could see something of Hotter's reputation in that, although perhaps it was a miscalculated effort for the camera (Culshaw records he was always trying something new). Even his Don Basilio, if you've seen that, didn't seem quite so hyperactive. But Neidlinger seemed unrecognisable compared to his sound-only performances. That recording is also on Youtube, by the way!

Cheers,

Mike

[Mike Scott Rohan]

Post by Jay Kauffman
Neidlinger also sang it in Buenos Aries and its better than you would think. Wiener is really awful on that 63 set and its hard to enjoy Meistersinger with a bad Sachs.

Yes, indeed. I gather he was cast because he was a particularly popular Sachs with one company, one of those singers who own a role locally; no accounting for taste, if so, or it must have been his acting. He was almost as bad as the Herald in Kempe's Lohengrin, an extraordinary adenoidal tone.

Cheers,

Mike

[Dogbertd]

Post by Mike Scott Rohan

Post by gerberk
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. EMI Classics.
"If I could hear only one opera for the rest of my life, it would have
to be>> Die Meistersinger,
and so if I were sent to Siberia with only one record album, it would
be>> the album here reviewed.
Hearing it has been a joy, a profound and moving experience."
<snip>
Chor der Staatsoper Dresden - Chor des Leipziger Rundfunks
Staatskapelle Dresden
Herbert von Karajan

When it came out this was an immensely controversial interpretation --
bear in mind that people at that time accused Kempe of turning Wagner
into chamber music! Karajan's approach seemed even more diminishing. I
personally don't hear that; I think it's a natural consequence of K's
increasing quest for sheer sensual beauty in the orchestral side of
opera, which was soon to produce some less happy results -- in his
Pelleas et Melisande, for example, which is glutinous, and in aspects
of his Tristan, where he often had Vickers reducing his natural tones
to the point of crooning. His Meistersinger doesn't go that far, but
for me it does devitalise some of the sparkle and crispness that one
can find in it. It's immensely persuasive, I understand your admiration
for it, but -- for me -- it's not definitive.
One reason is that K paid less heed to the effect of the voices,
notably the Sachs and David, Adam and Schreier, who are distinctly dry
in tone and in Adam's case notoriously unsteady by then. Even Kollo
isn't exactly honeyed compared to contemporaries -- Sandor Konya, for
example. There's a suspicion that politics lay behind the choice; Adam
in particular was a force in East German musical affairs, so much so
that it was hard to make a Wagner recording without him. I heard him on
stage about this time, and was surprised, as I've said before, how much
better he sounded live; but he still wasn't equal to the Karajan sound.
He may have been partly the price paid for being allowed to use the
celebrated Dresden sound, with their unique old instruments. But the
result -- again, for me -- is a slight feeling that the voices are
slightly detached from the flowing orchestral stream, rather than
integrated with it.
For me it's possible to find a different kind of beauty in the music,
less over-egged, drier and crisper and better balanced with the
voices-- champagne brut instead of Benedictine, if you like. Kubelik
comes very close to that, I think, lacking only that extra warmth and
inherent smile. Solti's final version comes close, but it's flawed for
other reasons; Sawallisch too, a little generalized. But for me Kempe
has a lot of what Karajan doesn't, mono sound, reedy Walther and all.
No doubt others will have their own ideas!
Cheers,
Mike

I think you're right about the Karajan (2) Mike. I have both the
Karajans as well as the Kempe, Kubelik and Solti (1) - the latter was
the recording I learned the piece from, so it's hors concours for me. I
like both the K recordings, but my sneaky favourite is Knappertsbusch
Bayreuth from 52. I wish we'd had *that* in glorious stereo.

But here's the thing about Meistersinger: after a while you stop caring
which recording you're listening to (or I do, certainly) and simply get
lost in the work, which is not something I find with other Wagner
operas. I always think of Cosima's remark about how astonishing this
opera is considering Wagner's circumstances at the time: "When future
generations seek refreshment in this unique work, may they spare a
thought for the tears from which the smiles arose."

Dogbertd

[Jay Kauffman]

Post by gerberk
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. EMI Classics.
"If I could hear only one opera for the rest of my life, it would have to be>> Die Meistersinger,
and so if I were sent to Siberia with only one record album, it would be>> the album here reviewed.
Hearing it has been a joy, a profound and moving experience."
<snip>
Chor der Staatsoper Dresden - Chor des Leipziger Rundfunks
Staatskapelle Dresden
Herbert von Karajan
When it came out this was an immensely controversial interpretation -- bear in mind that people at that time accused Kempe of turning Wagner into chamber music! Karajan's approach seemed even more diminishing. I personally don't hear that; I think it's a natural consequence of K's increasing quest for sheer sensual beauty in the orchestral side of opera, which was soon to produce some less happy results -- in his Pelleas et Melisande, for example, which is glutinous, and in aspects of his Tristan, where he often had Vickers reducing his natural tones to the point of crooning. His Meistersinger doesn't go that far, but for me it does devitalise some of the sparkle and crispness that one can find in it. It's immensely persuasive, I understand your admiration for it, but -- for me -- it's not definitive.
One reason is that K paid less heed to the effect of the voices, notably the Sachs and David, Adam and Schreier, who are distinctly dry in tone and in Adam's case notoriously unsteady by then. Even Kollo isn't exactly honeyed compared to contemporaries -- Sandor Konya, for example. There's a suspicion that politics lay behind the choice; Adam in particular was a force in East German musical affairs, so much so that it was hard to make a Wagner recording without him. I heard him on stage about this time, and was surprised, as I've said before, how much better he sounded live; but he still wasn't equal to the Karajan sound. He may have been partly the price paid for being allowed to use the celebrated Dresden sound, with their unique old instruments. But the result -- again, for me -- is a slight feeling that the voices are slightly detached from the flowing orchestral stream, rather than integrated with it.
For me it's possible to find a different kind of beauty in the music, less over-egged, drier and crisper and better balanced with the voices-- champagne brut instead of Benedictine, if you like. Kubelik comes very close to that, I think, lacking only that extra warmth and inherent smile. Solti's final version comes close, but it's flawed for other reasons; Sawallisch too, a little generalized. But for me Kempe has a lot of what Karajan doesn't, mono sound, reedy Walther and all. No doubt others will have their own ideas!
Cheers,
Mike
I think you're right about the Karajan (2) Mike. I have both the Karajans as well as the Kempe, Kubelik and Solti (1) - the latter was the recording I learned the piece from, so it's hors concours for me. I like both the K recordings, but my sneaky favourite is Knappertsbusch Bayreuth from 52. I wish we'd had *that* in glorious stereo. 
But here's the thing about Meistersinger: after a while you stop caring which recording you're listening to (or I do, certainly) and simply get lost in the work, which is not something I find with other Wagner operas. I always think of Cosima's remark about how astonishing this opera is considering Wagner's circumstances at the time: "When future generations seek refreshment in this unique work, may they spare a thought for the tears from which the smiles arose." 
Dogbertd

That's an interesting point \ - there is not a complete Meistersinger recording I actively dislike through and through and I guess that says more abut the work itself than the performnance at hand

[wkasimer]

Post by Jay Kauffman
That's an interesting point \ - there is not a complete Meistersinger recording I actively dislike through and through

I actively dislike the 1951 Karajan - poorly cast and recorded. And I have a hard time with Furtwangler's 1943 recording, mostly due to Lorenz, but Manowarda is no prize, either.

Bill

[Bert Coules]

...there is not a complete Meistersinger recording
I actively dislike through and through...

Is the Toscanini live Salzburg recording from the late thirties still
available anywhere? I must check. It's years since I heard it, but I
remember breakneck pace, very loud singing and pretty terrible sound. I
also remember rather enjoying it.

[NeverMind]

On Mon, 17 Mar 2014 22:11:00 -0000, "Bert Coules"

Post by Bert Coules

...there is not a complete Meistersinger recording
I actively dislike through and through...

Is the Toscanini live Salzburg recording from the late thirties still
available anywhere? I must check. It's years since I heard it, but I
remember breakneck pace, very loud singing and pretty terrible sound. I
also remember rather enjoying it.

I have it on disc, and the sound is, shall we say 'interesting'.

[Bert Coules]

I just discovered the Toscanini CD set on Amazon UK - at £392! On the same
page is a listing for the Haitink Covent Garden set: yours for a mere
£682.99. Does anyone actually pay these prices?

[Herman van der Woude]

Post by Bert Coules
I just discovered the Toscanini CD set on Amazon UK - at £392! On the same
page is a listing for the Haitink Covent Garden set: yours for a mere
£682.99. Does anyone actually pay these prices?

In one word: no!

[wkasimer]

I like both the K recordings, but my sneaky favourite is Knappertsbusch Bayreuth from 52. I wish we'd had *that* in glorious stereo. <<<

My own sneaky favorite is actually Kna 1960, recently issued by Myto in pretty good sound. Greindl is hardly a flawless vocalist, but he is an extraordinarily characterful Sachs, and does a minimum of the sort of bellowing that's tough to listen to elsewhere. Grummer and a youngish Windgassen don't hurt, either. Adam sings Pogner, BTW, and Ludwig Weber is Kothner (!). Vastly better than the sum of its parts, though.

BTW, beware of the alleged Krips performance from 1961. The end of Act 1 and part of Act 2 is actually a different performance (I believe it's 1957 with Neidlinger as Sachs).

But here's the thing about Meistersinger: after a while you stop caring which recording you're listening to (or I do, certainly) and simply get lost in the work, <<<

Absolutely.

Bill

[Mike Scott Rohan]

Post by wkasimer

But here's the thing about Meistersinger: after a while you stop caring which recording you're listening to (or I do, certainly) and simply get lost in the work, <<<

Absolutely.
Bill

But then that's to a large extent true for most sound-only performances of Wagner -- with the obvious exception of actual murder, Otto Wiener's Sachs being a prime example. The worst danger is a kind of insidious guilty boredom creeping in, even to a performance you thought you were enjoying, when you find yourself wondering if it's you that's going stale. And then you turn to a much better one, and suddenly it's all right. I'm afraid Harmut Haenchen's conducting often affects me that way, for all his efforts at authenticity; I think he either gets tired in the middle, and lets things sag, or (as sometimes happened to Goodall) he finds himself enjoying the music so much he "stops to listen"!

But I think Meistersinger has been pretty lucky in recordings, all told -- although I was disappointed in Silvio Varviso's, and far more deeply so in Eugen Jochum's. Domingo I could tolerate, but F-D as Sachs was a terrible let-down; whatever Sachs is, he's not a sleek Berlin intellectual.

Cheers,

Mike

[Jay Kauffman]

Post by Mike Scott Rohan

Post by wkasimer

But here's the thing about Meistersinger: after a while you stop caring which recording you're listening to (or I do, certainly) and simply get lost in the work, <<<

Absolutely.
Bill

But then that's to a large extent true for most sound-only performances of Wagner -- with the obvious exception of actual murder, Otto Wiener's Sachs being a prime example. The worst danger is a kind of insidious guilty boredom creeping in, even to a performance you thought you were enjoying, when you find yourself wondering if it's you that's going stale. And then you turn to a much better one, and suddenly it's all right. I'm afraid Harmut Haenchen's conducting often affects me that way, for all his efforts at authenticity; I think he either gets tired in the middle, and lets things sag, or (as sometimes happened to Goodall) he finds himself enjoying the music so much he "stops to listen"!
But I think Meistersinger has been pretty lucky in recordings, all told -- although I was disappointed in Silvio Varviso's, and far more deeply so in Eugen Jochum's. Domingo I could tolerate, but F-D as Sachs was a terrible let-down; whatever Sachs is, he's not a sleek Berlin intellectual.
Cheers,
Mike

Yes the Jochum is odd - Fi-Di was eagerly awaited and I'm not sure what happened funny thing his live Munich from 79 is much better. Perhaps since he has to sing out more, it doesn't give him that much time to gild the unnecessary lily. I understand the miscast Ligendza was a late substitution for someone else I can't remember. I like the 51 Bayreuth more than others - the 51 Schwarzkopf was in her absolute vocal prime and there isn't as much of the arched eyebrow we got later on. Edelmann was never the most insightful singer but here he is early on with an actual singing tone throughout which normally wouldn't be asking much till you here some of the other recorded Sachs. I really like the live performance ambience as well. I'm not sure I have a favorite Meistersinger - again each seems to have some attraction and the work, as stated by others tends to grab me regardless.

[Bert Coules]

I rather enjoyed the Varviso from Bayreuth: I like its energy and
theatricality. It has the distinction, if so it be, of being one of the
very few recorded Meistersingers that make me laugh.

The main problem I had with the Jochum is that FischerDiskeau and Domingo
are so completely different in every way: each has the unfortunate effect of
pointing up the idiosyncrasies of the other. I didn't know that there was a
live recording of F-D in the role.

[Herman van der Woude]

Bert Coules schreef op 19-3-2014 het volgende:
Bert Coules wrote on 19-3-2014 as follows:

[snip]

Post by Bert Coules
The main problem I had with the Jochum is that FischerDiskeau and Domingo
are so completely different in every way: each has the unfortunate effect of
pointing up the idiosyncrasies of the other. I didn't know that there was a
live recording of F-D in the role.

A radio recording from the Bavarian Radio (Bayerische Rundfunk). The
performance was from The Bavarian State Opera (conductor Wolfgang
Sawallisch? I'm not sure). When it was broadcasted in the late '70s my
father made a reel tape recording of it. I think I still have it.
F-D as Sachs was for me an enormous disappointment as he sang the role
in a "Sprech-Gesang", more like declamation of the role.. It was
totally out of line with the lyric character of the opera, and indeed
with the character of Sachs himself.

[gerberk]

The Varviso allthough superbe is very noisy with coughing and stage
noises.Listening over the boxes speakers is no problem but with a headphone
it is irritating

Post by Bert Coules
I rather enjoyed the Varviso from Bayreuth: I like its energy and
theatricality. It has the distinction, if so it be, of being one of the
very few recorded Meistersingers that make me laugh.
The main problem I had with the Jochum is that FischerDiskeau and Domingo
are so completely different in every way: each has the unfortunate effect
of pointing up the idiosyncrasies of the other. I didn't know that there
was a live recording of F-D in the role.

[Bert Coules]

The Varviso although superb is very noisy with coughing and stage noises.

That's one of the reasons I like it: it has the genuine atmosphere of the
theatre. Admittedly, though, I don't use headphones.

[Mike Scott Rohan]

Post by Bert Coules

The Varviso although superb is very noisy with coughing and stage noises.

That's one of the reasons I like it: it has the genuine atmosphere of the
theatre. Admittedly, though, I don't use headphones.

That's one of my problems with the Varviso, but more serious for me are imbalances in the cast. Cox was a better singer than he was sometimes made out to be (I was surprised by how good a Siegfried he managed in Warsaw, after he'd retired) but he's a scrawny Walther. And the Beckmesser I found utterly forgettable -- as witness, I can't remember his name. Ridderbusch's Sachs seemed warm enough but a bit characterless, and likewise Hannelore Bode's Eva (she did better for Solti). Sotin was a superb Pogner, certainly, and the David and Magdalene (Anna Reynolds, who died recently) are pretty good, and Varviso himself has some sparkle, but for me it just didn't add up as -- for example -- Kempe does.

Cheers,

Mike

[gggg gggg]

Post by gerberk
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. EMI Classics.
"If I could hear only one opera for the rest of my life, it would have to be
Die Meistersinger,
and so if I were sent to Siberia with only one record album, it would be
the album here reviewed.
Hearing it has been a joy, a profound and moving experience."
Hans Sachs - Theo Adam
Vett Pogner - Karl Ridderbusch
Kunz Vogelgezang - Eberhard Büchner
Konrad Nachtigall - Horst Lunow
Sixtus Beckmesser - Geraint Evans
Fritz Kothner - Zoltan Kélémen
Walther von Stolzing - René Kollo
David - Peter Schreier
Eva - Helen Donath
Magdalene - Ruth Hesse
Chor der Staatsoper Dresden - Chor des Leipziger Rundfunks
Staatskapelle Dresden
Herbert von Karajan

(Recent Youtube upload):

Wagner's Meistersinger, Salzburg 1974: Karajan/Ridderbusch/Kollo/Janowitz/Schreier/Leib/Hendrikx