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Title: Overview: Wagner. By: Lucano, Ralph V., American Record Guide, 00030716,
Jul/Aug2002, Vol. 65, Issue 4
Database: MasterFILE Premier

OVERVIEW: WAGNER

Listen American Accent

We warned, in our last Wagner overview (March/April 1994), that collecting recordings of the
operas can be infinitely rewarding and perilously addictive, not to mention expensive. Many of the
best sets are full price, and there's a bewildering variety of choices. Since 1994, some prices
have come down, and the major labels have, with a few notable exceptions, stopped issuing
complete Wagner recordings. The bootleg companies, on the other hand, have been working
overtime; we've reviewed dozens of their Wagner offerings in the past eight years. It seems as if
every Bayreuth, Salzburg, and Met broadcast will eventually be issued on CD--a gratifying if
daunting prospect. Met recordings cannot legally be sold in this country, but they are easy enough
to buy from foreign dealers, via the internet. I take great pleasure in listening to many of them
(from the 30s to the 60s), but it's perhaps not ethical to condone copyright violations (though why
the Met itself would withhold its bounty of Flagstad, Melchior, Schorr, and Lehmann broadcasts is
both a mystery and a historical injustice). Labels like Melodram and Myto have flooded the market
with Bayreuth recordings, but the Bayreuth tag does not guarantee excellence. In his
autobiography Acts, Wolfgang Wagner makes it clear that the need to keep the festival going
overrode any concern about the available talent. Most listeners, in any case, would prefer to hear
Wagner in professionally engineered recordings with the best possible sound. Hence our
suggestions for a basic Wagner library. Our guide is selective. We make no attempt to discuss all
the recordings available, we give short shrift to unauthorized issues (out of necessity rather than
propriety--it's impossible to keep up with them), and we omit mention of studio recordings that
found no champion in any of our critics.

The perfect Wagner recording should have great singers, great sound, and a great conductor
(though our reviewers' prejudices place the artists above the sound). Sometimes--Solti's
Götterdämmerung--we come pretty close to the ideal. More often, compromises have to be
accepted. The best Wagner singers of the century disappeared long before the advent of digital
technology, but to understand how Wagner should be sung, it's absolutely necessary to

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investigate some of the oldest recordings. (Were it still available, EMI's big boxed set of historical
performances, "Wagner on Record", would have served perfectly; hope for its return.) Knowing,
however, that the sonic limitations of even Furtwängler's Tristan or Kempe's Meistersinger might
dissuade novices from fully immersing themselves in the music, we have tried to recommend
listener-friendly recordings as far as possible.

The Flying Dutchman

More than the other operas, Dutchman falls neatly into set pieces (arias, duets, choruses), and
that makes it a particularly approachable starting point. The opera requires two big, exciting voices
for the main characters. The Dutchman is Wagner's first heldenbariton role, and Senta is the
prototypical female savior. All of us mention Dorati's 1960 Decca recording. George London and
Leonie Rysanek were the last great Dutchman-Senta pair, he with his rough-hewn, charismatic
baritone and she with her electrifying top notes and manic fervor. The supporting players--Giorgio
Tozzi's Daland, Karl Liebl's Erik, Richard Lewis's Steersman--are able, and the sound, despite
some exaggerated stereo separation, is good. No one much likes Dorati's stodgy conducting,
however.

The same two principals can be heard in a livelier but poorer sounding 1959 Bayreuth
performance on Melodram, led by Sawallisch. Kurt Moses's favorite modern Dutchman is
Karajan's on EMI. Jose Van Dam is a robust, slightly lightweight hero, but we don't all like Dunja
Vejzovic's Senta. Franz Konwitschny's 1962 recording (originally EMI; reissued by Berlin) also
suffers from a lackluster Senta (an oddly insensitive Marianne Schech), but it has a capable Erik
in Rudolf Schock and the best Steersman of all in Fritz Wunderlich. Fischer-Dieskau is the
Dutchman: great insight, wrong sort of voice. He still commands respect.

John McKelvey is happy with Böhm on DG and wishes he had been conducting Rysanek and
London rather than Gwyneth Jones and Thomas Stewart, though she has some lovely, glowing
moments in the great duet. Klemperer's Dutchman (EMI), much admired by the British press, has
a certain architectural strength as well as committed but precarious vocalism from Theo Adam
and Anja Silja. Silja's white-hot Senta can also be heard paired with the Dutchman of Franz Crass
in a 1961 Philips (also MHS) recording from Bayreuth. Her vocal squalliness mitigates much of
her intensity, but Crass's Dutchman is the most sonorously sung of all. (He stepped out of the
chorus to substitute for an indisposed George London, and his career took off.) Sawallisch is the
conductor, and listeners who enjoy hearing prime Dutchman singers in different combinations
might want to investigate an inexpensive Opera D'Oro release of a 1966 performance that
conjoins the same maestro with Crass and Rysanek.

A cheap Naxos recording packs some thrills, thanks to Pinchas Steinberg's conducting, and is
good value for the money; but with a Papageno-like Dutchman, a Daland who sounds like he's
being garroted, and a Senta who seems to wobble rather than leap off the pier, it doesn't deserve
the accolades it's won.

Since 1994, we've had three new studio recordings. James Levine conducts Deborah Voigt,
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James Morris, and Ben Heppner in a performance that promises more than it delivers (Sony).
Levine seems to have confused Dutchman with Parsifal; his catatonic tempos tax the singers and
foil any dramatic impetus. Despite the vocal talent, this is almost impossible to sit through. Better
is Dohnanyi on Decca, with Hildegard Behrens and Robert Hale--a sober, sensible performance,
well recorded but smacking more of the concert hall than the theater. Better still is Sinopoli on DG,
recorded in 1991 but not released until 1998. It was never sent to us for review. Cheryl Studer is
the most ingratiating Senta since Rysanek: febrile and feminine, with blazing top notes. Erik is a
role well suited to Domingo's often uncomprehending approach to Wagner (the character is a
winning suitor but rather out of it). Hans Sotin is a stalwart Daland, Peter Seiffert a decent
Steersman. Weikl sometimes brings strong, handsome tone to bear on the Dutchman's
effusions, but he doesn't know what to do when Sinopoli drags out the music. The conductor is no
help to him at all. Studer, on the other hand, has the vocal resources to vary her dynamics and
inflect her tone so as to keep the line flowing. Sinopoli is uneven: he rises to the great ensembles
(a smashing final scene among them) but his attention wanders in the solo passages.

Any of the complete recordings must be supplemented by a sample of Schorr's Dutchman, the
greatest of the century. Try Preiser 89052 or Pearl 9944. Hans Hotter was a worthy successor to
Schorr, but seek out his 1944 recording with Clemens Krauss for his sake alone (Acanta). The
first Bayreuth Dutchman to be professionally recorded on LP, by Decca in 1955, still has its
moments; but the splendid acting skills of Astrid Varnay and Hermann Uhde are offset by
unalluring vocalism. That's emphatically not true of the startling, passionate Flagstad and the
mellifluous Herbert Janssen in a much-circulated 1937 Covent Garden performance led by Fritz
Reiner. Try, at least, the set of excerpts issued by Standing Room Only, but don't expect great
sound.

London, Rysanek/Dorati Decca 460738

Weikl, Studer/Sinopoli DG 437778

Tannhäuser
There are significant differences between the first ("Dresden") and the final ("Paris") versions of
Tannhäuser. Most of us prefer Paris, with its sensuous, extended Venusberg music, even though
the entirely pre-Tristan Dresden is more consistent in style. Solti's well-engineered Paris
Tannhäuser (1970) offers the best combination of excitement and fervor; the conductor's "orgasm
every other minute" approach (Mr Milazzo's description) is not a problem here. Everyone likes
Christa Ludwig's thrilling, sexy Venus. Rene Kollo's Tannhäuser is intelligently phrased and
appealing vocalized--he's never made a better recording. Helga Dernesch's warm, womanly
Elisabeth is a nice souvenir of her brief soprano heyday. Victor Braun's Wolfram is only adequate,
but he doesn't ruin the show.

A good second choice is Konwitschny's 1961 EMI account of the Dresden version, distinguished
by Elisabeth Grümmer's matchlessly radiant Elisabeth, Fischer-Dieskau's Wolfram ("the sheer
vocal beauty is worth attention", says Mr Mark), and Wunderlich's rendition of Walther's brief song
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(omitted in the Paris version). Hans Hopf's Tannhäuser is no treat; he's merely a survivor.

Two other recordings earned approbation from our critics in 1994. A 1962 Bayreuth broadcast on
Philips (of a Dresden-Paris hybrid) is led with fire by Sawallisch and notable for Wolfgang
Windgassen's Tannhäuser ("the best hero on disc" in Mr Mark's estimation), Grace Bumbry's
sexy Venus, and Eberhard Wächter's refreshingly straightforward Wolfram. Bumbry's "schwarze
Venus" was a sensation in the early 60s, and there are several more unauthorized recordings of it.
On bootleg labels, you can find her first Bayreuth performances from the previous year, with
Fischer-Dieskau and Victoria De los Angeles in the cast.

Sinopoli on DG (Paris) has, in Domingo, a minstrel who can really handle the music, and Studer's
stunning Elisabeth. The tenor is not always comfortable with the words, but no one else sings so
beautifully or sounds quite so anguished at "Erbarm dich mein" in Act 2. Agnes Baltsa is an
efficient Venus, more abrasive than seductive, and Andreas Schmidt is a lightweight Wolfram in
the Fischer-Dieskau mold.

None of us really likes Bernard Haitink's cast on EMI (Dresden), though the orchestra plays
marvelously. The most recent Tannhäuser, led by Daniel Barenboim on Teldec, rises close to the
top of the list. It's the best-sounding of them all, and it has a strong overall cast that never makes
you wince. (See review in this issue.)

Also on Teldec (91973) is an hour of highlights led by Marek Janowski that the Editor really likes.
The singers are Kiri Te Kanawa, René Kollo, Hakan Hagegard, and Waltraud Meier--all in peak
form--and all the great moments are there (but not the Venusberg music). We think this stands
alone and was not part of a complete recording.

The most essential old recordings are Melchior's. Pearl 9049 has the Rome Narrative and also
Flagstad in Elisabeth's two arias. Mr Moses declares "it will send any true Wagnerite into
stationary orbit".

Kollo, Dernesch/Solti Decca 414581

Hopf, Grümmer/Konwitschny EMI 63214

Seiffert, Eaglen/Barenboim Teldec 88064

Lohengrin
The consensus is strongest here. Everyone like's Rudolf Kempe's 1964 EMI recording with
Grümmer, Ludwig, Jess Thomas, and Fischer-Dieskau. Mr McKelvey calls it the best example of
Kempe's work on records, and the conductor has one of the world's greatest Wagner orchestras
(the VPO) at his command. The cast elicits superlatives from all our critics. Solti's 1986 Lohengrin
earns an honorable mention. Mr Chakwin and Mr Milazzo like Domingo and the modern sound, Mr
Mark the sumptuous Elsa of Jessye Norman. Mr Lucano doesn't much care for Norman (nor does
Mr Chakwin), and like Mr Mark, he deems Eva Randova's Ortrud "disastrous".
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A better choice is on Myto 89002 (and probably elsewhere): a 1958 Bayreuth performance in
somewhat constricted sound, with Rysanek, Varnay, and the best Lohengrin in memory's range,
Sander Kenya. The Editor likes the 1965 RCA Kenya led by Erich Leinsdorf, recently reissued. No
other tenor brings to the role the same combination of beautiful tone, heroic strength, and
creditable diction. Elsa is Lucine Amara, sometimes strong and sweet, often overpowered.
Nothing could overpower Rita Gorr's volcanic Ortrud, and she's another strong selling point, along
with the playing of the Boston Symphony (which dominates the singers). This performance
restores the anhang to the Grail Narrative in Act 3, an extra few minutes cut by Wagner himself.

The recordings led by Rafael Kubelik in 1971 (DG and MHS) and Karajan in the late 70s (EMI) are
uneven. Kubelik has the luminous Elsa of Gundula Janowitz and a sturdy hero in James King, but
Gwyneth Jones's wild, inaccurate Ortrud is a blemish. Karajan draws exquisite playing out of the
BPO, and Kollo, his Lohengrin, has some ringing strength and lofty bearing. Siegmund Nimsgern
is a solid Telramund, but the ladies are nothing special.

Barenboim's 1998 Teldec account is moderately well cast but not up to the competition. Colin
Davis's 1994 RCA has Ben Heppner's sterling Lohengrin, but his Elsa and Ortrud are
catastrophes. The best recording from the 90s is Claudio Abbado's on DG. The conductor wields
an unusually light hand, and the performance is airy rather than heavy. Studer and Waltraud Meier
aren't quite on the Grümmer-Ludwig level, but they play well off each other and sing with
considerable finesse and fervor. Siegfried Jerusalem's Lohengrin was caught too late in the day:
good lyric instincts, some heroic strength, but worn of voice. Hartmut Welker is a coarse,
bellowing Telramund, but Kurt Moll's Henry and Andreas Schmidt's Herald are assets, and so is
the Vienna Philharmonic and spacious DG sound.

Thomas, Grümmer, Ludwig/Kempe EMI 67415

Konya, Amara, Gorr/Leinsdorf RCA 50164

Jerusalem, Studer, Meier/Abbado DG 437808

Tristan und Isolde

Once again we're in accord. The best stereo account is Böhm's on DG, recorded at the 1966
Bayreuth Festival. McKelvey calls it "quick, vital, spontaneous, more restlessly urgent than
Furtwängler". Nilsson alternates torrents of sound with young-girl-in-love lyricism, and
Windgassen, a hero despite a non-heroic voice, has a "thorough understanding of all those words
and notes in Act 3" (Mark). The Liebestod aside, Act 3 belongs to Tristan; and Windgassen, a
canny vocal actor, poignantly and spellbindingly delineates the dying knight's delirium. Ludwig's
Brangäne, Wächter's Kurvenal, and Martti Talvela's Marke are also praiseworthy.

If you can forego stereo (and all our critics are willing to do so), then the best choice remains
Furtwängler on EMI (also MHS). McKelvey: "You often aren't aware that it isn't stereo. What you
are aware of is its faultless balances and proportions, and its towering level of sheer
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communication." Flagstad, though not at her youthful best, is still a definitive Isolde (despite the
notorious Schwarzkopf high Cs). Ludwig Suthaus's Tristan seldom sounds like a tenor, and he's
burdened by a rather oafish timbre, but intelligence and sensitivity are not lacking.

One wants to think more highly of Barenboim's Teldec recording, but his imaginative, toiling
protagonists (Meier and Jerusalem) emerge smaller than life. So do Margaret Price and Kollo in
Carlos Kleiber's orchestrally felicitous DG performance.

Two other recordings are likewise in the interesting-frustrating class. Bernstein on Philips can
natter along aimlessly then suddenly knock your socks off by playing the music exactly the way
you've always imagined it should sound (a good example is the arrival of Isolde's ship in Act 3).
Unfortunately, he's working with a weak cast. Behrens, for want of anything better, became the
reigning Isolde after Nilsson's retirement, but her persuasiveness on stage does not translate well
to recordings. Peter Hoffmann emits sound easily enough, but what comes forth is wobbly.
Karajan's EMI (and MHS) performance has "unbelievable physical beauty and humanity" (Milazzo);
like Bernstein's, it sounds too patched together. Dernesch's Isolde is better than it's often reported
to be. She doesn't have Nilsson's power, and the strain shows, but she has some tonal fullness
and the sort of idiomatic verbal aptitude that comes only to native speakers. Karajan has the
advantage of Vickers as Tristan, whom Mark and Milazzo consider overwhelming--but more so in
the theater than on records. Windgassen's voice actually sits more comfortably on the notes in
Act 3, but Vickers is still something special.

Perhaps the best (if not the cheapest) way to hear his Tristan is via a tape of a 1973 performance
from Orange, with Nilsson as Isolde (Rodolphe). It was left to the bootleggers to give us what the
big companies perversely did not. Mark believes Nilsson surpasses her DG effort here, and
Vickers is so immersed in the part it's hard to tell how much is Vickers and how much is Tristan.
The Rodolphe issue may be hard to find, but other labels will surely pick it up. A second Nilsson-
Vickers Tristan comes from VAI, but it's not on the same level.

To get the clearest idea of what Tristan's music should sound like, find some of Melchior's
recordings. The Covent Garden performances from the 30s with Flagstad on EMI and VAI will
certainly do, and so will the unauthorized Met performances readily obtainable in Europe; but start
with Sony 60896, which has a good bit of Act 3 (plus a sample of Helen Traubel's Isolde). It's as
essential to a Tristan collection as Furtwängler's complete set. Everyone should also have some
of Frida Leider's Isolde, so add Preiser 89004 to the list.

Nilsson, Windgassen/Böhm DG 449772

Flagstad, Suthaus/Furtwängler EMI 67626

Dernesch, Vickers/Karajan EMI 69319

Die Meistersinger

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Everyone puts in a good word for the classic Kempe on EMI. The conductor's "glowing, radiant,
poetic, always eloquent leadership is perhaps his finest recorded legacy" (Mark). Among the cast,
top honors go to Grümmer's Eva (the best on disc), Benno Kusche's vivid Beckmesser, Gottlob
Frick's authoritative Pogner, and Gerhard Unger's supple David. Rudolf Schock's Walther and
Ferdinand Frantz's Sachs, however well-intentioned, are drawbacks, and so is the mono sound.
You need to hear the orchestra in Meistersinger, and the old EMI set doesn't do justice to the
contrapuntal writing.

Karajan's stereo recording comes close to the best. The conversational scenes have a wonderful
naturally flow, and Helen Donath and Kollo are a flesh, eager pair of young lovers. Mr Moses
doesn't care for Adam's thin-voiced, prissy Sachs, however; and Mr Chakwin calls the stereo
Karajan "stately and plump", preferring his more vital 1951 mono account from Bayreuth, with
Schwarzkopf as Eva and the bone-dry Otto Edelmann as Sachs. Mr McKelvey favors Jochum's
DG account, with Fischer-Dieskau and Domingo, but not by much. Chakwin considers F-D all
wrong for his part. A good compromise choice is Kubelik on Myto and Calig, a 1967 recording that
was made but never issued by DG. With Janowitz as Eva, Konya as Walther, and Stewart as
Sachs, it's the most pleasingly sung Meistersinger of all, and it boasts excellent stereo sound (but
no English libretto).

Until recently, we could count on an ample supply of Evas--Grümmer (who can also be heard on
many bootlegs), Schwarzkopf, Seefried, Gueden, Della Casa, Brouwenstijn, Lorengar--but the
well ran dry in the 80s and 90s. The last decade has brought us, perhaps in compensation, the
best Walther since Konya: Ben Heppner, who recorded the part twice. He's especially good with
Sawallisch in 1994: ringing, handsome tone, lucid diction, and youthful ardor (EMI). Studer is an
attractive Eva, Kurt Moll a plush Pogner, and Siegfried Lorenz a uncaricatured Beckmesser. Less
satisfactory but far from disastrous is Weikl's Sachs, by turns stolid and absorbing. Heppner's
second recording was also Solti's second, and the magic isn't there. Solti, at least, surpasses his
former self, but he's surprisingly sloppy, and Jose Van Dam's Sachs has less substance than one
would have hoped for. Once again, we need Schorr to show us what Sachs should sound like.
Pearl 9944 offers all his electrical recordings of the music.

Janowitz, Konya, Stewart/Kubelik Calig 50971, Myto 92569

Grümmer, Schock, Frantz/Kempe EMI 64154

Donath, Kollo, Adam/Karajan EMI 67086

Studer, Heppner, Weikl/Sawallisch EMI 55142

Parsifal
Mr McKelvey speaks for most of us: "I hate to be so traditional, but (aside from Karl Muck) I'm
afraid Knappertsbusch owns this one." The choice (if we ignore the bootlegs) is between the 1951
Bayreuth recording on Teldec and the 1962 on Philips. The vocal honors are divided: London's

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Amfortas, Uhde's chilling Klingsor, and Ludwig Weber's Gurnemanz in 1951; Irene Dalis's Kundry
and Jess Thomas's Parsifal in 1962. Hotter's 1962 Gurnemanz is incomparably eloquent but
vocally precarious; the 1951 Kundry-Parsifal pair (Martha Mödl and Windgassen) are vivid but
sometimes painful to hear. The 1962 stereo sound tips the balance, but the 1951 (the first
complete Wagner opera on LP) isn't all that bad, and Weber's Gurnemanz still hasn't been
surpassed as pure singing. He's plusher than Crass, less stertorous than Moll, and these are his
nearest modern counterparts. Hotter's admirers will find him in slightly better form in 1961, in a
Salzburg performance led by Karajan and issued on many labels, including RCA and MHS (if you
can't beat the bootleggers, join them). What's interesting about this is Karajan's wacky idea of
casting two mezzos as Kundry: the voluptuous Ludwig in the seduction scene of Act 2, the vocally
worn Elisabeth Höngen elsewhere. Wächter is a fiery Amfortas, Walter Berry an unusually suave
Klingsor; but Fritz Uhl's Parsifal is inadequate, and so, really, is the mono sound.

Karajan's studio recording has Moll's Gurnemanz and Van Dam's Amfortas to commend it but
little else. No one much likes the sluggish Levine (Philips and DG), and only Mr Chakwin has nice
things to say about Boulez (a potentially fine cast and marvelous orchestral transparency but a
headlong rush through the most beautiful passages). Solti on Decca and Barenboim on Teldec
garner more praise. Solti (the first non-Bayreuth recording) has majesty and lyricism, the best
Kundry in the absolutely gorgeous Ludwig, a commanding Gurnemanz in Frick, and an incisive,
bright-eyed Parsifal in Kollo. Barenboim has superb sound, and by today's standards reasonably
accomplished interpreters of Kundry (Meier), Parsifal (Jerusalem), Amfortas (Van Dam), and
Gurnemanz (Matthias Hölle). Meier and Jerusalem sing with great verbal clarity and nuance,
confirming the advantage German singers have in so prolix a score.

I am resistant to the allure of Domingo and Jessye Norman on Levine's second slow-motion
recording (DG). For all their refulgence, they sound artificial and uninvolved. A good mid-price
Parsifal led by Armin Jordan should still be available from Erato. If not, it's on DVD as the
soundtrack to Hans-Jürgen Syberberg's bizarre 1981 film. (This one has two Parsifals, one male,
one female, both children and both sung with mature, gleaming strength by Reiner Goldberg.
Yvonne Minton is a secure Kundry, Robert Lloyd a steadfast Gurnemanz.)

McKelvey urges exploration of Muck's 1927-28 recordings (Pearl and Naxos); Mark is enthusiastic
about Flagstad and Melchior on RCA 7915. Two great Parsifal singers of our time, Vickers and
Regine Crespin, never made it to the studio, so seek out their performances on Bayreuth
bootlegs. But Parsifal is Wagner's most beautiful score, and it deserves to be heard in great
stereo sound.

Thomas, Dalis/Knappertsbusch Philips 416390

Kollo, Ludwig/Solti Decca 417143

Jerusalem, Meier/Barenboim Teldec 74448

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Der Ring des Nibelungen

We save the Ring for last because the choices facing us make us unusually contentious. We
really need fewer and better recordings. A Tristan without two great singers is pointless, and that's
why new recordings are so scarce. But there are lots of characters in the Ring and plenty of
opportunities for spectacle, so modern conductors and directors keep on throwing new ones at
us, hoping we won't notice vocal inadequacies. Sometimes we're seduced despite our better
judgement. Siegfried Jerusalem has a likable voice and some verbal elan, and when he sings the
narration that precedes his death in Götterdämmerung (Haitink's EMI recording), we hang on
every word and the opera comes to life. When heldentenor power is required, he falls far short of
the mark--and for years he was the best Siegfried around! When, some 45 minutes later in the
same recording, Eva Marton reaches the end of her Immolation Scene and seems on the verge of
twittering, glorious orchestral playing and digital sound count for nothing. The two most recent
attempts at complete Rings--Barenboim's on Teldec and Christoph von Dohnanyi's on Decca
(aborted after Walkuüre)--have glorious sound and admirable orchestral playing-and should never
have been released.

Because we demand authentic Wagnerian voices, most of us make Solti's Ring our first choice,
the winner and still champ (Decca and MHS). McKelvey demurs, calling Solti "over-managed,
hyperactive, sometimes lacking in repose"; and though he still judges it a splendid achievement by
any normal standard, he prefers to hear the same singers under Böhm on Philips. Many listeners
will agree with him, but whenever I hear one of the singers shared by Solti and Böhm surpass
himself or herself, the advantage is always with Solti.

In 1994, beside Solti and Böhm, we had only Karajan in the same class (DG and MHS), and the
playing of his Berlin Philharmonic is as good as, and often better than Solti's VPO. The Levine and
Haitink Rings were still new, and each had its assets and liabilities. James Morris sang Wotan
gloriously for both conductors, but the other principals did not rise to the level of their best
predecessors.

Only one new stereo Ring has appeared since then, and if nothing else, it's a great bargain:
Sawallisch on super-budget EMI, a composite of performances given in Munich in 1991. Mr
McKelvey compares Sawallisch favorably to Böhm (who also gets through the less interesting
material rather quickly) and Furtwängler. The casting is unusually consistent: when a character
appears in more than one opera, so does the singer. The ensemble is as strong as any house
could have mustered at the time: Behrens, Kollo, Moll (Fafner and Hunding), Matti Salminen
(Hagen), Ekkehard Wlaschiha (Alberich). The underrated Robert Hale is a fine Wotan (though one
wishes the voice were plusher), Julia Varady a pungent, soaring Sieglinde. Sawallisch's Ring, like
Böhm's, is available only as a complete package (no libretto), but it's certainly worth the money.

The past eight years have also seen a Chandos reissue of Reginald Goodall's English-language
Ring. We all have a soft spot for it, and for the work of Rita Hunter (Brünnhilde), Alberto Remedios
(Siegmund and Siegfried), and Norman Bailey (Wotan). The orchestra is not world class, and

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neither the players nor the singers are entirely comfortable with the conductor's glacial tempos. A
valiant curiosity--and an acquired taste.

In the historic category, we must at least mention four cycles that have their admirers (though
younger listeners may wonder what the fuss is about). Furtwängler 1950 (from La Scala; Music &
Arts and other labels) has Flagstad, Josef Hermann's Wotan, Weber in the juicy bass roles, and a
trio of straining heldentenors. Furtwängler 1953 (EMI; Rome Radio) has Martha Mödl's Brünnhilde,
Frantz's Wotan, Windgassen's Siegmund, and Suthaus's Siegfried. Two Bayreuth cycles share
some singers. Both Krauss in 1953 (Gala) and Knappertsbusch in 1958 (Melodram) have Varnay,
Windgassen, and Hotter. We acknowledge the value of these performances, but because of the
poor sound (and several awful singers), we advise they be left to advanced or specialist
collectors, particularly those who want Flagstad's Brünnhilde or Hotter's Wotan.

Solti Decca 455555

Böhm Philips 420325

Karajan DG 457780

Das Rheingold
Karajan is perhaps the most sheerly beautiful, but Fischer-Dieskau is all wrong as Wotan. Solti,
who started it all, holds up well, and Decca's 1958 sound is excellent even by today's standards.
Flagstad is a uniquely magisterial Fricka; London a youthful, sturdy Wotan; Svanholm a formidable
Loge. Haitink is also commendable, and he benefits greatly from the contribution of Morris, who
sings Wotan (here and elsewhere) more beautifully than anyone since Schorr (and, of course,
he's much better recorded). You'll have to order it from a European dealer--Haitink's Ring has
already vanished from the domestic catalogs.

Solti Decca 455556

Haitink EMI 49853

Die Walküre
Everyone does this well, and perhaps that's why Solti seems weakest here, though not when
Nilsson's Brünnhilde or Crespin's Sieglinde is "on stage". It was the last (1965) of his Ring
recordings, and his Wotan--Hotter--was in severe vocal decline. (Hotter's fans should look for
Krauss's 1953 Ring or Knappertsbusch's 1958.) Karajan, on the other hand, is really something
special, and his singers-Vickers, Janowitz, Crespin--offer an almost bel canto approach.
Crespin's multifaceted Brünnhilde, lucidly voiced and irresistibly animated-lofty yet warmly human-
-is particularly cherishable. Everyone likes Böhm, with Nilsson and the absolutely thrilling
Rysanek; too bad the recording isn't available separately. You also need Morris's Wotan, so toss a
coin to decide between Levine on DG (he has the better Brünnhilde and Act 3) and Haitink on EMI
(superior in Act 1).

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A curiosity is the 1959 Leinsdorf, first on RCA, later on Decca. It was never intended as part of a
complete Ring, but Nilsson, Vickers, London, and Gorr are in splendid form, and Gre Browenstijn
is a touching, feminine Sieglinde. The London Symphony is not a great Wagner orchestra, and
Leinsdorf is foursquare and perfunctory. Bruno Waiter's old Act 1, with Lehmann and Melchior, is
required listening (EMI 61020). Preiser 89052, which we've already recommended, offers Schorr
in Wotan's Farewell. Flagstad, even as late as 1957, was still a marvel in Act 3 (no one ever
poured as much voice into 'Der diese Liebe'), and she can be heard in early stereo on Decca
467124.

Karajan DG 457785

Haitink EMI 49534

Siegfried
Although Jerusalem (Haitink, EMI) is often winning, Windgassen remains the most acceptable
Siegfried, and Nilsson partners him on both the Solti and Böhm recordings. Solti's Wanderer is
the still majestic Hotter, while Böhm has the intelligent but less imposing Adam. Adam repeats his
role for Marek Janowski on Eurodisc, and Kollo's engaging Siegfried makes this the best entry in
that conductor's uneven cycle, the first to be recorded digitally. Kollo is also Sawallisch's
Siegfried, still hanging in there. Thomas, for Karajan, manages the role well, but with a dry voice
and little exuberance.

Morris's Wanderer can be enjoyed on both the Levine and Haitink sets. Levine has the better
Brünnhilde in Behrens. His Siegfried, Reiner Goldberg, doesn't match Jerusalem's refinement but
sings more heroically. In the past eight years, I've returned more often to Levine's Siegfried than to
the other installments in his Ring. The young hero may be too adult and stolid, but I love the
orchestral weight and transparency, the dark colors, and Behrens's ecstasy in the final duet. Buy
as much Melchior as you can find, including the duet with Frida Leider. His Siegfried recordings,
1927-1932, are all on Danacord 325.

Solti Decca 455564

Levine DG 429407

Götterdämmerung
I still regard Solti's as the most satisfying Wagner opera recording ever made. The cast is
unbeatable (right down to the poignant Gutrune of Claire Watson) and the sound spectacular.
Frick is the blackest of Hagens, Fischer-Dieskau the most regal of Gunthers; Nilsson and
Windgassen are at their peak. (McKelvey remains loyal to Böhm.)

Both Karajan and Sawallisch also have much to offer. Karajan has Dernesch's ardent Brünnhilde,
Helge Brilioth's lyric Siegfried, Karl Ridderbusch's dangerously suave Hagen, and the magnificent
BPO. Sawallisch has a great Act 2, but also a Brünnhilde thoroughly worn out by the end of Act 3.

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Haitink, Levine, and Barenboim fail to satisfy on the whole, but if you must have a recording from
the 90s, choose Levine, whose hard-working cast is the best balanced.

An interesting supplement to Solti is the recording John Culshaw produced for Decca at the 1951
Bayreuth Festival. Because of legal complications, it was not released until 1999! Mr Luten raved
about it when it finally became available. Knappertsbusch has an unfailing continuous impetus
rare in his work; Varnay is at her freshest as Brünnhilde, singing with spontaneity and subtlety;
Uhde has the full measure of the role of Gunther; and Weber's Hagen is as terrifying as Frick's.
The monaural sound is astonishingly full and accurate; no other Bayreuth recording from the 50s
matches the presence of this one.

Solti Decca 455569

Knappertsbusch Testament 4075

Wesendonck Songs
Five songs, almost as beautiful as Strauss's Four Last but nowhere near as often recorded. They
sound like studies for Tristan, but they don't demand power and stamina from the singer. Wagner
wrote them with piano accompaniment, and the classic recording is Flagstad and Moore (EMI,
NA). Most interpreters prefer the orchestral arrangements: 'Träume' is Wagner's, the rest Felix
Mottl's. Flagstad recorded these too--grandly, ripely, and seamlessly--with Knappertsbusch
(Decca).

Eileen Farrell, with Bernstein, is less the aloof earth mother: bright, communicative, and
unaffected. In his review of her Wesendonck Songs David Greene called her "one of the great
voices of our time" but considered this a bit light on passion. The Editor thinks it's perfect. The
disc also includes her Immolation Scene from Götterdämmerung and Bernstein's Tannhäuser
Overture. Her early recording with Stokowski was perhaps even fresher, but it's long gone.

Unique as always is Crespin (EMI), lucid and dreamy but still opulent. The voice has a cool
fluorescent glow, and the floated upper notes are ravishing.

The songs need not be sung by heroic sopranos, or by sopranos at all. They are accessible to
lyric voices, and three mezzos have left us fine recordings: the sensuous Ludwig (EMI), the rapt
Janet Baker (EMI), and the incisive Meier (Erato, with Barenboim--the best-sounding). Crespin and
Ludwig can be found only in 4-disc EMI anthologies. The EMI Baker is gone, but Stephen Chakwin
heaped extravagant praise on a BBC recording with Baker in our last issue, concluding, "I cannot
imagine a serious competitor" (reviewed under Bruckner).

Some lyric sopranos have done rather well with the Wesendonck, going back to the warmly
feminine Tiana Lemnitz in the 30s (with piano accompaniment). Among recent interpreters, the
top choices are Studer (DG) and Varady (Orfeo). For a modern recording with piano, try Margaret
Price (Hyperion), with her special blend of virginal purity and tonal fullness. The one tenor to tackle

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the songs is the indefatigable Kollo (EMI), and you'll probably wish he hadn't.

Farrell/Bernstein Sony 47644

Flagstad/Knappertsbusch Decca 468486

Crespin/Prêtre EMI 64434

Baker EMI NA; BBC 4086

Meier/Barenboim Erato 45417

--Ralph V. Lucano
Ring Highlights

Some of us can't often spare 16 hours for the complete cycle or even four for a complete opera.
For us the record labels have issued highlights discs. They range from a single disc with bits from
all four operas to a set of four discs, one for each opera. The single disc may seem like too little,
and it's often the same selections as the orchestral highlights discs listed below. To evaluate
these, refer to our discussions of the complete operas, above. In some cases we reviewed the
highlights discs; for example, the Karajan was reviewed by Mr Chakwin in July/August 2001.

1 CD: Haitink EMI 54633

Solti Decca 458210
Levine DG 437825

2 CD: Karajan DG 469223

Böhm Philips 454020

4 CD: Barenboim Teldec 97906,7,8,9

Orchestral Wagner
No, not symphonies. He did write two of them, both forgettable. The one in C has been recorded a
few times; it sounds a bit like Weber (Weber's symphonies are pretty boring, too). But there are
never more than two recordings available at any one time, and they never last in the catalog,
because they don't sell. If the symphony interests you, look in our indexes and read the reviews by
Steven Hailer, who has made this work one of his specialties.

No concertos either. The Siegfried Idyll was written for a small chamber orchestra but sounds
terrific with a large body of strings. All the other Wagner orchestral music is simply pieces of
operas: overtures, preludes, and so on. One technical difference between an overture and a
prelude is that the overture is complete in itself and comes to a conclusion, while the prelude
leads directly into other music. But some of Wagner's preludes became overtures when a
concert ending was added.

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Siegfried Idyll
Bruno Walter is gentle and loving--an ideal (idyllic!) performance that seems totally natural and
unforced. The Haitink was almost as good, his orchestra wonderful. The Klemperer was sterner,
as you'd expect, but still idiomatic. We also liked the Levine. We did not like any available
Furtwängler: he over-dramatized it. So does Stokowski (on Bridge 9074), but our reviewer thought
the passion quite startling. He uses a small orchestra, and the playing is not polished and sweet--
nor is the 1960 noncommercial sound.

Faust
There's only an overture (the rest never got written), and it's not very interesting, but Jesus Lopez-
Cobos does all that can be done with it. Another great recording by consensus of our writers is the
Szell. It's available on Sony Essential Classics in an odd program that's part Szell, part Ormandy
(they hated each other and were quite incompatible musically). Note that a few of our writers
actually consider it great music.

Rienzi
There was an even earlier opera, Das Liebesverbot, but the overture to that is almost never
recorded and makes no impression. (Actually, Die Feen also had an overture--also rarely heard.)
Rienzi sounds like late Weber (seems related to his famous operas) and has a delightful overture
that begins with a held trumpet note, which later comes back doubled.

The four best recordings are by Szell, Bernstein, Mehta, and Lopez-Cobos. Cleveland has never
had trumpeters with much personality, but what can you do with one note? In New York it gets
swelled and blasted; in Cincinnati it remains subtle and subdued, a lonely voice and rather
plaintive. The Bernstein is recorded up-close, with all the excitement that can bring--but it sounds
one-dimensional and artificial compared to Lopez-Cobos in Cincinnati. Bernstein is brash and
bombastic from the beginning, as is his wont--Mehta less so. Lopez-Cobos builds it gradually
from a very quiet beginning to a powerful climax, with lots of nuance along the way. The Cincinnati
is the more German orchestra--by far. This is their meat and potatoes. Lopez-Cobos himself was
raised with German culture and spent 11 years at the Berlin Opera as music director. He knows
Wagner as well as anyone alive. But the Bernstein has more surface excitement, if you like that
sort of thing.

Among other recordings, we have praised the Tennstedt (Berlin Philharmonic on EMI) for its
drama and musicality.

Flying Dutchman
The four great recordings are by Bruno Walter, Leonard Bernstein, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, and
Herbert van Karajan. Karajan sounds the most German and "solid". Bernstein is very bombastic
and exciting, as usual--and a bit faster. Lopez-Cobos is almost as German as Karajan but faster
and more lyrical--not as weighty except when the brass dominate. The Cincinnati brass sound
perfect. Bruno Walter is just right. He's not as slow as Karajan but slower than the others. The
Los Angeles brass make a real feast of it.
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Tannhäuser
The overture and festmarch are often recorded, though the latter turns up less often in more
recent recordings. It's a very impressive piece, the entrance of the guests into the banquet hall,
and there was never a better recording than Ormandy's. The Bernstein is slower and less direct--
and not as well played. Listen to the Philadelphia brass! At the time New York was thought to have
better brass, but that is certainly not so in this piece. The sound of the Ormandy is also stunning:
it will shake your house up! Your floors will rumble! When those Columbia engineers were "on"
they were great.

The overture is fine with Cincinnati on Telarc, though it may be too heavy and German for some
tastes. Ormandy gave it more sparkle, but is that Wagner? I like it anyway. If you want the
Venusberg music with it (the later version) you need to turn to Karajan--very sensuous--or to
Walter, who is heavier and less inflected but still very alluring.

Lohengrin
Here we have the overture (prelude to Act 1) and the prelude to Act 3--a wild and thrilling piece that
no one should miss. Tennstedt is good here. He does the two preludes with style, spirit, and full,
rich tone (Berlin Philharmonic, EMI 68616). Bruno Waiter's overture is wonderful. Karajan is
slower and more mystical. It's also on the Bernstein disc, along with a frenetic Act 3 prelude. The
Ormandy is much better--quite thrilling, and probably the best Act 3 prelude ever recorded.

Tristan and Isolde

The overture (prelude] and the love-death scene are always played together in orchestral
collections of Wagner. The Cincinnati recording is quite beautiful--purest Wagner. Ormandy was
not so good at "heavy" music like this. Much of his Wagner sparkles, but here he lacks weight. It's
gripping but not doom-laden--or ecstatic, for that matter. Stokowski's 1960 Philadelphia recording
is that, but he makes a complete "synthesis" of music, inserting material between these two parts
that tests one's patience as symphonic music and would be sung in the opera (by the lovers--
Tom Godell calls it "dreary love music".) If you like this sort of thing, Edo de Waart recorded over
an hour of Tristan with orchestra alone. He did it with Parsifal too.

Back to the Prelude and Love-Death: the EMI Karajan is our only other recommendation besides
the Lopez-Cobos. The sound is so much richer than on his DG recording.

Meistersinger
The overture is a must. But there is also a prelude to Act 3, the Dance of the Apprentices, and the
Entrance of the Mastersingers. Together these form a little suite, but they are seldom played with
the overture, because there would be too much repetition of the same themes. Stokowski's
recording of this little suite reveals once again his special magic (RCA 62598).

In the overture, Lopez-Cobos lets us down--or perhaps it's the engineers. The impression is
soggy, joyless, and depressing. Solos get buried, strings sound distant, and it all seems rather

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uninvolved. Reiner has no majesty at all and doesn't even sound very good. Bruno Walter does
what Lopez-Cobos tries to do; one is hard-put to criticize anything about the Walter.

Ralph Lucano remarks that the Ormandy is pretty stunning: "When the Philadelphia strings pick
up their melody I surrender completely and can't imagine it sounding better." Ormandy has
majesty and joy and sheer sensual beauty. Bernstein is maybe a little less majestic but he makes
up for that with power and excitement. The Bernstein recording remains the best ever, the one
you must hear. Karajan in Berlin is solid and German-sounding, but too fast for fullest effect. Solti
in Chicago is heady and strong--the brass are quite stunning (Decca 458214).

Parsifal
The prelude and Good Friday Spell (about 23 minutes) are often played together, like the Tristan
pieces. Sir Adrian Boult recorded other music from Parsifal, including the two marvelous
transformation scenes, but these have not been on CD (not both of them--EMI reissued Boult's
Wagner--mostly quite boring--on two CDs with only one transformation scene--Jan/Feb 1993).
The Stokowski "Symphonic Synthesis" has been recorded in modern sound by Matthias Bamert
(Sept/Oct 1999), but our reviewer found it dull.

The most rapt recordings of the prelude and Good Friday Spell were by Furtwängler,
Knappertsbusch, and Walter. The first conductor recorded it more than once; the best sound was
from the 1950s with the Vienna Philharmonic on EMI (hard to find, but one of the great recordings
that should always be available). Knappertsbusch recorded the whole opera, and probably these
excerpts came from that (deleted). The Sony box of Bruno Waiter's Wagner has this.

The Ring
Here we have a long history of thrilling "bleeding chunks" (Wagner's own term). How often can we
listen to the 16 hours of the operas? But in an hour the blood can boil (to change the metaphor) to
the big orchestral pieces. They are, from Rheingold, 'The Entrance of the Gods into Valhalla'; from
Walkfire, 'The Ride of the Valkyries' and the 'Magic Fire Music'; from Siegfried, the 'Forest
Murmurs'; and from Götterdämmerung, 'Dawn and Siegfried's Rhine Journey', 'Siegfried's Death
and Funeral Music', and the final Immolation Scene.

The Stokowski (from 1966) is the greatest recording. The players later said that they played way
above themselves and were amazed at how great the recording sounded. It still does. It's
miraculous for its conducting, interpretation, playing, and sound. Don't miss this, even if it's the
only Wagner you own.

The Ormandy is more natural in flow; the climaxes seem inevitable and built into the music. The
conductor remains in the background. Of course, the Philadelphia Orchestra played every day as
well as the London Symphony did that one day. The sound has natural perspective and never
seems glaring or overpowering.

Those two recordings make Szell and Tennstedt seem pale and cold. The Mehta (with Caballé, of

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all people, singing Brunnhilde!) lacks character and leaves one bored. Solti was never pale or
cold, but his Vienna Philharmonic digital recording of the Ring orchestral highlights is actually
boring. Maybe he was ill. It was many years since he had conducted the complete operas for the
same label, and the music just wasn't red-hot for him anymore.

The Orchestral Recordings

Note that many of these conductors recorded for more than one label, and there are lots of
unauthorized releases of some of them, too. So we name the label and list the number of the
release we listened to. Some are deleted but will probably be around again--numbers may
change. Only the Telarc is full price.

Ormandy Sony 38914

Walter Sony 64456 [2CD]

Bernstein Sony 47643

Lopez-Cobos Telarc 80379

Karajan EMI 64334

Stokowski Ring Decca 443901

Ormandy Ring RCA 7819 or 61850

Some general comments on other overture collections (from our reviews):

Levine (DG): loud, garish, one-dimensional--no subtlety, variety, or expressive richness, despite
the great Met Orchestra.

Maazel (RCA): The Berlin Philharmonic is excellent, but they sound better under Karajan for EMI.
These two discs are available individually, but nothing is the best you can hear. Rienzi is raucous
and tub-thumping; much of the other music is too percussive: it batters you. It's partly the sound:
no depth or perspective. Maazel uses a singer (Waltraud Meier, not at her best) in the Tristan.

Runnicles (Teldec): generalized interpretations, generic performances, but sensible, solid, and
straightforward. Good, warm sound--never garish or harsh. Ring excerpts and Siegfried Idyll.

Thielemann (DG): Good, clean, gimmick-less performances without much warmth or depth or
originality. It's the Philadelphia Orchestra but without any of the warmth and character they had
under Ormandy.

Albrecht (Chandos): The Danish orchestra is weak in the strings. The interpretations are tepid
and uninteresting. Some of the shifts in tempo leave an episodic feeling.

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Barenboim (Teldec): Chicago before he developed the strings: they sound anemic and are totally
overshadowed by the big, bold brass. In some pieces, that just won't do. In others (like
Meistersinger, but Solti did it better) it can be thrilling, but it's only part of the story.

Chailly (Decca): Suave, polished, unimaginative, and rather dull. No grandeur in Meistersinger, an
undramatic ride with the Valkyrie sisters, a sluggish Rhine Journey, and bad programming.

D'Avalos (ASV): unfocussed, with odd tempo changes imposed on the music. But he does both
Die Feen and Das Liebesverbot, and they are rare. Raw sound.

Dorati (Mercury): Dorati was never a Wagnerian, and the orchestra sounds terrible.

Jansons (EMI): Fast tempos, surface interpretations, good but not outstanding sound.

Kempe (Seraphim): a budget release coupling some Kempe with some Boult. Parsifal is not
outstanding, but the Act 3 Meistersinger prelude is. The Boult stuff is not as good.

Solti (Vienna Philharmonic on Decca): splendid playing, lots of drive and thrust, blazing primary
colors, tension, excitement, and forceful leadership. Sharp-edged, in-your-face, heavily managed
interpretations make a stunning first impression. But it's all surface--and a surface better suited to
Liszt than Wagner.

Schwarz (Delos): The orchestra is very good, and we liked the sound. Two preludes from
Lohengrin and two from Parsifal, with Good Friday and the Flying Dutchman Overture. The first
Lohengrin is way too slow, but the others are good, if not up to our top recommendations (this is
3053; there's another Delos Wagner with Schwarz that we apparently did not review).

Kojian (Naxos): This is the one to have for all the rarest Wagner: Polonia, American Centennial
March, and so on. It's all pretty awful music, but "completists" will want it.

See reviews in this issue of Stokowski and Schuricht.

~~~~~~~~
By Ralph V. Lucano

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