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Tristan und Isolde - opinions about recordings

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randy...@gmail.com

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Nov 19, 2012, 2:43:15 PM11/19/12
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I'd like to solicit opinions from posters about the many recordings of Tristan und Isolde.

Tristan was one of the first 3-4 works I cut my teeth on when I discovered the magnificent genre of opera some 40 years ago. I could only afford to buy one recording, and that was the von Karajan EMI set. Thus, I've always held Vickers in high regard. I have been away from heavy exposure to the opera for many years now, so I am prepared to re-evaluate Vickers, Karajan, and others; hence my request opinions.

Recordings I have, and plan to revisit in the coming weeks are:

Karajan/EMI (already mentioned) - I was really disappointed with the EMI Studio remaster and dumped it years ago:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000002SDZ (issued 1990 or earlier)

I now own it as part of the 72 CD Karajan EMI Vocal/Opera collection. The booklet with that set gives 1994 as the year of the digital remaster for Tristan, but I cannot find a corresonding reissue of the recording from that time period. It does sound somewhat better though. Toshiba reissued it a few years back, at a time when their engineers were doing some quite remarkable tinkering with the sound on Karajan's EMI recordings from that era (a great job they did with the early 70s Tchaikovsky 4-5-6 with the BPO in the Jesus-Christus Kirche, same venue and age as this 1972 recording), but alas I did not get around to obtaining it before the supply ran out.

Kleiber/DG - probably came the closest to supplanting Vickers/Karajan when I first heard it, but Kollo seems to lose any grip on my imagination after hearing him 2-3 times in any given part/recording. DFD seems almost washed up, and Fassbaender doesn't compete. Kleiber is the primary attraction, and a very exciting one at that.

Böhm/DG - well sung, and Böhm's dramatic drive is as appealing here as it is in the Ring. Perhaps a better appreciation for this classic will emerge from my revisitation.

Furtwängler/EMI - the heavy favorite of many. A friend loaned me a copy when I only had the Karajan and could afford no others. At the time I was on a Furtwängler high, having heard the famous Bayreuth LvB 9th for the first time. The Tristan though, while very fine and deeply moving at every moment, never caught fire for me. I continued to pursue Furtwängler's recordings for a few years, but not of Wagner or opera. A few years later the Vienna Die Walküre made a completely different impression on me and kindled my now very high admiration for Herr Furtwängler's artistry in Wagner. I since concluded that the Tristan is too much of a studio-concoted recording - it does not originate from a live performance (at least that I am aware of). Again, after being away from it for many many years a full revisit might yield amore favorable opinion/experience.

Goodall/Decca - I got this a few years back as part of an order of Tower Japan special exclusive reissues (sort-of a throw-in to increase the size of the order and share the S&H costs). I think it is now available internationally again. I've only listened to it in bits and pieces though.

Karajan/Bayreuth/1952/Orfeo - a recording I covetted for many years, even more so when the Orfeo release of it appeared, being already familiar with many other historic treasures those folks have given us such splendid distributions of. I obtained a used copy a few months ago in like-new condition relatively cheap, and it is that acquisition that is driving my plan to revisit the opera. Like the Goodall, I've only listened to bits and pieces, having little time available recently to dedicate to wholesome continuous Wagnerian endeavours. But it was enough to say "carve out the time!!!". The combination of a youthful (i.e., not as sentimental) Karajan and a to-die-for cast makes this a likely candidate to come out on top in my sweepstakes.

I also own the Bernstein/Philps recording, again having obtained a used copy for less than the going price for the OOP originals or resissues. I have not heard any of it. Some friends with interest in Wagner sneered at me when I mentioned that I bought it. Bernstein polarizes opinions as always.

I once heard the Solti recording with some friends - Sir George never disappoints. We were thinking about somehow filtering out all of the singing and just indulging in the orchestral opulence.

I do not own the Pappano, Thielemann, Barenboim, or the recent Janowski.

I have not explored the DVD market much either. It lookslike there are two Barenboim-conducted DVDs on DG:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OONQ1W

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012NO92O

Mark S

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Nov 19, 2012, 3:04:48 PM11/19/12
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On Monday, November 19, 2012 11:43:16 AM UTC-8, randy...@gmail.com wrote:
> I'd like to solicit opinions from posters about the many recordings of Tristan und Isolde.
>
>
>
> Tristan was one of the first 3-4 works I cut my teeth on when I discovered the magnificent genre of opera some 40 years ago. I could only afford to buy one recording, and that was the von Karajan EMI set. Thus, I've always held Vickers in high regard. I have been away from heavy exposure to the opera for many years now, so I am prepared to re-evaluate Vickers, Karajan, and others; hence my request opinions.

Vickers is spectacular on that recording. He makes many of the other recordings seem like a case of "und Isolde," as they are missing a Tristan in comparison to Vickers. Overall, I enjoy that recording immensely, and it remains my go-to version. The all-around casting is great, with the only weak link being the Isolde of Dernesch, who was under the weather when the recording was made. Still, she's very human on the recording, and that's a plus, even if the top notes are effortful.
>

> Karajan/EMI (already mentioned) - I was really disappointed with the EMI Studio remaster and dumped it years ago:

Yep. That's the one to avoid.
>

> I now own it as part of the 72 CD Karajan EMI Vocal/Opera collection. The booklet with that set gives 1994 as the year of the digital remaster for Tristan, but I cannot find a corresonding reissue of the recording from that time period. It does sound somewhat better though.

It was reissued in the EMI opera series in 1996 or so. It has a drawing of a ship on its cover (here: http://tinyurl.com/crqzjy6. I felt that remaster was a big improvement over the 1987 CD issue. I assume the later issues of this recording utilize the 1994 remaster.

>Toshiba reissued it a few years back, at a time when their engineers were doing some quite remarkable tinkering with the sound on Karajan's EMI recordings

Never heard that one.


> Karajan/Bayreuth/1952/Orfeo - a recording I covetted for many years, even more so when the Orfeo release of it appeared, being already familiar with many other historic treasures those folks have given us such splendid distributions of. I obtained a used copy a few months ago in like-new condition relatively cheap, and it is that acquisition that is driving my plan to revisit the opera.

That's an excellent performance, warts and all.
>

> I once heard the Solti recording with some friends - Sir George never disappoints. We were thinking about somehow filtering out all of the singing and just indulging in the orchestral opulence.

Well, there's the underpowered Tristan of Fritz Uhl on that recording, though his voice seems less-light these days when set against others who have since recorded the role. The Vickers standard is pretty hard to match.

There's also the issue of the off-stage horns in Act 2 being very much on the stage in that recording.

Christopher Webber

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Nov 19, 2012, 3:34:41 PM11/19/12
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On 19/11/2012 19:43, randy...@gmail.com wrote:
> I have not explored the DVD market much either. It lookslike there are two Barenboim-conducted DVDs on DG:

If you can get hold of the Orange Festival outdoor version with Vickers
and Nilsson, conducted by Bohm, do so. It is totally overpowering,
usually in a very good sense: I'm not sure I want to watch it again, but
I'll never forget it.

http://www.amazon.com/Wagner-Tristan-Isolde-Nilsson-Vickers/dp/B000067IYJ/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t

A lot of the reviews here have been piled in here, Amazon fashion, from
other performances: well it's all the same opera, isn't it? How stupid.

randy...@gmail.com

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Nov 19, 2012, 3:47:44 PM11/19/12
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I've heard this CD has the same performance with far more acceptable audio than the DVD:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005B37K

Can anyone testify to that being true or false?

Oscar

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Nov 19, 2012, 4:15:53 PM11/19/12
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On Monday, November 19, 2012 2:47:44 PM, Randy Lane wrote:
>
> I've heard this CD has the same performance with far more
> acceptable audio than the DVD:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005B37K
>
> Can anyone testify to that being true or false?

Haven't heard the DVD, Randy, but I have the first CD edition on Rodolphe/Harmonia Mundi from 1989 http://tiny.cc/p6g1nw with variable sound (never unlistenable although the Mistrals are a big impediment). Definitely wouldn't want to be without this version of T&I.

wade

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Nov 19, 2012, 4:17:48 PM11/19/12
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Now its too bad the Vickers-Karajan wasn't Quad. But I don't know if EMI had been playing with Quad recording in 1971 when a lot of this was done.

Christopher Webber

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Nov 19, 2012, 4:35:09 PM11/19/12
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On 19/11/2012 20:47, randy...@gmail.com wrote:
> I've heard this CD has the same performance with far more acceptable audio than the DVD:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005B37K
>
> Can anyone testify to that being true or false?

Hardly better, I think, and the stage noise is intrusive. Could be just
a lift of the DVD soundtrack, but doubtless others may know different. I
ditched it after one act.

But then, the whole point of this particular exercise is *seeing* the
"fallen titan" Vickers in Act 3 (and much else with both of them). If
you want Vickers and Nilsson in better voice and better recorded then
you've got the very good options you outlined. But you won't get them
together, and you won't get anything like the intensity of actually
seeing them going at it, on top form.

The Orange DVD and not the CD set is highly recommended despite the
crude sound. Nothing that the ear can't correct for itself, I feel.

t.j.l...@googlemail.com

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Nov 19, 2012, 4:42:56 PM11/19/12
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I am presuming from your list that you are not going to delve too deeply into historic recordings, but if you are tempted then Melchior and Flagstad under Reiner at Covent Garden in 1936 can be recommended. More than decent sound for 1936 since it was recorded live by HMV (not an air check) and the remastering by Ward Marston for Naxos is very good and inexpensive.
Of the ones you list I think the 1952 Karajan recording from Bayreuth has much to recommend it, as does the Bohm from 1966. Of the most recent ones I think the Pappano with Domingo and Stemme is well worth hearing. Stemme is one of the best Isolde's today IMHO and Domingo, with the benefit of a studio environment in 2005 really sings the killer part of Tristan rather than shouts or barks it. I think his characterisation in act 3 was impressive, surprising even.

Tim

Christopher Webber

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Nov 19, 2012, 4:43:26 PM11/19/12
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As a PS, it is worth pointing out that this Orange DVD was an art-film
version done for French TV, not a video of a live performance.

I suspect from the bad syncing it was spliced together from several over
the Orange run. It is visually bold, even eccentric. But Vickers,
Nilsson and Bohm overcome all this, to my mind - even though one viewing
might be enough for most of us.

I found Vickers almost too powerful and frightening to watch without
turning away - this was the only time I've come close to feeling the
experience many people described when they saw the original production
at Bayreuth, of seeing a singer in the act of physical and mental
dissolution.

Vickers was neither, of course, but the experience is mighty strong.

Mark S

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Nov 19, 2012, 5:13:26 PM11/19/12
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On Monday, November 19, 2012 1:35:12 PM UTC-8, Christopher Webber wrote:
>
> But then, the whole point of this particular exercise is *seeing* the
>
> "fallen titan" Vickers in Act 3 (and much else with both of them). If
>
> you want Vickers and Nilsson in better voice and better recorded then
>
> you've got the very good options you outlined. But you won't get them
>
> together, and you won't get anything like the intensity of actually
>
> seeing them going at it, on top form.

Not true. There's a Leinsdorf-led January 1974 performance from the Met with Nilsson & Vickers that has long circulated in pirate versions. It's been on CD as well.

But then, you have to buy a bootleg to get it.

Christopher Webber

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Nov 19, 2012, 6:26:52 PM11/19/12
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On 19/11/2012 22:13, Mark S wrote:
> But then, you have to buy a bootleg to get it.

Now would I do that? Thanks though for the (bootleg) correction!

ivanm...@gmail.com

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Nov 19, 2012, 6:46:45 PM11/19/12
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Its certainly easy to bask in the orchestral opulence of the Solti recording since the absurd audio balance has the orchestra way up front and the voices submerged somewhere inside from whence they make fleeting appearances. Something is very wrong when the love duet sounds like two small voices floating in a big space which is exactly the opposite of the sense of intimacy we should hear in that important segment. I still go back to the 1952 Furtwangler set which is certainly not perfect but is so perfect in many of its pages that it really gets me involved in the work as others do not though I admire many of them.

Paul Goodman

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Nov 19, 2012, 6:48:52 PM11/19/12
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On 2012-11-19 19:43:15 +0000, randy...@gmail.com said:

> I'd like to solicit opinions from posters about the many recordings of
> Tristan und Isolde.
>
> Tristan was one of the first 3-4 works I cut my teeth on when I
> discovered the magnificent genre of opera some 40 years ago. I could
> only afford to buy one recording, and that was the von Karajan EMI set.
> Thus, I've always held Vickers in high regard. I have been away from
> heavy exposure to the opera for many years now, so I am prepared to
> re-evaluate Vickers, Karajan, and others; hence my request opinions.

[SNIP]

> Furtwängler/EMI - the heavy favorite of many. A friend loaned me a copy
> when I only had the Karajan and could afford no others. At the time I
> was on a Furtwängler high, having heard the famous Bayreuth LvB 9th for
> the first time. The Tristan though, while very fine and deeply moving
> at every moment, never caught fire for me. I continued to pursue
> Furtwängler's recordings for a few years, but not of Wagner or opera. A
> few years later the Vienna Die Walküre made a completely different
> impression on me and kindled my now very high admiration for Herr
> Furtwängler's artistry in Wagner. I since concluded that the Tristan is
> too much of a studio-concoted recording - it does not originate from a
> live performance (at least that I am aware of). Again, after being away
> from it for many many years a full revisit might yield amore favorable
> opinion/experience.


I just listened to that recording again this past week after a long
time on the shelf. I have both the EMI CD transfer along with the
Pristine Audio download. I really love this performance, both for the
singing and the way the conductor brings out and molds the details of
this massive work.

[SNIP]

> I do not own the Pappano, Thielemann, Barenboim, or the recent Janowski.

My favorite recent recording is the Barenboim performance with the
Berlin Philharmonic and Siegfried Jerusalem, Waltraud Meier in the lead
roles. To me Daniel Barenboim just "gets" Wagner, whatever that means
and I am a real fan of Meier in this role.

--
Paul Goodman

wade

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Nov 19, 2012, 6:53:22 PM11/19/12
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Other than the inappropriate word "small", "cosmic floating voices" describes what actually took place in the 1970s Met production of Act 2. once into the duet, the two singers were elevated on a stage platform above the stage itself, while a cosmic light display went on around them. I often wondered how small that platform actually was, since they were up there for a significant stretch of time.

wagnerfan

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Nov 19, 2012, 7:23:50 PM11/19/12
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On Mon, 19 Nov 2012 15:53:22 -0800 (PST), wade <wade...@hotmail.com>
Lucky that neither singer had acrophobia!!!!! Wagner Fan

wkasimer

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Nov 19, 2012, 8:36:03 PM11/19/12
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On Nov 19, 2:43 pm, randy.l...@gmail.com wrote:

> Karajan/EMI (already mentioned) - I was really disappointed with the EMI Studio remaster and dumped it years ago:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000002SDZ(issued 1990 or earlier)

Despite the odd recording balances, Vickers weird vowels, and
Dernesch's somewhat underpowered Isolde, this has always been a
favorite.


> Kleiber/DG - probably came the closest to supplanting Vickers/Karajan when I first heard it, but Kollo seems to lose any grip on my imagination after hearing him 2-3 times in any given part/recording. DFD seems almost washed up, and Fassbaender doesn't compete. Kleiber is the primary attraction, and a very exciting one at that.

For me the only real attraction is Margaret Price, but the whole
affair has a very sterile, studio-bound quality.

> Böhm/DG - well sung, and Böhm's dramatic drive is as appealing here as it is in the Ring. Perhaps a better appreciation for this classic will emerge from my revisitation.

Another favorite, largely for the recorded sound of the Festspielhaus
and the sense of real occasion.

> Furtwängler/EMI - the heavy favorite of many.

Not really for me, I'm afraid. If I want to hear Flagstad, I turn to
one of the live Met performances, and if I want to hear Suthaus and/or
Furtwangler, I turn to the live abridgement from 1947 with the Berlin
Staatskapelle, which has appeared on several labels. It's a white hot
performance of a nearly complete Act 3, with Suthaus in substantially
better voice than for the EMI studio recording. Suthaus, BTW, can
also be heard to better effect with Konwitschny, issued by Preiser.
The rest of the cast is marginal (particularly Baumer as Isolde), but
Frick is superb as King Mark.

> Goodall/Decca - I got this a few years back as part of an order of Tower Japan special exclusive reissues (sort-of a throw-in to increase the size of the order and share the S&H costs). I think it is now available internationally again.

Only via Archiv. I have the same Tower Japan version, and I can't
remember much about it - it's been a while.


> Karajan/Bayreuth/1952/Orfeo - a recording I covetted for many years, even more so when the Orfeo release of it appeared, being already familiar with many other historic treasures those folks have given us such splendid distributions of

Probably my desert island choice. Cast is much better than it looks
on paper, and Karajan is at his best.

> I also own the Bernstein/Philps recording, again having obtained a used copy for less than the going price for the OOP originals or resissues. I have not heard any of it. Some friends with interest in Wagner sneered at me when I mentioned that I bought it. Bernstein polarizes opinions as always.

Well, Lenny's not the problem. He draws a truly opulent sound from
the orchestra, and it's really a shame that his Tristan and Isolde are
simply not up to their tasks. Bernstein seems to be aware of that,
and tries to drown them out whenever possible.

> I do not own the Pappano, Thielemann, Barenboim, or the recent Janowski.

Barenboim is worth hearing, although I don't think that either Meier
or Jerusalem is at their best here, and I hate the way that they split
Act 1 by fading it out. Despite Pape's King Mark, the Pappano is
pretty much worthless, unless you have greater tolerance for Domingo's
generic expression and mediocre German. The Thielemann is utterly
without any redeeming quality whatsoever. I haven't bought the
Janowski yet, but plan to; I was very impressed by the live broadcast
associated with the recording.

Despite the cuts, I would certainly explore some of the live Met and
Covent Garden recordings from the 30's and 40's with Flagstad or
Traubel and Melchior.

I'm really hoping that at some point in the next few years, one of the
recording labels finds a way to assemble a suitable cast, orchestra,
and conductor around Christine Goerke and Jonas Kaufmann.

Bill

jrsnfld

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Nov 19, 2012, 10:14:17 PM11/19/12
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On Nov 19, 5:36 pm, wkasimer <wkasi...@comcast.net> wrote:

> > Kleiber/DG - probably came the closest to supplanting Vickers/Karajan when I first heard it, but Kollo seems to lose any grip on my imagination after hearing him 2-3 times in any given part/recording. DFD seems almost washed up, and Fassbaender doesn't compete. Kleiber is the primary attraction, and a very exciting one at that.
>
> For me the only real attraction is Margaret Price, but the whole
> affair has a very sterile, studio-bound quality.

Part of the problem is the frightening dynamic range--the recording is
uncomfortable listening. Fortunately there are a few live Tristans
conducted by Carlos Kleiber that, despite sonic constrictions, are
more engaging, more pleasurable.

--Jeff

randy...@gmail.com

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Nov 19, 2012, 11:08:25 PM11/19/12
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Anyone ever heard a Knappertsbusch Tristan?
I've been especially curious about this one:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000044WA

Not a work one associates with Kna readily, but I could certainly imagine his imprint one the work having some memorable qualities (maybe).

jrsnfld

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Nov 19, 2012, 11:39:31 PM11/19/12
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I haven't heard it in a while, but I remember taking an instant liking
to this performance; I remember Braun in particular being a delightful
discovery (I had not heard of her before)...this is definitely a
version to buy if you're interested. Knappertsbusch is indeed most
readily associated with Wagner, no matter whether we're talking
Parsifal or Tristan or the Flying Dutchman or, of course,
Meistersinger and the Ring.

I have it on Gala, which of probably doesn't have the sound that the
Orfeo must have, but not only was Gala cheap, it also had the added
bonus of Wesendonck Lieder, with Braun accompanied by none other than
Hans Rosbaud!

--Jeff

wagnerfan

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Nov 20, 2012, 12:39:13 AM11/20/12
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On Mon, 19 Nov 2012 19:14:17 -0800 (PST), jrsnfld <jrs...@aol.com>
wrote:
I don't like the Bohm at all - the second act duet is way too fast
(the music has no time to sink in) and the whole thing is way too
objective for me (I don't like his Ring for similar reasons), Nilsson
is wonderful, Ludwig has a very tremulous sounding first Act (she had
a throat infection which apparently had cleared by the time of the
performance of Act Two that was used), Windgassens immense
intelligence makes for a great third Act but in the second Act he just
sounds way too frayed and pallid and the recorded sound really does
not have the warmth and balance you experience when hearing this work
in the Festspeilhaus. I liked it very much when I first heard it but
it hasn't worn well and it really isn't the way I want to experience
this work at all. Wagner fan

jrsnfld

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Nov 20, 2012, 2:37:36 AM11/20/12
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On Nov 19, 9:39 pm, wagnerfan <ivanmax...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 19 Nov 2012 19:14:17 -0800 (PST), jrsnfld <jrsn...@aol.com>
His conducting is too objective? Interesting...this never occurred to
me.

What do you think of Janowski?

--Jeff

wagnerfan

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Nov 20, 2012, 6:20:48 AM11/20/12
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On Mon, 19 Nov 2012 23:37:36 -0800 (PST), jrsnfld <jrs...@aol.com>
wrote:
When I call it objective, it's because I think this score is so
special it really has to draw you in so you become almost a
participant - Furtwangler does it both in the wild live torso from
1947 and the better balanced, cast and complete studio set from 1952.
The Bohm is well played and very well cast and if it was one's only
Tristan recording it would be OK but it never draws me in like that -
only in the third act and its mainly due to Windgassen who seems to
inspire Bohm to really throw himself into the music, The rest is too
as I said objective, as if examining the score from the outside - I
get somewhat the same quality from Karajan whose later operatic work
always reminds me of examining a beautiful object held at arm's
length,
Kleiber shares many of the same qualities as Furtwangler in that I am
always really involved but he is let down by some bad casting and
wierd orchestral balances, haven't heard the Janowski

Wagner fan

wkasimer

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Nov 20, 2012, 9:45:14 AM11/20/12
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On Nov 19, 11:08 pm, randy.l...@gmail.com wrote:

> Anyone ever heard a Knappertsbusch Tristan?
> I've been especially curious about this one:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000044WA

Like Jeff, I own this in its much cheaper Gala incarnation, which
sounds OK. I like Knappertsbusch's conducting and the two women, but
the men are really not up to the task. Treptow is a singer who
sharply divides listeners, and I can't stand the sound of his voice,
which is certainly an impediment to my enjoyment of the set.

Bill

wagnerfan

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Nov 20, 2012, 11:52:58 AM11/20/12
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Treptow (who sang forever) has been described as having a very good
basic technique which was compromised by vocal courses in progressive
self-strangulation - once in awhile a ringing note comes through all
the squeezing and straining. Its a matter of where ones pain threshold
lies between him and his contemporary Bernd Aldenhoff who had no
concept of pitch

Wagner fan

wade

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Nov 20, 2012, 12:08:41 PM11/20/12
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It appears that in Germany in the 1950s, if you didn't have Windgassen, you were stuck with Treptow, Aldenhoff, Hopf or the remains of Max Lorenz. German overweight bagpiping.

Mark S

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Nov 20, 2012, 12:39:33 PM11/20/12
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On Tuesday, November 20, 2012 9:08:41 AM UTC-8, wade wrote:
>
> It appears that in Germany in the 1950s, if you didn't have Windgassen, you were stuck with Treptow, Aldenhoff, Hopf or the remains of Max Lorenz. German overweight bagpiping.

I would take any of those tenors over Windgassen any day of the week. At least they all possessed true Wagnerian voices, even if they could be difficult to listen to on their worst days.

And knocking Max Lorenz? Seriously? He was SO much better than Windgassen could ever hope to be. His earliest recordings are spectacular.

Mark S

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Nov 20, 2012, 12:40:40 PM11/20/12
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I realize you're saying Lorenz was past his best in the 50s, but he had been singing for 30 years by then.

wkasimer

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Nov 20, 2012, 12:46:29 PM11/20/12
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On Nov 20, 12:39 pm, Mark S <markstenr...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>And knocking Max Lorenz? Seriously? He was SO much better than Windgassen >could ever hope to be. His earliest recordings are spectacular.

Mark, let's just say that my opinion of Lorenz differs from yours by
179 degrees, and leave it at that....

I do like Hopf, though. But I don't recall that there's a recording
of him singing Tristan.

Bill

wade

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Nov 20, 2012, 12:49:07 PM11/20/12
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I have no argument with Lorenz in the 1930s except for some of the Vienna State Opera live bits of Tristan with Anny Konetzni, where some of the mistakes in the Act 2 duet from both of them are awful and repeated on two different nights. Then again you could say that Melchior was consistently wrong too, but I would take Melchior over Lorenz any day, in anything. Yes my issue is with post-War Lorenz. And of course that is just my own choice.

Mark S

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Nov 20, 2012, 1:02:59 PM11/20/12
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On Tuesday, November 20, 2012 9:46:29 AM UTC-8, wkasimer wrote:
>
> I do like Hopf, though. But I don't recall that there's a recording
>
> of him singing Tristan.


There's a 1973 recording from Vienna conducted by C Kleiber with Hopf as Tristan. I've never heard it.

wade

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Nov 20, 2012, 1:23:02 PM11/20/12
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I always wondered if this was a "the show must go on" replacement casting as it is pretty late for Hopf's career as Heldentenor. Kleiber wasn't the sort to accept second rate casting.

wagnerfan

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Nov 20, 2012, 1:26:34 PM11/20/12
to
He was knocking Lorenz in the 50s - when he was really terrible. As
opposed to Lorenz in the late 30s and the 40s when he was just
terrible. The only recordings of his I can stand are the early
electricals where he was wonderful but the voice rapidly locked into a
blaring, sliding into notes mess - there is way too much recorded
evidence to come up with anything else - a big voice is not enough.
Aldenhoff is absolutely the worst - his complete Stolzing from 1951
when he was in his prime is a pitchless, bleating caricature of a
German tenor and his Freischutz Max is just as bad. The voice
constantly sharps when the slightest pressure is put on it - I don't
know of any early recordings of his that are tolerable. Treptow could
have good days - his Siegmund at La Scala in 1950 under Furtwangler
caught him in good form but too much of his work is afflicted by
squeezing and straining. Another tenor who was past it by the 1950s
but did some very good work in the 30s was August Seider.
I'm not going to argue the Windgassen case since his voice either
attracts listeners like me or turns others off. I find him to be an
extremely intelligent and often moving singer who was exactly the
wrong voice for the heavier Wagner roles but through some very savvy
singing and a good technique was able to sing them effectively for
years when we had a lot of blarers as substitutes.
Now Hopf is an interesting case - a friend said that he is best
enjoyed when listening from another room. Another big voice and he
sang for a long time but he can be extremely graceless and dull.

All that said - I think I might take ANY of them over who we have
today.
Wagner fan

wagnerfan

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Nov 20, 2012, 1:29:34 PM11/20/12
to
There is also one from 1974 Cologne under Hans Wallat. Wagner fan

wade

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Nov 20, 2012, 1:44:36 PM11/20/12
to
The other Wagnerian Heldentenor whose career I don't understand was Set Svanholm. Even in the 1944 Gotterdammerung from Bayreuth, it is clearly a voice overparted (BTW, that is the most depressingly sung "Goddammit" I have ever heard.) Yet he kept up singing the heaviest/longest of the tenor parts in various places thru the middle 1950s. I would have rather he spent his time singing Loge and Lohengrin where the beauty of the voice would show, not Siegfried, Tristan and Tannhauser. It seemed like by the end of one of those big sings, he would be totally worn out.

wkasimer

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Nov 20, 2012, 2:32:04 PM11/20/12
to
On Nov 20, 1:26 pm, wagnerfan <ivanmax...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Now Hopf is an interesting case - a friend said that he is best
> enjoyed when listening from another room.

I remember reading that in a review - perhaps it was in Osborne's
series about Wagner recordings that he wrote during the 70's.

> Another big voice and he
> sang for a long time but he can be extremely graceless and dull.

I've been listening to him a lot lately - the Kempe Bayreuth 1960
Ring, mostly - and the more I hear him, the more impressed I am his
singing. And I think that his best work isn't necessarily in Wagner -
his Chenier and Otello (both auf Deutsch) are quite good.

Bill

wagnerfan

unread,
Nov 20, 2012, 2:39:28 PM11/20/12
to
No it wasn't Osborne (who comes down really hard on Hopf) I think it
may have have been Peter G Davis or Ken Furie
I think I have both of those non-Wagner Hopf recordings- will look
them up and give a listen (I can certainly hear him as a very good
Otello) Wagner fan

wade

unread,
Nov 20, 2012, 2:51:25 PM11/20/12
to
Ken Furie, now there is a name from the past!!! I knew him when he presided over the cash register at J&R Music World in downtown NYC in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He made Stefan Zucker look human.

wkasimer

unread,
Nov 20, 2012, 2:56:29 PM11/20/12
to
On Nov 20, 2:39 pm, wagnerfan <ivanmax...@gmail.com> wrote:

>  No it wasn't Osborne (who comes down really hard on Hopf)

I think that you're right - wasn't it Osborne who compared Windgassen
to Hopf, quoting Shakepeare by using the phrase "Hyperion to a
satyr"? That review has stuck in my mind for 40 years.

Bill

Mark S

unread,
Nov 20, 2012, 3:00:04 PM11/20/12
to
Also, his 1955 Radames with Rysanek, conducted by Kubelik is pretty damn good. In German, of course.

wagnerfan

unread,
Nov 20, 2012, 4:58:02 PM11/20/12
to
A lot of Osborne's reviews stay in one's mind (he was really superb)
- that phrase sounds really familiar but i don't think its Osborne
comparing those two it doesn't appear in either his review of the Hopf
EMI Tannhauser or as a comparison in his review of the 62 Philips
Tannhauser - why did you do that?? Now I'm going to go nuts trying to
find the reference Wagner fan

wkasimer

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Nov 20, 2012, 5:01:35 PM11/20/12
to
On Nov 20, 4:58 pm, wagnerfan <ivanmax...@gmail.com> wrote:

>   A lot of Osborne's reviews stay in one's mind (he was really superb)
> - that phrase sounds really familiar but i don't think its Osborne
> comparing those two it doesn't appear in either his review of the Hopf
> EMI Tannhauser or as a comparison in his review of the 62 Philips
> Tannhauser - why did you do that?? Now I'm going to go nuts trying to
> find the reference   Wagner fan

It was a review of the DG recording with Gerdes, Nilsson, and DFD.

Bill

wagnerfan

unread,
Nov 20, 2012, 5:03:09 PM11/20/12
to
On Tue, 20 Nov 2012 16:58:02 -0500, wagnerfan <ivanm...@gmail.com>
wrote:
Found it - Actually it was George Movshon in his review of the
Gerdes led DGG Tannhauser - while accepting Windgassens vocal faults,
he uses that phrase comparing the Windgassen Tannhauser to the EMI
Hopf version. (Christ I'm good!!!)

Wagner fan

Matthew B. Tepper

unread,
Nov 21, 2012, 3:50:09 PM11/21/12
to
wade <wade...@hotmail.com> appears to have caused the following letters
to be typed in news:b4990cd2-1cc3-43ca...@googlegroups.com:
I heard Hopf sing Herod in 1974 (Rysanek as Salome, Varnay as Herodias,
Nimsgern as Jokanaan), and while he was fine, I can't imagine him singing
Tristan then.

--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!!
Read about "Proty" here: http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/proty.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of my employers.

Matthew B. Tepper

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Nov 21, 2012, 3:50:09 PM11/21/12
to
wade <wade...@hotmail.com> appears to have caused the following letters
to be typed in news:ac24ccd5-1641-46f2...@googlegroups.com:

> I have no argument with Lorenz in the 1930s except for some of the Vienna
> State Opera live bits of Tristan with Anny Konetzni, where some of the
> mistakes in the Act 2 duet from both of them are awful and repeated on two
> different nights. Then again you could say that Melchior was consistently
> wrong too, but I would take Melchior over Lorenz any day, in anything. Yes
> my issue is with post-War Lorenz. And of course that is just my own
> choice.

For me, Melchior is the horse on the concourse, so to speak.

Matthew B. Tepper

unread,
Nov 21, 2012, 3:50:09 PM11/21/12
to
wade <wade...@hotmail.com> appears to have caused the following letters
to be typed in news:73a9aa50-c4de-4e4a...@googlegroups.com:

> On Tuesday, November 20, 2012 11:39:36 AM UTC-8, wagnerfan wrote:
>> On Tue, 20 Nov 2012 11:32:04 -0800 (PST), wkasimer
>>
>> <wkas...@comcast.net> wrote:
>>
>> >On Nov 20, 1:26�pm, wagnerfan <ivanmax...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >> Now Hopf is an interesting case - a friend said that he is best
>> >> enjoyed when listening from another room.
>> >
>> >I remember reading that in a review - perhaps it was in Osborne's
>> >series about Wagner recordings that he wrote during the 70's.
>> >
>> >> Another big voice and he sang for a long time but he can be
>> >> extremely graceless and dull.
>> >
>> >I've been listening to him a lot lately - the Kempe Bayreuth 1960
>> >Ring, mostly - and the more I hear him, the more impressed I am his
>> >singing. And I think that his best work isn't necessarily in Wagner -
>> >his Chenier and Otello (both auf Deutsch) are quite good.
>> >
>> >Bill
>>
>> No it wasn't Osborne (who comes down really hard on Hopf) I think it
>> may have have been Peter G Davis or Ken Furie
>> I think I have both of those non-Wagner Hopf recordings- will look
>> them up and give a listen (I can certainly hear him as a very good
>> Otello) Wagner fan
>
> Ken Furie, now there is a name from the past!!! I knew him when he
> presided over the cash register at J&R Music World in downtown NYC in
> the late 1970s and early 1980s. He made Stefan Zucker look human.

Would you care to elaborate? I have never seen Stefan Zucker (apart from
his publicity photo), but I did speak with him on the phone once, and I
thought his speaking voice was very ... odd.

wade

unread,
Nov 21, 2012, 4:17:53 PM11/21/12
to
No, I think i should refrain. At the time he was obsessed with everything Tebaldi. But I do recall that he was constantly tormented by a female customer who would regularly arrive in the store during lunchtime and go on and on about how Leonard Bernstein was the greatest conductor in history. It (the idea) and she drove him crazy. It was entertaining.

Edward Cowan

unread,
Nov 21, 2012, 4:43:31 PM11/21/12
to
I think one could say that one has not really lived until one has heard
Hans Hopf sing "Il mio tesoro" in a German-language performance of /Don
Giovanni/ on Berlin Classics! <g> --E.A.C.

wagnerfan <ivanm...@gmail.com> wrote:

> No it wasn't Osborne (who comes down really hard on Hopf) I think it
> may have have been Peter G Davis or Ken Furie
> I think I have both of those non-Wagner Hopf recordings- will look
> them up and give a listen (I can certainly hear him as a very good
> Otello) Wagner fan


--
hrabanus

Tassilo

unread,
Nov 22, 2012, 1:47:50 PM11/22/12
to
On Tuesday, November 20, 2012 12:39:22 AM UTC-5, wagnerfan wrote:
> I don't like the Bohm at all - the second act duet is way too fast
> (the music has no time to sink in) and the whole thing is way too
> objective for me (I don't like his Ring for similar reasons).

The Wagner Fan has done a very good job of summarizing exactly what I dislike about Böhm’s DG Tristan and Philips Ring, but there are other performances with Böhm that are nothing like that including the Met Tristan b-cast of 9 January 1960 with Nilsson and Vinay, which was Nilsson’s first Met b-cast and took place shortly after her debut as Isolde. The performances of both Böhm and Vinay that afternoon were harrowing, their 3rd act a model of Wagnerian intensity, although Vinay’s instrument had seen better days. My point, though, is that the Böhm of that performance is worlds removed from the Böhm you hear on DG.

I don’t like any of the studio recordings of Tristan.

-dg

wagnerfan

unread,
Nov 22, 2012, 4:09:47 PM11/22/12
to
I'll give it (the 60 broadcast) another listen - actually I even
think the third Act of Tristan from 66 has an intensity missing from
the first two Acts.
Wagner fan

Andy Evans

unread,
Feb 9, 2013, 10:33:49 AM2/9/13
to
I just picked up on this thread - found Tristan listed as the second best opera of all time on 100 best operas! I'm all Meistersung out..... looking for a change

I happened to first go to Karajan 52 on Spotify and am listening as I speak. I may not have to go much further - the singing is glorious.

A version in modern sound would be nice, but is there anything as good as this?

aesthete8

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Feb 9, 2013, 6:57:52 PM2/9/13
to
The following Amazon customer (and over half-a-dozen other customers)
love the Kollo/Price recording conducted by Kleiber:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R16EOUXR5MU1M7

Andy Evans

unread,
Feb 9, 2013, 9:20:08 PM2/9/13
to
Is there any love for Lorenz's Tristan Und Isolde (Hamburg 1949) Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt? Sound is decent and he sounds in very fine form.

wkasimer

unread,
Feb 10, 2013, 11:08:38 PM2/10/13
to
On Feb 9, 9:20 pm, Andy Evans <performanceandme...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Is there any love for Lorenz's Tristan Und Isolde (Hamburg 1949) Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt? Sound is decent and he sounds in very fine form.

"Fine form" and "Max Lorenz" are mutually exclusive.

I listened again to the studio Kleiber after many years, and while I
still find it pretty studio-bound, I liked Kollo a little better than
I remembered. Maybe the past decade of hearing people like Stephen
Gould and Christian Franz butcher the role has softened my brain.
Price is light but very effective.

Another set that I forgot about is Runnicles:

http://www.amazon.com/Wagner-Tristan-Isolde-Richard-Classical/dp/B000FL88FI

Brewer may not be the "best" Isolde on record, but she may be the
singer with the best vocal endowment for the role. A voice of ample
size, with a mezzo-ish coloration, secure throughout her range, plenty
of bite to the sound when necessary. Her Tristan, Treleavan, is no
more than adequate, but at least he sings reasonably musically - I
just wish that I found the voice less unattractive. The rest of the
cast isn't particularly memorable, but the sound and Runnicles'
conducting are excellent. Definitely worth hearing for Brewer.

Another interesting one is from Rome 1972:

http://www.amazon.com/Wagner-Tristan-Isolde-Roma-1972/dp/B00005A0NP

I've now heard three Brilioth Tristans (1970, 1972, and 1975), and
this is by far the best of them. It's not always a pretty sound -
think of Set Svanholm - but he manages the entire role with his voice
and dignity intact, and his tone is reasonably attractive. And he
holds his own with Nilsson - unfortunately, that's because she sounds,
by Nilsson standards, quite dreadful - out of tune, out of sorts, and
without so much as a hint of warmth to the tone. The rest of the cast
is fair; the sound, though, is really excellent, a lot better than I
might have expected.

Bill

gggg...@gmail.com

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Sep 20, 2014, 7:35:23 AM9/20/14
to
On Monday, November 19, 2012 9:43:16 AM UTC-10, Randy Lane wrote:
> I'd like to solicit opinions from posters about the many recordings of Tristan und Isolde.
>
>
>
> Tristan was one of the first 3-4 works I cut my teeth on when I discovered the magnificent genre of opera some 40 years ago. I could only afford to buy one recording, and that was the von Karajan EMI set. Thus, I've always held Vickers in high regard. I have been away from heavy exposure to the opera for many years now, so I am prepared to re-evaluate Vickers, Karajan, and others; hence my request opinions.
>
>
>
> Recordings I have, and plan to revisit in the coming weeks are:
>
>
>
> Karajan/EMI (already mentioned) - I was really disappointed with the EMI Studio remaster and dumped it years ago:
>
>
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000002SDZ (issued 1990 or earlier)
>
>
>
> I now own it as part of the 72 CD Karajan EMI Vocal/Opera collection. The booklet with that set gives 1994 as the year of the digital remaster for Tristan, but I cannot find a corresonding reissue of the recording from that time period. It does sound somewhat better though. Toshiba reissued it a few years back, at a time when their engineers were doing some quite remarkable tinkering with the sound on Karajan's EMI recordings from that era (a great job they did with the early 70s Tchaikovsky 4-5-6 with the BPO in the Jesus-Christus Kirche, same venue and age as this 1972 recording), but alas I did not get around to obtaining it before the supply ran out.
>
>
>
> Kleiber/DG - probably came the closest to supplanting Vickers/Karajan when I first heard it, but Kollo seems to lose any grip on my imagination after hearing him 2-3 times in any given part/recording. DFD seems almost washed up, and Fassbaender doesn't compete. Kleiber is the primary attraction, and a very exciting one at that.
>
>
>
> Böhm/DG - well sung, and Böhm's dramatic drive is as appealing here as it is in the Ring. Perhaps a better appreciation for this classic will emerge from my revisitation.
>
>
>
> Furtwängler/EMI - the heavy favorite of many. A friend loaned me a copy when I only had the Karajan and could afford no others. At the time I was on a Furtwängler high, having heard the famous Bayreuth LvB 9th for the first time. The Tristan though, while very fine and deeply moving at every moment, never caught fire for me. I continued to pursue Furtwängler's recordings for a few years, but not of Wagner or opera. A few years later the Vienna Die Walküre made a completely different impression on me and kindled my now very high admiration for Herr Furtwängler's artistry in Wagner. I since concluded that the Tristan is too much of a studio-concoted recording - it does not originate from a live performance (at least that I am aware of). Again, after being away from it for many many years a full revisit might yield amore favorable opinion/experience.

According to this book review:

- FurtwÑngler's specialty was a nervous drive that kept audiences on the edges of their seats, a quality that is best captured on his live radio tapes, although his studio Tristan und Isolde does show the conductor at his most sublime.

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sam-h-shirakawa/the-devils-music-master/

tomdeacon

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Sep 20, 2014, 11:48:01 AM9/20/14
to
You'll have to wait for our local opera queen to pronounce on such a
question.

If ONLY he could see himself as Isolde and die nicely!
--
TD

jeffc

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Sep 22, 2014, 12:39:19 PM9/22/14
to
Seems this Kleiber performance is not readily available but is excellent

http://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-3498/



Andy Evans

unread,
Jan 18, 2016, 7:34:31 AM1/18/16
to
On Monday, September 22, 2014 at 5:39:19 PM UTC+1, jeffc wrote:
> Seems this Kleiber performance is not readily available but is excellent
>
> http://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-3498/

I'm just reviving this thread to bring it up to date. I've been listening a little to Kleiber on YT. Margaret Price is very different - small voice but lovely singing. I'm not sure about Rene Kollo - not getting much from him though the voice is nice. This set divides opinions.

Where are we now in 2016 for CD versions and video versions?

Terry

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Jan 18, 2016, 8:48:32 AM1/18/16
to
I suspect that every set divides opinions! At the moment, I'm listening to Goodall's recording, with Linda Esther Gray and James Michinson, and enjoying it, whilst admitting that Michinson is a bit gritty of tone, but quite noble. Gray is wonderful. But it's not very recent, of course.

The Pappano/Domingo/Stemme recording is the most recent I have, and this seemed not to have attracted a lot of comment when it came out a few years ago. I think it's pretty good, especially the conducting, but Domingo doesn't seem quite right in the part.

Furtwangler/Suthaus/Flagstad, Karajan/Vickers/Dernesch and Bohm/Windgassen/Nilsson seem to have the strongest followings amongst the older sets. Videos seem to be the place to find more up-to-date recordings. I wouldn't mind watching the most recent Barenboim/Storey/Meier blu-ray. Can anyone comment on it?

ljk...@aol.com

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Jan 18, 2016, 11:23:59 AM1/18/16
to
Jochum, Varnay, Vinay -- Bayreuth, 1953

Larry Kart

gggg...@gmail.com

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Jan 18, 2016, 4:32:19 PM1/18/16
to
According to the following recent article:

- ...Boulez...conducted...Tristan only once...was in Osaka in 1967 on tour with Bayreuth forces (but a local orchestra). It is available on tape and CD...

http://www.spectator.co.uk/2016/01/spare-us-this-unanimous-chorus-of-praise-for-pierre-boulez/

Terry

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Jan 19, 2016, 2:10:54 AM1/19/16
to
Are you recommending it?

Herman

unread,
Jan 19, 2016, 3:12:10 AM1/19/16
to
Don't be silly, putting quastions to the robot.

chax...@williams.edu

unread,
Jan 19, 2016, 2:41:29 PM1/19/16
to
It's one thing I wish would be released on DVD. It's Wieland Wagner's production with Nilsson, Windgassen, Hotter.

wade

unread,
Jan 19, 2016, 2:59:33 PM1/19/16
to
From a visual perspective the Bayreuth Tristan Act 2 with Johanna Meier is extraordinarily beautiful with a great coup d'theatre climax.

Willem Orange

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Jan 19, 2016, 3:15:28 PM1/19/16
to
yes I was there for the opening = very beautiful

furrybear57

unread,
Jan 19, 2016, 11:08:54 PM1/19/16
to
Is no one going to mention (or give their humble opinion) on the Tristan with Christine Brewer, John Treleaven, Dagmar Peckova, Peter Rose and Donald Runnicles conducting the BBC on Warner? I haven't acquired it yet but i'm curious to know what this group thinks.

Andy Evans

unread,
Jan 20, 2016, 4:51:57 AM1/20/16
to
> > Furtwangler/Suthaus/Flagstad, Karajan/Vickers/Dernesch and Bohm/Windgassen/Nilsson seem to have the strongest followings amongst the older sets.

I started my search through the Tristans by listening to various Liebestods on Youtube. Sure enough the stars were Flagstad and Nilsson. Honourable mention to Margaret Price and Grob Prandl amongst a few others.

For Flagstad the Furtwangler is pretty obvious but I've been enjoying the 1936 performance.

For Nilsson I could do with some help. I really can't make myself like Bohm's handling of the score - it seems to have no real love in it, which is the last thing you need in this opera. Where is the tenderness? The caressing of the musical line?

What's the best way to get Nilsson in this?

Andy Evans

unread,
Jan 20, 2016, 6:28:18 AM1/20/16
to
Well - I discovered this discography of Wagner, and loads of details about various Tristans. There are a large number of Nilsson recordings just for a start, on various specialist opera labels.
http://www.wagnerdiscography.com/

I also discovered the 1943 Tristan of Lorenz and Buchner which is just amazing - quite overwhelming in places. There are a few YT excerpts.

Looks like there are a very large number of interesting recordings in the vaults - it's not just a question of the usual suspects.

Willem Orange

unread,
Jan 20, 2016, 2:13:09 PM1/20/16
to
Agreed about Bohm _ I don;t like his handling of Tristan for the same reason I don;t like his Ring -he rides roughshod over moments of transition and tenderness and its all too fast - the love duet in Act Two is so fast it doesn't have time to settle down and have the motives register for us before moving on. Its not my idea of how Tristan should be conducted at all

t

unread,
Jan 20, 2016, 11:17:18 PM1/20/16
to
There's a wonderful Tristan with Erich Kleiber, Flagstad, Svanholm,
Hotter. Buenos Aires 1948.

Martin Schöön

unread,
Jan 21, 2016, 3:12:40 PM1/21/16
to
Den 2016-01-21 skrev t <t...@sprynet.com>:
> There's a wonderful Tristan with Erich Kleiber, Flagstad, Svanholm,
> Hotter. Buenos Aires 1948.

Not really on topic but I think this radio programme is of interest
to some of you:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06sny88

/Martin

Andy Evans

unread,
Jan 21, 2016, 3:56:15 PM1/21/16
to
> Not really on topic but I think this radio programme is of interest
> to some of you:
>
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06sny88
>
> /Martin

Ah - thanks for that. bit of a mixed bag this episode, some rather boring academic trivia. It's usually a very good series.

wkasimer

unread,
Jan 21, 2016, 4:26:18 PM1/21/16
to
On Wednesday, January 20, 2016 at 4:51:57 AM UTC-5, Andy Evans wrote:

> For Nilsson I could do with some help. I really can't make myself like Bohm's handling of the score - it seems to have no real love in it, which is the last thing you need in this opera. Where is the tenderness? The caressing of the musical line?
>
> What's the best way to get Nilsson in this?

There are a bunch of live performances floating around, either on CD (Myto) or from one of the online vendors of live material. You might prefer one of the Sawallisch performances (he conducted T&I at Bayreuth in 1957 and 1958), or the later Boulez from Osaka. All of these are, of course, sonically inferior to the 1966 Bohm on DG.



Ricardo Jimenez

unread,
Jan 21, 2016, 10:13:36 PM1/21/16
to
On Tue, 19 Jan 2016 11:41:24 -0800 (PST), chax...@williams.edu wrote:

>
>> > > According to the following recent article:

There are four Blu-ray versions available, none of them making all
Amazon reviewers happy. Anybody have experience with any of them? I
have several DVDs including the Ponnelle version with Johanna Meier
which was mentioned favorably in this thread, but am looking for a
high-def experience especially as to the sound.

One of the blu-rays features Gwyneth Jones as Isolde and is directed
by Götz Friedrich and seems to have traditional sets and costumes, but
its age indicates that even if the sound is lossless, it might not be
up to 21st century standards. Barenboim is represented by a recent La
Scala version with Waltraud Meier.

If I were directing a Tristan I would set acts 1 and 3 in bright
daylight to contrast with the obligatory dark second act and help the
audience keep awake during the loungueurs. :-)

Andy Evans

unread,
Jan 23, 2016, 10:31:12 AM1/23/16
to
I'm turning into a serious fan of Gertrude Grob-Prandl. I'm pretty blown away by her singing, in good sound, on the Cluytens 1956 version. Trouble there is that the Tristan of Rudolf Lustig is pretty dire.

There's a De Sabata recording from 1951 where her Tristan is Max Lorenz, which is absolutely fine, but in this case the recording is dire. Frustrating. Another case of fate conspiring against one........

As a consolation prize I've been enjoying Grob-Prandl in Gotterdammerung 1949 with Treptow, conducted by Moralt. That's much more successful.

Any more fans of Grob-Prandl here?

gggg gggg

unread,
Feb 6, 2021, 11:47:58 AM2/6/21
to
On Monday, November 19, 2012 at 11:43:15 AM UTC-8, randy...@gmail.com wrote:
> I'd like to solicit opinions from posters about the many recordings of Tristan und Isolde.
>
> Tristan was one of the first 3-4 works I cut my teeth on when I discovered the magnificent genre of opera some 40 years ago. I could only afford to buy one recording, and that was the von Karajan EMI set. Thus, I've always held Vickers in high regard. I have been away from heavy exposure to the opera for many years now, so I am prepared to re-evaluate Vickers, Karajan, and others; hence my request opinions.
>
> Recordings I have, and plan to revisit in the coming weeks are:
>
> Karajan/EMI (already mentioned) - I was really disappointed with the EMI Studio remaster and dumped it years ago:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000002SDZ (issued 1990 or earlier)
>
> I now own it as part of the 72 CD Karajan EMI Vocal/Opera collection. The booklet with that set gives 1994 as the year of the digital remaster for Tristan, but I cannot find a corresonding reissue of the recording from that time period. It does sound somewhat better though. Toshiba reissued it a few years back, at a time when their engineers were doing some quite remarkable tinkering with the sound on Karajan's EMI recordings from that era (a great job they did with the early 70s Tchaikovsky 4-5-6 with the BPO in the Jesus-Christus Kirche, same venue and age as this 1972 recording), but alas I did not get around to obtaining it before the supply ran out.
>
> Kleiber/DG - probably came the closest to supplanting Vickers/Karajan when I first heard it, but Kollo seems to lose any grip on my imagination after hearing him 2-3 times in any given part/recording. DFD seems almost washed up, and Fassbaender doesn't compete. Kleiber is the primary attraction, and a very exciting one at that.
>
> Böhm/DG - well sung, and Böhm's dramatic drive is as appealing here as it is in the Ring. Perhaps a better appreciation for this classic will emerge from my revisitation.
>
> Furtwängler/EMI - the heavy favorite of many. A friend loaned me a copy when I only had the Karajan and could afford no others. At the time I was on a Furtwängler high, having heard the famous Bayreuth LvB 9th for the first time. The Tristan though, while very fine and deeply moving at every moment, never caught fire for me. I continued to pursue Furtwängler's recordings for a few years, but not of Wagner or opera. A few years later the Vienna Die Walküre made a completely different impression on me and kindled my now very high admiration for Herr Furtwängler's artistry in Wagner. I since concluded that the Tristan is too much of a studio-concoted recording - it does not originate from a live performance (at least that I am aware of). Again, after being away from it for many many years a full revisit might yield amore favorable opinion/experience.
>
> Goodall/Decca - I got this a few years back as part of an order of Tower Japan special exclusive reissues (sort-of a throw-in to increase the size of the order and share the S&H costs). I think it is now available internationally again. I've only listened to it in bits and pieces though.
>
> Karajan/Bayreuth/1952/Orfeo - a recording I covetted for many years, even more so when the Orfeo release of it appeared, being already familiar with many other historic treasures those folks have given us such splendid distributions of. I obtained a used copy a few months ago in like-new condition relatively cheap, and it is that acquisition that is driving my plan to revisit the opera. Like the Goodall, I've only listened to bits and pieces, having little time available recently to dedicate to wholesome continuous Wagnerian endeavours. But it was enough to say "carve out the time!!!". The combination of a youthful (i.e., not as sentimental) Karajan and a to-die-for cast makes this a likely candidate to come out on top in my sweepstakes.
>
> I also own the Bernstein/Philps recording, again having obtained a used copy for less than the going price for the OOP originals or resissues. I have not heard any of it. Some friends with interest in Wagner sneered at me when I mentioned that I bought it. Bernstein polarizes opinions as always.
>
> I once heard the Solti recording with some friends - Sir George never disappoints. We were thinking about somehow filtering out all of the singing and just indulging in the orchestral opulence.
>
> I do not own the Pappano, Thielemann, Barenboim, or the recent Janowski.
>
> I have not explored the DVD market much either. It lookslike there are two Barenboim-conducted DVDs on DG:
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OONQ1W
>
> http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0012NO92O

https://groups.google.com/g/humanities.music.composers.wagner/c/8hHmgA86LRM

Richard deRabelais

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Feb 6, 2021, 12:12:22 PM2/6/21
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Not to be missed is Belohlavek at Glyndebourne in 2009. Check it out here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Tristan-Isolde-Blu-ray-Region/dp/B002KLGLV4
Highly recommended. Picture quality *****

"I don’t think that I have ever witnessed a more perfect
realisation of a Wagner opera than this superb Tristan
und Isolde...[Jiří Bĕlohlávek] is scrupulous with the score, and takes his time over it: the pauses and silences are immense and there is no factitious attempt to whip up excitement by speeding...a great and unforgettable
occasion." (The Daily Telegraph)
"A performance realised to Glyndebourne's highest standards – the chorus and stage brass are Bayreuth level, the casting immaculate (they can all really sing these parts), and Bĕlohlávek's conducting balanced with a Goodall-like attention to the filigree detail of Wagner's new-wave scoring." (Gramophone)
"...those looking for a Tristan with warmth and immediacy will find it certainly shares Barenboim's benchmark recommendation." (BBC Music Magazine)

Cast
Nina Stemme (Isolde)
Robert Gambill (Tristan)
Katarina Karnéus (Brangäne)
Bo Skovhus (Kurwenal)
René Papa (King Marke)
Stephen Gadd (Melot)
Glyndebourne Chorus; London Philharmonic Orchestra; Jiří Bĕlohlávek

Stage Director: Nikolaus Lehnhoff
Catalogue Number: OABD7039D
Date of Performance: 2007
Running Time: 350 minutes
Sound: 2.0 & 5.0 Dolby True HD Audio
Aspect Ratio: 1080i High Definition / 16:9
Subtitles: EN, FR, DE, ES, IT
Label: Opus Arte

----------
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Chris from Lafayette

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Feb 6, 2021, 2:52:44 PM2/6/21
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On Saturday, February 6, 2021 at 9:12:22 AM UTC-8, richardd...@gmail.com wrote:
> Not to be missed is Belohlavek at Glyndebourne in 2009. Check it out here:
> https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Tristan-Isolde-Blu-ray-Region/dp/B002KLGLV4
> Highly recommended. Picture quality *****
>
> "I don’t think that I have ever witnessed a more perfect
> realisation of a Wagner opera than this superb Tristan
> und Isolde...[Jiří Bĕlohlávek] is scrupulous with the score, and takes his time over it: the pauses and silences are immense and there is no factitious attempt to whip up excitement by speeding...a great and unforgettable
> occasion." (The Daily Telegraph)
> "A performance realised to Glyndebourne's highest standards – the chorus and stage brass are Bayreuth level, the casting immaculate (they can all really sing these parts), and Bĕlohlávek's conducting balanced with a Goodall-like attention to the filigree detail of Wagner's new-wave scoring." (Gramophone)

>
> Cast
> Nina Stemme (Isolde)
> Robert Gambill (Tristan)
> Katarina Karnéus (Brangäne)
> Bo Skovhus (Kurwenal)
> René Papa (King Marke)
> Stephen Gadd (Melot)
> Glyndebourne Chorus; London Philharmonic Orchestra; Jiří Bĕlohlávek
>
> Stage Director: Nikolaus Lehnhoff
> Catalogue Number: OABD7039D
> Date of Performance: 2007
> Running Time: 350 minutes
> Sound: 2.0 & 5.0 Dolby True HD Audio
> Aspect Ratio: 1080i High Definition / 16:9
> Subtitles: EN, FR, DE, ES, IT
> Label: Opus Arte

That 350 minutes running time also includes all the "extras" and "featurettes" - I'd hate to hear a 350 minute Tristan! Otherwise, right on! ;-) (I've got it myself - MCh sound. . . mmmm!)

Andy Evans

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Feb 6, 2021, 3:04:22 PM2/6/21
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I'd loved to have heard a complete Tristan with Jessye Norman. It never materialised, though it was certainly a project that actively interested a few parties.
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gggg gggg

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Feb 8, 2021, 7:14:22 PM2/8/21
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On Saturday, February 6, 2021 at 12:04:22 PM UTC-8, Andy Evans wrote:
> I'd loved to have heard a complete Tristan with Jessye Norman. It never materialised, though it was certainly a project that actively interested a few parties.

https://www.artsjournal.com/condemned/2019/10/jessye-normans-lost-isolde-and-so-much-else/
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Chris from Lafayette

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Feb 9, 2021, 3:43:36 PM2/9/21
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On Monday, February 8, 2021 at 4:54:16 PM UTC-8, dk wrote:
> On Monday, February 8, 2021 at 4:46:56 PM UTC-8, dk wrote:

> For other opinions check http://www.operacast.com/tristan.htm
> and http://members.tip.net.au/~jgbrown/Tristan/discography/
>
> dk

So that guy in your first link ranks Dernesch ahead of Nilsson? Wow!

Actually, I don't think that Dernesch was bad, but. . . reality is reality! ;-)
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Alex Brown

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Feb 10, 2021, 1:16:58 AM2/10/21
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Ralph Moore's survey is good:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2018/Aug/Wagner_Tristan_survey.pdf

And yes, the studio Goodall recording *is* that good.


--
- Alex Brown
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