Der Freischutz recommendation
Jeffrey Lloyd
I'm wondering if anyone as any suggestions for a first Der Freischutz
recording. How about the the Harnoncourt recording with Orgonasova as
Agathe?
Johannes Roehl
> I'm wondering if anyone as any suggestions for a first Der Freischutz
> recording. How about the the Harnoncourt recording with Orgonasova as
> Agathe?
I don't know this one, but Harnoncourt can be very
idiosyncratic and seems to be more successful with
pre-romantic music (but admittedly I know a lot of his
recordings of baroque and classical and only a few of the
later ones), so it's probably not ideal as a first
encounter.
Carlos Kleiber's recording is justly famous (although I have
some minor quibbbles, first of all the use of actors in the
dialogue, second Theo Adam and Schreier is far better than I
had expected, but not ideal. The best things of the set are
Janowitz as Agathe, the conducting and the Dresden
orchestra), it should be available in the DG originals
series (midprice).
Also very good (IMO with a far better Caspar and a good Max,
the women are also very good, although Seefrieds Agathe
sounds to my ears somewhat past her prime) is Jochum's, also
DG (some cheapo twofer series, IIRC).
I would stay way from another cheap one with Schock as Max
and Matacic conducting (RCA/eurodisc).
I'd be interested myself in comments on earlier recordings
(Furtwängler?!).
HTH
Johannes
--
"Die edle Einfalt in den Werken der Natur hat nur gar zu oft
ihren Grund in der edeln Kurzsichtigkeit dessen, der sie
beobachtet."
(Ch. G. Lichtenberg)
Simon Roberts
Haronconcourt is interesting but too often lapses into soft/introspective mode
and his cast isn't consistently first rate. I think you're better off with
Carlos Kleiber, Keilberth or, if mono's OK, Erich Kleiber.
Simon
ghryo
It's only my opinion.
Regards
"Jeffrey Lloyd" <zhi...@mailcity.com> wrote in message news:<b62ek3$o79$1...@news.ycc.yale.edu>...
Donald Clarke
> > Hi,
> >
> > I'm wondering if anyone as any suggestions for a first Der Freischutz
> > recording. How about the the Harnoncourt recording with Orgonasova as
> > Agathe?
Which stereo Der Freischutz was available around 1970 on Seraphim in
the USA? I adored it and I will buy it again if it is on CD.
Donald Clarke
Austin Texas
Kalman Rubinson
wrote:
Probably (just guessing), the Keilberth. I like it, too.
Kal
Matthew B. Tepper (posts from uswest.net are forged)
to be typed in news:77dc8vs7jet0r5dgn...@4ax.com:
I adored it until I got the Kleiber, then chucked it. But I vas young in
dem dere days (very obscure movie reference), and didn't always keep
alternate versions for whatever merits they might well have had.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
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RMCR's most pointless, dumb and laughable chowderhead: Mark Coy.
David7Gable
My first choice would be Kleiber père. My second choice would be Kleiber fils.
But I haven't done a lot of comparison shopping. I'd be curious to hear
Kubelik and Keilberth. Don't think I've heard either one.
-david gable
Todd A
Kubelik first, Carlos Kleiber second. (The Kubelik is now in a Double
Decca without libretto.) Harnoncourt is too idiosyncratic.
Sam
Nobody likes Colin Davis? Big name cast and good sonics and a
libretto.
Manilov
Agreed on Kleiber pere, though I would also suggest that you get
Keilberth. Grummer is great in both! Finally, I would put in a plug
for Matacic, in part just because I have a soft spot for him. Not his
finest work in opera, but the performance has a nice theatrical sense.
Watson is quite good, Frick and Boehme even better. But Schock is not
in good voice.
P Manilov
David7Gable
>for Matacic
Tell me more. Should be absolutely terrific with him conducting. At least as
good as Erich Kleiber,` and coming from me that's a high expectation. Who's in
the cast?
-david gable
Manilov
I haven't heard the Matacic recording for a while, so take everything
I say cum grano salis. It's from the late 60s and was recorded soon
after a Berlin production. Cast: Claire Watson, Lotte Schaedle, Rudolf
Schock, Gottlob Frick (Kaspar), Kurt Boehme (Hermit), Claudio Nicolai
(Ottokar), w/ the Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper. Matacic takes his
time擁t's a pretty broad, even Wagnerian reading, though it doesn't go
as far in this direction as Heger. Matacic's strengths are in
capturing Weber's rustic sonorities very well and shaping the scenes.
There's a lot of staginess regarding sound effects and the like, which
I think adds to the feeling of real theatre, and the dialogue is given
pretty much complete. Watson is quite good, with the right kind of
pure tone and good diction. Schaedle didn't make much of an impression
on me. Schock is good in a few places, but overall he sounds somewhat
strained and ragged, esp. when compared with his earlier performance
in the Keilberth set. Frick and the other men are also quite good,
iirc. Overall, I enjoy the set a lot. It works as a whole-- you can
take it all seriously, which is a major accomplishment.
Still I don't think this is Matacic finest operatic achievement by any
means. While I share your view that he is overall a much better
conductor than Keilberth, it is the latter whose Freischuetz I find
more satisfying: the conducting doesn't really suffer by comparison
(Keilberth is more trim and taut, and the BPO plays very well.); and
the singers are at a consistently higher level (Gruemmer is in a
different league; Otto and the men are also stronger, though one or
two characterizations悠 can't recall which預re better under Matacic.
Btw, I asked this once before, I think, but do you (or does anyone)
know Matacic's Aida or Verdi Requiem, or his Fidelio excerts w/
Jurinac? I'm curious about these.
P Manilov
David7Gable
>know Matacic's Aida or Verdi Requiem, or his Fidelio excerts w/
>Jurinac? I'm curious about these.
I wish I did know. I know very few Matacic performances:
Fernando Cortez
Vespers of 1610
La fanciulla del West
Eroica
These are the only ones I can thing of offhand that I've actually heard. I'd
also like to hear the excerpts from Capriccio that he recorded with Schwarzkopf
and Gedda, although Schwarzkopf herself is a major disincentive for me.
-david gable
Mitchell Kaufman
David7Gable
>There's also the EMI Pagliacci w/Corelli, Amara, and Gobbi.
>
Yeah, I know, but I don't have the slightest interest in Leoncavallo. I also
don't have the slightest interest in Giordano, so I don't have the slightest
interest in the famous live Chenier with von Matacic either.
-david gable
Tony Movshon
> Yeah, I know, but I don't have the slightest interest in Leoncavallo. I also
> don't have the slightest interest in Giordano, so I don't have the slightest
> interest in the famous live Chenier with von Matacic either.
Snob.
Tony Movshon
mov...@nyu.edu
Manilov
> >Btw, I asked this once before, I think, but do you (or does anyone)
> >know Matacic's Aida or Verdi Requiem, or his Fidelio excerts w/
> >Jurinac? I'm curious about these.
>
> I wish I did know. I know very few Matacic performances:
>
> Fernando Cortez
> Vespers of 1610
> La fanciulla del West
> Eroica
How's that Vespers? It's been hanging around BRO for ages, but I've
seen no comments on it here. Matacic fan that I am, I'm skeptical.
P Manilov
Edward A. Cowan
Lohengrin - Sándor Kónya
Elsa - Elisabeth Grümmer
Ortrud - Rita Gorr
Telramund - Ernest Blanc
King Henry - Franz Crass
I have it on LP: Melodram MEL-591.
--E.A.C.
gggg...@gmail.com
http://operawire.com/opera-profile-carl-maria-von-webers-der-freischutz/