Legendary Wagner Singers of the 1930s (Telefunken Legacy Series) [Original recording remastered]

Rudolf Bockelmann (Performer, Composer), Herbert Janssen (Performer), Jaro Prohaska (Performer), Hans Reinmar (Performer, Orchestra), Richard [Classical] Wagner (Composer, Orchestra), Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (Conductor), Franz Schmidt (Conductor), Selmar Meyrowitz (Conductor), Walter Lutze (Conductor), Heinz Tietjen (Conductor), Wilhelm Franz Reuss (Conductor), Leo Borchard (Conductor), Berlin State Opera Orchestra (Orchestra), Orchester der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Orchestra), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Hilde Konetzni (Performer), Maria Reining (Performer), Maria Muller (Performer), Anny Konetzni (Performer), Franz Völker (Performer), Max Lorenz (Artist), Berlin Philharmonic (Artist), Bayreuth Orchestra (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Rudolf Bockelmann, Herbert Janssen, Jaro Prohaska, Hans Reinmar, Hilde Konetzni, et al.
• Orchestra: Hans Reinmar, Richard [Classical] Wagner, Berlin State Opera Orchestra, Orchester der Bayerischen Staatsoper, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt, Franz Schmidt, Selmar Meyrowitz, Walter Lutze, Heinz Tietjen, et al.
• Composer: Rudolf Bockelmann, Richard [Classical] Wagner
• Audio CD (June 5, 2001)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Elektra / Wea
• ASIN: B000059QUO
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #458,034 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Tannhauser, Act II: Dich, Teure Halle, Gruss' Ich Wieder - Hilde Konetzni/Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt

2. Tannhauser, Act II: Blick Ich Umher - Rudolf Bockelmann

3. Tannhauser, Act III: Wohl Wusst' Ich Hier Sie Im Gebet Zu Finden - Herbert Janssen

4. Tannhauser, Act III: Wie Todesahnung (O, Du Mein Holder Abendstern) - Herbert Janssen

5. Lohengrin, Act I, Scene 2: Einsam In Truben Tagen - Maria Reining/Deutschen Opernhauses, Berlin Mannerchor

6. Lohengrin, Act I, Scene 3: Mein Herr Und Gott (Konigsgebet - Margarete Klose/Maria Muller/Josef Von Manowarda/Jaro Prohaska/Franz Volker/Festspielhauses...

7. Lohengrin, Act II, Scene 2: Euch Luften, Die Mein Klagen - Maria Reining

8. Lohengrin, Act III, Scene 2: Das Susse Lied Verhallt - Franz Volker/Maria Muller

9. Lohengrin, Act III, Scene 3: In Fernem Land (Gralserzahlung) - Franz Volker/Festspielhauses Bayreuth Chor

10. Tristan Und Isolde, Act II, Scene 3: Mild Und Leise Wie Er Lachelt (Isoldes Liebstod) - Gertrud Bindernagel

See all 14 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Das Rheingold, Scene 4: Abendlich Strahlt Der Sonne Auge - Rudolf Bockelmann

2. Die Walkure, Act I, Scene 3: Wintersturme Wichen Dem Wonnemond Siegmund Heiss Ich - Franz Volker/Maria Muller

3. Die Walkure, Act III, Scene 3: Wotans Abschied - Feuerzauber - Hans Reinmar

4. Siegfried, Act I, Scene 2: Nothung, Nothung, Neidliches Schwert (Schmelzlied) - Willi Storring

5. Siegfried, Act I, Scene 2: Schmiede, Mein Hammer, Ein Hartes Schwert (Schmiedelied) - Willi Storring

6. Siegfried, Act I, Scene 2: Nothung, Nothung, Neidliches Schwert (Schmelzlied) - Max Lorenz

7. Siegfried, Act I, Scene 2: Schmiede, Mein Hammer, Ein Hartes Schwert (Schmiedelied) - Max Lorenz/Erich Zimmermann

8. Siegfried, Act II: Dass Der Main Vater Nicht Ist (Waldweben) - Max Lorenz

9. Gotterdammerung, Act III: Starke Scheite - Anni Konetzni

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A mandatory set for Wagnerians and lovers of great singing. Here are some of the leading lights of German opera in recordings made between 1929 and 1939. The absence of the great Wagnerians of the period, such as Melchior, Schorr Lieder, and Flagstad, should trouble no one, since their recordings are easily available and their lesser-known contemporaries are very close to their exalted level. It would be hard to imagine, for example, better Wagnerian baritones than Rudolf Bockelmann, whose big, bold voice is compelling in arias from Tannh&aauml;user and Das Rheingold, and Herbert Janssen, who marries a beautiful voice to verbal sensitivities that make his Tannh&aauml;user excerpts so overwhelming. The set abounds in terrific tenors, too--Franz Völker, whose magnificent Lohengrin excerpts are highlights; Helge Roswaenge, whose bright, forward voice makes "Am stillen Herd" from Die Meistersinger another highlight; and the often erratic but always passionate Max Lorenz, heard in the Ring excerpts.

There are welcome surprises as well. Baritone Hans Reinmar's Sachs and Wotan may lack the tonal colors of his rivals, but he sings with feeling and sensitivity. Willi Storring's Siegfried scenes are done in a gleaming, thrustful, lighter voice than we're used to, but it's no less effective, even matching Lorenz, whose recordings of the scene follow. The women are almost as good--the famed Konetzni sisters, Maria Müller, and Maria Reining (especially touching in "Euch Lüften" from Lohengrin all contribute mightily. Bryan Crimp's transfers are superb, taming distortion and rendering the voices with a weight and presence that defy time. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rare and Brilliant Performances of Wagner, January 10, 2002

By 

Tom Moran (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Legendary Wagner Singers of the 1930s (Telefunken Legacy Series) (Audio CD)

The title of this CD is a little disingenuous (''Great Wagner Singers of the Nazi Era'' would have been more honest), but it's an impressive issue. Nostalgic packaging make it look like an old album of 78s from the 1930s, and the notes by Jürgen Kesting give you a good sense of who these (mostly obscure) singers are. Don't look for Wagnerian stalwarts such as Freida Leider, Kirsten Flagstad or Lauritz Melchior. The singers on this CD are probably unknown to the casual Wagnerite, but their performances are impressive.

I was particularly engrossed by Willy Störring's rendition of two tracks from ''Siegfried.'' Störring is nothing short of electrifying -- far more impressive than anyone you'll find singing the part in an opera house today. I would say that those two tracks alone make the set worth buying, but there's plenty more performances that are, if not as impressive, than nearly as enjoyable (including four tracks recorded live at the 1936 Bayreuth festival).

If you're a fan either of Wagner or historical recordings in general, I would grab this two-CD set. While not on the ''must-have'' level of Bruno Walter's Act I of ''Die Walküre,'' it's a set that Wagnerites will want to own.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting collection of Wagnerian performances, September 28, 2009

By 

Jeff Roberts (Hollywood, California United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Legendary Wagner Singers of the 1930s (Telefunken Legacy Series) (Audio CD)

As the previous reviewer noted there is no Leider, Flagstad or Melchior here, but what we have are some outstanding artists who continue to deserve a wider audience for their exceptional performances. I love the three Lorenz excerpts from Siegfried, with the tenor in his youthful prime. The forest sequence in particular is beautifully done in spite of a couple of croaks from Lorenz on soft notes. There is also a tiny snippet of Erich Zimmermann's Mime, a role he owned at Bayreuth festival throughout the 30s. The less well known Willi Störring is also an impressive Siegfried in his two pieces. I would love to hear more from him. Anny Konetzni and the tragically short lived Gertrude Bindernagel serve to remind us all that there were other hochdrammatische sopranos active between the wars besides Leider and Flagstad. Anyone interested in great singing should seek out Bindernagel's magnificent Oberon recording of Ozean du Ungeheuer, available on Preiser. She was a rare artist who was murdered by her jealous husband just as she was coming into her prime. Anny Konetzni's Immolation scene is heavily shortened, but she has the right weight of voice for Brunnhilde. The Lohengrin tracks are famous souvenirs of the 1936 Bayreuth production, featuring Franz Völker's magnificent Lohengrin, wonderfully poetic, supported by great Wagnerians like Klose and Müller. We also get Müller and Völker as the Volsung pair in Die Walküre, another souvenir of a 30s Bayreuth production. We are treated to Herbert Janssen's superb, elegant Wolfram and as Wotan, we get both Rudolf Bockelmann and Hans Reinmar, both beautifully sung with wonderfully eloquent treatment of the text. Throughout, the listener can hear the way singers of the interwar years treated the text without resorting to sprechgesang. Wagner lovers should hear these discs.