R. Strauss: Guntram [Import]

Eve Queler (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 31, 2009)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import
• Label: 101 DISTRIBUTION
• ASIN: B001UJSW9Q
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,029 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #24 in Music > Imports > Opera & Vocal

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gunter + Wolfram = Guntram!, January 11, 2010

By 

Sean William Menzies - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: R. Strauss: Guntram (Audio CD)

Richard Strauss' first foray into opera was a flop, but a century later this little apprentice work still holds up. Wagnerian, yes, but then what wasn't after Parsifal? Strauss was always fond of his poor little Guntram and even worked the main leitmotif into his tone poem, Heldenleben (and John Williams even worked it into the final scene of Close Encounters, whether he was aware of it or not).

This recording is really gorgeous and I am very glad it has resurfaced. Beautiful, lush sonics, tremendous stereo arc, the singers are all lovely, if a bit relaxed. Queler's conducting is a bit relaxed, too, but it never fails to involve emotionally. This is a sweet Medieval romance that is short enough to make your evening glow after a hard day's work. Rosenkavalier, Salome, Die Frau ohne schatten, are all evident in this gorgeous music. Not great, but very very good and a must own for Strauss fans.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars strauss's homage to wagner, July 24, 2010

By 

a reader - See all my reviews

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This review is from: R. Strauss: Guntram (Audio CD)

I knew this recording from vinyl. It was the best recording of Guntram, Richard Strauss's first opera and it could be by Richard 1 (Wagner). I got the Sony CD in Munich last year but unfortunately it had an uncontrollable fault right at the crucial ending on side 1 so I was happy the copy bought through amazon was ok.
It is a very rich recording with voices forward.Reiner Goldberg is excellent in the very heavy heldentenor title role and all the other (Hungarian) singers are good too. The conducting is a little staid, but so is the work. The Hungarian State Orchestra and Hungarian Army Chorus are very sound.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Must-have Strauss Gem, October 27, 2010

By 

James M. Ward - See all my reviews
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This review is from: R. Strauss: Guntram (Audio CD)

Vocally fabulous performance of a very fine opera. If you never heard it, you might not recognize it as Strauss. That's how different it sounds from his other operas. The more I hear it, though, the better I appreciate it. The gigantic orchestration influenced by the tone poems is very strong here and would be cut back a bit for his more famous operas to follow. Unlike Ariadne or Rosenkavelier that merely spice up the score with tenor pyrotechnics and feature sopranos, Guntram gives the tenor more than enough to do. Not as demanding as the tenor roles in early Rossini, Guntram must, nevertheless, be exhausting to sing. Major companies should do it. Excuse me, if they can do Doctor Atomic, please.