Customer Reviews

Recital

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2 star:		(1)
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Would it be too much to say "Thankyou Amazon"? I've never seen this recording offered anywhere else. Her Strauss recordings are lush and entrancing. One would think no effort was involved. The Isolde Tod is so movingly beautiful. I have two recording of Tristan und Isolde by the two sopranos most famous for the role and I love hers just as much.

The Eintritt der Elizabeth is not quite up to the quality of singing of the other bands but all in all my only disappointment was the 9+ minutes of the prelude to Isoldes Tod!

i've listened to most of the best of the recordings of this famous quartet of lieder and i have to conclude that this recording is the best of the lot.

caballe's interpretation is powerful, excuisite and sensitive. her voice is the instrument - and it does not fail. her vibrato is wide and slow, her tone gorgeous and her pianissimo-fortissimo range perfectly executed. believe me, this is an intensely moving and gut-wrenching performance. the other contenders (schwarzkopf, te kanawa, janowitz, fleming, della casa, norman, popp) simply fail to reach the standard set by this recording.

caballe's voice does have its faults - in a way, her voice, because of its strength, can overpower in the intimate setting of voice accompanied by piano solo. however, when the accompaniment is full orchestra, la stupenda comes into her own and raises the stakes. it is also fair to say that caballe is THE finest richard strauss interpreter of the last few decades. listen to her account of the final scene from 'salome'!

finally, this recording is not as well known as the other contenders, but it does surpass them all in every detail.

Don't get me wrong, I am usually a Caballé fan especially of her dramatic coloratura repertoire. These are just not up to par with other recordings of these works. In Frühling, she even goes flat. She has a beautiful instrument but should not be singing Wagner, at least not yet (although I do not think I would ever pay or even go to see a free show of her in a Wagner opera), and her Strauss (at least where the Vier Letze Lieder are concerned) is greatly lacking. I am in the process of learning these songs and would much rather spend my money on a Jessye Norman or Jane Eaglen recording and these are also not the best recordings of these works. For my money, and my recommendation to anyone (especially another soprano who is learning these pieces), I would buy the Schwarzkopf recording. She manages to get the most lyricism and beauty in these pieces and while her voice isn't as strong as some of the others who sing these pieces, she does them the most justice. For the Wagner one cannot go wrong with Leonie Rysanek, Birgit Nilsson, or Jane Eaglan for the heavier roles and Leontyne Price for the "lighter" roles.