Customer Reviews

Richard Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is a rather controversial, love it or hate it recording. Admirers of Karajan will be thrilled at the gorgeous sound of the orchestra and the magnificent cast, easily the finest on disc, as well as Karajan's rapturous and sensitive direction. Detractors of Karajan will be as outraged as the admirers will be thrilled, because of the manipulated recording balances and a certain lack of spontaneity.

Both are valid points. Certainly, the musical values of this Tristan rise above any other. To start off, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is here on its unimaginably glorious form. It is balanced a bit more forward than usual, so it becomes a main character in the drama, as it should. Karajan's careful direction makes sure the orchestra never drowns the singers, so we get the best of both worlds. In the preludes and, especially, in the gorgeous Act II solo for Brangäne and the Act III Liebestod, the beauty of sound is so overwhelming that you just sit there and drink it up. It may not sound as spontaneous as other orchestras under other conductors, but the sound is just so glorious that you can't argue. Karajan's conducting has the same qualities as the orchestra. He takes superbly judged tempi, perhaps a little on the slow side, but they all sound exactly right. He is a master of balances, both within the orchestra and between the orchestra and the singers, so the entire work comes out sounding exactly as though Wagner must have intended it to - at least when the balance is not electronically altered (see below). Karajan is also somewhat more involved than usual, particularly in the closing scenes of the first and third acts. His conducting in this opera is up there with the greats, including Furtwängler (EMI, 1952).

The cast, however, is the greatest strength of this recording. The Isolde of Helga Dernesch is absolutely magnificent. Her voice is somewhat dark, very beautiful and very warm, with a slight vibrato to give it flavor. The best quality of her voice, though, is its warm radiance. Here, she navigates the killer narration in Act I unfalteringly, culminating in some ringing high notes; she brings the greatest depth of emotion as well of beauty of tone to the Act II love duet; and her concluding Liebestod is sung so beautifully and expressively that it brings tears to your eyes. This performance of the Liebestod is the most intense I have ever heard; the climax at "In der Welt-Atems wehendem All" is absolutely shattering. Dernesch's voice occasionally falters under the relentless demands of Isolde, but for the most part she gets through it, with her beautiful voice unscathed. Her Isolde is on the same level as Nilsson's (Böhm) and Flagstad's (Furtwängler). I actually think she is better than Nilsson, because Dernesch brings a humanity and warmth to the role that surpasses the relatively cold, steely voice of Nilsson. Flagstad had the voice of the century, but she was 57 years old when she made the Furtwängler recording, so naturally she shows some signs of age. I would say Dernesch and the older Flagstad are on just about the same level. No one, however, matches Flagstad's performance in London under Beecham in 1937.

Tristan is sung by Jon Vickers, one of the most intense singers ever. His Tristan is the most vividly portrayed ever. His madness in Act III is absolutely overwhelming: no one else is so wild, so enraged, so yearning, and when the ship is sighted, no one else is as joyful. His voice, though not the most beautiful, is just right for this killer role: large, penetrating, and powerful. He is the most complete Tristan ever, light years ahead of the likes of Kollo, Jerusalem, even surpassing Suthaus` moving portrayal for Furtwängler. His only rival in the role is Melchior. Melchior has a more beautiful, powerful voice, but his lack of intelligence and portrayal is annoying. I will hesitantly say that Vickers was the Tristan of the century.

The supporting cast is fabulous: Christa Ludwig is magnificent as Brangäne; her only rival is her younger self for Böhm in 1966. Her rich, creamy mezzo is ideal for the role, and she is a worthy foil for the radiance of Dernesch. Walter Berry is in fine voice as Kurwenal. He is a somewhat more cynical, sarcastic Kurwenal than, for instance, the fanatically loyal Wächter for Böhm. His performance is well thought out and moving. Karl Ridderbusch, one of the most underrated Wagnerian singers, is a weighty, gloriously rich Marke.

Now for the negatives. First of all, the actual sound quality is not all that great. I find it somewhat murky - so, despite Karajan's ear for balances, some of the detail gets lost. Much more aggravatingly, though, Karajan, or someone under his command, has been fiddling with the balances. The most annoying instance is the end of Act I, when the "distant" fanfares greeting the arrival of King Marke are blaring from about two feet away, while the chorus and orchestra are faded to the background. In the Act II love duet, there are frequent changes of perspective. I'm not sure where I read this, but it sticks in my mind that Karajan was planning this recording as the soundtrack for a film, and the changes in perspective reflect changes of perspective in the movie; i.e., in the film, I assume you would be viewing the ship arriving from the trumpeters' position on the dock.

In the end, though, I think the musical strengths of this recording are so great that you can ignore the sound problems. This recording is at the top of my list of great Tristan recordings, and while other recordings, notably Böhm's, are safer bets, I'm not sure you want to play safe with this opera. Karajan captures the beauty and poetry of this work in a unique way.

In the recordings of Karajan conducting Wagner, I never fail to get a new and fresh insight into the music-drama. Karajan's conducting of Wagner is simply in a class of its own - not necesarilly better than the rest, but definitely always worth listening to.

This recording is no exception. As "Tristan" is the epitomy of Wagner's art, so this recording seems to me to be the epitomy of Karajan conducting Wagner: the orchestral sound is focused and slim (for Wagner, that is!), every detail of the score observed. The singers aren't "larger-than-life Wagner-cannons" (Karajan's expression), focusing on pure tidal-waves of sound, but rather singers, acting with their voices: generally, the volume and impact of the voice is reduced in favour of beauty and expressive quality. Vickers (Tristan), for example, has an unsurpassable mezzo-voice, that is used fully under Karajan's attentive conducting. Dernesch (Isolde) is one of my favourite Wagner-sopranos, perhaps without the impact of Nilsson, but certainly with great beauty and expression.

To my mind, the only singer less than satisfactory is Berry (Kurwenal), whose voice seems less suited to the role.

A moment of particular beauty in this recording, which also serves to illustrate Karajan's attention to the details of the score, is the beginning of the duet between Tristan and Isolde in the beginning of act 2: The pair embrace ferwently in an orchestral hurricane of 'fortissimo' only to lower the sound to 'piano' immediately afterwards - a very challenging moment, which far from every conductor meets. It's imperative to the musical tension - and Karajan succeeds.

Great works of art are able to encompass the totality of body, mind, and spirit. By necessity, art at its greatest is an abstract representation of human emotion and thought that translates to a medium of absolute and unparalleled wonder and beauty. One can think of this as a quasi-reality created by form and style that while considered impossible and decadent in the earthly dimension serves to create an idyllic view of reality where the entire scope of emotion and the intellect could not be better realized.

Unfortunately, much of the art today has been skewed and mangled by individuals who have no firm grasp on the aesthetic triune of the spirit, the mind, and the body, instead leaving art as a bodiless shell upon which the moribund essence of personality corrupts and takes the place of the aesthetic ideal. This is thereby the reason why opera is a dying art form. The aesthetics of emotion and art are no longer fulfilled in this ultimate medium of expression. What it has become instead is a violent reaction to politics, society, and the human condition devoid of that balance of beauty, of humanity, and of truth. The characters of this new breed of opera are no longer noble creations of the stage. They are vapid automatons expressing what is ultimately anachronistic, irrelevant, and petty. Whereas Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi, Monteverdi and Britten fulfilled these timeless ideals greatly and Wagner more so, only Richard Strauss and Alban Berg after them were able to realize the aesthetic standard that made opera such a bewitching art form. None of today's composers have that ideal carved into their grasp of art and music.

Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde is in my opinion one of the last in a great line of operas that fulfilled the zenith of the aesthetic ideal (Parsifal would be another, but in a completely different sense). It is a study in death, love, passion, and humanity. Unlike grand opera, it finds its ability to powerfully impact the listener merely through the plights of two characters, both of who experience the dichotomous worlds of night and day, of love and death. Wagner erected a great monument to the human emotion that inadvertently drove audiences to madness. Tag und Nacht, Liebe und Tod...these were foreign concepts to a 19th century audience that found its absurd and bewildering that the nocturnal realm of death superseded the earthly plain of day in its ability to realize the ultimate passions of the soul.

Great exponents of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde have been many. Gustav Mahler was one such conductor, and so were Wilhelm Furtwängler, Arturo Toscanini, Hans Knappertsbusch and Victor de Sabata. Decades later, only Carlos Kleiber and Daniel Barenboim would be able to carry the Wagnerian torch to inject life to this complex score. It was between these two great eras in conducting, however, that Wagner would find his ideal interpreter in a man who saw eye to eye with the composer in his understanding of the Grecian aesthetics--Herbert von Karajan.

By aesthetics, I do not describe the Austrian maestro's partiality for gossamer orchestral sounds, nor do I describe them by a particular ilk of hedonism that his detractors have so erroneously ascribed to his art. Rather, I would describe it as Karajan's ability to see the score as a vast universe to which his genius and his baton can impregnate a sound world that envelopes the listener not only in beauty but also in tension and intensity--two things that are essential to the interpretive vision of this score. His liquid phrasing and his mastery of orchestral dynamics presents the opera in a more symphonic light that is perhaps more apt to the nature of the work. Compared with the stylistics of other conductors, Karajan creates a febrile, tense, harrowing, passionate, and unbridled vision of the Celtic lovers that entrances one while soothing the ear through his wall of symphonic beauty. The conductor's sense of line, breadth, and architecture are also assets that allow him to encompass the entirety of Tristan's four hours, creating not only memorable episodes of Wagner's music but also binding them together as a cohesive panorama of the composer's monument. His Act 1 is paced tensely and intensely, Act 2 sensually and gorgeously, and Act 3 frighteningly and rapturously. This Tristan truly is a study in the decadence of love and death.

Exactly twenty years earlier, Karajan committed a live performance of his Tristan to disc. Back then, he was accompanied by the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, a fine ensemble, but not nearly so as the glorious Berlin Philharmonic that so aptly recreates the sound world of Cornwall in this recording. The strings are sublime, the brass mellow yet present and autumnal, and the woodwinds forward and beautifully dovetailed. As a testament to Wagner's orchestra, few others serve his music better than von Karajan.

It is also in this recording that Tristan finds its ultimate cast. Contrary to popular consensus, Helga Dernesch is a soprano whom I find to be unmatched in her ability to find a sense of character in Isolde. She is an intelligent artist, inflecting the words and syllables with the proper sense of color to express Isolde's myriad emotions. She is rightfully sarcastic, passionate, loving, angry, hurt and willful when need be. Dernesch's Act I is immediate and powerful, and her voluptuous singing in Act II is perfect. Her Act III is sympathetic, capped off by a transcendent Liebestod. Her voice is also one of the most beautiful instruments to touch the part, characterized by a voluptuous loveliness than even Kirsten Flagstad did not have. Where Flagstad was grand and regal, Dernesch was everything else that you could ask for in an Isolde--vulnerable, youthful, beautiful, and powerful. Her cleaving top notes are coupled to a warm, rich middle that is undergirded by a bottom that sings of gold. I find her Isolde essential as only Flagstad and Nilsson are essential.

Jon Vickers has no peer as Tristan, not even the great Lauritz Melchior whom I find to be slightly disengaged in the part. Tristan is the cornerstone role in the dramatic tenor repertoire. It needs more than a mellifluous voice to carry out the kaleidoscopic breadth of the character's qualities. Perhaps the most appropriate way to describe Tristan is a cross between Hamlet and Otello. It is a role of Shakespearean proportions, massive in scale yet intimately realized and balanced by a great interpreter, of which Vickers was the greatest. His enormous yet gorgeous voice was the perfect vehicle for Tristan. No one in history has yet to top what is in my opinion the ultimate third act on records.

The remainder of the cast is undertaken by masters of the stage like Christa Ludwig, sympathetic as Brangäne and unparalleled for the beauty and sensitivity of her singing. Her intonation is far more secure here than in the Böhm Tristan of 1966, and she is able to better delineate a better sense of character with Karajan. Kurwenal is Walter Berry, congenial, heroic, and brave. Only Wächter can be mentioned in the same sentence with him. Karl Ridderbuch is the King in this recording. His beautiful voice is tailored for the part, as is his sympathetic singing which gives life and meaning to one of the best recorded monologues along with Talvela and Pape. Melot, the Seaman, and the Shepherd are all in good hands in this recording, with Karajan leading the entire cast in one of the most powerful, narcotic and nocturnal readings of the opera ever immortalized on disc.

Overall, this Tristan is Karajan's ode to Wagner's art, and how fortunate we are to have it documented with a cast of great distinction.

This is a great performance of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. The tempos chosen by Karajan are always very sensible, the Berliner Philharmoniker play magnificently, and the singers, especially Jon Vickers as Tristan, all give very convincing performances. It is not a great recording, however. This is not due to the overall sound quality perse, which is fine. Neither is it the tape hiss that other reviewers mention. There are however several places in which something has gone horribly wrong with the mastering of this recording. In fact, I am rather surprised that none of the other reviewers seem to mention this. To give an example: at the end of the first act, when King Marke approaches, the chorus singing "Heil! Koenig Marke Heil" is almost inaudible. Instead, the brass is balanced forward so much that it is almost the only thing one can hear. It is as if the recording engineer mixed up two faders and turned the brass section up and the chorus section down instead of vice versa. In several other places it also sounds as if the recording engineers were sleeping and didn't bother to correct their mistakes afterwards: Instruments abruptly drop in volume a fraction of a second after their entrance. In many places one can clearly hear tracks being faded in or out (that is, they are faded in or out far too fast). In some locations the singer abruptly shifts from being balanced to the left to being balanced on the right. I have to admit that there are also long stretches where the mastering is fine and the recording sounds very well. Overall there are maybe a dozen locations where something really bad happens. I still enjoy this recording greatly. Jon Vickers' performance in the third act alone is worth the price, and the performance of the second act is definitively the best I have heard. But EMI should be very ashamed of itself.

Beauty of sound dominates this performance - not necessarily at the cost of dramatic intensity, as there is a kind of hypnotic concentration to the approach Karajan takes. You will never hear an orchestra play this music with more nuance, sheen of tone, control of dynamics or intensity than the Berlin Phil in their prime - and much of the singing is controlled, detailed and similarly itense. I have read many reviews of this recording and it all comes down, ultimately, to taste: of the half dozen "Tristans" I own (being a self-confessed "Tristan" nut) this is as likely as any to be taken off the shelves, as it offers another viable interpretation of this inexhaustibly fascinating masterpiece. The weakness for me is the occasional discoloration of Dernesch's voice - not always at loud, climactic points; sometimes these are fine but her voice can lose firmness at more low-key moments, too. Having said that, hers is a warm, vulnerable antidote to the steelier, more sheerly impressive assumption of the role by Nilsson. By comparison, Modl is more intense, Flagstad grander, Stemme youthful - there's room for them all. Vickers' interpretation is hors concours; you like him or you don't - but many might be surprised by the subtlety of his singing and his mezza-voce is genuinely beautiful. Of course his ravings are incomparably distraught - interesting to compare him with Domingo, always smooth and beautiful of tone but very expressive, or Vinay, so haunted and yet rounded of voice. There's little to criticize in the supporting cast: Ludwig is one of the very best Branganes, as she is in the pacier live Bohm set, and Berry is, to my ears, far preferable to Hotter, if not Waechter - and Baer's Kurwenal is the disappointment in the recent Pappano recording. Ridderbusch has such a beautiful voice, even if he cannot rival Talvela's searingly dramatic rendering of King Mark in the Bohm. One annoyance is the fact that the performance is spread over four discs so you cannot take in one Act in one sweep, as you should. I cannot do with only one recording of "Tristan" and can find something to admire in all of the following; sample them and make your own choice!

My favourite sets: Beecham/Reiner live 1937; the Knappertsbusch set with Treptow and Braun live 1950; Furtwangler 1952; Karajan live 1952; Bohm live 1966; Karajan 1972; Pappano 2005

This recording of Tristan & Isolde used to be the 1st choice in Pengiun guide. I'd been puzzled by divided reviews. When I listened to it, I was deeply moved by the performance. Some reviewers point out the lack of drama, but I disagree. Compared to Furtwangler's recording, it is very slowly paced throughout, yet the profound sense of drama is intensified all the more because of it. The both recordings are great. Karajan's interpretation is simply different from Furtwangler's approach.

For example, Scene 3 and the Prelude are very slowly played, and it emphasizes agonizing poignancy of the Wesendonk theme. Dernesch may not be as powerful as Flagstad (especially towards the end), but I like her more youthful voice. Jon Vickers is just fine as Tristan. Other singers are outstanding. What impresses me most is the way Karajan presents this opera in much bigger scale as if it's an orchestral work. I was often disappointed by other conductors who think orchestra must always support singers treating it as background music. In Wagner's opera, orchestra must be the universe in which singers live. The climax of Liebestod is overwhelmingly powerful. The ending 70s stereo sound has far larger dynamic range than Furtwangler's mono recording.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is one of a handful Tristan and Isoldes that belong on the short list of the very finest. Karajan's approach is sensual, erotic, luminous and voluptuous. His orchestra is unbelievably virtuosic, they are the Berlin Philarmonic and they sound magnificent. If you compare Karajan's take to Bohm's famous live version from Bayreuth, you'll see that Karajan is far more expansive and luxurious. Bohm has a driving energy that carries you from first note to last while Karajan intoxicates our senses and at times pierces our soul with shattering power.

The demerits of this performance might stem somewhat from the soprano Helga Dernesch. I don't think she can really handle a powerhouse role like that of Isolde which gives Jon Vicker's Tristan the edge. He is majestic throughtout the opera. Be that as it may, Desnesch seems to be stretching her capabilities and giving the performance of her life in this recording. She is clearly no Birgit Nilsson or Kirsten Flagstad but that doesn't damage the performance too much.

What damages this recording is the subpar audio quality from EMI. Now, please understand that the sound here is mostly good analogue quality from the 1970's but this set came out in 1990 or so on CD and it hasn't had a further remastering since then! Almost two decades. Some reviewers have reported that this set has been wonderfully remastered in 1994 for a European edition but that release has to be very rare as I haven't encountered it anywhere. The sound as it now exists is not ideal to hear all the wondrous instrumental details that are found in this score. The voices can also be problematic, sometimes sounding distant and then blaring forth. There is a softness to the sound which makes it kind of murky and would be easily resolved by a proper remastering.

The obvious thing for EMI to do in this case is to do their job and re-release this Tristan and Isolde in the "Great Recordings of the Century" lineup. EMI has done wonders with Karajan's version of R.Strauss' Salome and Debussy's Pelleas and Melisande, both remastered and released in the Great Recordings of the Century series. This Tristan and Isolde is just as worthy as those Karajan performances. The reason it might be taking EMI so long with this particular Karajan set is that EMI already has Furtwangler's famous Tristan as a Great Recording on that label. I would never want Karajan to replace Furtwangler but I think the great conductors can stand side by side, as different as their unique interpretations may be.

Even without the remastering, this remains one of the best versions of this opera on the market. If you're a collector, you'll need to have it alongside all the other famous performances. Karajan brings something different to this score and while not perfect, it is extraordinary.

I'm not sure what it is about this recording of "Tristan"...whether it's Karajan's direction, the synergy of the singers and orchestra, microphone placement, or who knows what else, but something here has created a work of undeniable sexual energy, moreso even than other versions of the same opera. It has been said that this opera captures the essence of romantic attraction like nothing else before or since; this recording represents Wagner's vision of sexual intensity like no other I've encountered. Highly recommended as a first exposure to "Tristan". (A word of advice about "Tristan" in general: Be sure to study the background of this opera before listening through it...your preparation time will be richly rewarded.)

Having only the Böhm set with Nilsson and Windgassen before that was in stereo, I was so delighted to see this set in my local store on sale. So I had to buy it, being a great Vickers fan. And it exceeded my expectations. Hearing Vickers in the role was a revelation to me. He is an artist that surprises me with every new recording I buy with him. Such a sensitive opera singer is a rarity. He has an enormous voice and he is doesn't go full steam ahead just the sake of it. He delivers just the correct amount of sensivity and strength whenever it is called for. Only one artist had the same quality, in my opinion, and that is Laurtiz Melchior. Vickers waited until 1971 to sing Tristan when he felt his voice was ready for this most difficult role any tenor can do. Such an intelligent artist is something that one have to search hard to find again.

Helga Dernesch was an artist I have only heard partly in Solti's Ring cycle in a small part as one of the Walküre sisters of Brünnhilde, and she too was a revelation to me. She possessed a voice that is warm and at the same time powerful. Her Liebestod was so beautiful one could cry. She too could be very sensitive and strong when she wanted to be. This glorious artist must be one of the most underrated sopranos of the time.

Christa Ludwig, as always, was magnificent. She was in a better voice in the 1967 Böhm recording, but still she sang with good security.

Walter Berry is quite good as Kurwenal. Not as good as Eberhard Wächter was for Böhm, but still good. Karl Ridderbusch too was good as a Marke, but again not as good Martti Talvela was on the Böhm set. He was a little light in the role.

I like the strong cast in the minor roles of Melot, the sailor and the shepherd. Bernd Weikl as Melot in his small appearence was very good too in the part. Peter Schreier as the sailor and the shepherd was also very good.

Karajan outdid himself on this recording. He possessed the same genius as he did in the 50s. What I especially liked was the tempo. The fast tempo on the Böhm set was several time annoying. The orchestra here is, of course, much better than the Bayreuth orchestra, but there are times that the balance between the orchestra and singers gets screwed up. Several times does the orchestra sound so loud that we don't hear the singers.

This is a recording for every 'Tristan und Isolde' and Vickers fan. This is a set that is worth every penny.

Being a young singer myself, I have always been inspired by those of the past in this art. This is my first review for amazon.

This will be one of my all time favorite opera recordings especially of this work ( arguably Wagner's finest, dealing with themes close to his own heart). Of course, Bohm's recording is the next best thing.

There has been a great deal said of the Canadian Heroic Tenor, Jon Vickers. An English speaking man, Vickers did the traditional bit of crooning as a Wagnerian singer. His unique, highly individual vocal timbre was known for its huge power, forwardness of "odd placed vowels" at times, along with his forward resonance, and a baritonal warmth that compensated for the in tune but uneasy high notes in the chest register that would come in the late 70s and on through his retirment in the 80s. I will not hide the fact that he is one of my favorite singers for all time. A deeply spiritual family man,( his first wifeof 38 years died of cancer, leaving him with their five children) his performances I find so compelling in the four languages that he convincingly sang. I recommend all of his complete recordings that he made with great casts to memorable effect to anyyone interested in hearing Melchoir's only equal, and in my opinion, his superior. Unfourtunatlly, these recordings are few, and prices are steep.

Trust me folks. I have listened to these guys. In the 60s and 70s, no one, not even the great Franco Corelli could hold a candle to Vickers. And the high notes, at that time, were there! His commitment was absolutly thrilling and amazing to watch. Take a look at his videos! His acting skills were the stuff of legend. He did make one recording with Callas. So forgive me if I defend him so. But this whole exotic christian artist prejudiceness and snobery really make his fans, past and growing present, a little frustrated.

Anyway, the rest of the cast is fabulous. Dernesch was at the height of her, indeed risky, powers at singing the incredablly difficult heroines of Wagner. Her Isolde is beautiful, though femanine next to Nilsson, Flagstad, and the great Jane Eaglen. It is no wonder she swiched back to mezzo before her career ended. The reliable pros., Ludwig and Berry, shine, and Ridderbusch and a young Weikl are fine. Peter Schreier is a real treat as the sailor.

And finally, theres old Karajan. Yes, indeed this must have been a love ode he was conducting for himself. But, really folks, who cares. Its marvelous. Rapture, love, betrayal, and forgiveness are key here. Oops, forgot death. The Berlin forces give him their brilliant best. There is a first violin who dares to lower the sixth of an accending scale in the love potion scene. Oh well. Karajan might have sneered but that was it.

Other than that, this recording, in fine digital stereo, is without much flaw, if you can stand Karajan's obsession with accostical effect. And that is all I have to say.

Lovers of Wagner, buy this recording.