Customer Reviews

Strauss: Salome

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4 star:		(1)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

When I first heard this recording it practically blew me away. Sir Georg Solti and the Viennese give an absolutley WONDERFUL performance. Musically this 'Salome' captures all the violence, action, and near-insanity that pervade this work. As to the singers I don't think they could be matched. Nilsson sounds young enough, and she is wonderful. (her 'Jochanaan! Ich bin verleibt in deinen Leib, Jochanaan!/Jochanaan! I am desirous of thy body, Jochanaan!' is wonderfully innocent, sweet, and so sexual all at the same time. From there to the cold, heartless demands of 'Ich verlange von dir kopf des Jochanaan/I ask of you the head of Jochannan' she is truly wonderful, totally acting as well as singing the role, a habit to often neglected in the studio recordings) Many complain of Gerhard Stolze's performance, that it is too 'over the top'. I have to disagree. Stolze portrays Herod for what he is - a drunken lecherous weak-willed neurotic king. Eberhard Wachter's Jochanaan(John the Baptist in greek) is a godsend too. His glorious voice portrays the fanatical and self-righteous character of the prophet who is too wrapped up in the messiah to care for the pleasures of the world. Grace Hoffman sings the role of Herodias, much better than most who portray her as basically a shrew. Hoffman's Herodias is calculating, cold and regal, but isecure at heart, her cries to silence the prophet sound not so much annoyed, as actually afraid of the truth which he is proclaiming. The minor roles are also sung well. As a final note: The crowning achievement in this recording is the end. After Herod has ordered the guests inside and the moon is obscured by clouds Nilsson's voice just seems to rise out of nowhere; gently and sweetly half-whispering to that severed head those terrific lines: Ah! ich habe deinen Mund gekusst, Jochanaan!/Ah! I have now kissed your mouth Jochanaan! this scene is hair raising, in its intensity that Nilsson brings and the sinuous, dark playing of the Viennese. Turn off the lights and listen to it in the dark and you'll know what I mean.

This is a great recording of Strauss's intriguing opera. I've heard many versions of this work, and in this one uniquely I found the kind of "blazing Oriental sun" that Strauss was apparently after, thanks to Solti's mesmerizing conducting. As for the soloists, Birgit Nilsson is astounding. At this point in her career, her voice actually was somewhat girlish in timbre, and she is more dramatically alive here than I expected. Her final "Ah, ich habe deinen Mund gekußt, etc." is wonderful, and everything else is sung effortlessly. Eberhard Wächter is a perfect prophet; he uses his beautiful voice exceedingly well and is completely believeable. Gerhard Stolze sometimes overdoes Herod's ranting, but he is always right there dramatically. Grace Hoffman has an interesting voice that can sound alternatingly girlish and womanly, and does a good deal with the role. Finally, Waldemar Kmentt and Josephine Veasey are perfect as Narraboth and the Page. Altogether, a great recording, if perhaps not the last word on the opera.

The London/Solti Salome is simply one of the greatest performances on record. Solti delves with relish into to the exotic nervousness of the score, in total command from the first quivering notes right through to the final gut-wrenching climax. The cast is near ideal... Birgit Nilsson may not win you over at once with her somewhat steely timbre, but she gives a performance of a lifetime. Her singing is intense and well focused, slick and silvery in true Straussian fashion. The scene with the Executioner going into the cistern is truly amazing...breathless and genuinely intense. Stolze, so often criticized for his exaggerations is in the perfect role for him. You will NEVER be likely to hear such a complete conception of Herod as you will find here, from intoxicated bravado to the pathetic deflating realizition that he has been a mere pawn of the object of his lust (and how lusty he is!) All other Herods are pale and bland compared to him. Wächter has been criticized as being too light for the role...but the more you hear him, the more ideal he becomes. Has he really ever sung poorly? Kmennt has never been a favorite singer of mine, and this recording doesn't do much to change that. The five Jews are tremendous, a well rounded group of veterens, and Tom Krause as the First Nazarene shines. This is definitely one of producer John Culshaw's finer moments - equal in stature to anything in the Ring, yet minus the obtrusive sound effects that are so distractive to the music. Balance between the orchestra and singers is ideal, and some acoustical "gimmicks", such as with Nilsson as she waits for the severed head of Jochanaan work to perfection, adding tension to the scene. Sorry all you Solti detractors....this Salome is here to stay!

Amazon needs to get with the program and stop selling this discontinued version of Salome. This recording has been reissued by Decca, using the SAME CATALOG number, with different artwork and a vastly cleaner, remastered version of the recording. There's just no excuse for Amazon to keep selling and shipping this inferior, past version of the recording. Decca is using the same SKUs and catalog numbers for all the remastered Solti recordings, evidently hoping to sell through the old stock. But all the other Solti Strauss recordings are now available in the new, remastered and re-packaged versions, only this Salome keeps hanging around the Amazon warehouse.

This is a gripping & electrifying performance of Salome from start to finish. All the orchestral details have been beautifully captured by Decca's engineers, amazingly more orchestral details have been captured in this 1961 recording than recordings made with digital technology!! The stereo sound is simply superb, better than digital recordings of Salome. I bought Eva Marton's Salome with Mehta recorded in 1990 and it was a disappointment. Not only was the orchestra recessed, her voice was not very attractive.

It has been said that Birgit Nilsson's voice is like a laser beam, able to cut through the loudest and cruelest orchestra. It is thrilling to be able to hear Birgit Nilsson's laser beam voice cut through the orchestra with razor blade sharpness. If you like Nilsson's Brunnhilde, you must buy her Salome. It is an incredible performance and there is a certain quality in her tone and phrasing that is not often heard in her Burnnhilde. The relentlessly high tessitura of Salome is just perfect for Birgit Nilsson. I also disagree that she does not sound like a teenager. I think she is very successful in lightening her voice and making herself sound like a young teenager - perhaps a teenager that has matured earlier than usual. But yes, there is that teenager quality. Gramophone magazine says Cheryl Studer has the power of Nilsson. That statement is a bit of an exaggeration. There is no way that Cheryl Studer could compete with Nilsson. While Studer's voice strains a little at the top and climaxes (just a hint of strain but the performance is stil fantastic), Nilsson's top notes are rock solid with no strain. And it is amazing how she can fine her voice away into a slender tone and yet retain the power to slice through the dense orchestra much like legendary Salome Ljuba Welitsch. As one reviewer below puts it below, she has the purity of line of a lyric soprano and the force and power of a dramatic soprano. After listening to this recording, you will understand why Birgit Nilsson is, well, Birgit Nilsson. Yes, there were louder dramatic sopranos but few possessed Nilsson's prodigious vocalism.

Birgit Nilsson shows off her prodigious vocalism in this Salome. Just shortly after singing and recording the heavy dramatic role of Amelia in Ballo un Maschera, Birgit Nilsson was able to lighten her voice sufficiently to play Salome effectively in this recording. The world's greatest Brunnhilde and Isolde shows that she is not just capable of being loud but also capable of being ravishingly soft - beautiful pianissimi. Such prodigious vocalism is a rarity. Make sure you take time to listen to this

This Salome is one of the great legends of the gramophone. Birgit Nilsson is clad in sheer vocal steel. Her notes are rock solid and very exciting, especially her top notes. Strauss has said that he wanted a 16 year old with the voice of an Isolde to play Salome and many people have made a big issue of it saying that one has to sound like a 16-year old to play the part effectively. I totally disagree that Salome has to sound like a 16 year old teenager. First of all, how should a 16 year old teenager sound like?? How many times have you seen a beautiful girl and decided to chat her up, only to be shocked by her husky low voice? How many times have you heard a young girl on the phone, only to later discover that the 'young girl' is a grandmother? The fact is that people have different vocal timbre, and there is simply no such thing as a '16-year old' sound. We are in the habit of stereotyping people. For example, there is an inclination to think that if the voice is beautiful, the person has to be beautiful. This is complete nonsense and there are countless examples to illustrate the factr. Similarly, some people have timbres which are dark, rich and heavy even when young, and some people have timbres which are light, slim and 'girly' even when old. This is irrespetive of age. So how can you say that a dark timbre is not a '16 year old' voice???? Haven't you seen fat teenagers before? Given that the Salome in Strauss' opera is a princess who has everybody at her whim and command, wouldn't it be likely that she is a glutton, overeats and has a fat body? Yes, she who is very likely a spoilt brat would have no self-discipline to abstain from overeating. So even on stage, a fat lady is perfectly acceptable as Salome. Coming back to the vocal aspect, so what if Birgit Nilsson has a voice of steel. there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. A 16 year old girl is perfectly capable of having the kind of voice that Birgit Nilsson has. So much for those so-called 'critics' and their ridiculous oblivion to the true state of the world. Coming back to this recording, Birgit Nilsson is simply incredible. The part poses simply no problem for her. Her top notes are extraordinarily powerful and shiny, and Strauss' nervous score is suitable for Solti's style of conducting. People who criticize Birgit Nilsson as not 'sounding' like a 16 year old are simply too myopic to look beyond their own prejudices about how the world is like.

Another issue that critics like to harp upon is Nilsson's portrayal of Salome as an utterly depraved and spoilt teenager. Nilsson is 'too hard' so they say. My answer is SO? What is wrong? Nilsson plays up to her strengths and the diversity of interpretation given by different singers simply adds to the richness of our lives. Imagine going to the store and browsing through Salomes by Behrens, Rysanek, Studer, Birgit Nilsson, Astrid varnay, Anja Silja, Inge Borkh - and oh, they all sound like cute little girls, still tied to their mother's apron string - the perfect Salome, there is no more interpretation, all current singers have to sound like all of them or else they are prohibited from singing Salome because they don't sound like a 16 year old or they are too hard or too soft or too matronly. Imagine, you as a collector, buying 10 Salomes by Birgit Nilsson, Astrid Varnay, Inge Borkh, Leonie Rysanek, Behrens, Studer - and oh, what cute little girls they all sound like. They are all perfect Salomes sounding like '16 year olds with the voice of an Isolde'. By the way, since they all sound exactly the same, exactly the 'perfect' Salome that every critics want them to be, why pay $350 for 10 CDs when 1 CD costing $35 will be enough - afterall, if you hear one CD, you know what the other 9 CDs sound like!!

My final words - why do we listen to opera. One, for the melody. Two, for the 'acting'. Three, for the sheer thrill of vocalization. In opera, the most important thing is, yes, the voice. The voice. The voice. The voice. Birgit Nilsson has a thrilling and spine-chilling voice in this Salome, a voice that few can match. Her characterization is brutal but exciting. This Salome has been acclaimed by all and sundry since it was release. Don't miss the exciting performance from Decca is superb Decca stereo!!

This is by far one of the greatest operas ever composed. This recording, in turn, is one of the greatest on disc. The starring performances are, indeed, its best quality.
Birgit Nilsson captures the overall essence of Salome: the sexual perversity and longing and the bitter and bewitching transition from a frivolous young girl into an insane, lustful woman. Her frenzied performance, highlighted by her twelve-minute love song to Jokanaan's head, is breathtaking and mesmerizing.
Gerhard Stolze, whose brilliance as a character tenor shines as much as Nilsson's mastering of the title role, is perfect for Herod. His other great roles (Mime, Loge, Ęgisthus, and the falsetto duck in Carmina Burana) make him perfect for the slimy role of the obsessed Judean tetrarch. His nervousness and constant irritation make the detestable character tolerable, even enjoyable in his lunacy.
Grace Hoffman, an under-heard mezzo-soprano, is wonderful as the icy, mocking Herodias. Her interpretation of the part, while other mezzos or altos may have played it with humor or satire, is cold and venomously malignant. Her cackling laughter, after Herod has "tempted" Salome with peacocks, sent a shiver down my spine.
Eberhard Wächter is wonderful as the essentially one-dimensional character of John the Baptist or Jokanaan. His thunderous voice - quite different from his take on Don Giovanni with Carlo Maria Giulini in 1961 - perfectly suits the character, especially when he condemns Salome for her passive acknowledgement of Narraboth's suicide.
Narraboth is played by the wonderfully youthful and exuberant tenor Waldemar Kmentt, who provides an appropriate air of sexual desire and fascination to his brief but important role. Josephine Veasey is likewise memorable as the page to Herodias; she adds, through her lines of frightened foreboding, a perfect tone to the first few minutes of the opera.
The five Jews, each played with intricate individuality by Paul Kuen, Stefan Schwer, Kurt Equiluz, Aron Gestner, and Max Proebstl, are hilarious in their bickering.
Sir Georg Solti shows his brilliance with Salome and perfectly captures the themes of ungodly covetousness and desire, mixed with exoticism of the ancient East. His conducting is at times marvelously lush and bubbly; at other times, especially during the finale ("Ich habe deinen Mund geküsst Jokanaan") unearthly and appropriately unsettling.

Richard Strauss based his 1905 opera "Salome" on the already banned play by Oscar Wilde. In Edwardian England, where formality and strict Conservative values were still upheld, the story of Salome's lust for John the Baptist and her necrophilic kiss on his severed head was far too shocking. Nowadays, in the wake of glorified gore in violent tv programming and movies, this is nothing to become upset about.

Rather, the intensity of the opera, as conveyed through Strauss' music and on this recording aptly interpreted by the Vienna Orchestra, prove to be extremely effective to the "insanity" of the emotions. The music is erratic, nearly Wagnerian in its daring dissonance. Salome is sung by the great soprano Birgit Nilsson, who has been hailed as the greatest Brunhilde of all time. Her voice has many textures, rich, dramatic, powerful, yet vulnerable and light, and her Salome is perfect. Although to look at Birgit Nilsson in person she could not look like the young, troubled teen Salome. Nevertheless, in a recording, visuals and appearances don't matter. It's all about the voice. Birgit Nilsson really dazzles the listener in this recording. Just listen to her! Especially in the final scene, the shocking scene, in which, after frustrated for not having Jochanan (John the Baptist) as her lover, she decides to have his head on a platter.
This is in the Bible, although we don't know for sure if it even happened. Perhaps later Chrisitians wrote this to make John the Baptist, who was closely involved with Jesus, into a Christian martyr as well. Perhaps Salome was infatuated by him after all, and although a princess could have anything she wanted, she could not have John the Baptist, for he was highly religious, pure and abstained from secular pleasures. This could have prompted her to listen to her mother, Queen Herodia's wishes to have John the Baptist's head on a platter. And we know why Herodias wanted John's head. John never approved of her illicit marriage and relationship with Herod. We must really acknowledge that it was ultimately Salome's decision. She could not have been that youngignorant. She was a mature young woman, a princess, and in a powerful position. She was also very sexy, by most accounts.. after all, she aroused Herod, her own father and the other men at his party when she danced the Dance of the Seven Veils.
George Solti conducts with his usual grandeur, precision and magnetism. It's really the best of the Salome recordings.

I don't agree about the overmiking. Who wants to buy an opera set where you can't hear the singer?? Besides, this is Birgit Nilsson. She doesn't need overmiking. She soars above the dense orchestration whether in a studio recording or in a live recording. She is nuclear power personified.

This is an eminently hysterical reading. I personally don't care for understated Salome performances. I mean, come on, one of the kicks out of listening to Salome is to hear the singer outshouting the huge Straussian orchestra. Birgit Nilsson does not only that but also displays an astonishing control over her voice. She can sing at full fortissimo and then fine away her voice to a fully supported silvery piannisimo. Now, that's what I call a prodigious vocal talent. She's not just all shouting and nothing else, she can sing a beautiful, firm and fully supported piannisimo.

I love this set. Eternal gratitude to Culshaw for making this set with Birgit Nilsson.