Customer Reviews

Tippett: The Midsummer Marriage

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

 

 

Karl Henzy and "Music Fan" may have missed the point here - this recording was made "live" in performance at the premiere of Tippett's great opera. Yes, the sound is pretty bad, and if you want this opera in modern stereo sound, you need the Colin Davis studio recording (which is wonderful, but the CD incarnation seems to be off the market already.) The historical importance of the Sutherland recording is enormous! The music is glorious! As a Tippett fan for many years, I had long wondered what the first performance of Midsummer Marriage might have sounded like, and I was very grateful when Gala released the present set. This recording is for serious collectors and Tippett lovers only. If you want good sound (as well as the score performed entirely as written), look elsewhere. If you want to have the opportunity to hear an historic performance, this set is for you!

This recording of the premiere of Tippett's first opera is more than just of historical interest. Yes, the ensemble (both chorus and orchestra) is nothing like as good as you get in latter day performances, never mind under the studio conditions of the Colin Davis recording. Yes, the sound is dated, though not that bad for a radio broadcast of the period (1955). Yes, there are intrusions from the radio announcer, updating the plot over the music at various points. But this was a hell of a performance.

First, there is the conducting of John Pritchard, a great Tippett conductor, responsible for what is still, arguably, the best Child of Our Time on disc. His role as chief proselytiser for Tippett's works was taken over by Davis in the 60's and 70's, but Pritchard had the full measure of Tippett's early lyrical and rhythmically ebullient style. The Ritual Dances in this performances have enormous energy and power, the 'Laughing Children' chorus at the end of Act 1 goes with a hugely invigorating bounce, Mark's Act 1 aria 'dances' like no other while Madam Sosostris's oracular pronouncements have an impressive weight and profundity.

The cast, too, is a mighty impressive list of names. Joan Sutherland, in what I think was the only role she 'created', was predictably up for all the elaborate coloratura that Tippett gave to Jennifer. The wordless vocal acrobatics with Richard Lewis's Mark in the Fire in Summer climax of the opera are thrilling. Ah yes, Richard Lewis. Now there was a singer we hear far too little of these days. His Mark is definitive, outstripping any of his successors in the role. Whether in the tricky coloratura of that duet and the Act 1 aria or with the darker colourings he brings to his voice as he reflects on the assimilation of the 'shadow' side of his psyche acquired below ground, his is a riveting performance. This recording makes one even sadder that his stunning Achilles in King Priam was never committed to disc. Otakar Kraus - stalwart of the Rankl/Kubelik days at Covent Garden, a formidable Alberich and creator of roles for the likes of Britten and Stravinsky as well as Tippett - makes King Fisher a truly formidable figure. His only real rival in later performances has been the equally powerful John Tomlinson. John Lanigan and Adele Leigh are perfect as the straightforward Papageno/Papagena couple, Jack and Bella (and they cope well with some of the more mawkish parts of Tippett's libretto).

This is definitely a performance to be reckoned with, despite the dated sound. The balance is a little stage heavy so some of the detail in Tippett's sometimes over-dense orchestral textures is lost. But there is still enough here to enjoy. Probably a complement to the Davis recording (with its much better sound and fine singing, especially from Remedios and Harwood) rather than an alternative. Warmly recommended.

This is a recording for the dedicated fan of Tippett's music or Sutherland's voice only. The sound quality is woefully poor (on the verge of unlistenable). Nevertheless, from an historical perspective it's good to gain some insight into the first performance of a major 20th century opera.

Here is the world premiere of Sir Michael Tippett's best known opera live from Covent Garden in 1955. It boasts the inclusion of the young Joan Sutherland in the principal female role. The sound is not what you would get from a recording done live today, but it is not nearly as bad as some of the other reviewers here would have you believe. I have heard things recorded later that sounded like the microphone was in the purse of someone in the lobby. There are crumbly moments yes, but many more clear mono sounds. Occasionally a commentator breaks in briefly to tell the listener what is happening on stage. I suspect this comes from a radio broadcast of the first performance.
The singers are good and the conducting by (later Sir) John Pritchard is throughly professional.
The loss of two stars owes to the amorphous nature of the plot and the mild tedium of Tippet's music. He was an original in all regards and produced some interesting works. While there are some effective moments here, there is decided something second drawer about the inspiration here. It all goes in one ear and out the other without sticking. I grant that are a few folks out there somewhere that will absolutely love this opera. There are few things I like that seem lost on most others. It's a matter of taste.
If you are looking for another La Boheme or Tosca or Traviata, or even Peter Grimes, look elsewhere. If you are an ardent fan of twentieth century British music, by all means give this a listen. It is worth an occasional hearing.

I agree with all of the positive comments other reviewers have made regarding the value of the opera and the quality of the performance. Yes, the recorded sound is substandard, but I find that it still manages to convey a decent sense of the music and performance. However, since there are more recent recordings available of the opera, a person looking for a first recording should probably consider them.

Some people may be tempted by the price ($8 for 2 CDs), but this CD isn't worth the shipping and handling charges. Not that Tippett's music is so bad, but the recording is terrible. I can imagine that some things recorded in 1955 might still be worth listening to if they were remastered from the orginal tapes, but much of this CD sounds like they took an old, scratched up vinyl album and held a microphone to it as it played. Ugh.

Can't recommend this recording, the sound is just terrible. But Sutherland voice is spectacular here, of course.

I just purchased and listened to this CD set. It is one of the best recordings I've picked up this year so far. I read the reviews before committing and got little help from the one-star ones.

I deeply appreciated Mr. Buck's intelligent and mature assessment of this recording--it's what cinched the sale. Generally I wish reviewers of this kind of older material would restrict themselves to the merits of a historic performance with side commentaries on any sound quality ptoblems.

This is a radio broadcast recording. It sounds like what one would expect from a home monaural radio circa 1955. It's not unlistenable, in fact it approximates quite delightfully a unique evening's entertainment in a sophisticated mid-Fifties Merry Olde English home. Frankly I find the antiquated sound somewhat charming; indicative of the era. There is even some commentary on the action, as one would expect in a live radio broadcast.

The performance is superb, seemingly more exciting than the studio recording Colin Davis made years later, although that could just be the electricity of a premiere. The first-rate vocalists are actually miked fairly well. The music is vintage Tippett, instantly recognizable to anyone who knows his work from the era. The plot is no more off-the-wall than many opera plots, including at least one of Mozart's and several of Verdi's. The Colin Davis is out of print and should be revived.

Sadly, these bargain-priced reissues are often picked up by people looking for a bargain but expecting higher grade product. It's sad to see single stars given to valuable recordings for what I feel are the wrong reasons.

This opera has to be the foremost collection of claptrap in twentieth century English opera. The plot is unbelievably silly and self-indulgent. All artists of substance have a "world-view" that informs their art, but Tippett's is very vague and hardly seems worth the time to dicipher. Tippett told Joan Sutherland it was something inside him that came out--alot of things inside all people come out, but are properly disposed of without comment or imposing them on the world in general. The musical style is not identfiable, but goes from tedius to downright annoying. Some really fine talent is wasted on this "work": Sutherland is in great voice, Richard Lewis sings well and is a great musician. Pritchard labors mightly to make the piece musically coherent, but has nothing to work with. Add to all of this the fact that the sound is less than satisfactory, and this recording is a rip-off at any price. The only reason you might want it, is for the fact that it is the single time Joan Sutherland undertook the creation of a role. Now I know what she stuck to Bellini, etc.