Customer Reviews

Wagner: Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg

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There are so many factors involved in a successful production of Die Meistersinger - let alone their subjective projections - that a `definitive' recording is extremely difficult, perhaps even - considering the practical constraints of a recording production - impossible to produce. Foregoing a detailed analysis of this recording's particular strengths and weaknesses, I feel it is fair to state that it certainly does merit a special recommendation on the strength of two very elemental factors; Domingo's presence and Jochum's conducting and overall direction.

Certainly Domingo's command of the German language here is not on the same level as that of a native singer's, or even comparable with someone trained in this particular type of singing from an early stage of his career. But neither does it sound in any way exotic; one merely gets occasionally the impression of a slight hesitance or awkwardness. Overall this is a very minor complaint if one considers what the listener will receive in exchange - one of the most beautiful Walther tones ever recorded, superb musicianship and a vivid portrayal of the character that comes through so very lively and engagingly in every single scene. Going through the list of Walther's performers in past recordings, and listening to their singing, the comparison is unavoidably to be drown that however great singers and dedicated performers they may have been, certainly none of them was anywhere near Domingo's overall class as a tenor. This is I believe something that lies beyond subjective interpretation - given the sheer beauty of his sound and the totally committed and engaging presence that he brings in this characterization, Domingo is beyond the reach of any other Walther interpreter in the stereo recording era ( to say the least ).

Jochum's conducting also greatly contributes to an engrossing listening experience - well paced, finely balanced, an altogether excellent orchestral sound that makes listening this recording a pleasurable experience, even for the completely uninitiated into the Wagner world. Certainly Die Meistersinger is much, much more than Walther and orchestra and many listeners will surely feel the desire to look around for different interpretations and approaches, especially in the characterization of Sachs and perhaps in search of a more girlish sounding Eva. For an introduction to Die Meistersinger though, this recording's wonderful beauty of sound certainly recommends itself - and it is hard to imagine any opera fan who would not find some joy in listening to Domingo's amazing voice.

Die Meistersinger has been recorded very rarely, which is surprising, considering it's Wagner's most accesible opera. And the reason for the scarcity is not that all the other sets were superb - on the contrary, they were all seriously flawed. Vintage Bayreuth sets from the forties and fifties (Abendroth, Furtwängler, Karajan 1, Cluytens) are obviously sonically limited, as is Kempe's 1957 account, long regarded as the benchmark. Kubelik's recording was recorded in 1968 but not released until 1994. Solti 1 was flawed by four square conducting and poor casting, and Karajan 2 was flawed by poor casting. Sawallisch and Solti 2 came later, and both improved upon the competition.

Between Karajan 2 and Sawallisch came this 1976 recording on Deutsche Grammophon, featuring Fischer-Dieskau, Domingo, Ligendza and Ludwig under Jochum. It is in many ways a success, but is undone, as are most of the other recordings, by flawed casting. Jochum is masterful, and he is the main reason for hearing this set. He builds the long scenes up to emotional climaxes, has total mastery of the structure of the score, and conducts an electric final scene. He gets good orchestral playing, but the chorus is only adequate. Fischer-Dieskau, as Sachs, creates an insightful portrait of the master cobbler, but his voice is too light for this demanding bass-baritone role, making his casting a bad decision. Plácido Domingo, on the other hand, has a gorgeous voice, but his German is third-rate and he is short on subtlety. Catarina Ligendza as Eva is the worst casting choice of all. Her voice is too big and much too wobbly for Eva, and what insight she has is not nearly enough to correct the balance. Roland Hermann is a venemous Beckmesser, Horst Laubenthal is a good David, and Christa Ludwig is, of course, an excellent Magdalene. The mastersingers are good.

So - which recording do you get? The Kubelik recording, on the Calig label, has been widely acclaimed and certainly has a superb cast (Thomas Stewart, Gundula Janowitz, Sandor Konya, Brigitte Fassbänder, etc.). It is getting hard to find, however. My second choice would probably be either Solti 2, Sawallisch, or Karajan 1. Happy listening!

Through the 60's and early 70's the dearth of new recordings of Die Meistersinger was often put down to "waiting for Fischer-Dieskau". Admittedly there had been two great recordings in the early days of LP - Knappertsbusch and especially Kempe. Karajan came along and didn't add a lot except modern stereo sound. There was the odd pirated version of Karajan's Bayreuth performance with Schwarzkopf as Eva - the most insufferably prim and arch Eva ever! But it seemed that the great man was reluctant to take on the part everyone thought he had been borne to play.

Finally, though, it happened. And it seemed he was right. His performance of Sachs was, in the event, something of a disappointment. There's some beautiful singing certainly (the Fliedermonolog for example), but at other times there is a tendency to bark. As one would expect from DFD, the text is pointed, lifted, emphasised, clarified - too much so a lot of the time, for it is at the expense of the lyrical musical line. But the real disappointment is that time after time he misses those emotional KO punches that litter the score. The ironies of his Act 2 scene with Eva and the sudden blossoming when he reminds her just how lovely she is: the moment when he remembers his wife and children (whatever did happen to them?): the slightly grudging respect for the composition of a true meisterlied ("Now that's what I call an abgesang"): the burst of anger he can't control that leads to Eva's overwhelming outburst, "O Sachs, mein Freund": the controlled resignation as he names Walther's preislied: the humbled pride as the Midsummer crowd sings his own glorious hymn to the Reformation back to him ("Euch macht ihr's leicht"). All these seem to slip past without a hint of a tear rising, at least to my eyes.

Domingo, on the other hand, was the great surprise of the set on the positive side. This was his first essay in Wagner singing on disc and it was a revelation. Yes, his German accent was even dodgier in those days than it has subsequently become. But the pouring forth of the sort of bel canto line that Wagner always said he wanted but has so seldom received was and is a revelation. In this of all Wagner's tenor parts, with Trial Song, two versions of the Prize Song and countless other soaring lyrical lines, the benefits of Domingo's Italianate sound are legion. And his voice was absolutely at its prime; ringing at the top, tender and smooth as silk at mf or quieter, and with that baritonal touch that distinguishes the best of heldentenors.

Ligendza was a stalwart at Bayreuth through the early 70's - perhaps a bit overparted as Brunnhilde, but a very fine Isolde with Carlos Kleiber (occasionally available as an alternative to his DGG set with Margaret Price). Eva suits her even better. She is sensitive to all the swift changes of mood, the petulance and the passions of a teenager and rises to true heights in "O Sachs, mein Freund". There have been smoother lead-ins to the Quintet, but that's a small blemish on a substantial reading of the part.

As for Jochum's conducting, perhaps he was brought down a bit by his protagonist, because he can be better than this. He seems a little kapellmeisterish here - sound, worthy, but never rising to the heights of a Kempe or, especially, a Kubelik.

Disappointing on the Fischer-Dieskau front, then, exciting for Domingo's Walther, interesting for Ligendza's Eva, but not a first choice for this most human of Wagner operas.

Comments about this problematic Meistersinger from 1976 are all over the map, but I find myself agreeing with "cdsulivan" and Tirstan Klingsor. Fischer-Dieskau is seriously overparted as Sachs, and if that's a first consideration for you -- as it is for me -- nothing else can compensate. Domingo is vocally splendid, linguistically overwhelmed, and dramatically a bit one-dimensional. The Beckmesser of Rloand Hermann is quite well done in a traditional interpretation that's on the serious side -- this Beckmesser is no fool.

Jochum leads a fluid and fluent orchestral part, tending to stay out of the spotlight so that his singers can come forward. I'd wish for more dramatic force at times, and the Deutsche Oper strings go sour here and there. Otherwise, Jochum is thoroughly enjoyable. Ligendza's Eva is a write-off. But uneven casting has been the norm in every recording of Meistersinger except for the acclaimed Kubelik recording; therefore, it's first choice in any short list of outstanding recordings. I'd follow "cdsullivan" and pick Karajan's live Bayreth performance on EMI, despite primitive sonics and a bawling Walther, and Solti's remake on Decca, which displays Ben Hepner's heady Walther in its best setting, the earlier Sawallisch readong on EMI being flat and boring overall.

FD ruins this version is all we read, right? WRONG
Like his pierless lieder singing it is unique, but always gets the most from the text. Same here. He's brilliant and so is Domingo and Jochum. The chorus is excellent. A reference recording in my book.
Forget all you've heard....ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!

Wagner: Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg is a recording under direction of Eugen Jochum who is leading the Chorus and Orchestra of the German Opera on this Deutsche Grammophon recording from 1976. The pace is a bit quick for my taste but overall it is a very fine recording. The booklet contains 265 pages. It contains a well-written essay by Martin Cooper called "The Human Comedy in Renaissance Germany".It also contains a synopsis by Dreyk Cooke. The lyrics are available in English, French and German. It also contains many fine photographs from the time of the recording. Recommended. 4/5.

I somewhat disagree with the review above: it could be the only record you have, because 1/ of the conducting by Jochum - this is a performance you have, not a mere studio recording, 2/of the Mastersingers that sing far above average, in particular one of the best Beckmesser & Kothner of the whole discography & a very good David. (Pogner has awful high notes however).

This recording has had a lot going for it since it was originally released some 25 years ago, and it was my favourite among modern stereo performances until the Wolfgang Sawallisch set came out recently. I believe it does have stronger casting than Karajan's studio recording in Dresden and is better conducted than Solti's first set in Vienna (I haven't heard his new set yet). Fischer-Dieskau as Sachs is quite sharp but refreshing and Domingo really sings beautifully, although his diction at the time was admittedly not textbook quality. I rank Ben Heppner ahead of him in this role. I found the choral work quite satisfactory and the rest of the casting excellent too. Jochum's reading is high-spirited without being overdriven, not unlike Furtwangler's wartime account but with much better sound. The Festweise in Act III really sparkles and the off-stage trumpets are very effectively and convincingly recorded. The documentation is excellent too. This is not my first recommendation in this opera, but it's still well worth hearing.

This recording is absolutely german, with the entonation, the spirit and military like sound. The soloist are well prepared, and Fischer-Dieskau is an excelent Sachs, despite of what our american partner von Pittsburg said. I seems like american people feels more delighted with the Levine recording, i think that's because they have that little fat man conducting "their first national opera", the MET. Everybody have to remember that Wagner was german and also, he was a fanatic nationalist and all his efforst were focused to create a "total art" that reflects the "german spirit"... we can hear that spirit here, and it's all we need to know to be sure this is a supreme interpretation of the only Operistic Comedy Wagner ever made.
P.D.: About the problem with the "german" speak of Domingo; it is supposed that Walther is a foreigner knight, from Francony, and the time is the plot is settled in the XVI century, with a germany divided in several states and countries, with different rulers and several language variations. We don't know if Jochum realized about that, but if you know our story you'll find the "Domingo problem" a good detail.

Fischer-Dieskau is absolutely dead wrong for Hans Sachs. Physically, personally, it is difficult to think of a way in which he is not objectionable. His Hans Sachs is just what Hans Sachs stands against: overrefined, overcontrolled, utterly un-vulgar. Pretty. Not that I have anything against a melodic high-midrange baritone singing Sachs if he has the necessary volume--Otto Weiner did a beautiful job under Keilberth's baton at Bayreuth. But why didn't DFD play Beckmesser??? He played Fritz Kothner at Bayreuth (and shamelessly attempted to steal the first act by making every syllable sound oh so meaningful) but Beckmesser is the natural role for him: all flourishes, affectation, and head voice. Flutey and snooty.

Placido Domingo puts so much of his time and energy into an heroic but failed attempt to get the German accent and intonation right that he has nothing left for acting. The result sounds foreign AND unfeeling. The German problem has something to do with the way Wagner singers back off unstressed syllables (the schwa vowell) but still make them heard, without disrupting the vocal line. Some non-Germans get this right and some don't. Matti Salminen, for instance, does. Jess Thomas does. James Morris does sometimes. Domingo doesn't.

Some listeners argue that Walther is SUPPOSED to sound like an outsider. Sure but not like a Spaniard.

Eva sounds shrill and sings without body.

Even Pogner (Peter Lagger) sounds unsure of himself.

I honestly don't understand why anyone likes this recording.