Customer Reviews

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, WWV 96

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Note: (Jan. 22, 2007) Below is my original, unenthusiastic review of this set. I subsequently came to a greater appreciation, so the original is followed by a lengthy review comparing most of the current Meistersingers in the catalog.

The opera world waited sixty years, since the heyday of Lauritz Melchior, for a great Walther in Meistersinger (Melchior never sang the role in its entirety, leaving only tantalizing exceerpts). An ideal finally arrived in the form of Ben Heppner, who has dominated productions around the world. At the Met his Eva is the excellent Karita Mattila, also on this set. What a shame that they are stuck in Solti's listless concert performance, and to make matters worse, Jose van Dam is a tired, dry-voiced Hans Sachs with little depth or even true Wagner style. One can hear Heppner in even fresher voice on the (now deleted) Sawallisch set on EMI, but the stolid conducting is a major drawback.

The whole recorded legacy of Meistersinger would be discouragingly uneven except for the Kubelik set, where all the singers are excellent and the comedy comes thorugh with brisk expertness. That's the one to get, in my opinion, if you want consistency and not just one or two stellar singers lost in a bath of mediocrity. Often the problem with Wagner recordings is that one critical element ruins the rest, however excellent. With that in mind, the second of Solti's two recordings scores higher than I originally gave it credit for--there are no bad, or even mediocre singers, and some are among the best we've ever had. The opera world flocks to hear Heppner's Walther, and with good reason. In addition, the sonics, orchestral playing, and chorus are beyond reproach. The biggest suprise, however, is Solti himself, who had mellowed enough by 1997 to drop his habit of going into overdrive: this is a gentle, refined, but alert performance, with lots of inner life in the setting of a concert-hall audinece.

But before praising the individual parts of this set, let me offer some comparisons with the competition, concentrating on that plague of Wagner recordings, the one dreadful singer who becomes the fly in the ointment.

Karajan, Bayreuth (EMI)-- This, the first important postwar Meistersinger, comes from Karajan's fleeting appearance at Bayretuh. Here in a live 1951 stage production we hear a great conductor at his finest and a cast that couldn't be bettered at that time, with Otto Edelmann's Sachs and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf's Eva standing out. Long a famous set, this one nevertheless suffers from the curse of the nearly insufferable Hans Hopf, a bawling, burly Walther. You must listen around him and also make allowances for murky sonics.

Kempe, Berlin (EMI) -- Also in mono (EMI was just dipping into stereo for its operas by 1956) this set appeals to fans of Kempe and Elisabeth Grummer as Elsa--they also paired in Lohengrin to great success. I can only say that the gritty Sachs of Ferdinand Frantz, a coarse, loud singer, disqualifies the whole performance for me, and the Walther of Rudolf Schock holds limited charms.

Jochum, Bavarian State (DG) -- The very fine set conducted by Kubelik in 1967 was shelved becasued Fischer-Dieskau, the company's superstar, and Placido Domingo, taking his first steps into Wagner, wanted to record Sachs and Waltehr. Nothing worked. F-D mugs constantly and is far too light-voiced for the part; Domingo's German is rudimentary at best. Add a poor Eva and the routine conducting of Jochum, and this set can be bypased.

Solti, Vienna (London/Decca) - I can understand the English fondness for this set, consistently praised over the years by the Gramophone, because the Sachs, Norman Bailey, is British, and Solti was a pet conductor. But Bailey, however noble, is rather wooly and sluggish of voice. Love him if you will, but nothing can help the painfully uncharming Walther of Rene Kollo, who was lucky to come along during a complete famine of Wagner tenors. Not so lucky for us, he is marginally fresher of voice here than for Karajan. The Eva is even weaker, and Solti's conducting is coarse and totally without humor.

Karajan, Dresden (EMI) -- After the left the Philharmonia in the early Sixties it was rare for Karajan to conduct any orchestra except Berlin and Vienna, so it was an event when he traveled to Dresden to make one of the most magisterial Meistersingers on record. There are listeners who cannot abide Karajan's Wagner, and even a huge admirer like me has reservations, but not here. We get a lovely Eva from Donath, and all the minor parts are fine. But Kollo is distressingly ugly of voice as Walther, and just as unlistenable is the Sachs of Theo Adam, whose gargly, gravelly voicalism grates like fingernails on a blackboard.

Kubelik, Bavarian RSO (Calig) - You could heaar the cheering from Tokyo to Bayareth in 1994 when DG allowed this long-shelved set to be licensed by Calig. In retrospect the mid-Sixties feels like a golden age for Wagner, and here we get some of the best singers of the era. There are no weaknesses whatever in the cast. One can sit back to luxuriate in the gorgeous, easy, charismatic Walther of Sandor Konya (who also excelled as Lohengrin), the perfect vocal production of Gundula Janowitz as Eva, and the firm, masucline, youngish Sachs of Thomas Stewart. It was insane for DG to prefer the Jochum/ Fischer-Dieskau recording, but now amends have been made. Is this the perfect Meistersinger? Well, now that we've lived with it for a while, Kubelik could relax more, Stewart lacks the mellow wisdom one associates with Sachs; he's a bit fierce for such a benign figure. And Janowitz lacks charm in her pursuit of an almost mechanical perfection. Still and all, this set was miles ahead of the competition.

Sawallisch, Bavarian State (EMI) - Here we have EMI's fourth Meistersinger since the end of WW II and in many ways the most eagerlyanticipated, becasue for the first time since Melchior and Konya, a truly magnificent Walther was available in Ben Hepppner, here caught at his freshest. The voice is as beautiful as Konya's and, if not as powerful as Melchior's, more than strong enough to soar over Wagner's huge orchestra. The Eva, Cheryl Studer, was also caught in her all-too-brief prime. Neither sounds like the traditional German singers we're used to, but much of the cast were Bayreuth veterans. Sadly, two huge disappointments arose, Bernd Weikl, a strong baritone but a routine artist, makes nothing of Sachs, and for the first time in a great while, the conducting falls far short of ideal. Sawallisch has been lucky to outlive better conductors from his generation, but here his slack, unimaginative time-beating makes for a dull evening at the opera.

Which brings us to the set at hand. The Gramophone was highly critical of Jose van Dam as Sachs, and it's true that he is light of voice for the part, and very un-German. He isn't wise, benign, or exciting. His long shoemaker's song in the second act reveals a certain shallow, threadbare quality in his voice. However, he is a real artist, and every note is sung with finesse. Van Dam may not be to your taste, but he doesn't ruin the proceedings. Likewise, the Eva of Mattila is somewhat mature and ripe-sounding; you won't mistake her for an innocent young girl. But she triumphs onstage as Eva, even close to fifty as she is now, by looking lovely and acting well. As a musician she's certainly up to the task, nad her vocal production is creamy and affectionate.

After those reservations it's smooth sailing. Every other part is wonderfully sung, and all earlier Mesitersingers are put in the sahde by Decca's full, likelike sonics. Meistersinger is replete with ensemble singing, and Solti's forces blend like none other on disc. All in all, I want to give five stars, but I must bow to the deficits of Van Dam and Mattila and limit my rating to four.

P.S. 10`0 -- A new wrinkle has been added recently with the advent of remastered live recordings. Knappertsbusch has two, both form Bayreuth, dated 1952 and 1960, that are competitive. In Europe Naxos Historical has reissued the first-ever version to appear on LP, also under Knappertsbusch; it came out on the Decca label. Kna was good at tis opera, never indulging in tortoise-like tempos. If you don't mind mono sound, the main difference comes down to the choice of Walther -- the bawling Hans Hopf in 1952, the excellent Windgassen in 1960, and Gunther Treptwo on the commercial set, who is somewhere in between.

Having come back to this recording after an interval of several years, I was hoping to find it better than I remembered - but in fact it's not even as good I had recalled, and that was only mediocre.

Were it not for the one sterling recording by Kubelik (see my review), there would hardly be one truly recommendable version of "Die Meistersinger", especially if you want a modern, stereo or even DDD set. It could not be said to have had the charmed recording history that some other Wagner operas enjoy; it's a difficult opera to bring off because although it is often very conversational, the writing for the voice still demands really impressive singers who can suddenly take off and spin out a great, glorious, cantabile line; then there are the momentous set pieces such as the entry of the Guildsmen and the finale, which need extraordinary heft and stamina on the part of both the choir and the soloists. Apart from the general slackness of Solti's conducting - who would have thought the firebrand would have mellowed so much to merit that accusation? - the voices he has at his disposal are not the finest or most appropriate with the honourable exception of Ben Heppner - but Heppner may be heard in even fresher voice for Sawallisch, who is unfortunately similarly lacklustre compared with Kubelik and Karajan.

Or take the David here; having been spoilt by the zest and penetration of Gregory Dempsey's David for Goodall in the superb English, mono broadcast version from 1968, I found Herbert Lippert's weedy little falsetto bleat very trying and tiring - and the role reverts to being a tiresome bore when there isn't sufficient vocal interest. Karita Mattila has a big, sound voice but sings as if she has little interest in the nuances of text and certainly doesn't conjure up either the charming innocent or the feisty lass; she just sings through the role. Alan Opie is fine as Beckmesser: not too much caricature and very good with the German. René Pape brings a fine voice and of course excellent delivery of the text but I was surprised to find his high notes weak and his expression bland; Kurt Moll is superior for Sawallisch and so is Franz Crass for Kubelik - and both have even more beautiful voices. Which leaves José van Dam as Sachs. I am a huge fan, but even at his peak he would not have been ideal for the cobbler and here he sounds grey, underpowered and strained. I do not subscribe to the opinion that that's fine because he's supposed to be "an old man"; no he's not; he's still young enough to entertain fleetingly the idea of marrying Eva and to flirt very delicately with her and for her to flirt with him. Thomas Stewart for Kubelik has just the right avuncular yet virile sound; Weikl for Sawallisch might have been good but the bleat was already prominent in his voice and he is audibly over-parted.

So I won't be bothering with this one again, as, on balance, the main reason for listening to it is to hear a superlative Walter who can be heard in even better voice for Sawallisch with a slightly superior, though not perfect, cast. For all-round satisfaction, I return to Kubelik who, to compensate for Heppner's absence, has the wonderful Sandor Konya as Walter.

In my view, this "Meistersinger", along with Sir Georg's "Parsifal" and "Lohengrin", represents his greatest recorded Wagner. It has the advantage over the Kubelik and Karajan, also very fine versions, of a splendid digital recording - and where Decca is concerned that really means splendid. One tends to take for granted the richness and stunning accuracy of the Chicago Orchestra but one also notes that they evolved over the years, producing a warmer and more blended sound. The chorus was specially prepared by Terry Edwards, the Covent Garden chorus master. One would never think for a second that all the members are amateurs. The only singer I find slightly unconvincing is Karita Mattila as Eva. She complained after the sessions that Solti had wanted too many nuances (he approached the work as a "conversation piece", bringing out the intimacy of many scenes) when all she wanted was "a good sing", which is exactly what she gives us and doesn't sound much like an innocent young girl. Fortunately, the other singers took note of Solti's long experience of Wagner, notably José van Dam, who gives much importance to the shading and meaning of the words. Some critics claimed his voice was "past its best", seemingly forgetting that Hans Sachs is supposed to be an elderly man. There is no finer Walter on disc than Ben Heppner, a gloriously rich, ringing voice. One particularly notices Solti's lyrical approach in Act 3 with the entry of the guilds: here his performance is more joyous and uplifting than Karajan's, though no-one would be disappointed with that version or with Kubelik's. If forced to choose, I would opt for Solti.

What is with the egos of conductors choosing weird Sachs's. Man, VanDam is too thin voiced , or recorded that way here, for this role and doesn't put enough into the role either. VERY irritating to listen to when all else is so wonderful. aaahhh!!!

Get Solti's first recording for a great Sachs. I prefer it.

too too bad. but still 4 stars for 80 percent outstanding. :)

great chorus,recording and Walther and conducting.

It is especially fortunate not only for fans of Sir Georg Solti but also for those of opera and classical music that his forays into the compositions of Mozart reshaped his perspective in conducting that gave us fresh, insightful, and beautiful interpretations that stand among the best, if not at the top. For many Wagnerians, his Ring Cycle remains the gold standard for his brilliant, classic Wagnerian cast and his animated, galvanizing reading of the massive score. In fact, most of his Wagner, including Tannhäuser, Parsifal, Lohengrin, and even that ill-spoken Tristan with the young Nilsson, all represent a high point in the composer's discography that are either equaled or topped only by other masters of the podium. That said, Solti's Wagnerian output outside the Ring is topped by an opera that he returned to in the 90's after a less than stellar flirtation with the piece a few decades earlier--Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

Solti's second Meistersinger, unlike his first, represents a rejuvinated style of conducting that recalls the rich, long arching lines of a Knappertsbusch with the light yet sure-footed intensity of Karl Böhm. Lighter, more transparent textures are characteristic of this recording, and there is also a new found elegance and beauty and an uncharacteristic drive that wasn't found in Solti's earlier treatment of the comedy. However, this is not Wagner light, nor is it glacial Wagner. Rather, I would call it Wagner right. It simply has that breadth and clarity that characterizes the very finest conductors of Wagner, and how well did Solti evolve from his first, more driven view of the score! If anything at all, I don't think I've heard Wagner conducted so beautifully as to say that it sounds more like Mozart on steroids!

The Chicago Symphony in this recording is gossamer in their sound and technically adroit in their execution of the music. I've yet to hear a finer recorded version of the score in purely musical terms. The Prelude is a testament to how good things can happen when an inspired Solti and an orchestra of distinction combine forces. The rest of the opera is paced beautifully, highlighting an ensemble kind of collaboration that allows the cast and the orchestra to communicate in a natural manner. The best exponents of this are heard best in Act II's close--I don't think anyone in history has handled this scene better, even Knappertsbusch and Kempe.

Solti's cast is of course, the main draw behind this enterprise. Although Jose Van Dam at this stage in his career was no refulgent bass baritone, his intelligence with the words and his elegant instrument makes wonders out of Sachs. It should be mentioned that Sachs should not be in any way or form a dumb peasant with a nice voice. Rather, like most complex European thinkers, he should understand the meaning of poverty and living and art just as the many characters in European literature do. If some of Dostoevsky's characters (poor students and men in the lower echelons of society) can engage in philosophical blabber, then so can Sachs. European men are not blocks of lard like most American men are usually portrayed. They are deeper than that, and this is what Van Dam portrays in his Sachs.

Rene Pape is grand and gorgeous as Pogner, sensitive to the text and allowing his instrument to envelope the audience in its luxuriant velvet. Alan Opie is not as insightful as Bernd Weikl for Solti's earlier recording, but he does not play Beckmesser for a caricature. Iris Vermillion is a fine Magdalene, alert to her text and better than let's say Ruth Hesse or Julia Hamari. Her voice is also apt for the part. Karita Mattila is a strong and passionate Eva, making more out of the part than most Wagnerian blondes do. Ben Heppner is the greatest Walther for voice and ease of production. His interpretation is also rather insightful. The rest of the cast is congenially sung and characterful. The chorus provides a perfect backdrop for the characters and provides one of the clearest and most animated readings of an extremely important aspect of the casting in this opera. All in all, this is one of the greatest Wagner recordings and in my opinion the best Meistersinger in the discography.