Wagner: Lohengrin (Great Recordings of the Century) [Original recording remastered]

Elisabeth Grummer (Artist), Christa Ludwig (Artist), Jess Thomas (Artist), Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (Artist), Gottlob Frick (Artist), Richard Wagner (Composer), Rudolf Kempe (Conductor), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Vienna State Opera Choir (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Vienna State Opera Choir
• Orchestra: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Rudolf Kempe
• Composer: Richard Wagner
• Audio CD (August 15, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B00004VVZQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #207,159 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Prelude

2. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 1. Scene 1.: 'Hört! Grafen, Edle, Freie von Brabant!'

3. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 1. Scene 1.: 'Dank, König, dir, daß du zu richten kamst!'

4. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 1. Scene 1.: 'Welch Fürchterliche Klage sprichst du aus!'

5. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 1. Scene 2.: 'Seht hin! Sie naht, die hart Beklagte!'

6. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 1. Scene 2.: 'Einsam in trüben Tagen'

See all 18 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 2. Scene 1.: 'Was macht dich in so wilder Klage doch vergehn?'

2. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 2. Scene 1.: 'Du wilde Seherin! Wie willst du doch'

3. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 2. Scene 1.: 'Der Rache Werk sei nun beschworen'

4. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 2. Scene 2.: 'Euch Lüften, die mein Klagen'

5. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 2. Scene 2.: 'Elsa!... Wer ruft?'

6. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 2. Scene 2.: 'Entweihte Götter! Helft jetzt meiner Rache'

See all 18 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 3.: Prelude

2. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 3. Scene 1.: 'Treulich geführt ziehet dahin'

3. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 3. Scene 2.: 'Das süße Lied verhallt; wir sind allein'

4. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 3. Scene 2.: 'Wie hehr erkenn' ich unsrer Liebe Wesen!'

5. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 3. Scene 2.: 'Atmest du nicht mit mir die süßen Düfte?'

6. Lohengrin, opera, WWV 75: Act 3. Scene 2.: 'Ach! Könnt' ich deiner wert erscheinen'

See all 17 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A HEART-BREAKING PERFORMANCE, May 12, 2002

By 

MOVIE MAVEN (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wagner: Lohengrin (Great Recordings of the Century) (Audio CD)

Opera fanatic friends of mine suggested (no, demanded) that I buy this version of LOHENGRIN when I told them that I was looking for "the best recording."

LOHENGRIN is the opera to start listening to if you are new to Wagner. It is so lyrical and romantic and passionate. And this recording, with its top-notch cast and orchestra conducted by one of the greatest of all Wagner conductors pulls the listener in like a magnet. Since buying it, about 2 years ago, I have literally listened to this version of the entire opera over a dozen times.

Jess Thomas, Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau and Christa Ludwig need no introduction. They simply own these roles and you don't ever have to hear anyone else sing them. But it is Elisabeth Grummer who has me marvelling every time I listen. This is a once-in-a-lifetime performance. Her 'Elsa' is brave, noble, strong and yet so naive and trusting that you watch in horror as she allows her miserable doubts and unhappiness to take over and defeat her one chance at redemption through love. The opera is named for Thomas' character, but it is really 'Elsa's' journey...her story. It is she who changes because of 'Lohengrin's' visit. She is truly the tragic hero in the classic sense who, like Oedipus, has the one major flaw which cannot be controlled. She will destroy herself. We watch and listen as she creates her own doom. Grummer's performance is magnificently sung and heart-breakingly acted.

This recording is almost forty years old, but the sound is full and rich.. The orchestra and chorus under Rudolf Kempe is thrilling. This is one of those very few perfect performances on disc. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wagnerian bel canto at its best, October 8, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wagner: Lohengrin (Great Recordings of the Century) (Audio CD)

"Lohengrin," with "Die Meistersinger", is one of Wagner's two most beautiful operas, with gorgeous, flowing music that is almost unique in Wagner's gigantic output. It is clearly popular on records: since this, the first studio recording, was made in the early sixties, such recordings as those conducted by Karajan, Solti, Abbado, Barenboim and Davis have been made. All five of those recordings, however, have been seriously flawed, mostly in the casting of the fiendishly difficult roles of the two villains, Ortrud and Telramund. This 1962-3 Vienna recording is the only recording which has mastered every aspect of the opera, and has stood the test of time as an unrivalled "Lohengrin."

First and foremost is the magisterial conducting of Rudolf Kempe (1910-1976), who is peerless on record in the lyrical Wagners. He has a superb sense of structure, and allows the music time to unfold its beauty. He is unmatched at conveying both the silvery serenity and black, insinuating evil that make up this opera. The Vienna Philharmonic plays radiantly, even by its standards, and the Vienna State Opera Chorus is sublime, essential for this work full of glorious choral writing. The soloists, too, are in a class of their own. Elisabeth Grümmer owned the roles of Elsa and Eva in the 50's and early 60's, and she is caught here at her radiant peak. With her soaring, silvery voice and delicate sweetness, she is unapproached on disc. Gottlob Frick is a magnificent King, ideally resonant and dark of tone, and Otto Wiener is an unstrained, eloquent Herald. In the title role, which is relatively short but extremely taxing, Jess Thomas sings ardently and lyrically, despite a few passages of roughness. But what really put this recording in a class of its own are the stunning achievements of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Christa Ludwig as Telramund and Ortrud. Fischer-Dieskau's clear, noble voice and incomparable artistry create a vivid, tragic portrait of the weak count, while Ludwig uses her firm, rich mezzo, secure even in attacking the murderous high notes of "Entweihte Götter," to create an evil, intense, insinuating Ortrud. The sound is not flawless; despite the generally successful remastering, there are occasional rough passages. For the most part, though, it is admirably full-bodied and clear, and it is genuine stereo. This is remarkable coming from EMI, which seriously handicapped other classic recordings (such as the Kempe "Meistersinger," the Furtwängler "Walküre" and the Sawallisch "Capriccio") by recording them in mono when they could and should have been in stereo. Fortunately, though, that does not happen here. Superb teamwork added to these excellent individual performances makes this a unique "Lohengrin," truly a "Great Recording of the Century."

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sublime passion, April 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Wagner: Lohengrin (Great Recordings of the Century) (Audio CD)

Lohengrin is Wagner's most popular opera at the Met, and is often referred to as Wagner's "Italian" opera. However, this last statement must be put into perspective. In Lohengrin, Wagner achieved the pinnacle of Romantic opera. Consequently, the work is quite "conventional" although heralding things to come. (For example, the melancholic segue from the wedding march to Lohengrin's "Das susse Lied..." is something more in line with Tristan.)

That being said, this particular Lohengrin is a wonderful work, and one of my favorites. Kempe's conducting is subdued when necessary, and fiery when called for. The cast is excellent. Grummer is an appealing and believable Elsa; she sings with great tenderness to Thomas's empathic Lohengrin. No introduction needed for Fischer-Dieskau, and Frick's bass is quite noble-sounding.

Lohengrin is also done justice in the DVD with Placido Domingo (check my review there). If you can have both, then get both, and lose yourself twice in the sublimity of this music. I'll go for a third, as Domingo also works with Solti in yet another version.