Customer Reviews

Wagner: Lohengrin

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3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is one of the two best nearly-complete _Lohengrin_ recordings. The other is the famous second Kempe set, with Jess Thomas as Lohengrin -- as opposed to Kempe's older mono set with George Vincent in the title role. Of the Solti and the second Kempe, I don't think it matters much which recording you get. (I hear the Abbado set is excellent as well, but I haven't heard it.) The Kempe set has been rightly regarded as a classic recording since its release. It's an ideal ensemble cast, with justly admired conducting, and a good clear, full stereo recording.

The Solti set offers a cast that is every bit as good, though in a slightly more complex way. That is, Domingo is a noticeably better Lohengrin than Thomas, though both are in the front rank. (Sandor Kolya from Leinsdorf's complete set is the finest Lohengrin on record, but he graces a set whose merits are even more complicated. There are two full and complete _Lohengrin_ sets, in which the cut in the second part of Lohengrin's "In fernen Land" Narration is - rightly - restored: a recent set by Barenboim and an older set by Leinsdorf. Neither are as good, overall, as Kempe or Solti. Of the two - see my review of the Leinsdorf set, if you're interested - I'd give the edge, though narrowly, to the Leinsdorf.)

Some reviewers have claimed Domingo's Lohengrin has a faint Spanish accent, but I must confess I can't hear it. If I did notice it I would have no more problem with it than with Simon Estes' slight but noticeable American accent as the Dutchman in the generally superb Nelsson _Fliegende Holländer_ set. Wagner is an international phenomenon, and so is opera. What would be a genuine problem would be if Domingo's German seemed shallow; that is, if he were simply singing the notes beautifully, without directly feeling and expressing the meaning of the words. And while that criticism has been made, I think it untrue and unfair of this performance, which is both beautifully sung and convincingly acted. The criticism seems more reasonable of Domingo's Tannhäuser for Sinopoli, and to a lesser extent of his Walther in the Jochum _Meistersinger_. I suspect that people may have transferred their dislike and criticism of those performances over to this one. As an aside, it would actually be quite appropriate if Lohengrin did have a noticeable Spanish accent. After all, he hails from Montsalvat, which, as we learn in _Parsifal_, is somewhere near the Moorish border in 8th Century Spain.

So Domingo takes the honours over Kempe's Jess Thomas in the title role. Thomas is a pleasant and intelligent singer, whose voice is simply not as powerful or as beautiful as Domingo's. On the distaff side, as Elsa Jessye Norman offers a fuller, creamier soprano than Kempe's Elizabeth Grümmer, but Norman's voice is too big, too confident and paradoxically too beautiful really to be in character as Wagner's naïve visionary: Wagner's Joan of Arc without the military ambition. Kempe's Grümmer is the better Elsa, though I'd say that Eleanor Steber in the mono Keilberth set, with Windgassen good but not among the very best in the title role, is perhaps the best Elsa in a "complete" _Lohengrin_ set.

As von Telramund and Ortrud, Solti's Nimsgern and Randova are often said to be outclassed by Kempe's Fischer-Dieskau and Christa Ludwig, and this is true. For Kempe, Fidi and Ludwig are in their prime and abolutely unbeatable. On the other hand, I find the bad guys' big Act II scene is more sinister in the Solti than in the Kempe; Solti loses on beauty, especially with Randova compared to Ludwig, but wins out on drama. The twisted sophistication of the orchestral part at the beginning of Act II, through to Elsa's appearance, seems more modern and dissonant in Solti; and that is an advantage. In fact I would give Solti's Vienna Phil the advantage, though only very marginally, over Kempe's Vienna Phil. Solti's other advantage is an unfair one, but a powerful one in Wagner; his is a clearer and more immediate recording.

My main complaint applies equally to both sets. Once you've heard the music cut from the Narration, you will tend to resent that cut. It is beautiful music, and dramatically it allows Lohengrin's hearers (and the operatic audience) more time to be transported to Montsalvat, and to come back to earth with an even bigger bump to face the unpleasant realities of the dramatic situation. Solti especially was a great restorer of cuts, producing the first truly complete recording of Strauss's _Der Rosenkavalier_, for example. So why didn't he restore this one? It was aesthetically the right thing to do, and I'm surprised Solti of all people passed up the marketing opportunity.

But either set is superb. Whichever you buy, you can't go wrong.

Cheers!

Laon

I find that Sir Georg Solti's Wagner interpretations got mellower and more careful as he got older, with a gentler approach. His 1985 Lohengrin is perfectly conducted: he takes his time (as he should) over the opening prelude, he is quite relaxed but never detached, and his command of the score is masterly. The Vienna Philharmonic plays gorgeously, with the unfortunate exception of an ugly, forced brass chord at the climax of the Act I prelude. The singers are good, but not outstanding. Plácido Domingo, of course, has a beautiful voice, but he is not as subtle as he could be and his German, though it has improved since his "Meistersinger" Walther for Jochum, is distinctly odd. The magnificence of his voice, though, makes him surpassed only by Heppner (Davis) and Thomas (Kempe). Jessye Norman also has a magnificent voice, but it is too weighty and mezzo-like for Elsa. Her interpretation, as others have noted, is a bit too worldly; the benchmark here is Grümmer's radiant performance for Kempe. Hans Sotin is an excellent King, though his voice has seen finer days; there are many excellent Heinrichs on disc, but among the best are Frick (Kempe), Sotin (Solti), Rootering (Davis), Pape (Barenboim) and (though I haven't heard him I feel safe to say) Moll (Abbado). Fischer-Dieskau contributes an aging Herald; Terfel is excellent for Davis, as is Wiener for Kempe. The real weak links in this recording are Telramund and Ortrud (these roles are extremely difficult to pull off and only one recording does so - I'll reveal it later). Nimsgern, like others in the cast, has a beautiful, resonant voice, perfect for the role, but his interpretation is not subtle or confused or desperate enough. Randová has a mediocre voice, slightly grainy and slightly wobbly, which she uses well, but can't pull off this almost impossible character. Kempe's benchmark Vienna recording from the early 1960's is the only recording that masters every role and the orchestral music. It has magnificent conducting, singers who all pull off their challenging roles (no one comes within light years of Ludwig and Fischer-Dieskau as Ortrud and Telramund), excellent sound and is at mid-price, newly reissued as a "Great Recording of the Century"; it is my number-one recording for this opera. Solti enthusiasts, though, would do well to have this too.

As someone who owned the Kempe "Lohengrin" for many years, then sold it to a used-record shop as hopelessly boring, let me add my voice to the chorus of praise for this particular recording. Granted, Ludwig and Fischer-Dieskau sang beautifully on the Kempe version, but except for "Entweite Gotter!" Ludwig did NOT have the same evil, crafty sound that Randova projects here, and Nimsgern has a richer, darker, more appropriate "Black Forest"-sounding voice for Telramund. More to the point, Domingo is far better than Jess Thomas--even in the opera house, his voice had that incipient wobble you hear on the recording--and Jessye Norman is vastly better than Grummer at this stage in her career (she was getting on in years and in vocal decline).

I smiled a little to myself when reading others' comments about how Norman sounds "inappropriate" for the role because of her richer "mezzo quality." It's funny how listening to "canned opera" can condition your perceptions. In the LP/CD era, all Elsas are high sopranos, but back in the 1930s and '40s Elsa was sung by sopranos like Kirsten Flagstad and Helen Traubel, singers with big, rich, mezzo-like timbres. And, frankly, it was a real pleasure for me to hear her sounding somewhat dramatically involved in the music. In person this is never a problem, but on records La Norman often tends towards blandness and boredom. Here, she is anything but boring.

The glue that holds this recording together, however, is Solti. Never have I heard the music of "Lohengrin" sound more unified, more dramatic, more shapely. Even at leisurely tempos, Solti keeps things moving forward, ever-so-slightly, the way Toscanini used to do with "Tristan" (listen to his classic 1952 reading of the Prelude and Liebestod, and you'll see what I mean). Towards the end of Act 1, I suddenly realized that what I was listening to was a towering, monumental reading of the score, one that slowly, inexorably, yet pleasurably draws the listener inward.

I dislike biased reviewers. Statements like "Placido Domingo has a way of spoiling ever Wagner recording he undertakes." automatically switches my attention away, i.e., I just ignore such reviewers because they are prejudiced and have no sense of taste or musicality. I think Domingo is excellent in the Heldentenor role of Lohengrin. True, Domingo is no Jon Vickers or Windgassen. But tenors like Domingo are kind of rare and it is heartening to hear him sing the part. Lohengrin is supposed to be a foreigner, so even if his German is not perfect, I think that is fine. In fact, so what if an opera singer has poor diction? Yes, it is a disadvantage but I think people make too big a fuss out of it. Unlike German, Italian or English or Chinese or Korean or Russian or Spanish, music is a language that transcends all, that's why it's called 'music'. You don't even have to understand the words to appreciate the music in an opera. You don't even have to know what the opera is about to appreciate the music in an opera. Yes, if you understand the opera AND the music, AND the diction is perfect that is a big plus. But who really cares even if the diction is somewhat off as long as one enjoys the music. If diction is so important, I suggest you take up a language class in German, you can then listen to all the perfect German diction in the world.

Coming back to this Lohengrin, it is an excellent set that won a Grammy in the mid 80s. The cast is excellent, the conducting is excellent and so is the recording. In any opera as long as Wagner's, or for that matter in ANY music, there is no such thing as a 'perfect' recording. This is an excellent set. I enjoy it very much and I recommend it to people interested in the opera.

Let's face it pefection is lost to us in this glorious opera. Here then is an analysis by relative strengths. The best overall Lohengrin tenor is the incomparable Sandor Konya, but the overall recording of the opera is fairly pedestrian. The best conducting and marshalling of forces is Karajan's but his tenor, Rene Kollo, strains so much he makes you uncomfortable. The best recording sans the tenor and soprano parts is Kempe's (And who can deny Frick's glorious King with that world-beating resonant bass booming out!) but Jess Thomas, Kempe's Lohengrin, while strong, cannot hope to compete with Domingo, Konya, or Sieffert. The best nuanced recording is the Barenboim/Sieffert but its dramatic impact is muted when compared to the others.

What we are left with is which Lohengrin recording, if you only had enough cash for one recording, and one only, most readily conveys the power, the depth and, most importantly, the beauty of this, Wagner's greatest (arguably) complete opera?

The answer is simple: This one, the Solti/Domingo/Norman. Why? Well, it may not take top rank in all of the categories but it is not far from the top in any. I prefer Konya over all Lohengrins but, guess what? Domingo is just fine and, in many places, glorious. I'll take Karajan's take-no-prisoners dramatic approach any day over Solti, but again, Solti does just fine. Barenboim may find little delights in the music, but Solti and his forces are no slouches in this department either. Much of singing has a chamber appeal and you can hear Solti riding herd on the orchestra so that they might bring nuance to bear in crucial moments.

So, all in all, this is the one Lohengrin to have. It is the pillar to post recording that most satisfies. It is strong in every area. In a perfect world, we would get Karajan conducting Konya with Vienna in the pit and with Frick as the King. But since we are not living in a perfect world, the Solti/Domingo will do just fine.

I have many recordings of various Wagner operas, but of this opera I have but two: this recording and one with Grummer singing Elsa. I have to give this one the thumbs up. I have borrowed others from the public library, but these two are the ones that really are the best. Then, for those who are really into super pronounced German, why would I choose this one, where the occasional flaw occurs? Simple, it is beautifully song. Wagner loved beautiful singing, and Bellini was one of his favorite composers. He knew beautiful singing when he heard it, and the "bark" that has come to represent the correct way of singing his operas at last is finally disappearing. Now we are being treated to wonderful legato lines, even the correct use of portamento, which in the past was seen as a "crime against Wagner." Wagner wrote those things into his music, as he wrote trills into Brunhilde's music in Walkure (trills one NEVER hears song, not ever, not even by the best of the Brunhildes). While we would be aghast if someone didn't sing a good trill or have a beautiful legato line singing "Norma", we have allowed ourselves, even decided for ourselves, that singers who sing Wagner should stray as far afield from "Bel Canto" principles of singing as possible. That is exactly the opposite of what Wagner ever wanted, even in his last opera. Beautiful singing was what he was all about. Finally, we hear a tenor with a sensuous quality, rather than a rigid loud overblown chewed out forced tone. We have an Elsa who has a sweet, delicate caressing warm delivery rather than a hard pressed shrill sound. Two singers actually caressing the music as Wagner was want to have in his singers (read accounts by Lilli Lehmann if you doubt me, as she created a few roles in his Ring Cycle), and finally the delicate magic of the score comes forth.

I happen to like Solti more than I like other conductors, and the reason is he is more immediate, less fussy over details that simply don't need to be spotlighted. He gives an urgency to the music he conducts, and well, for me, that is more moving than all the academic readings one often finds.

My only complaint is with the Ortrude. Usually the darker men's voices in Wagner are sung well, and with warmth. However, I have never seen or heard a performance in all my life of any of his operas where the mezzo part is really that fulfilling to hear. If the mezzo has good low notes, her upper notes are too shrill. Quite often the voice is simply shrill and tight feeling. Well, we are greeted here with that same sort of sound. To me, and this is only my view, Ortrude is the embodiment of EVIL. Her voice should be extremely dark and menacing. Though shrillness has its place in certain moments, I really don't find it suited to her invocation to the old gods. Here the voice should be full, powerful, wild, and cutting with darkness and evil, not screaming and strained.

I would much rather, and I would wish recording people and conductors would consider it, that a very deep dark contralto with ringing high notes sing these roles. Wagner never wrote very high for such singers, maybe an A or a touched B, nothing more. Schumann-Heink was supposed to be unbeatable in this role, as she was in Erda. In this recording, as with Norman's recording of Strauss's Salome, it is so important that the mezzo sound darker than she does. It is also important their voice be as large as hers. If not, we end up with the very thing that is my biggest complaint with this recording, and all recordings of this opera: the evil Ortrude, the person who caused the entire drama to happen in the first place, sounds like a cross infant against a lush and "not so delicate" maid.

All this taken into account, the recording is for me one of the most beautiful of one of Wagner's most beautiful scores. I don't think anyone would be disappointed in it, if they listened to it striving to feel the emotions, and got over the little nit picky details that so often make for a sad listening experience. And we should stop comparing operas recorded of Wagner with those of the "golden age." Excepting the very old, none of us were alive to witness those performances, and when we listen to pirates of live performances of those times, we will find those "nearly perfect performances" are anything but. They are filled with cuts, mistakes, very bad intonation (outright bad singing for the most part, particularly with the men, who bark out the words with clear diction without any consideration of the pitch they are supposed to be singing). Let us relish in the here and now, and the beauties that our artists share with us. Their performances, and it is evident in this recording, come from a very real love for this music.

For those of us who love this "bridge" between the Hollander and Tannhauser and Wagner's later masterpieces, this recording of the late maestro Sir Georg Solti with the Vienna forces is by far the finest interpretation of Wagner's mystical score. For openers, Solti takes the shimmering prelude at a wonderfully relaxed pace. Many modern conductors of Wagner's operas race through the orchestral introductions, but here, Solti takes his time. The listener is amply rewarded, hearing beauties in the score, it seems, for the first time, where they are not apparent in efforts by other conductors. Solti's love for the score, and his certain handling of the emotional "traps," is returned by the Vienna Philharmonic. Long a partner with Maestro Solti in his recording of Wagner's major works, the orchestra confidently follows Solti through the labyrinthine and complex part-writing, of which Wagner was the master. That Solti waited until until his mid-70's to attempt the work is testimony not only to his wisdom, but also to the difficulties in the score. Wagner would write greater works, but this lovely opera is not the easiest music to get through, either in a recording or in a performance. Placido Domingo is, without any doubt, well-nigh perfectly cast in the title role. His Act III duet with Elsa [Jessye Norman] and his "lieb wohl" to the Brabantines near the work's conclusion, are his most moving moments. Norman, while vocally beautiful, conveys just a shade of worldliness, contrary to Elsa's place in the work. Siegmund Nimsgern wonderfully conveys the wildly fluctuating emotions of a nobleman who is duped by his wife, shamed by Lohengrin, then disgraced beyond recall; a haunting performance. Eva Randova's Ortrud, while wobbly at some points, lets fly the sparks which manage to catch fire at almost all points in this difficult role. Ortrud, in Wagner's words, is "a woman who knows no love." The Vienna State Opera Chorus comes in for some fine praise as well. Perhaps this is Wagner's closest approach to a chorus meeting the ancient Greek standard as "social commentary" on the proceedings. This work, which lasts just under 3 hours and 45 minutes, stands head and shoulders above earlier efforts, even the magnificent reading of Rudolf Kempe with the same Vienna Philharmonic in 1962.

Wowser! Only within the last decade has opera broken open for me (after too many years) and I'm having a blast. The only broad rule I've uncovered is that if I want a genuinely satisfying experience--the best mix of performances, sound, sincerity, and whatnot--I have to go back a few years. Modern recordings sound like museum pieces--perfectly rendered but kind of two-dimensional. To this I will only except recent Gluck recordings and some period instrument odds and ends. Who in 1990 or 2005 really believes in Parsifal or Fidelio?

This is a late entry but it works stupendously, largely because the cast is great and primarily because Solti and the still-believing Vienna Philharmonic have genuine Wagner in their blood. From the opening bars, the commitment is there. OK the German isn't perfect (whose is?) but Domingo hardly wrecks this unless you've glommed onto one recording and can't stand a different sound, no matter how good. This, I notice often, seems to be the chief failing of opera reviewers and it bothers me. If I were new to this and I was trying to get a sense of what to buy I'd get confused and annoyed by the sometimes childish cat-fights and comments (see way below). One reviewer (elsewhere) admitted to intentionally giving low ratings to Beverly Sills recordings because someone else was "disrespecting" (THE worst new expression of my lifetime--no, I take that back, "ramping-up" is the worst) Callas. Check elsewhere in Amazonia, and with the exception of sophomoric, uh, sophomores giving one-star reviews to books by hated professors, you'll be hard-pressed to find more immature commentaries than many of those on opera. Ironically these lone-star rants (that are often stuffed with misspellings) exist alongside detailed and penetrating analyses of the recordings at hand. Then there's the seemingly literate "expert" who, against a universal five-star tidal wave of approval, insists the well-loved lead vocalist is, in fact, screeching his or her way through a musical epic. Tinnitus? A worn or dirty stylus on an old LP machine? Mice in the CD player? This sort of thing bewilders me, as it must you too.

I've heard a few other great Lohengrins but I can't think of one with this kind of sonic oomph that was worth sonically oomphing. All in all a total beauty.

Whenever I offer comparative reviews here of great and lengthy works, I try to have as many versions at hand as possible. But in the case of Lohengrin, most listeners, including myself, stop after reading that the best recording, far and away, is Kempe's on EMI, with Jess Thomas in the title role and Elisabeth Grummer as Elsa. As it happns, I have problems with that set: Thomas sounds heroic and youthful, but he also bleats a little too much and forces his voice in the great climaxes. Grummer sounds touchingly innocent--she's a light, lyric Elsa who hasn't grown up yet--but the fast beat in her voice bothered me. I also don't accept that Kempe's conducting is the last word on the score.

As a result I have chased across the landscape for a better, if not ideal recording. My thumbnail conclusions:

Jochum/Bayreuth -- a live 1954 performance that features the young Windgassen as Lohengrin and a surpisingly supple Birgit Nilsson as Elsa. Available on several labels, this performance sounds reasonably good for broadcast mono, and the leads are worthy, but Windgassen's voice is unlovely, and Nilsson is chilly and by no means innocent-sounding. Even so, this would be one of the top recommendations if it weren't for Jochum's dull, unimaginative conducting. Reviewers at Amazon tend to focus solely on the singers in opera recordings; I always listen first to the conductor, who shapes the whole work, after all. Jochum rarely rises above the routine.

Leinsdorf/ BSO -- This recently re-released Living Stereo set has remained out of print for two good reasons. The scheduled Elsa droped out and was replaced at the last minute by the totally inadequate Lucina Amara. Second, Leinsdorf's conducting veers between dullness and perversity, with tempos and phrasing that drive me up the wall. The only reason to buy this RCA recording is for Sandor Konya, the best Lohengrin of his generation (he was also the best Walther in Meistersinger), a golden-voiced delight.

Abbado/ Vienna Phil. -- This 1994 release marked Abbado's first experience conducting a Wagner opera, and he does himself proud. The socre is beautifully shaped, and the Viennese orchestra and chorus are beyond praise. Siegfried Jerusalem would have benefited from being recorded ten years earleir, but his is a very musical Lohengrin and a strong characterization. Cheryl Studer, who specialized onstage in the role of Elsa, gives one of her best (and last) recorded performances, not as fresh-voiced as a decade earleir on Philips but still gleaming and youthful. For me, this ranks as an equal to Solti's reading.

Solti/ Vienna Phil. -- With the same orchestra and chorus as Abbado's, Solti gets a more powerful, aggressive sound, abetted by an extremely vivid, dynamic recording. It's true, as others comment, that his style is not as driven, even manic as in the past, but the aggression is sitll there. Domingo is distinctly not a German tenor in style (or pronunciation), but Lohengrin was a viable stage role for him vocally, and he sings with great conviciton. Persoanly, I think he's not a patch on Konya or Jerusalem, but he's a positive force here. As for Jessye Norman, it would be silly to claim that she is trying to be a young, naive woman, or that her huge voice is right for an essentially lyric role. As always, she is regal and distant. But the sheer voluptuousness of her tone is irresistible, and she has such power that she can ride easily over the gigantic orchestra. In al, this whole produciton is a star turn, and all the stars involved are at their best.

In an ideal world Konya would return to life to record under Abbado with Grummer as Elsa and the Vienna Phil. in the pit. None of the sets above rise to that ideal, but they all have something special to offer. When next I get the Lohengrin itch, I will seek out the DG set under Kubelik with James King in the title role; it's the one major modern recording I haven't heard.

For those who suffer an inexorable need to hear Wagnerian opera sung in impeccable German, keep looking (and good luck--you want Hochdeutsch? How about Bay'risch?). For those looking for a blessed diversion from the prevalent Wagner bark, this recording featuring both Norman and Domingo in their primes certainly does provide that. The tonal quality is superior, and while both Domingo and Norman do have their occasional pronunciation flaws (certainly noticeable by those German speakers amongst us), the same holds true for nearly every opera performance with respect to faith to the original language. International casts increase the likelihood of gross linguistic deviation. In all fairness, too, I need admit I have no difficulty with international casts. If you do, you might be best served by looking elsewhere for your Lohengrin recording.

For an opera sung in a style said to be favored by Wagner for performance of his operas, this recording certainly serves handsomely. It's an impressive addition to any collection, and has become a treasured part of mine--my favorite recording of my favorite opera.