Customer Reviews

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This is one of the finest performances of Tristan ever preserved: exceptionally passionate as a whole, it is both insightfully conducted and sung by voices that are without exception equal to their tasks. Wagner fans will know all too well what a rare combination that is! Unfortunately, this is an "unofficial" release of a radio tape. Many of the problems that bedevil this genre of disc are evident: frequent vocal distortion (especially on Isolde's high notes), orchestral saturation in complex passages, a general greyness of timbre. Other, more expensive, CD editions by Myto and Hunt offer better sound. Not vastly better, but more intelligible. Real fans will find this a bargan, but they will soon want to seek out better editions of this magnificent performance, none of which appear to be sold by Amazon.

This historic Tristan was recorded live at Bayreuth in 1952. It is a great shame that this recording isn't more well known. Despite the rather poor sound, the performance easily competes with any of the classic (but all flawed) recordings now widely available.
First of all, the sound is not that hideous. It seems to have been taken from a radio broadcast, and there is heavy distortion at loud orchestral moments. Otherwise, it doesn't get in the way (if you're used to live recordings from the 50s).
Because of the sound, it is difficult to catch the subtleties of Karajan's conducting in this performance, but the tempi he takes are very fine, and the drama is perfectly paced. The way he holds the dissonant wind chord just before Tristan's final cry of "Isolde" is pure magic. I've never heard it better. The Bayreuth orchestra is never perfect, but their playing (along with the vocal performances) conveys incredible energy and tension. This is quite possibly the most highly charged recording of Tristan in existence.
Mödl was one of the most famous Wagnerian sopranos of the time. She was not nearly as vocally gifted as Flagstad, Nilsson, or Astrid Varnay, but more than made up for this with her intensity. Hers is a fiery Isolde, full of passion. Her voice is a little strange, but one can't fault her vocal execution or passion.
Ramon Vinay is quite possibly the best Tristan on record. He had the most unique tenor voice I've ever heard; his tenor is more masculine than most baritones! His high notes are filled with tremendous power behind them, and his musicality is absolutely perfect. No other Tristan I've ever heard (not even Melchior) has such a wonderful mix of power, vocal beauty, phrasing, and acting. His performance alone makes this set priceless.
The minor roles are extremely well cast. Hans Hotter was a performing legend, and here he is caught in amazing voice as Kurwenal, and brings an unforgettable tenderness to the part. Ira Malaniuk had a wonderfully rich voice, and hers is a fine Brangäne, full of regret and sorrow. Ludwig Weber, a legendary bass, has a particularly passionate interpretation of Marke.
This recording is definitely not for those who are new to Tristan und Isolde, but is wonderful for those who want to explore the opera. I wholeheartedly recommend it in addition to either the Furtwängler or Böhm recordings. Go ahead and grab this one; it's unforgettable.

This is one of the most marvellous and passionate Tristans ever recorded. Some think that its only peer in the passion category is the currently hard-to-find live recording of Nilsson/Vickers/Boehm. The sound on this inexpensive reissue is much improved over previous incarnations.

This is the same 1952 live Bayreuth performance that we have seen in various incarnations on different labels - but in a poor transfer. Better to buy either the new Orfeo label edition, which is good but three times the price, or the bargain Membran set (available on Amazon UK) which is a good, clean transfer with minimal distortion. This performance will never be a sonic extravaganza in whatever issue you acquire it, and you have to endure some very annoying, persistent coughers who belie the reputation for attentiveness enjoyed by Bayreuth audiences, but its limitations are well worth accepting in return for an incandescent assumption of their roles by the two great principal singers in top form. There is something peculiarly immediate and vibrant about Modl's assumption of the role of Isolde which puts the magisterial but bland Flagstad in the shade and even outdoes Nilsson in the famous live Bohm performance. She has a Callas-like manner of getting to the heart of the role by a specially intelligent inflection of the text and affecting use of her lower register combined with some thrilling (if slightly "scooped") top notes. Vinay's baritonal tenor is both heroic and tender; the exchange between the lovers just after their discovery in flagrante by the king is particularly moving. Ludwig Weber is past his best and a bit wobbly, but knows how to wring the heart and Hotter, typically woofy and heavy on the vibrato, nonetheless creates a vivid character in his Kurwenal. Despite the limited sound you can hear how Karajan caresses the music without dragging it out or distorting the pacing of the work; he really is good here, free of the later affectations and mannerisms. Uhde turns in another typically incisive vignette as the vicious, obsessive Melot. Malaniuk is just average as Brangane but sings strongly and expressively where it counts in her offstage warnings during the great love duet. This recording takes its place alongside my other favourite "Tristans": the old Reiner/Beecham with Flagstad and Melchior (the latter still unbeatable), the later Furtwangler, the Bohm DG live, the Knappertsbusch set with Treptow and Braun and the last and latest Pappano, in lovely sound and preserving a performance of lieder-like intensity and burnished tone by Domingo.

SOURCE: Live performance from the 1952 Bayreuth Festival broadcast by Bavarian Radio.

SOUND: Opera d'Oro, as always, is economical with facts and details about its products. Judging from what I hear, my guess is that the ultimate basis for this version was recorded off the air under somewhat less than ideal conditions. This supposition is supported by the fact that rival versions are crowing about being new re-masterings of the original Bavarian Radio tapes.

I think the technical qualities of the recordings of "Parsifal" and "Meistersinger" made at the previous year's festival are better than they are on this 1952 set, but the 1951 "Meistersinger" is a compilation assembled from parts of performances and rehearsals and I strongly suspect that is equally true of the "Parsifal." They were made by EMI technicians under the personal direction of the great Walter Legge. In 1952, the Bavarian Radio engineers, faced with capturing a single live performance on the wing, couldn't match Legge and EMI. They, perforce recorded some annoying audience noise, accepted some occasional distortion (mostly involving Mödl) and placed their microphones in such a way that the orchestra is more distanced than it should be.

There are a few sonic oddities. The offstage voice of the young sailor, for example, sounds extraordinarily echo-y for someone who is supposed to be on the deck of a ship in mid-ocean. From time to time, voices briefly take a nosedive in volume as singers turn away from the microphones or wander into sonic dead spots.

All that said, I find the sound here to be satisfactory for what it is: a historical record of the quite remarkable performance that took place in Bayreuth six decades ago.

CAST: Tristan - Ramon Vinay (tenor); Isolde - Martha Mödl (soprano); King Marke - Ludwig Weber (bass); Kurwenal - Hans Hotter (baritone); Melot - Herman Uhde (tenor); Brangäne - Ira Melaniuk (mezzo-soprano); Steersman - Gerhard Stolze (baritone); Young Sailor - Werner Faulhabler (tenor); Shepherd - Gerhard Unger (tenor).

CONDUCTOR: Herbert von Karajan with the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus.

DOCUMENTATION: No libretto. Bill Parker provides a short essay on the history of the opera and brief summary of the plot by act. Track list which does not show timings.

COMMENTARY: The Bayreuth Festival was reborn in 1951 under the joint direction of Wieland and Wolfgang Wagner, the composer's grandsons. They were, unlike their English-born mother, deemed to be free of the taint of Nazidom, despite their former close relationship with the man they had called "Uncle Wolf." The Festival was beset by problems arising from an impoverished treasury and the need to take on new forms of production in order to confirm the break with the ... deplorable past. To balance its problems, the Festival luxuriated in the presence of two resident conductors of enormous stature, Hans Knappertsbusch and Herbert von Karajan--and positively reveled in the emergence of a generation of Wagnerian singers who can only be described as fabulous when compared to the current unimpressive crop.

This recording dates from the second year of the revived festival, before the titanic egos of the two conductors had collided with the equally bloated egos of the Wagner Brothers to create permanent rifts. The cast, led by Vinay (1911-1996), Mödl (b. 1913), Weber (1899-1979) and Hotter (1909-2003) are a Wagnerian dream team. And the other roles are filled with performers of impressive stature, too.

Of the great post-war generation of Wagnerian singers, the performers on this set were not the best singers, as such, but--in my opinion, at least--very much the best actors. If you want the best singing, go to the Flagstad or Nilssen versions. If you want a perfectly realized music drama, this is your set.

Chilean Vinay, the once and future baritone, is a totally convincing Tristan, conveying the pain and passion of the role to perfection. Mödl is a precise match for him. To my mind, she does more than sing Isolde, she becomes Isolde. Weber and Hotter were performers of vast authority.

No opera house in the world today could hope to match this cast--or even come close.

This is a historic recording in adequate (but no more) mono sound. Nevertheless, the overall performance is so good, that it is worth five solid stars. When the mood strikes me to hear "Tristan und Isolde," this is the set that I put on the player.

I'm not here to praise this famed Tristan, which opened the 1952 season at Bayreth and also marked Karajan's last summer at the festival. Everything about it deserves the praise lavished by others. I just wanted to note, for those who haven't discovered the fact, that the official master tapes have now been released on Orfeo, ending fifty years of pirate pressings, some good, ome not so good. Lovers of the opera will want to buy the best sound they can find, despite the temptation of Opera d'Oro's bargain price.

This live performace is without doubt one of the most intense and moving of all Tristan recordings ever made. But in this particular issue the sound is unbearable with distortions in all climaxes and at all higher notes. Try to find another issue.

Personal preference- I do not like Martha Modl's singing very much at the best of times- and the distortion here ruins many of her best notes. When she goes for the high ones, head for the hills. This recording often travels far away from the pristine sound this label normally has for its voices. Opera D'Oro often has decent sound- for example, the Bohm Tristan with Nilsson and Vickers sounds very good- no distortion, with clear orchestra and voices. This one has weird moments, as though the source was fluttering. Modl gets the worst of it, often sounding like she's from another world, and not in a good way. What I can hear of her performance indicates she's a fine Isolde, with a solid grasp of the part. I far prefer Flagstad, Dernesch, Meier, and Nilsson, but Modl holds her own. This is a very feminine, very passionate Isolde- I just don't care much for her singing.

The male voices fare better, and the performance by Vinay is absolutely incredible and unique. Vinay has an intense sincerity few other singers can match. It's hard to describe his voice if you haven't heard it. He sounds like a baritone who sings in the tenor range, with a passion that seems torn from his very soul. His is a wild, feral sound, yet capable of great love, tenderness and beauty. This is fire and ice, molded into the frailties and strengths of an all-too-human hero. Those only familiar with Ramon Vinay from his performance of Verdi's Otello with Toscanini are in for a pleasant surprise. This man had a powerful voice, easily encompassing Tristan's most intense and passionate utterances. He does not sound like Melchior or Vickers or Uhl or Suthaus or any other Tristan I can think of. Ben Heppner's voice is so different from Vinay it's hard to credit that the two are tenors. Heppner is a fine Tristan, but Vinay makes him sound like a cardboard cutout of the character.

Hotter is, well... Hotter. Very few singers were ever more insightful than Hans Hotter. If you love his voice, then this recording is a must have. If you hate it... well, how many buyers get Tristan for the minor roles? This was and is wonderful work. If you can get through the sound, and there are good moments, this is a fine recording. I would readily give it five stars, even with Modl, if it wasn't for the sound. Many areas where Vinay is alone sound good.

As for the conducting... Early Karajan at his best. The orchestra sizzles in a performance hot enough to fry eggs. From that standpoint, this is a mighty Tristan, with only Furtwangler's Tristan (with Flagstad and Suthaus) being better, in my not so humble opinion. Reiner does a great job with Melchior and a younger Flagstad also, but this one is HOT! Unfortunately, the sound vitiates my enjoyment. The price is hard to beat, so it's well worth a try in spite of the sound.

This is truly great Wagnerian singing as has not been heard since the retirement of Nilsson and Vickers. Modl and Vinay head the cast in a truly amazing performance. The sound is not stellar, but you get a sense of what it must have been like to have been present at the performance. Modl has one of the most amazingly expressive and unique voices I've heard and as a result is really without peer or comparison. This recording is worth much more than the current price, so take advantage of this great oppurtunity. This version, like many live recordings, does not contain a libretto, but a cast, conductor, and music like this more than makes up the difference.

There is no recording of this opera that offers a more involved performance than this. Conductor, orchestra and singers are all at their peak. Vinay is overwhelming; his anguish in Act III heart-breaking. Ludwig Weber's sorrow, as Marke in Act II,is palpable and beautifully sung. Modl's Isolde is rich-voiced and passionate.

Prior reviews from the late 90's and early 2000's cite poor sound which is not evident on the copy I just bought (8/06). I can't imagine any lover of this opera being disappointed. This is the version I'll now listen to.