Customer Reviews

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

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

 

 

Of the many Tristans available, this is probably the most passionate...and maybe the longest. Recorded one act at a time in three seperate semi-staged performances, it catches the performers in fresh voice, somewhat. Behrens was ill for Act 3 and her Liebestod had to be re-recorded as she choked her way through during the actual live performance. Not the dominating force that Flagstad and Nilsson were, she is a wonderful vocal actress though plagued with a phlegmatic middle, weaker lower register, yet amazingly brilliant high notes.

Peter Hoffman, though youthful in voice and terrific in looks, remains adequate. He was never really secure vocally and his effective singing career was very brief. Here he is not alone in showing what a fiendishly difficult role Tristan is. There are very few who can navigate the role without serious limitations, such as Melchior, Vinay, Vickers or Windgassen. Hoffman will be remembered more for his Parsifal and Lohengrin than this Mount Everest of the tenor repretoire.

The rest of the cast ranges from good to adequate...Sotin is boring, while Minton sings well with less than sumptuous tone, and Weikl is a serviceable Kurwenal.

The real star of this set is Bernstein who conducts the score as written, with the prelude done in true Langsam. Karl Böhm stopped in during the rehearsal for the Prelude and later sent Bernstein a note: "At last someone performs Tristan the way it was meant to be...the rest of us never dared to!"

While Karajan's studio set is sumptuous, albeit too pristine and recorded with two much engineering, and Böhm's is really too energetic, Bernstein may be too passionate. That isn't always a bad thing. The orchestra playing is simply divine, the Liebesnacht heavenly, Tristan's death devestating on a cosmic level, and the Liebestod exquisitely rapturous.

The 5 disc set which I own has a disastorous cut in Act 2 which destroys the mood while changing sides, but otherwise while not a desert island set, it is one that will surely transport the listener into another realm. Ideally it's best late at night with no interruptions, preferabaly with headphones.

This is the most beautiful and powerful account of this magnificent opera on record. Leonard Bernstein's way of conducting this opera is nothing like I have ever heard before. His performance of the prelude is so beautiful and wonderous. Karl Bohm, who witnessed one of the rehearsals of the prelude, said that it was played like nobody had ever dared to do it before. I agree with that it is very different from anything I have ever heard before. You can hear his stamp on every bar and every note. It is very slowly conducted but it never ever lags. I often think it is fast in it's slowness. I don't know if that makes any sense at all, but that is now I feel when I hear it. The tremendous energy when the two lovers meet in act 2 is an example.

Peter Hofmann and Hildegard Behrens are two singers that I normally don't like to listen to, but this recording is an exception. The two of them are so into their character and singing very securely and beautifully. Hofmann is a bit unsteady in the 3rd act's most intense moments, but so many tenors are also strained there. Behrens is absolutely wonderful as Isolde. I guess this recording was made before her vocal decline. She sings very beautifully making her narration scene a triumph. All the other solists too are very good.
But it is Leonard Bernstein's powerful conducting that dominates at all times. He makes everyone perform at their very best and the orchestra plays like the players are inspired by God.
The sound very good, with good orchestral detail even in the parts with low volume and never cracks in the parts with highest volume.

It is very highly recommended to anyone who love this most romantic of operas and great conducting.

I just finished listening to Lenny's Tristan and man it's sooo good! I finally understand it after listening to so many versions! He brings out the wieght, the fire, the drama, the detail, the beauty, the depth, the clarity and most of all...the passion!

The recorded sound is phenomenal and the singing is sumptuous with real meaning and realistic acting, sometimes I thought it was live!

Despite the despising reviewers that detest this recording because of length or this or that, I love how Lenny draws it out! Once you immerse yourself in it, it takes you to the hieghts. It's a real experience, not just another Tristan. Take my word for it!

Bernstein conducts this score like no other - this is the most intensely beautiful reading on record. Behrens was in great voice in 1980 and perfectly captures the conflicting emotions of Isolde. Her Liebestod is one of the most emotional on disc (and I have about 7 Tristans so far...), the voice in gleaming form, quite effortless on high. Hofmann strains some in Act III, but who doesn't? His voice has a nice ring to it and he is definitely "into" the character of Tristan - an impressive performance overall. Yvonne Minton is an effective Brangane, if slightly light-voiced for the role. The live recording is from a concert reading, so the early digital sound is excellent with virtually no audience or stage noise. Bernstein's measured, agonized interpretation is the real star here though, with the opera's final chords sounding as no one else ever has, a timeless coming together, the four notes seeming to somehow play themselves... Don't miss this one!

Leonard Bernstein was one of the masters of the podium who took a very individual approach to every score that he approached with his baton. From his uniquely romantic Mozart to his lofty, spiritual Beethoven to his grandiose takes on Mahler and his arresting and powerful Shostakovich, Bernstein had a way of taking a score into his hands and turning it into a highly personal statement of what a master composer and director of music can do with the little black notes. Most of the time, his conceptualization of the pieces worked, painting with his unique brush strokes that few other conductors could ever do with a sheet of music. In the case of this Tristan, although Bernstein was able to develop a unique exposition on this extremely complex score, his vision was ultimately unmemorable due to an overindulgence on his part and a cast inadequate to the demands of Wagner's writing.

This recording of course is notorious for dragging out what is already one of the longest pieces of music to even greater extents. There is nothing wrong with exploring the breadth of a piece the way that let's say James Levine does with his Wagner. However, Bernstein does it in such a way that in my opinion reflects an extension of his inflated ego into the score that in ultimately transformed into an overtly saccharine and sometimes bitter taste of Wagner's art. I am not in opposition of taking liberties with a score, and with Wagner's Tristan (so deeply characterized by tempo rubato) one can truly be as extreme as let's say Böhm and Goodall. Bernstein, on the other hand, not only indulges in glacial tempi, but also seems to punctuate excessively and unnecessarily when such effects are not needed. A case in point is the second Act in this recording. Passionate it is, but it is also so sweeping in the wrong sense of the word that it lacks what most Tristans have--an intellectual and emotional balance that emphasizes the philosophical aspects of the music and the text. The third act is just taken on several levels of orchestral dynamic extremities that Tristan's plights become a caricature of what they actually represent--the longing and the Schopenhaueran desire for the divide between life and death. In the end, the undulating lines of Wagner's Tristan are lost in the orchestral salad that Bernstein fails to successfully toss around for what could have been one of the finest interpretations of this cornerstone piece of German music.

Bernstein's cast is also made up of singers who were either very good or inadequate. Hildegard Behrens I have few qualms about except for a voice that is slightly undersized for the demands of the role. Her arresting takes on Wagner's heroines prove an artist who understand the complexity of the text and the scope of the music while given only the unique resources she has. Like her Brünnhilde, she makes her Isolde very personal and transforms it into a creature of the stage that is at once fragile and human, less the goddess that Nilsson and Varnay fabricated onstage. There are times when her voice comes under stress and resorts to curious sounds that sometimes detracts from the completeness of her singing, but she ultimately makes Isolde riveting and her own. Her Liebestod in this recording is exquisite. Her consort Brangäne is played by Yvonne Minton, a fine Australian mezzo whose characterful singing and rich, full-bodied voice made her one of the finest singers in this repertoire after Christa Ludwig. Her perky timbre provided the perfect foil for returning Behrens' phrases and created a sound scape that was at the same time limpid and subliminal.

The men in the recording are taken by singers less memorable than the women. Peter Hoffman, although equipped with an instrument that by theory could have made Tristan absolutely touching and credible, was unfortunately by this time in possession of a voice ravaged by a premature and overtly involved venture in the heavy repertoire. His voice is constantly put under pressure to emit sounds that like Behrens seemed strained, but unlike the soprano, he fails to make Tristan a uniquely individual creation. Bernd Weikl is vocally resplendent as Kurwenal, if slightly bland and uninspired, whereas Hans Sotin makes little of Marke's text even when given such outstanding vocal endowment.

Even with Behrens' riveting Isolde and the gloss of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra's playing, Bernstein's indulgent conception of the work fails to make this opera what it really should be--an essay on passion, love, death and decadence exploring the divide between an earthly reality and heavenly rapture.

Of the five digital sound studio Tristans this is my favorite. Keep in mind that there really is no such thing as a perfect Tristan on disc much less a studio version in digital sound. I own three of the five in this criteria but I've heard them all. The first is Carlos Kleiber's on DG, the second, Bernstein's on Phillips, then the Barenboim on Teldec, then Leif Segerstam's on Naxos and last but not least the Pappano set on EMI. The Klieber is the first one I owned but not anymore unfortunately. Not that I did not like the performance (it was marvelous) it was the sound quality (or lack there of ) - shrill, artificial and poorly mixed - that turned me against it. Segerstam's is so substandard performance-wise that its only for the budget-minded however the sound is excellent. The remaining three, I own, being excellent performances and also having superlative sonics each.

The Bernstein set is the best conducted of the five in my opinion. There is a lot of unfair criticism of the "slowness" of the tempos. This is really unfounded as some parts of are actually played much faster than other versions on disc. What Bernstein is really guilty of is savoring and relishing in the best moments of this work. He never (and I mean - ever) misses any poignant, exquisite, dramatic, tormented, anguished or elated moment of this extremely emotional masterpiece. Nothing gets by Bernstein. Many parts are slower than what most are used to but these are usually the "Langsam" sections. Many "Schnell" sections are just as fast or faster than others I've heard. The Klieber version is speedy throughout and full of passion but the many eloquent "Langsam" sections go by way too quickly and feel like afterthoughts instead of the transfiguring experiences they are in Bernstein's version. Bernstein's Liebesnacht in particular is simply divine beyond words. I never really "heard" Tristan und Isolde until I heard Bernstein's. I became familiar with Klieber's first before anyone else's and was enthralled by this work but after hearing Bernstein's much more, well, DEEP interpretation it became my favorite art work of all time. The prelude is slower than most in tempo but all the tension and dynamics are there and they are there in the extreme. This makes the music never seem to drag or get boring. Regardless of the tempo the music is always very ALIVE and bristling energy. The instruments are instructed to play in the most colorful way and the score is always bright and shiny and textures transparent and detailed despite that they are sometimes playing at a slower than usual pace. In contrast Barenboim's brass-heavy interpretation seems a bit grey by comparison and the woodwinds rarely stand out. The orchestral phrases are always strong and have purpose especially when compared to Pappano who tends to use the orchestra as mere accompaniment. Bernstein's great sense of rhythm is also a factor in keeping the sense of forward motion. The "Isolde! Geliebte! ... Tristan! Geliebter!" duet is so full of rhythmical back and forth ceaseless beat that it could even be a jubilant dance while other conductors usually rush it so much that one rarely thinks of it that way. The impression one comes away with is that this interpretation of Tristan sounds unique but still very appropriate. Another attribute that this has over the other four is that it has the electric atmosphere of a live performance from everyone involved without actually being live. This is due to being partly recorded on several live performances interspersed with studio sessions. The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra is excellent but falters during a few passages (they are no Vienna Philharmonic) however they maintain the riveting atmosphere throughout and deploy a warm beautiful sound.

Now comes this version's only Achilles heel - the singers. Expressively they are in top form. Behrens and Hofmann are truly moving in their delivery. There is a strong sense of involvement by all the singers and its a truly gripping experience in many instances. The problem is that they are just technically inadequate to handle the demands of this work. Bernstein's conducting is of the type where the singers have to keep up not the other way around. Behrens and Hofmann are the only voices in here with enough heft to not be drowned out by the orchestra but both have flaws. Hildegard Behrens' voice is not very pleasant to listen to and I've never liked it much because of its unsteady and "wiry" sound. However, this was recorded at a time when she still had a good lower register so that helps. This is particularly heard in her stunningly rapturous "Ha! Ich bin's, ich bin's..." the best of the five versions in my opinion. Hofmann is a golden-voiced heldentenor to be sure however he has real trouble in some demanding high notes during the "Mount Everest" that is the third act and occasionally sounds overtaxed. He does have his moments as in his enthralling final "Zu ihr! Zu ihr"... long and legato... piercing through the orchestral pandemonium. Yvonne Minton's Brangäne is merely okay and really nothing special. Bernd Weikl's Kurwenal is expressive but technically lacking. Both Minton and Weikl usually get drowned out by the orchestra. Hans Sotin is also nothing to write home about. So vocally all around this is simply too deficient a version despite the involved performances. It's really not a place to start when becoming familiar with the vocal parts of this work. The best sung overall of the five sets would probably be the Pappano version on EMI which includes Placido Domingo and Nina Stemme. However my favorite Tristan of the bunch would have to be Jerusalem on the Barenboim disc. I also loved Rene Kollo's performance on the Klieber disc. The best Isolde is Stemme for Pappano even if she is a bit frigid.

So, in closing, as far as transcendental conducting is concerned and riveting atmosphere the Bernstein set is the one that stands out the most. This is a very special recording in that sense. If you are bothered by the slowness of some parts like I was at first just give it a chance and keep listening to it. You'll eventually become a convert to Bernstein's extraordinary, unique vision. I sure did. Highly recommended.

TRISTAN UND ISOLDE is one of the most important musical compositions of all time: it is unquestionably Wagner's masterpiece. The demands of this four and a half-hour long opera are cruel to conductor and to singers alike. Making a credible staged performance of this opera is another challenge as there is very little action in the story. There are legendary tales of how portraying the cruel vocal demands of Tristan has driven some tenors to death, that the perfect Isolde will never be born, etc.

Fortunately today we have several complete recordings of this mammoth, wondrous work with conductors from Furtwangler, Bohm, Levine to name only a few. This reading is conducted by Leonard Bernstein during concert performances of each act using the Bayreuth Orchestra and Peter Hofmann, Hildegard Behrens, Yvonne Minton, Hans Sotin, Bernd Weikl - you get the idea: these are some of the most potent of forces in the day these recordings were made.

The concept of recording individual acts in concert performance is a sound one: there is the excitement of a live performance without the usual wear and tear on the performers. And still in the realm of ecstasy from the Los Angeles Philharmonic's recent THE TRISTAN PROJECT in which Esa-Pekka Salonen presided over an erotically magnificent, sonically transcendent performance of one act per night on three successive nights (aided by the brilliant Isolde of Christine Brewer, the rapt Tristan of Clifton Forbis and the wonder of Jill Grove, Stephen Milling, Alan Held, and Thomas Studebaker singing from various stations throughout the acoustically perfect Disney Hall by director Peter Sellars and enhanced by the video moods of artist Bill Viola), I return to the many recordings of Tristan, longing to have what happened in Los Angeles committed to record.

Bernstein pulls all the passion from the score and spills it into your ears. Some may argue about his tempi (on the slow side) but the overall result works. These are not the singers for the definitive Tristan or Isolde, but each has so many radiant moments that the steel rod ascendancy of the demanding lines can comfortably take a back seat, This is a recording that captures the ecstasy and passion and sheer beauty of Wagner's score and invites us just to bask in it.

Not my favorite recording of Tristan, but this one certainly deserves more attention than it receives. Bernstein is being taken more seriously as a conductor since his death: this is a recording that should be included in a discography of his best. Grady Harp, December 2004

Leonard Bernstein's Trisan und Isolde left me choked up for other versions, however brilliant.
I am too unlucky (or lucky) to have owned this version for a starter.
The casting is very even - the six main characters do not have any one outshing the other, but this is not a vice.
All six were brought out by a brilliantly sung sailor, though. Sung without accompaniment by Thomas Moser, the voice really heralded the theme of the entire opera: a far cry of youthful yearning for love and passion.
Behrens and Hofmann are more-than adequate for the title roles, even if they did not manage to outshine any predecessor. They worked well under Bernstein's slow tempo. Their duets in the later scenes evoke high voltages of passion, and in this respect, their performances actually outshined most other pairs on disc, including Windgassen and Nilsson for Boehm.
Of course, none would say Behrens and Hofmann are adequately 'big voices' for their roles, if loudness is what you look for as the foremost criteria for choosing singers for Tristan and Isolde.

Actually, and I know people will just hate this, it was this very recording that put me off this opera for years. It was given to me as a gift. I was not that familiar with the work (only having heard little bits of it). I was very thankful and impressed someone would give me such an expensive gift. I nearly wiggled out of my skin the first listening. The introduction, prelude, was so SLOW I nearly died of bordom right there. So, I went to the library to get a score of it and follow along (a full orchestral score, that is), and those few pages (and they are just a few pages) took what seemed to be an eternity to play. The music just meandered all over and had no shape to it at all. I had to wait over a year to get back to the recording, I was so unimpressed.

Some people really think Bernstein makes a work through his conducting. He is one conductor I really don't like. He knows the music, and often spends so much time magnifying little nothings that really are not important the jist of the whole is lost. I found this recording was exactly like that -- so much to the details that the whole was lost. This is the LONGEST recording of this work adding an entire CD length to it over other recordings.

I have come to appreciate the recording somewhat now, and I can see the passion (though to me, it is moving as slowly as a glacier) but I am not moved. I really don't like the sound of the singers. I love Behrens in live performances, but she is not to my liking in recordings. The tenor is simply not good enough to cope with the music. It is a strain to him.

I rated this recording only a three because it is dull and moves like a glacier. The orchestra sound is wonderful and vibrant, so that puts my rating up somewhat, the interpretation by the conductor takes it down again, and the singers, well, they are Ok and nothing more.

Seeing this opera live (5 times) didn't help me at all, for those conductors were so slow I fell asleep during the prelude of the first act and woke up in time for the closing aria of the entire opera. It wasn't until I listened to the Margaret Price recording, I was able to figure out where the work was going. Then I started to enjoy it. Later I listened to Flagstad in the role, and was very moved. Since learning to like the work, I have relistened to this specific recording a few times, and I do find thing to treasure in it, I see its worth as a recording, it is not as horrible as I first thought, BUT it is still not my choice for this opera, and I don't recommend it to someone coming to this work for the first time. It will be a very dull experience in a very long long opera. Try other more exciting recordings first to get to know the work, and to get used to it, then try this one. You will then appreciate it more, like other reviewers have said, it is a good recording.

This really can't be a first choice for the opera. In fact, it's one of the worst. Bernstein is so indulgent such that he misses almost everything the music has in offer. Hofmann is past his best as Tristan and Behrens comes to grief often as Isolde. Both simply has not the vocal means to tackle the title roles. A grave disappointment.