Customer Reviews

Wagner: Parsifal

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Of all the recordings of PARSIFAL available at the moment, this one (and any of Knappertsbusch's live Bayreuth performances) is probably the best. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Berlin Philharmonic expertly, and to these ears he has a better grasp of the music than Solti, Karajan, or especially Levine (whose recording should definitely be avoided unless one wants to hear Jessye Norman's excellent Kundry). Siegfried Jerusalem brings a good voice and considerable intelligence (how often can THAT be said?) to Parsifal, and is, along with Vickers, probably the best exponent of the role. Waltraud Meier is a hugely satisfying Kundry: this is one of her best performances vocally and she is always dramatically alive. José van Dam could sound a little more desperate as Amfortas but is vocally perfect, and John Tomlinson is excellent as Titurel. The only drawbacks to this recording are Matthias Hölle and Günter von Kannen (as Gurnemanz and Klingsor, respectively). Both give good performances, but neither has the vocal ammunition needed for this opera. Their deficiencies are not enough, however, to spoil the whole. If anything, get this recording to hear Meier and Jerusalem in Act II. Truly harrowing.

Sure, Baremboim is no Knappterbusch, Krauss or Furtwangler, but as Wagner conductors come these days, he is very good indeed. His beautiful reading of Parsifal is well thought out, the marvelous Berliner Philharmoniker play as well gor him as they did for Karajan 20 years ago. Baremboim's cast has a great strength: the Kundry of Waltraud Meier, one of the finest ever recorded. Siegfried Jerusalem is good too and far preferable to many of his peers. Van Dam is a great Amfortas, but he was in fresher voice for Karajan. If you want a digital Parsifal you will have to choose between this and the Karajan set. Karajan's trump card is the formidable Gurnemanz of Kurt Moll, his tenor is just about the equal of Baremboim's, but his Kundry good as she is can't quite match the eroticism of Meier. The Karajan recording is early digital, the sound a little bit cool and analytical, the Baremboim is better recorded, more natural and warmer. Both are very collectable recordings.

Wagner's interpretation has a lot of fans that are not very open-mind to new ways of performing the works of the great Richard. This affects conducting, playing and singing and those listeners use to be much more closed to a kind of performances that come from the XIXth Century tradition, having the climax in the figure of Hans Knappertsbusch.

This is clearly a Parsifal in a different line, a modern version of a piece that can be played, of course, in different ways and not only in the very mystical Kna did. This Barenboim's performance is deep, very Germanic and perfect from the technical point of view, as it was his Tristan und Isolde, released by Teldec too and which is, together with this Parsifal one of the best recordings Barenboim did in his years with Berlin. Daniel Barenboim is, in my opinion the greatest Wagnerian conductor in our days, as his cycle of Wagner's works for Teldec shows, or as you can watch and listen in his just released DVD with the Walküre.

The orchestra is a glory made sound, and you remember it's the BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER, not the Staatsoper, like other reviewers wrote. In my opinion the German orchestra is the finest in the world, so you can imagine how great is them playing in this CD, in a moment of great shape under a baton they know very well. I simply can not imagine a performance like this in a live recording, so the miracle made sound is clear, with all the dynamics, tones, tempi... perfectly described.

The voices are really great, despite all those who can listen only the old recordings, Wagner allows everything and this is a marvellous way of singing the main roles, like Jerusalem or van Dam shows. About Waltrud Meier I can only say that her Kundry is the best I know, as she was too the best Isolde I know. The rest of the cast is very good and very well balanced, with deep and technical voices very well chosen for the kind of interpretation Barenboim does.

As I wrote some lines above, a performance of Parsifal is just a part of the different possibilities the works offer, so if you want to know it well you will need to listen some other performances, especially Knappertsbusch (Teldec and Philips, in my opinion) and Solti (Decca), mainly. Karajan is quite good, but because of the orchestra, but anyway I prefer Berlin in this recording. Levine.... The best thing you can do is to forget Levine conducting Wagner, except for the voices, his conducting is really poor.

The recording is very good, digital, something very important in this work in which the pianissimos has a very important role in creating the different atmospheres required. The balance between voices and orchestra is perfect and it's recorded like if it was a concert, so you can listen the singers moving on the stage through your loudspeakers. The libretto is very, very good too.

One of the better Parsifal and technically the best one.

I feel this Parsifal, along with Kubeliks, are the two finest since KNA's(62, 511, 54, 56). I actually prefer Siegfried Jerusalem to Jess Thomas(KNA 62)-his voice was still at its peak-velvety, powerful, tender, and under complete control. The Gurnemanz, though not near Hotter, Griendl, or Moll(Kubelik), is also good, though at times his voice is somewhat commonplace. Picking apart the performance is ridiculous compared to the overall feeling that this is truly a special performance. Those who have heard Barenboims Ring know to expect great things. For seasoned Wagnerites, this is a marvelous and authentic, though worlds different, from KNA's sensational phillips recording and his various 50'2 Bayreuths. Among modern versions, I would recommend this as a must have along with Kubelik, Solti, and Karajan, along with Horst Stein on DVD and for a modernized though musically incredible Kent nagano(Matti Salmninen as Gurnemanz(!!!) Thomas Hampson as Amfortas(I prefer him to Weikl even) and Meiers best Kundry.
Alas, as another reviewer mentioned, the only real problem, and it is somewhat significant, is the volume oscillation. For most of the first act I had to turn up the volume almost eight numbers higher than I normally listen to and then during the transformation and act II had to then turn it down-only to have to turn it up again in act three. Of course I know this often happens with due to the complex process of recording a work of this kind, but it is worse than most encounters I have had with similar problems and was distracting when attempting to allow oneself to sink(meditate) into the music. Dont discount this version though or not buy it because of that. It is well worth hearing- and in the case of Siegfried Jerusalem-you will never encounter a finer Parsifal interp.

Wagner - Parsifal / Meier, Jerusalem, Hölle, van Dam, von Kannen, Tomlinson, Berlin Phil., Barenboim~ Richard Wagner is a great recording. Wagner's music is so laden with emotion that one can certainly feel exactly what he is trying to convey. Wagner is truly a master when it comes to opera music and Parsifal is no exception. The lyrics are simply splendid and I aim to see this opera live at least once. The book-let is a amazing and they have definitely not been niggardly when it comes to this. It contains several wonderful illustrations, a short well written essay called some thoughts on Parsifal, and I must give this album 5 well deserved stars. Well done indeed.

I own the Kna' 62, Karajan, Kubelik and Goodall and Stein Bayreuth on DVD from 1981. This Barenboim has the best sound quality and most powerful spiritual climaxes. All the rolls are sung by no one less than satisfactory. Seigfried Jerusalem is the best Parsifal I have heard to date (a real heldentenor) and Meier hits the top of the stave with precision and security in Act 2. However, Matthias Holle, whilst a satisfactory Gurnemanz, has not got the sheer bass heft and beauty of a Moll that Tomlinson has. If only Tomlinson had been cast as Gurnemanz this recording would have stood out as a clear front runner.

However, this is a fine Parsifal and a worthy contender as one of the best on disc. My favourites are neck and neck, Kubelik and Barenboim (Kna's live Bayreuth from 62 has too much coughing, especially in Act 3. I find myself irritated that someones bronchial congestion should be enshrined on disc for all to hear till kingdom come)! Viva, Barenboim, Kubelik (and Karajan in bronze place)!

this could have been great with a sensible sound engineer. but unfortunately
the spread between loudest and soft is so huge you can't listen comfortably at any volume.
your either straining to hear or covering your ears.

forget it.

This recording has generally received very good reviews from the critics, so I must confess to being slightly disappointed by it - particularly by the technical level of the recording. It is recorded at an unusually low level, so that you have to have the volume up much higher than usual. Then the loud bits are far too loud and you have to turn it down again. On top of that there are some very noticeable splices which seem inexcusable in a comparatively recent issue - there's a very obvious break just after Parsifal's arrival in act one, and Kundry's voice suddenly seems to double in volume during her curse at the end of act two. I also suspect that Jerusalem has been dubbed in at a later stage for the Flowermaidens' scene. If not, then he has been acoustically 'enhanced' in some way and sounds rather artificial. On the plus side, the temple bells are incredible, and the two transformation scenes have tremendous impact as a result.

Of the singers, I find only van Dam completely satisfactory (though if I had to pick one Amfortas it would be Eberhard Wächter on the evidence of his live recording under Karajan - nobody conveys Amfortas's agony better). Jerusalem is rather dry-toned (though better than many Parsifals), and Hölle sings attractively on the whole but lacks involvement. Meier is certainly very exciting in the second half of act two but her voice, as always, shows some obvious breaks in many of the lower-lying phrases, leading to some notes oddly lacking in colour. Most of her outbursts in the first act seem oddly underplayed considering her near-legendary status in the role. I don't really remember von Kannen's Klingsor at all, which suggests he doesn't make much positive impression. Barenboim's conducting produces a nice blend of monumentality and dramatic momentum (the final minutes of the Parsifal-Kundry confrontation positively tear along in comparison with most other recordings).

I personally prefer the Knappertsbusch live 1962 recording, although if you want a more recent studio recording then Karajan's probably supplies the best combination of orchestral beauty and good singing. Knappertsbusch is a fairly slow, grand interpretation (above all during Kundry's curse which seems about half the normal speed) - for a livelier, equally valid reading Jordan's Erato recording has much to offer. You only have to read the Parsifal reviews on this web site to see that every set has its champions, however, and in the end there aren't really any bad Parsifal recordings - you have to follow your own priorities.

Daniel Barenboim's recording of Parsifal, Wagner's last opera was released in 1991. I thought I had reviewed this recording five years ago when I first bought it. I even remembered some phrases from that imagined review, and on finding that I never wrote them down, I've listened to the whole opera again.

On the whole, this Parsifal stands among the best studio recordings available, chiefly on the strength of Barenboim's leadership of the Berlin Philharmonic. His tempi tend toward the slow end of the Parsifal spectrum, but not as slow by far as Goodall or Levine. There is a great deal of orchestral detail brought out for coloristic and emotional effect. But most importantly, this is a performance wrought with a deep understanding of the spiritual basis of the story and the music, and that, my friends, is the single most important quality a Parsifal performance must have. It is also the most difficult quality to convey and all too often lacking, especially in studio recordings.

The singing ranges from very good to great. Leading the pack is José van Dam's Amfortas. Eleven years after his recording with von Karajan, there is naturally some bloom off the voice, but it is still marvelously rich and steady. The darker, grainier sound, like old polished walnut, ideally conveys Amfortas's suffering as the mediæval Man of Sorrows. This is not the writhing agony of Thomas Stewart or profound rage of George London, but a deep spiritual sadness and longing for release.

Siegfried Jerusalem was just past his peak at the time of this recording. Never a true heldentenor, he occasionally pushes to the very limit of his instrument's abilities, but never beyond or for more than a moment. He is ideally suited to Parsifal's youthful side, and manages the heroic parts of the second and third acts sufficiently well. However, he is a musician of the first rank, and possessor of a very keen intellect, which comes through in the clarity of his phrasing and the enunciation of the text. This is one of his most satisfying performances on record.

Waltraud Meier had been the leading exponent of the role of Kundry for some twenty years, and has been a very fine Kundry indeed. Unfortunately, we've been through a very dry patch of Wagner singers in that time, and coupled with the simple fact that few mezzos (or sopranos, as Wagner scored the part) are able or willing to rise to the role's many demands. Time was, way back, when sopranos like Marjorie Lawrence and Maria Callas actually SANG, in lady-like fashion, Kundry's many screams, shrieks, and moans. No stage director or audience would tolerate that today. Meier, however, gets down deep into the part. She is better seen live than merely heard, though; her great beauty and acting ability are mesmerizing. This is the best of her several recorded performances: The 1985 Levine/Bayreuth, her first, finds her a bit tentative and hamstrung by the conductor's lethargic tempi. In the live Vienna 2005 performance, her voice sounds worn and edgy. There is a here a hooded tone to much of her sing that gives it a poignant, plaintive quality. She also sings hauntingly the disembodied alto solo at the end of Act One.

Matthias Hölle has been called in other reviews the weakest link in the cast, but on repeated listening I find much that is admirable. He certainly lacks the broader color-pallette of Kurt Moll, or the sheer transport of Hans Hotter's best live performances. Yet there is here a fine sense of detail, and a great understanding of character and his situation. This is more in line with Robert Lloyd's modest and compassionate approach to the part. I think, though, that he is hampered most by Teldec's engineers. More about that in a moment.

Filling out the cast are John Tomlinson's excellent Titurel, suitably cavernous and distant sounding. Cornelius Hauptmann as the 2nd Knight makes the most of his few but crucial lines in Act One, scene 1; and the Flowermaidens are lead by the excellent Edith Wiens and include Pamela Coburn and Sally Burgess. Only Günther von Kannen disappoints as Klingsor. Not that he's bad, he's just not bad enough, as a character, I mean. He just sings the part handsomely, without conveying anything much of anything wicked, or nasty, or...well, I've heard worse. The chorus of the Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin, particularly the men, sing the Gail Temple scenes extraordinarily well.

My one persistent complaint about this recording is the sound engineering. The sound is actually very good, but recorded mostly at too low a volume level. The Teldec crew seem to have gone for a natural stage/pit theater balance, but ramp up the gain only in the extended orchestral passages. The quiet parts, most of the opera in fact, need to be played with the volume up a good deal higher than usual. If you live in an apartment or listen with headphones you will be scrambling to turn it down once in a while. If you live in a house and can listen at a goodly, full voiced level, this is a gorgeous experience.

I've had this recording for a long while and have spent a lot of time reflecting on its relative strengths and weaknesses. In the end, I think this is a very, very good recording, but it is disqualified from being a first choice by the extremely poor casting choice of Matthias Holle as Gurnemanz. Holle is simply not up to par with the rest of the solid cast - his Gurnemanz can only be described as ordinary, underpowered, and dull - and he is especially bad here when compared with some of the outstanding Gurnemanz's that can be found on other recordings, like the legendary Hans Hotter and Kurt Moll (and more recently, Rene Pape). If this were a smaller role, it would be a more forgivable flaw, but Gurnemanz dominates Acts I and III (in fact, without Act II, I think this opera should be called "Gurnemanz"), and it's hard to ignore just how weak Holle is here.

Barenboim's conducting is savvy, Siegfried Jerusalem sings idiomatically and effortlessly, and even Waltraud Meier's histrionics are not over-the-top here (as they sometimes can be). It's just a shame that they didn't find a better Gurnemanz, because this could have been a perfect recording of the opera.

(As a result, my first choice remains the 1962 Knappertsbusch recording on Philips.)