Search - Wagner, Schmitt, Kother :: Bayreuth 1960

Fantastic performance, nicely remastered,interesting cast

06/26/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This performance was released several years ago but the sound quality was abysmal. Now Melodram has cleaned up the sound and re-released it.I own more than thirteen different recordings of DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NURNBERG and this one is THE BEST, as well as one of the most unconventional and interesting. The casting is inverted. Josef Greindl, the king of ultra-low basses, who sang Pogner at Bayreuth under Furtwangler in 1943, here sings Hans Sachs. Listeners who are used to hearing him play cave-man roles like Fafner, Hunding, and Hagen, will be deligtfully surprized by his sensitivity and intelligence. And he has no problem with the high range except at the very end where he has to drop down on the final word "kunst".Continuing the "invert" motif, Pogner, usually sung by a low bass, is interpreted here by Theo Adam, in a mellow baritone. But it's not a problem--it's interesting--more interesting than Adam usually manages to be (I think it was a mistake for Karajan to cast him as Sachs in his studio recording).Wolfgang Windgassen is in better form here than on the Clutyens recording. He's fervent, he's impulsive, he's angry (act II), he's morose (beginning of the singing lesson in act III), he's thoughtful, he's brilliantly triumphant. Gerhard Stolze also plays David with more character and enthusiasm than elsewhere.Another piece of casting freakishness--Ludwig Weber, another super-ultra-low basso who often sang Fasolt opposite Greindl's Fafner and was THE Hagen before Greindl came along, is cast here as Fritz Kothner. He clearly was not pleased with this minor role and he vented his frustration on stage--you'll hear him yawning loudly during other singers' arias, including Walther's trial song, and generally he growls and snorts throughout the performance. But his prickly manner fits the role pretty well.Elizabeth Grummer is sweet, childlike, naive, but also thoughtful.Elizabeth Schartel is adorable as Magdelena. She flirts beautifully. She reminds me a little of Barbara Eden (I dream of Jeanie!) grown up.Karl Schmitt-Walther is everything Beckmesser should be--quacking, quavering, scheming, snobby, terrified, and convincing in his tantrums. He cracks on the high A in act III ("...das Nurnberg schusterlich bluht und WAAAAAAACHS!...."), but he's not supposed to be an athletic singer.But the main thing about this recording is the dialogue. The singers really talk to each other. I am drawn into the conversation every time I hear it. I have to stop myself from interrupting Hans Sachs with my own questions about music and poetry during the singing lesson in act III."

A great Meistersinger

Laon | moon-lit Surry Hills | 04/22/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is just to confirm the excellent review below; this is a great _Meistersinger_.I bought it partly on the strength of the review below, and partly because of curiosity on how Wolfgang Windgassen would handle the role of Walter. Windgassen is one of my favourite Wagner tenors, and my favourite Florestan, but I had always felt that this role did not suit his voice or vocal acting style. How wrong I was. This is more than beautiful singing, this is an interesting and wholly convincing interpretation. Maybe it's just a carry-over from hearing Windgassen's distinctive voice in so many heroic roles, but he seems to bring out Walter's youth and recklessness more than other singers, making this Walter a closer relative than usual to the other Wagner tenor heroes. (I still prefer Ben Heppner, in the second Solti set; but that is one of the greatest Wagner performances on record.) Gerhard Stolze's David is another pleasant surprise. I hated this singer's Mime for Karajan and Solti, all special effects and too little singing. I expected his David to be interesting, nuanced but unmusical. But he honestly and genuinely _sings_ this role, revealing a woodwind-colured but attractive tenor voice he should have used more often. But Stolze's flair for the dramatic, and the turn-on-a-dime expressiveness is here as well. Stolze's David is sharp as a tack; no Walter, but a future credit to the Mastersingers just the same. Josef Greindl's Sachs is the third great surprise. Like he previous reviewer I associate this snger with the "caveman" roles, Hunding, Hagen, Fafner and so on. And I have some reservations about Greindl's voice, often finding him dry and strained, as in his Landgrav for the Sawallisch _Tannhäuser_. But his Sachs is both intelligent and beautiful, so much so that I wonder if he might not have been better off staying in this higher range. And Knappertsbusch is ... Kna, shaping a large-scale, unhurried and warm music-comedy. His _Parsifal_ recordings are acknowledged classics, of course, but on this evidence I actually think that _Meistersinger_ was truly his opera. All the other parts are well taken; the cast is an outstanding ensemble with no weak links. The only other observation needed is on the sound. This is a live, mono recording, and allowances have to be made; you will not get the bloom or detail of, for example, the second Solti recording. And at the Prelude and the very beginning of Act I there was a slight muddiness of sound, but that soon settled down, and thenceforward you get fine and clear mono sound. Both the riot scene at the end of Act II, and the processions and crowd scenes at the end of Act III come across spaciously and clearly, a challenge that has defeated many a stereo set. This is a great _Meistersinger_, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. It's not at all well-known but it deserves the label Legendary Performance far more than many sets that travel under that flag. If you're looking for a second set, try this. You'll be in for a treat. Cheers!Laon"

Hard to top this

Baker Sefton Peeples | Santa Cruz, CA United States | 09/14/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is simply the most satisfying meistersinger I've ever heard. Fabulous singing, conducting, and most of all, ACTING, something that wagner demands for in this opera, more so than any other of his operas.
The biggest surprise here is the successful experiment by the wagner brothers casting josef greindl, famous (or if you're not a fan of his, infamous) for his portrayals of fasolt, fafner, hunding, and hagen in the ring. He not only manages to make an imposing, but he is the friendlist and most intelligent of any hans sachs I've heard. This is also by far the best I have ever heard him sung. Only rarely does he launch into his crass and scooping that plagues so many of his other roles, such as the "caveman" roles in the ring or king henry. When the other characters call him "freund sachs," one is very touched for greindl makes it so believable.
Wolfgang Windgassen is an ardent walther, if anything. His singing may not have the splendor of a rene kollo, or as much meat as jess thomas, but it is nevertheless intelligent and judicious. He pours out his heart in his trial song and especially in the trial song. He also becomes easily frustrated and smitten by eva, for instance, in the scene where he and eva come to sachs's house in act 3.
Eva is sung by elizabeth grummer, who is quite good, though no one quite matches schwarzkopf here. She's very naive and childlike, just as the role calls for. Lene is Elisabeth shcartel, who makes a good pair with grummer, singing as well as acting.
Another surprise is the "singing" of gerhard stolze, who doesn't submit David to a mere caricature, which so plagues his loge and mime, which I find hard to deal with. He is funny and at other moments concerned and when he sings of lene and how walther must get past the critics of the meisters, he shows kindness and love.
Theo Adam, is veit pogner, and while I don't particularly like his voice, he sings well here, and this relatively small role suits him much better than the hans sachs (a dreadful case of miscasting by karajan, with whom adam recorded meistersinger, only 10 years later). Fritz kothner is also given to a big name singer, ludwig weber, who was obviously past his prime. Nevertheless, he comes across as a strict man who won't put up with anyone else's opinions, and his mannerisms actually help his performance.
Last but not least, Beckmesser. Karl Schmitt-Walter truly enacts the role: he's pesky, a stickler, and full of himself. He acts up when he sings and is particularly sneaky when he tells the audience how he'll rip apart walther at his trial song.
More congrats to the bayreuth chorus and orchestra, which sound fabulous, especially in the riot scene, which is slower but much more riveting, and clearer than in many studio recordings of this opera. Knappertsbusch is also in top shape, leading the whole opera with expertise and intelligence. I can't think of a better conducted and organized performance than this one.
Overall, this is a must for any wagner buff or for anyone who wants a consistently well performed Meistersinger."