Search - Wagner, Grummer, Ludwig :: Lohengrin

A HEART-BREAKING PERFORMANCE

MOVIE MAVEN | New York, NY USA | 05/12/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Opera fanatic friends of mine suggested (no, demanded) that I buy this version of LOHENGRIN when I told them that I was looking for "the best recording." LOHENGRIN is the opera to start listening to if you are new to Wagner. It is so lyrical and romantic and passionate. And this recording, with its top-notch cast and orchestra conducted by one of the greatest of all Wagner conductors pulls the listener in like a magnet. Since buying it, about 2 years ago, I have literally listened to this version of the entire opera over a dozen times.Jess Thomas, Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau and Christa Ludwig need no introduction. They simply own these roles and you don't ever have to hear anyone else sing them. But it is Elisabeth Grummer who has me marvelling every time I listen. This is a once-in-a-lifetime performance. Her 'Elsa' is brave, noble, strong and yet so naive and trusting that you watch in horror as she allows her miserable doubts and unhappiness to take over and defeat her one chance at redemption through love. The opera is named for Thomas' character, but it is really 'Elsa's' journey...her story. It is she who changes because of 'Lohengrin's' visit. She is truly the tragic hero in the classic sense who, like Oedipus, has the one major flaw which cannot be controlled. She will destroy herself. We watch and listen as she creates her own doom. Grummer's performance is magnificently sung and heart-breakingly acted.This recording is almost forty years old, but the sound is full and rich.. The orchestra and chorus under Rudolf Kempe is thrilling. This is one of those very few perfect performances on disc. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED."

High Honors for Kempe's 'Lohengrin'

Haas | Brooklyn | 07/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This inspired performance from Rudolf Kempe and the Vienna Philharmonic of 1964 is quite simply the most gorgeous orchestral achievement I've ever heard on an opera recording. Kempe has an inherent understanding of the drama, romance, fear and loneliness that fuels these tragic characters -- and, what's more, he has the unique ability to assemble a cast of singers as interpretively competent as he. What an accomplishment! This is probably the best 'Lohengrin' in the catalogue, truly a Great Recording of the Century.



Jess Thomas's Lohengrin can be valiant and yet uncertain, cold while still consumed with passion -- a dynamic singer even in such a demanding title role. His Elsa is the lyric soprano Elisabeth Grummer, whose incomparable grace I cannot even begin to explicate with words. Her interpretation here is one of the most utterly absorbing characterizations ever captured on disc, even better than her work with von Matacic some five years earlier. She's more than just "gentle" and certainly more than "moving" -- she is something special. Her singing (and acting!) in the Act I duet ("Mein schirm, mein engel, mein erloser," etc) is absolutely breathtaking. And all sung with perfect phrasing to boot! Simply the best.



And the hits just keep on coming. Now peerless in reputation, Christa Ludwig and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau are more than mere supporting players in the formidable roles of Ortrud and Telramund; they are gloriously villainous and especially so when they go head to head. This is some of Fidi's best singing in one of his best roles. Ditto with Christa, who is one of the most versatile and consistently top-notch singers of the 20th century; actually I can't think of one more reliable. She steals the show as Ortrud, summoning up an amazing range with her usual potency. She's a wonderful complement to Grummer. Gottlob Frick and Otto Wiener are also admirable additions to the cast; we are fortunate to have them even in such minor roles.



At the end of the day, the real star of this performance is Kempe, a true Wagnerian to the core, who by Act III can make the most familiar leitmotif seem new and exciting. I hesitantly say he's the most underrated conductor of this past century.



I go on about this set as if it were perfect. That's such a strong word, isn't it? It might not be; the choral work, for example, is not as strong as on Solti's fine recording, but it's as close to ideal as one could possibly get, and one of opera's indelible recordings. The price is right, that's for sure, so you should snatch this up and never let it go. It's an experience almost unequaled in Romantic music. Wagner splendor!"

Wagnerian bel canto at its best

cdsullivan@massed.net | Cambridge, MA USA | 10/08/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Lohengrin," with "Die Meistersinger", is one of Wagner's two most beautiful operas, with gorgeous, flowing music that is almost unique in Wagner's gigantic output. It is clearly popular on records: since this, the first studio recording, was made in the early sixties, such recordings as those conducted by Karajan, Solti, Abbado, Barenboim and Davis have been made. All five of those recordings, however, have been seriously flawed, mostly in the casting of the fiendishly difficult roles of the two villains, Ortrud and Telramund. This 1962-3 Vienna recording is the only recording which has mastered every aspect of the opera, and has stood the test of time as an unrivalled "Lohengrin."First and foremost is the magisterial conducting of Rudolf Kempe (1910-1976), who is peerless on record in the lyrical Wagners. He has a superb sense of structure, and allows the music time to unfold its beauty. He is unmatched at conveying both the silvery serenity and black, insinuating evil that make up this opera. The Vienna Philharmonic plays radiantly, even by its standards, and the Vienna State Opera Chorus is sublime, essential for this work full of glorious choral writing. The soloists, too, are in a class of their own. Elisabeth Grümmer owned the roles of Elsa and Eva in the 50's and early 60's, and she is caught here at her radiant peak. With her soaring, silvery voice and delicate sweetness, she is unapproached on disc. Gottlob Frick is a magnificent King, ideally resonant and dark of tone, and Otto Wiener is an unstrained, eloquent Herald. In the title role, which is relatively short but extremely taxing, Jess Thomas sings ardently and lyrically, despite a few passages of roughness. But what really put this recording in a class of its own are the stunning achievements of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Christa Ludwig as Telramund and Ortrud. Fischer-Dieskau's clear, noble voice and incomparable artistry create a vivid, tragic portrait of the weak count, while Ludwig uses her firm, rich mezzo, secure even in attacking the murderous high notes of "Entweihte Götter," to create an evil, intense, insinuating Ortrud. The sound is not flawless; despite the generally successful remastering, there are occasional rough passages. For the most part, though, it is admirably full-bodied and clear, and it is genuine stereo. This is remarkable coming from EMI, which seriously handicapped other classic recordings (such as the Kempe "Meistersinger," the Furtwängler "Walküre" and the Sawallisch "Capriccio") by recording them in mono when they could and should have been in stereo. Fortunately, though, that does not happen here. Superb teamwork added to these excellent individual performances makes this a unique "Lohengrin," truly a "Great Recording of the Century.""