"I haven't always been a Sinopoli fan, but I must say, he's refreshing and altogether arresting in Strauss. It all just sounds right. He finds the balances, motifs, and intstrumental details with amazing clarity. Heppner is an ideal Emperor: clean musical lines, power, interpretation, and the high notes to pull off the role are all at his disposal. Voigt has the right voice and feeling for Strauss and his Empress, but doesn't interpret as dramatically as Varady for Solti or Rysanek for Bohm. As the Dyer's Wife, Hass fills the role's vocal requirements, a true Wagnerian-dramatic-soprano, which is no small feat in itself. Grundheber does the same as her husband, but neither are ideal as Hass sometimes borders on unsteadiness which threatens to derail her voice and Grundheber rather gruff demeanor and fuzzy tone can't bring to life the character convincingly. Chorus, orchestra, and the supporting roles play and sing superbly and the sound is surprisingly clean and full-ranged. Annoyingly, there are stage cuts but unexplainably so since all of the leading singers could have sustained their parts uncut. It rivals Solti in Strauss style but not in completeness or scale. I prefer Sinopoli anyway."
Voigt and Heppner make this one of the best!
James Walters | Seattle, WA USA | 04/27/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Voigt and Heppner shine here as the Emperor and his wife. In fact the whole cast is magnificent, with the exception of Sabine Hass, who is shrill, and has intonation problems. Voigt is georgeous in this opera, her voice is absolutely perfect for the role. Heppner as well makes an incredible Emperor."
Magical
James Walters | 11/28/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"At last a recording of this opera that is not shrill. The balance and modulation of this recording makes it the magical experience it is intended to be."
Fantastic performance - shame about the cuts
Ralph Moore | Bishop's Stortford, UK | 07/13/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"No other recording - not even Solti's - lifts off the way Sinopoli's does in that stunning quartet which concludes this opera ; he controls the huge orchestral forces and intricate vocal lines to engineer the most heart-wrenching climax before the ethereal voices of the unborn children send us off to bed, amazed and delighted. So it's a thousand pities that Sinopoli permitted so many damaging cuts - not least the 'cello solo before the Dyer's wife expresses her remorse in the underground chamber; surely they could have been recorded and spliced in afterwards? My respect for Sabine Hass, who succumbed to cancer not long ago, does not prevent me from observing that while she conveys great intensity in her performance it is also too often a strident pain in the ears. Grundheber is gruff compared with the mellifluous Van Dam in the Solti, though that suits the character; Voigt and Heppner, however, are in unbeatable voice: powerful, lyrical and true; as good as, if not better than, their counterparts in the Solti, Varady and Domingo. Voigt is especially moving in the statue scene -again, horribly pruned but still very effective. I have four recordings of this masterpiece: Karajan 1964 Salzburg set, the Solti, the Bohm on "Opera d'Oro" (in indifferent sound but it enshrines some wonderful performances) and this one - and I wouldn't want to be without any of them, especially the Sinopoli if only for that last scene.