Search - Richard Strauss, Seiji Ozawa, Jessye Norman :: Strauss - Salome / Jessye Norman · Morris · Witt · Raffeiner · Leech · Staatskapelle Dresden · Ozawa

Excellent opera, but not well cast

BDSinC | Calgary, Alberta, Canada | 07/13/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I own a few recordings of this opera. One I hate is the recording with Hildegard Berhens (though I respect her as an artist, and she is a vivid performer on stage, I find her not the most pleasing to listen to on record). One I thought was great (Caballe singing Salome). And a number that simply did nothing for me. This one, however, I loved. True, Jessye Norman doesn't sound like a young teenager (however, I doubt she ever did, even when she was one). Her voice is too grand in many ways, too majestic, too confident. Well, I guess anyone who has the ability to stand their ground against the offers of everything Herod says he will give her simply for a man's head must have some confidence. Her voice, though perhaps not "youthful" enough is not unpleasant at all. It sores, it overpowers, it gives full breath to the drama. Now that brings us to the reason I gave this recording only 4 stars. Her performance is everything one would expect, and maybe even more. It is the other singers who ruin the performance, and destroy the atmosphere. Most of the minor roles are well sung. Richard Leech is wonderful in his role, and his legato line is perfect. James Morris is also wonderful, and authoritive. In many ways he sounds more a Wotan than a prophet, but prophets are supposed to be close to God, so I guess that is fine. The draw backs are the singers who sing the parts of Herod, and Herodias. Walter Raffeiner disappoints. Yes, he is forceful, even ardent, but he doesn't sing a note of this opera. I actually had to take score in hand, go to the piano, to see if his "barking" was remotely on pitch. Odd thing, it was. There was simply no musicality to it at all. I am not sure if that is what Strauss was expecting, but for me it was not the most pleasant of performances to listen to, though it was in its way very engaging. Kerstin Witt, the Herodias, well, that is a different matter. She was shrill, strident, screechy, and weak. Salome's mother actually encourages the girl in her "misdeeds." Witt didn't sound old enough to be Jessye Norman's mother, or even baby sister. That is where we have some really bad casting happening. It seems to have happened in a lot of Norman's recording, example: Lohengin. The evil mezzo is so lightweight in sound, so shrill, there is no reason to fear her or her "evil character." To contrast Norman, one needs an extremely dark, "evil" sounding voice, one that commands, sounds adult, and with a most diabolical agenda. This lady sounds too little, too young, and more like a screaming infant than an evil hateful queen. Again her sound is not pretty, and it is not really sung. It would be nice to hear German opera, especially 20th century opera, and actually hear it sung. That horrible speak-singing that developed as a way of "making the words more noticeable" really ruins the musical aspect of the entire piece. It also makes the music sound strained. Salome is a very lirical score, in spite of its heavy orchestration. It is filled with melody. Screaming, and barking, do nothing to help a listener come to understand that truth. As for the conducting, Ozawa does breathe life into the work, and gives Salome's utterances depth. I am sure if the other singers were really singing, we would find a different depth of support to their words similar to what we find with Norman. The energy is there, the sensuousness of Salome's dance drips like rain. Yes, this recording is excellent, even considering those afore mentioned flaws. Personally, I think it is worth the money, even if you aren't a Jessye Norman fan. (and to the reviewer who asked when Norman would do Brunhilde, great question, she did record the Immolation scene, has sung Sieglinde, but never Brunhilde; I would love to see that; She can actually trill, so for once one would, maybe, hear those trills in the Walkure war cry that are never sung)"

It shoots for the stars but lands in Jokanaan's pit.

JPH | Crawley | 08/28/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I am a big fan of Richard Strauss's tone poems, and thus the opening bars of this recording thrilled me to bits because what I heard were the magical, authentically Straussian tones of the great Dresden Staatskapelle - the orchestra which has the most intimate associations with the composer himself. But thereafter the thrill gradually fades away. Simply having the premier Richard Strauss orchestra in a Strauss opera recording is no barometer of ultimate success when the conductor and most of the cast are not up to the task. It is wonderful to hear the magisterial voices of Ms Norman and Mr Morris in the important roles, but their efforts are seriously undermined by the poor casting in the smaller, but vital roles, and by the inappropriate direction of Ozawa. Instead of offering a superbly played music drama to rival great versions by Sinopoli and Solti, Ozawa treats this score as if it were a Tchaikovsky ballet (with a severed head instead, no doubt). The only outstanding part of this recording which overtakes its other rivals is in the passage where Salome holds up John's head. Here, the great Dresden Staatkapelle revealed the dance elements in the bars following this moment. No other CD version had revealed this insight to me before. A startling moment of orchestral playing.

However, that is just about all. Ultimately, this is a recording which promised much on paper, but failed to deliver the goods. All fluff and no bite. However great Norman here is, she cannot do much to save this opera set when everything else is collapsing around her."

Good Salome, Bad Herod

wayne pannabecker | Brooklyn, NY United States | 08/12/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Yes, Norman produces gallons of wonderful, jaw-dropping, voluminous tone and her technique, range, and German language-familiarity are welcome also. She's the kind of listener who can command attention and one we want to listen to; nevertheless, it sounds more like Elektra than Salome to me. When is she going to undertake Brunnhilde, by the way?
Ozawa's conducting is straightfoward with good attention to detail but somewhat neutral rhythmically.
The cast is capable with the exception of the Herod (Walter Raffeiner) who speaks, moans, grunts, and shouts more than he does sing. If his voice were prettier, it might be more listenable, but it's ugly, strained, and imperfectly controlled. He, in fact, makes a singer like Gerhard Stoltz who is famous for sprechstimme and campy performances sound like vocal gold by comparison. (Stolz can be heard as Herod on Solti's set with Nilsson.) James Morris as Jokanaan and Richard Leech as Narraboth make vivid and pleasing additions to the cast, but the rest (Dresden regulars) are just adequate--they don't shame the performance, but they sure aren't world class either.
The three star rating is mostly for Norman's contribution."