Search - Roland Hermann, Richard [Classical] Wagner, Eugen Jochum :: Wagner: Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg

Disappointing Fischer-D: exciting Placido D

Klingsor Tristan | Suffolk | 08/17/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Through the 60's and early 70's the dearth of new recordings of Die Meistersinger was often put down to "waiting for Fischer-Dieskau". Admittedly there had been two great recordings in the early days of LP - Knappertsbusch and especially Kempe. Karajan came along and didn't add a lot except modern stereo sound. There was the odd pirated version of Karajan's Bayreuth performance with Schwarzkopf as Eva - the most insufferably prim and arch Eva ever! But it seemed that the great man was reluctant to take on the part everyone thought he had been borne to play.



Finally, though, it happened. And it seemed he was right. His performance of Sachs was, in the event, something of a disappointment. There's some beautiful singing certainly (the Fliedermonolog for example), but at other times there is a tendency to bark. As one would expect from DFD, the text is pointed, lifted, emphasised, clarified - too much so a lot of the time, for it is at the expense of the lyrical musical line. But the real disappointment is that time after time he misses those emotional KO punches that litter the score. The ironies of his Act 2 scene with Eva and the sudden blossoming when he reminds her just how lovely she is: the moment when he remembers his wife and children (whatever did happen to them?): the slightly grudging respect for the composition of a true meisterlied ("Now that's what I call an abgesang"): the burst of anger he can't control that leads to Eva's overwhelming outburst, "O Sachs, mein Freund": the controlled resignation as he names Walther's preislied: the humbled pride as the Midsummer crowd sings his own glorious hymn to the Reformation back to him ("Euch macht ihr's leicht"). All these seem to slip past without a hint of a tear rising, at least to my eyes.



Domingo, on the other hand, was the great surprise of the set on the positive side. This was his first essay in Wagner singing on disc and it was a revelation. Yes, his German accent was even dodgier in those days than it has subsequently become. But the pouring forth of the sort of bel canto line that Wagner always said he wanted but has so seldom received was and is a revelation. In this of all Wagner's tenor parts, with Trial Song, two versions of the Prize Song and countless other soaring lyrical lines, the benefits of Domingo's Italianate sound are legion. And his voice was absolutely at its prime; ringing at the top, tender and smooth as silk at mf or quieter, and with that baritonal touch that distinguishes the best of heldentenors.



Ligendza was a stalwart at Bayreuth through the early 70's - perhaps a bit overparted as Brunnhilde, but a very fine Isolde with Carlos Kleiber (occasionally available as an alternative to his DGG set with Margaret Price). Eva suits her even better. She is sensitive to all the swift changes of mood, the petulance and the passions of a teenager and rises to true heights in "O Sachs, mein Freund". There have been smoother lead-ins to the Quintet, but that's a small blemish on a substantial reading of the part.



As for Jochum's conducting, perhaps he was brought down a bit by his protagonist, because he can be better than this. He seems a little kapellmeisterish here - sound, worthy, but never rising to the heights of a Kempe or, especially, a Kubelik.



Disappointing on the Fischer-Dieskau front, then, exciting for Domingo's Walther, interesting for Ligendza's Eva, but not a first choice for this most human of Wagner operas.

"

Looks great on paper but doesn't work

Robert Storm | Finland | 03/08/2005

(2 out of 5 stars)

"In the late 60's Rafael Kubelik conducted a studio recording of Die Meistersinger. However, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau wanted to release a recording of this opera on DGG so he prevented the Kubelik recording from being released. It wasn't released until the 90's. Fischer-Dieskau's recording, conducted by Eugen Jochum, was released in the 70's. And it wasn't worth it. This recording looks great on paper but it simply doesn't work. Jochum's earlier recording of this opera was one of the best. But this time he seems to have lost his spark. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is potentially a great Hans Sachs. He is one of the best lieder singers of all time, and in his youth he was also a wonderful Wagner singer (try his 1956 Amfortas). Later his interpretations became very intellectual and lost the emotion and passion. Sometimes this worked well but not on this recording. Sure he can sing, unlike Otto Wiener who for some reason was a famous Sachs in the 50's and 60's. Placido Domingo has later become a very good Wagner singer, especially his Parsifal is excellent. When this Meistersinger was recorded, he didn't have much Wagner experience though. He has always been a good singer but this is one of the worst performances I have heard from him. Catarina Ligenza's Eva is overshadowed by Christa Ludwig's Magdalene, the best performance on this recording. The last nail in the coffin is the dry sound of the recording."