Search - Richard [Classical] Wagner, Karl Böhm, Dresden Staatskapelle :: Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürberg, Third Act

A Glorious Böhm-Led Meistersinger Act III from 1938

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 02/23/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This budget-priced 2CD set is self-recommending for the 'Meistersinger' fanatic (and I'm one). It is with some of the leading singers of the day -- some of them great singers, all of them at the very least more than competent -- with one of Germany's great orchestras, the Dresden Staatskapelle and with a great Wagnerian, Karl Bhm, at the helm. Böhm went on to record the entire opera as late as 1968 and certainly had conducted it many times even at this early date when he was already forty-four and an acknowledged master. The recording technique was advanced for its time, amazingly so when one considers the requirements of recording the huge orchestra and chorus as well as the soloists. The recording, originally issued in a double-album of fifteen double-sided discs on the Electrola label, became famous in its day and with good reason. This is, with all acknowledgement to Böhm, his orchestra and chorus, due primarily to the masterly performances by the leading singers. I will not hesitate in saying that Hans Hermann Nissen is one of the greatest portrayers of Hans Sachs I've ever heard. He sounds masculine, wise, and in the scene with Eva has yet the air of a man hesitatingly in love. His rounded bass-baritone has particular appeal. Margarete Teschemacher was simply one of the great Wagnerian lyric sopranos of her time and her Eva is endearingly sung (and thrillingly -- her opening lines in the great quintet 'Wie selig die Sonne' cause goosebumps). Torsten Ralf makes a great Walther von Stolzing with just the right amount of young man's ardor coupled with bearing of a knight. He has a baritonal, burnished, sweet yet clarion tenor. In the opening scene of the act, Martin Kremer's David is attractive, bumptious, credulous -- in a word, a marvelous apprentice. Eugen Fuchs makes a marvelous Beckmesser, singing rather than barking the role as so many Beckmessers do. One actually feels a bit sorry for him; he is, after all, more than a caricature, at least in this performance. As for individual highlights, Sachs's 'Wahn, berall Wahn' is noble and moving as he is in his final peroration. Ralf's 'Preislied' (as well as its early appearances) is sensational.



Böhm's management of the sometimes difficult tempo adjustments and dynamics is above reproach. It is, for me, actually more 'right' than his much later complete recording of the opera, and certainly the singers are better on the whole. The Dresden Staatsoper choir is marvelous in its significant contributions (the entry of the masters, and of the apprentices and in the great 'Wach-auf' chorus leading into the final scene). The same can be said for the orchestra. Even with this relatively primitive sound -- and it's actually quite good for its era -- one can hear silken strings, glorious burnished brass and perky winds in proper balance for all it being in mono sound.



There is no libretto, nor even a synopsis. It is clear that Profil believes that the audience for this release consists of those who already know and love the opera and have other recordings of it complete with libretto. That said, I am sure you can figure out whether this issue is for you. I, for one, know that these two CDs have rarely been out of my CD player for almost two weeks and am certain that I will pull the set out repeatedly over the years.



Scott Morrison"

Historic Heaven

L. Lubin | NY, NY | 02/18/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Except for minimal background hiss, it is difficult to remember that this is was recorded seventy years ago, before digital, before LPs, before analog tape. The sound is extraordinarily clean and bright, but that is no reason to own this set.



The reason is that this is a great performance of Die Meistersinger's 3rd Act, the heart, soul, meat and potatoes of the opera. (It will make you yearn for the salad and soup of the first two acts: be warned!) Boehm's conducting is propulsive and clear; every tidbit of counterpoint comes through the orchestral texture. Hans Hermann Nissen was one of the great Wagner baritones of the 20th century, rivalled in the role of Hans Sachs in his time only by Friederich Schorr, who was by this time in America. His fluid voice is lighter than we have become accustomed to, but he musters the needed weight with ease for "Verachtet mir die Meister nicht," and yet he sings the rarely heard trills with ease. In voice and interpretation he reminds me most of Thomas Stewart on the glorious Kubelik recording of 1967.



Margarete Teschemacher doesn't seem to me to be at her best, but that still isn't less than excellent, just a little shrill at the very top. Torsten Ralf has a bright, light tenor voice with an ardent youthful vigor, and sings the dreaded Bbs in the quintet without sounding like a strangled cat. Eugen Fuchs brings a vulnerable pathos to Beckmesser.



Historic material like this isn't meant for casual listening or as an introduction to the complete opera. For the devout Wagnerite, for students of singing and conducting, this kind of material is invaluable. This particular material, though, is also a pleasure."