Search - Richard Wagner, Herbert von Karajan, Bayreuther Festspiele Orchester :: Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

A classic in the best sound so far

Ralph Moore | Bishop's Stortford, UK | 06/30/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I reviewed this set as per below in its Membran incarnation, but have since found this release which was prepared from private tapes made for the Isolde, Martha Mödl. It is an improvement over the bargain Membran issue; some blare and fierceness have been tamed and it is a little fuller, but if you already have the cheaper issue, I would not necessarily rush to acquire this one unless you are a "Tristan" fanatic and a bit of a purist!



"This is the same 1952 live Bayreuth performance that we have seen in various incarnations on different labels - but much cheaper than most; the new Orfeo label edition is good but three times the price for the same thing and the only competitor pricewise is the inferior Opera d'Oro set. This is a good, clean transfer with minimal distortion in what will never be a sonic extravaganza, but its limitations are well worth enduring in return for an incandescent performance which catches the two great principal singers in top form. There is something peculiarly immediate and vibrant about Mödl's assumption of the role of Isolde which puts the magisterial but bland Flagstad in the shade and even outdoes Nilsson in the famous live Bohm performance. She has a Callas-like manner of getting to the heart of the role by a specially intelligent inflection of the text and affecting use of her lower register combined with some thrilling (if slightly "scooped") top notes. Vinay's baritonal tenor is both heroic and tender; the exchange between the lovers just after their discovery in flagrante by the king is particularly moving. Ludwig Weber is past his best and a bit wobbly, but knows how to wring the heart and Hotter, typically woofy and heavy on the vibrato, nonetheless creates a vivid character in his Kurwenal. Despite the limited sound you can hear how Karajan caresses the music without dragging it out or distorting the pacing of the work; he really is good here, free of the later affectations and mannerisms. Uhde turns in another typically incisive vignette as the vicious, obsessive Melot. Malaniuk is just average as Brangane but sings strongly and expressively where it counts in her offstage warnings during the great love duet. This recording takes its place alongside my other favourite "Tristans": the old Reiner/Beecham with Flagstad and Melchior (the latter still unbeatable), the live Knappertsbusch set with Treptow and Braun, the famous Furtwangler set, the Bohm DG live and the last and latest Pappano, in lovely sound and preserving a performance of lieder-like intensity and burnished tone by Domingo.""