Theo Adam R.I.P.

[Keraulophone]

Theo Adam, 1926-2019 - Wotan, Sachs and other noble bass-baritone roles.

http://www.the-wagnerian.com/2019/01/theo-adam-dies-at-92.html

[DracoM]

Mighty, mighty voice.

[Conchis]

Coincidentally, I was listening to him in the Karajan Met Walkure only the other night.

I can't say I was ever a huge fan of his voice but he made so many recordings of the Wagnerian repertoire that he feels like an old friend.

[Petrushka]

One of the great Wagnerian singers of our time. I first came across his name as the bass soloist in the Konwitschny/Leipzig Gewandhaus Beethoven 9 recording and again as Sachs in the Karajan Meistersinger then above all as Wotan in Böhm's Ring.

RIP Theo Adam.

[gurnemanz]

Theo Adam and Peter Schreier were two Saxons who stuck with their homeland even when it became part of the Soviet empire post-war. I saw Adam live quite a few times. Never unfortunately at Bayreuth but I have many recordings. Concert memories of Adam include Bach in the Thomaskirche Leipzig, a Winterreise, a concert Wozzeck under Herbert Kegel (also on CD) and as Amfortas again in concert under Kegel in Leipzig CD available.

A couple of recordings come to mind:
He's in good form on the very well-regarded Mozart Requiem conducted by his friend Peter Schreier.
He's a fine Pizzaro on the 1969 Böhm Dresden Fidelio, with a cast also including Martti Talvela, James King, Gwyneth Jones, Franz Crass, Edith Mathis, Peter Schreier).

OK, he sometimes had a a bit of a wobble but a great voice of our time nonetheless.

[ostuni]

His Wotan on Janowski's Dresden Ring is, to my tastes, the greatest recorded performance of this role that I know. Several posters have mentioned the 'wobble', which helps strengthen my opinion that judging singers (far more than instrumentalists) is enormously subjective. Wobbly singers are not at all to my tastes, and that's why I can't listen with any pleasure to Hotter's several Wotans- though I suspect I'm in the minority here.

And thanks for the reminder to have another listen to the Kegel Parsifal.

[Conchis]

His Wotan on Janowski's Dresden Ring is, to my tastes, the greatest recorded performance of this role that I know. Several posters have mentioned the 'wobble', which helps strengthen my opinion that judging singers (far more than instrumentalists) is enormously subjective. Wobbly singers are not at all to my tastes, and that's why I can't listen with any pleasure to Hotter's several Wotans- though I suspect I'm in the minority here.

And thanks for the reminder to have another listen to the Kegel Parsifal.

It wasn't the wobble that bothered me so much as the rather dry tone.

A lot of highly esteemed Wotans (and I very much include Hotter in their number) have been unable to portray the god's sensual aspects. I'd say one that managed this was Thomas Stewart (my own personal favourite) on the Karajan studio cycle. Yet, apparently, he had a small voice which had to be beefed up by studio engineers.

The 'Wotan-as-intellectual' only applies to the Wanderer in Siegfried. I think it may be significant that Hotter sang the Rheingold Wotan (a brusque, entitled, insensitive bully and a crook, not to put too fine a point on it) less than he sang the Walkure and Siegfried incarnations.

[LHC]

I only saw Theo Adam live once, in a performance of Beethoven's 9th at the RFH with the Dresden Staatskapelle led by Colin Davis. Obviously not an ideal piece to judge a singer by, but I recall being absolutely bowled over by his performance. He sang with such authority and passion, as if he believed in, and understood, every word. His diction was superb as well. Prior to that I had found his voice somewhat dry and wobbly, as others have said, but that performance changed my view.

I would also agree with Ostuni that his performance in the Janowski Ring cycle is very good, and one of the best things in that cycle.

[Darkbloom]

Adam was in a small category of genuine bass-baritones. The wobble (which probably only struck listeners on CD anyway) is a small price to pay for a voice that was commanding from top to bottom. There was also a human, almost vulnerable quality to it that set him apart from most singers. I love Hotter but it's a shame that other Wotan interpreters could get crowded out, in the same way that Nilsson was always seen as 'the' Brunnhilde for too long. My favourite performance of his is as Kaspar in the Kleiber Freischutz recording. I know he went on to sing Alberich with Haitink later on but I don't know how good it was.

[Conchis]

Adam was in a small category of genuine bass-baritones. The wobble (which probably only struck listeners on CD anyway) is a small price to pay for a voice that was commanding from top to bottom. There was also a human, almost vulnerable quality to it that set him apart from most singers. I love Hotter but it's a shame that other Wotan interpreters could get crowded out, in the same way that Nilsson was always seen as 'the' Brunnhilde for too long. My favourite performance of his is as Kaspar in the Kleiber Freischutz recording. I know he went on to sing Alberich with Haitink later on but I don't know how good it was.

I think Hotter's career was winding down as Adam was emerging as an international singer, though I'd agree with you about Nilsson.

Adam's Alberich is interesting and an inspired bit of casting. I must give it another listen sometime.