Wagner Tristan und Isolde - Flagstad/Furtwangler 1952

[Richard Tarleton]

There always has to be one...... So I shall grab me tin hat, start off at a brisk trot and say... I have been listening to Act 1 of the Flagstad/ Furtwanger on the 1986 re-mastering ( don't know how later re-issues have improved the sound) and for me one can enjoy this performance only if your ideal artist to play Isolde would be a musically gifted Hyacinth Buckett. For heaven's sake Isolde is a very young woman! Flagstad sounds too "matronly" to sing Erda and that lady is no spring chicken.
My favourite Isolda is Stemme in the wonderful 2007(?) Glyndebourne production.

Rowan Tree - you capture the essential dilemma of finding the perfect Wagnerian soprano. She is a tad matronly - it was the twilight of her career. You're buying into a piece of history, and Furtwangler's conducting.

Having seen Stemme's Isolde at the ROH I agree she's fabulous.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The Flagstad/Furtwangler is a classic, but it is old and in mono (they may have doctored it for stereo, of course, but I'm a bit dubious about some of those engineering tricks).

No "doctoring" as far as I know - and the Mono sound is, as Richard says, glorious. You might find this useful:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Tristan-und-Isolde/dp/B001KZT93S/ref=dm_cd_album_lnk

even at Amazon's MP3 sound, it gives a good "taster" of what to expect.

For a great and more modern stereo version, go for Nilsson/Bohm on DG. It is a 1966 live recording from Bayreuth, but I didnt find the stage noises anything to bother about.

I have this version, too, and I agree that it's another superlative performance. But there are stage sounds. This will help anyone decide whether these are too obtrusive for them (again, with allowances for the MP3 sound):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Tristan-und-Isolde/dp/B001N8LP3Y/ref=dm_cd_album_lnk

[Beef Oven]

Bed Wetter Green, BeefO: and booklets in CD issues are terribly fragile - after the third reading, the spine breaks and all the pages drop to the floor.

Andrew MacG's mantra moaning about "no texts or translations" is always a plus for me!

Yes!

[Pianorak]

I love Flagstad and Nilsson as well as Behrens. My favourite Brangaene has to be Blanche Thebom. Her Einsam wachend in der Nacht and Habet acht! Habet acht! (Act 2/II) is just breathtakingly beautiful and never fails to move me.

[Petrushka]

There is/was also a truly live 1966 Bohm Tristan on the Frequenz label. It was taken from a single performance given on August 13 1966 and sounds quite different from the DG recording. I assume it was taken from the Bavarian Radio relay and it is electrifying. I have both. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Trist...5046561&sr=1-4

The Furtwangler is included on the recently issued boxed set of the Great EMI Recordings which is where I have it.

[AmpH]

Posts 28 , 29 & 32 - umslopogass , Richard Tarleton , ferneyhough - many thanks for your advice / information.

[mathias broucek]

There is/was also a truly live 1966 Bohm Tristan on the Frequenz label. It was taken from a single performance given on August 13 1966 and sounds quite different from the DG recording. I assume it was taken from the Bavarian Radio relay and it is electrifying. I have both. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Trist...5046561&sr=1-4

Thanks Petrushka. Cheap too!

[Pianorak]

Thanks Petrushka. Cheap too!

Cheap - no; inexpensive - yes!

Thanks, Petrushka.

[gurnemanz]

For a couple of decades I lived happily with LPs of the Carlos Kleiber Dresden recording with Margaret Price and when CD came along I opted for Böhm. I clicked the Furtwängler/Flagstad link above and was sorely tempted.
However, I did recently buy the Flagstad EMI Icon discs where CD5 gives you 78 minutes from that performance. Despite obvious "bleeding chunk" objections, I think I may force myself to be content with that. CD4 is also all Wagner, including her classic Immolation scene from Götterdämmerung - from 1948, also Furtwängler/Legge .

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ICON-Kirsten-Flagstad/dp/B0032700S0