BaL 20.06.15 - Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30am
Building a Library: Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
For Classical Voice, Nicholas Baragwanath considers the available recordings of Wagner's opera, Die Meistersinger about the Mastersingers of Nuremberg, who have a great tradition of composing songs but have become stultified by their petty rules. A young knight openly questions their traditions, and with the help of the wise and humane cobbler, Hans Sachs he not only wins the singing competition but also the heart of the young Eva. There is a strong field to choose from, including performances from Karajan, Kubelick and Jochum.


Available versions:

Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Hermann Abendroth
Frankfurt Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Carl Bamberger
Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Daniel Barenboim
Orchestra & Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, Artur Bodanzky
Choir and Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival, Karl Böhm
Orchestra & Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera House, Karl Böhm
Bayreuth Festival, André Cluytens 1956
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Andre Cluytens 1957
Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler
(in English) Sadlers Wells Chorus & Sadlers Wells Opera Orchestra, Reginald Goodall
London Philharmonic Orchestra & The Glyndebourne Chorus, Vladimir Jurowski
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Royal Opera Chorus, Bernard Haitink
Staatskapelle Dresden, Herbert von Karajan
Rundfunkchor Berlin & Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Marek Janowski
Berlin Opera Orchestra, Eugen Jochum
Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Bayerische Staatsopernchor, Joseph Keilberth
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Rudolf Kempe
(in Hungarian) Hungarian State Opera Orchestra, Hungarian State Opera Chorus, Otto Klemperer (download)
Vienna State Opera Chorus & Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Hans Knappertsbusch 1950-51
Orchestra and Chorus of the Bayreuth Festival, Hans Knappertsbusch 1952
Choir and Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festspiele, Hans Knappertsbusch 1960
Berlin State Opera, Franz Konwitschny
Bayreuth Festival Chorus & Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra and Chorus of the Bayreuth Festival, Josef Krips
Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Rafael Kubelik
Chorus & Orchestra of the Festspielhaus Bayreuth. Erich Leinsdorf
Orchestra and Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, Fritz Reiner
Vienna State Opera, Fritz Reiner
RAI Milan, Hans Rosbaud
Orchestra and Chorus of the Metropolitan Opera, Joseph Rosenstock
Chor und Orchester der Bayerischen Staatsoper, Wolfgang Sawallisch
The Metropolitan Opera & Chorus, Thomas Schippers (abridged)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Georg Solti
Wiener Staatsopernchor & Wiener Philharmoniker, Sir Georg Solti (BaL choice 2009, & the previous time)
Chor und Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Silvio Varviso
Wiener Philharmoniker, Chor der Wiener Staatsoper, Heinz Wallberg



DVD:

Chor & Orchester der Bayreuther Festspiele, Daniel Barenboim
Staatstheater Nürnberg Chorus, Staatsphilharmonie Nürnberg, Marcus Bosch (+Blu-ray)
Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Salzburg Festival 2013, Wiener Philharmoniker, Daniele Gatti (+ Blu-ray)
London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Glyndebourne Chorus, Vladimir Jurowski (+Blu-ray)
Metropolitan Opera & Chorus, James Levine
Chorus of the Hamburg State Opera & The Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg, Leopold Ludwig
Australian Opera Chorus, The Elizabethan Philharmonic Orchestra, Charles Mackerras
Orchester & Chor der Bayreuther Festspiele, Horst Stein
Orchestra & Chorus of the Vienna State Opera, Christian Thielemann
Bayreuther Festspiele Chorus & Bayreuther Festspiele Orchestra, Sebastian Weigle (+Blu-ray)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Last time around:- http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mbradio3/F6...thread=6326321

[umslopogaas]

In addition to versions listed above conducted by Solti, Kempe and Knappertsbusch (on LP), I have an LP set on the HMV Angel label with the Dresden State Orchestra conducted by Karajan. I also have a CD version conducted by Hermann Abendroth, recorded at Bayreuth in 1943. Presumably these are not currently available?

The CD set is on the Preiser label. The Rough Guide to Opera is very keen on it, though it acknowledges that his collaboration with the Nazis sunk Abendroth's career after the war.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The later Karajan is on Alpie's list, umsloppy - under "Staatskapelle Dresden". The Abendroth/PREISSLER is still available from online sellers.

I have both Karajans, Varviso (some very poor singing here), Keilberth and Kubelik on CD and Jurowski on DVD. I had the Jochum on LP, too. Back in the day. Probably won't be spending money on another one, but shall listen with interest - don't think I've heard Mr Baragwanath before.

[Nick Armstrong]

Back in the day.

Once or twice upon a time...

This is quite possibly the opera I'd save if all the rest had to be obliterated from history.

I have Karajan, Kempe, Kubelik - and Jochum, which was my first and still probably my favourite. DF-D and Placido D seem to be controversial to "Wagnerians" but I don't care, I like the sound they make - and Jochum's way, teasing out the golden skeins of music, gives me goosebumps like no other performance.

[umslopogaas]

Preissler? Its spelled Preiser Records on my discs.

There's a photo of Abendroth on the back of the booklet. He doesnt look like a very nice guy.

[Richard Tarleton]

This is quite possibly the opera I'd save if all the rest had to be obliterated from history

Me too.

I have Karajan, Kempe, Kubelik - and Jochum, which was my first and still probably my favourite. DF-D and Placido D seem to be controversial to "Wagnerians" but I don't care, I like the sound they make - and Jochum's way, teasing out the golden skeins of music, gives me goosebumps like no other performance.

Jochum was my intro too. Later to be joined by Sawallisch, Haitink and the Levine/Met DVD.

I saw the ROH/Haitink production just before the ROH closed in March 1997. I was there the night the power failed during the Prelude, and we thought for a while we were going to be sent home. Things restarted after half an hour, which meant there was an exodus from the Amphitheatre during Act 3 Scene 5. Gösta Winbergh was under the weather that night and was underpowered in Act 3. Alan Blyth is a little ungallant about Nancy Gustafson in the CD booklet. Tomlinson's Sachs about as unlike DFD's in the Jochum as can be imagined, by the time of the revival in 2012 he was singing Pogner. The Sachs I've most enjoyed live was Jose Van Dam in a concert perf. with Zurich, a lovely air of world-weariness about him, I don't know if he's on a recorded version.

[cincinnatus]

The later Karajan is on Alpie's list, umsloppy - under "Staatskapelle Dresden". The Abendroth/PREISSLER is still available from online sellers.

I have both Karajans, Varviso (some very poor singing here), Keilberth and Kubelik on CD and Jorowski on DVD. I had the Jochum on LP, too. Back in the day. Probably won't be spending money on another one, but shall listen with interest - don't think I've heard Mr Baragwanath before.

Ferney, Mr Baragwanath did Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death in May last year. He's a lecturer at Nottingham University.

[Beef Oven!]

Theo Adam, Rene Kollo, Helen Donath, Karl Riddersbusch, Karajan Staatskapelle Dresden et al - THREAD CLOSED.

[Zucchini]

Everyone's dead so far.
So Gerald Finley LPO/Jurowski Glyndebourne DVD for me.
It was wonderful

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Preissler? Its spelled Preiser Records on my discs.

Much-missed <doh> emoticon - my bad. (The capitals weren't meant as a "correction", by-the-way: I put record label names in upper case to avoid ambiguity with "a brilliant CD" and "a BRILLIANT recording" )

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Ferney, Mr Baragwanath did Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of Death in May last year. He's a lecturer at Nottingham University.

Oh! He was good! Looking forward even more to it.

Many thanks, cincinn

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Everyone's dead so far.
So Gerald Finley LPO/Jurowski Glyndebourne DVD for me.
It was wonderful

Erm - the same one I mentioned in #4, pumpkin?

[makropulos]

Everyone's dead so far.
So Gerald Finley LPO/Jurowski Glyndebourne DVD for me.
It was wonderful

It was and it's wonderful.

But I'm more than happy to have several earlier versions too, including Böhm (Orfeo), Goodall (Chandos), Karajan (Dresden EMI), Kempe (EMI), Kubelik (Arts), Mackerras (DVD), Matacic (Myto, in Italian), Sawallisch (EMI), Solti (Vienna Decca). I wouldn't want to pick a "best" of those - so many of them are so good.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

This is quite possibly the opera I'd save if all the rest had to be obliterated from history.