Wagner: Tristan und Isolde | Richard Wagner, Carlos Kleiber, ...

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde | Richard Wagner, Carlos Kleiber, ... | conversion time

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Wagner: Tristan un...

	Wagner: Tristan und Isolde Richard Wagner, Carlos Kleiber, ... Deutsche Grammophon, 2005 average customer review:based on 10 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Outstanding! The best modern Tristan

Although Carlos Kleiber never produced recordings in the same bulk that Karajan and Solti did, his output was always amazing. This recording of Tristan proves the quality of his music-making as one of the prime exponents of Wagner conducting, and without a doubt, Carlos Kleiber brings out all the passion, eroticism, lyricism, tragedy, and beauty in Wagner's score. Like the old Wagnerian stalwarts such as Knappertsbusch and Clemens Krauss, he has an ability to make a seamless and endless string of music that seems almost incandescent...yet brimming with passion. Hearing this Tristan, I sometimes feel that the drama would sometimes threaten to leap out of the speakers and engulf me in the tragedy of Tristan. That said, I would think that this would be the work's best conducted version, and with the contribution of the Dresden Staatskapelle (Wagner's favourite orchestra), there is nothing that could surely remove this from the Wagnerian oeuvre of conducting.

Regarding the cast, I would say that the most outstanding singers in this record are Kurt Moll and Margaret Price. Never having had sung Isolde on stage, Margaret Price gives this Isolde a lyricism, youthful quality, and beauty that you can never hear from other recordings. While I certainly find Dernesch, Modl, and Nilsson more compelling, she is one of the best Isolde's I have ever heard in the part. One could wish that she had sung it on stage. Kurt Moll is revelatory as King Mark. His monologue is superbly sung and acted. You can never go wrong with this artist, as everything he touches is definitive (he would probably be the Christa Ludwig of basses). Slightly below this standard of singers is the tenor Rene Kollo, who gives an amazingly youthful and heartfelt portrayal of Tristan. While I would take Vickers over him any day of the week, his Tristan offers siomething that others do not: youthful tone, ardent lyricism, and dramatic impact that singers like Suthaus never had. Fassbaender is an excellent Brangaene, although I would never take her over someone like Christa Ludwig.

The one advantage of this set over its previous issue is the fact that DG fit each act into a disc. So...none of those interruptions which are so deplorable in Wagner are heard in this CD. I still like the older on though, with its beautiful libretto and very well done artwork.

All in all, this set is an excellent when you sum up the components that make it so seductive and alluring. But you must never forget the EMI Karajan set, the 1966 DG Böhm set, the legendary 1952 Furtwängler, or even that which Karajan conducted in Bayreuth in 1952. Did I mention that Pappano's 2005 recording is excellent too?

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As many of the reviews on this page testify, diehard Wagnerites live and breathe a world of their own when it comes to recordings of his monumental operas, especially Tristan und Isolde, and more power to them. As a musician who has resisted Wagner for most of my life, this recording - specifically the refulgent singing of Welsh soprano Margaret Price and the luminous conducting of Carlos Kleiber - is a revelation in every way, clearing away my every objection to the gigantic sound world of Wagner, and creating a kind of conversion to what this composer's music really means. I'm grateful for this. Price, whose singing I've long admired, is called a 'lyrical Isolde', a 'youthful sounding Isolde', an Isolde of 'beautiful sound' in contradistinction, apparently, to the Isoldes of Nilsson and Flagstad, hinting of course that Price's is an Italianate Isolde. Yet, when I read Wagner's score, I find Margaret Price inhabiting every corner of it with unbridled lustre of tone and committment, hardly something contraindicated by the composer. Indeed, hers is a fully human Isolde, noble, passionate, and surely one of this singer's finest performances on disc. I challenge any listener, even the most committed Wagnerite, to listen to her singing of Mild und leise wie er lachelt and find anything but a radiant exposition of a magnificent score. Margaret Price commits the wondrous act of warming Wagner all the way down to his human self, saving, not weakening, every ounce of his musical and dramatic intention, making it greater than many, even many ardent Wagnerites, ever imagined. She indeed forges new ground with her interpretation, revealing deeply Wagner's truth as an artist, despite whatever human flaws he may or may not have borne. As a result, Isolde is understood in a completely vital way, and so is Wagner's genius. It's equally clear that as supreme as Price's singing is she could not have achieved this amazing recording without riding on the gleaming musicianship of Carlos Kleiber, without doubt one of the last century's most revealing conductors. His attention to every detail never wavers, serves the magnificent whole, and the orchestra plays brilliantly. But then, every orchestra played brilliantly for Kleiber - such was his enormous gift. The combined effect is, as I say, worthy of a complete change of heart. With this recording, you will rediscover Wagner, new and shining. Rene Kollo sings Tristan with beautiful lyricism without sacrificing his bitter sadness. Fassbaender suffices, though perhaps Ludwig surpasses, as she usually does. The score, the score! Check the score itself as you listen to this discerning recording - you will find the Wagner of your intense longing! Highest recommendation, especially if like me you've resisted this music before in your listening life.

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A wonderful recording

Be advised that 'Tristan und Isolde' is probably one of the top ten greatest works in the history of western music. So you can understand why there are so many recordings and so many disparate preferences as to which is "best" or "greatest".

This recording is the one and only recording I own. I'm not a recording addict, so I doubt I'll buy another. I've had it since it debuted way back in the 80's.

This recording is wonderful. I like the clarity of this modern recording above the older ones (I'm sure they are great, too, but the poor sound is hard to get past). You can't go wrong with this one.

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My Favorite Studio 'Tristan' -- but not the best!

There are so many 'Tristan' recordings out there. Are they all necessary? Absolutely. Are they all worth the price? Probably not. First things first: if you don't own the (sometimes over-hyped) Furtwangler recording from EMI, get it. It's magical. This Kleiber set, however, might be my overall favorite studio 'Tristan.' It is an imaginative modern experiment with inspired conducting and a superbly committed cast, plus digital sound at budget re-issue price. At the end of the day, it's all a matter of taste, but I say give the underdog a try.

For me, the most exciting and generally best conducted 'Tristans' tend to be live. Think about it: the young(er) Flagstad/Melchior combo with Reiner at Covent Garden, then the magnificent Erich Kleiber in Buenos Aires (also with Flagstad), and of course the famous Nilsson/Windgassen pairing for Bohm in 1966 (the essential complement to the Furtwangler, if only for Ludwig and Talvela). Sometimes poor sound quality and sadly muted singing can hinder the listening experience. But these conductors, especially E. Kleiber, had a strong sense of thematic unity and structure, which is oddly difficult to capture in the studio (though Furtwangler does it brilliantly). It comes as no surprise that Erich's son would get the job done right later in the century.

Carlos Kleiber had a daring, inventive flair in the studio, demonstrated by his 1973 'Freischutz' all the way to this 'Tristan' from 1982. Some choices might seem controversial (e.g. using actors to read dialogue parts on his `Freischutz'), but he used the studio to great advantage--and rarely fails to draw the listener in immediately and hold attention. Yes, his reading here has been augmented by modern sound technology--but isn't that what Wagner would have done? Wagner wanted an Art of the Future, so why keep him in the nineteenth century? What's more, this isn't at all like the first digital opera recording, Solti's Figaro, which only skims the surface of Mozart's noble music and complex, zany characters. Carlos Kleiber's 'Tristan' features a deeply introspective reading of the score, sensitive playing from the Staatskapelle Dresden (my favorite orchestra), and astoundingly resonant performances from the singer-actors.

Apparently Price's Isolde tends to make or break the experience: don't let that happen. She sings passionately and beautifully as Isolde, with firm, flexible, youthful-sounding voice and clear intonation. Her acting is also impressive: listen to her "Ich bin's" in the last act and you'll see what I mean. No, she couldn't have sung the role on stage - but please, why is that even part of the argument? It's just as asinine as the Flagstad/Schwarzkopf debate for Furtwangler. Get over it. Similarly, Rene Kollo is certainly no match for, say, Jon Vickers, but that kind of singing isn't needed for this 'Tristan.' He sings ardently, if a little uncomfortably at times, but he is certainly on par with Windgassen (for Bohm) and even Suthaus (for Furtwangler). Fassbaender is remarkable as Brangaene, rivaled only by Ludwig (for Bohm and Karajan). Stiff competition notwithstanding from Talvela, Weber and Ridderbusch, Moll is truly heartfelt as Marke, and certainly on par with Greindl. The uber-experienced Fischer-Dieskau completes the surprisingly well-rounded cast.

Do your homework and get the best 'Tristan' for you. For other great studio work, be sure to look at the Furtwangler and the Karajan, but this recording is something special. Highly recommended.

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A problematic recording

I do not like recordings where singers appear that absolutely could not sing their roles on stage. An example is Turandot on Decca, with Joan Sutherland - a coloratura soprano as the icy princess. Here we have the beautiful voice of Margaret Price, but surely, she could never have sung the role of Isolde on stage, beeing a wonderful Mozart singer, nothing else. For long, Carlos Kleiber tried to get the Swedish Wagnerian soprano Catarina Ligendza as his Isolde, but she denied, meaning - after her experiences with the recording of the DG Meistersinger - that the way recordings nowadays are made, on small pieces of tape put together without any feeling of continuity in the making, was so unnatural that she could never more be a part of studio recordings. Kollo is acceptable as Tristan, no more. Kleiber conducts wonderfully and the sound is clean, the orchestra in top form. But because of the singers in the main parts, this should never be your first choice of a Tristan recording.

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reviews: page 1, 2

Tracks
Act 1. Einleitung | Act 1. Scene 1. Westwärts schweift der Blick | Act 1. Scene 2. Frisch weht der Wind der Heimat zu | Act 1. Scene 3. Weh, ach wehel Dies zu dulden! | Act 1. Scene 4. Auf! Auf! Ihr Frauen! Frisch und froh! | Act 1. Scene 4. Herr Tristan trete nah! / Scene 5. Begehrt, Herrin, was Ihr wünscht | Act 1. Scene 5. Tristan! - Isolde! - Treuloser Holder! | Act 2. Einleitung | Act 2. Scene 1. Hörst du sie noch? | Act 2. Scene 2. Isolde! Geliebte! / Tristan! Geliebter! | Act 2. Scene 2. O sink hernieder, Nacht der Liebe | Act 2. Scene 2. Einsam wachend in der Nacht | Act 2. Scene 2. Lausch, Geliebter! - Laß mich sterben! | Act 2. Scene 2. Doch unsre Liebe, heißt sie nicht Tristan und - Isolde? | Act 2. Scene 2. So starben wir, um ungetrennt | Act 2. Scene 3. Rette dich, Tristan! | Act 2. Scene 3. Tatest du's wirklich? Wähnst du das? | Act 2. Scene 3. O König, das kann ich dir nicht sagen | Act 3. Scene 1. (Mässig langsam) | Act 3. Scene 1. (Man hört einen Hirtenreigen) | Act 3. Scene 1. Kurwenal! He! Sag, Kurwenal! | Act 3. Scene 1. Hei nun! Wie du kamst? | Act 3. Scene 1. Noch lossch das Licht nicht aus | Act 3. Scene 1. Noch ist kein Schiff zu sehn! | Act 3. Scene 1. Bist du nun tot? Lebst du noch? | Act 3. Scene 2. O diese Sonne! Ha, dieser Tag! | Act 3. Scene 2. Ich bin's, ich bin's, süßester Freund! | Act 3. Scene 3. Kurwenal! Hör! Ein zweites Schiff | Act 3. Scene 3. Mild und liese wie er lächelt

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