[vcoheda]

wagner is great.

i own tons of versions of all his operas. as great as some of the historic recordings are, the sound on all is generally subpar. considering sound and performance, i can recommend these.

Der fliegende Holländer

Tannhäuser

Lohengrin

Tristan und Isolde

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Der Ring des Nibelungen

Die Walküre [one in Levine set is disgraceful]

Parsifal

 

[PSmith08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbhaub /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here's a seriously great bargain for Wagner fans who maybe don't have a lot of money to spend. Some of the performances are top-notch, and there's not a dud among them. Except for the Ring, I used to own these all on LP and they gave me many hours of pleasure. Well worth the asking price!Wagner: The Great Operas From The Bayreuth Festival | ArkivMusic The only negative is the lack of complete librettos. What Decca should have done is put them all in PDF format on another disk.

I ordered my copy just to get the Varviso Meistersinger and Levine Parsifal, both of which I have wanted for some time (especially the former). I have heard some good things about the Varviso, and I used to own the highlights from the Levine.

This means that I get another Böhm Ring and Tristan, but other than that, no duplications.

 

[coredump]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JayG /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just thought I would let everyone know that while I was browsing Berkshire, I discovered they have the Janowski Ring available for $41.86, about $20 cheaper than the best price I've seen anywhere else. It's a great cycle, and a ridiculous price. If for whatever reason you don't like it, you should easily be able to sell it on Amazon or eBay for more than you paid. -Jay

Thanks. Ordered a copy this evening. This is my fist venture into Wagner.

 

[Facade19]

I am not sure how many of you will disgruntle me, but for my last two Wagner operas (Tannhauser/Solti/VPO/etc. on DECCA and Tristan and Isolde/Bohm/Nielsen/etc. on DG) I only read the synopsis and just played the recordings. I just recently started to listen to my Die Meistersinger recording (Solti/VPO/etc. released on DECCA) after having had this in my possession for 3 months. I did not bother looking/reading over the libretto. I want to hear the music, that is what attracts me to Wagner. Same with Strauss. Same with Schreker, Zemlinsky and everyone else. I could not care how strong the plot is, if the music is not to my liking, I will not bother. The only exception was Schoenberg's Moses and Aron. There the plot intrigued me to the opera.
Anyone has the Keilberth Ring released on Testament? Many reviewers believe it to be the Ring cycle to own.

 

[Drosera]

Hard to believe that in this entire thread the Kubelik Meistersinger hasn't been mentioned yet.
It's a German radio recording from 1967 released by Myto (although I don't know if it's still available) and to my ears it has a cast that has never been equalled. Thomas Stewart is a beautifully melifluous Sachs, Gundula Janowitz absolutely angelic as Eva. Sandor Konya definitely the outsider as a Walther with strongly Hungarian-accented German, but what a voice. Such a shame that, apart from a recording of Lohengrin he didn't record more Wagner. The rest of the cast feature Gerhard Unger, Brigitte Fassbaender, Franz Crass and a whole host of strong German singers in the minor roles. And I certainly have no qualms with Kubelik's conducting either.

Whenever I play this recording, I feel that summer has arrived.

 

[HappyEars]

Hartmut Haenchen conducting the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, 2005. Recorded live in multichannel at the Musiektheater Amsterdam, released on Hybrid SACD. [Et'Cetera 2007]

Hybrid SACD in 5.1 surround + redbook stereo CD one one disc.

The works!

 

[Drosera]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyEars /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hartmut Haenchen conducting the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, 2005. Recorded live in multichannel at the Musiektheater Amsterdam, released on Hybrid SACD. [Et'Cetera 2007] Hybrid SACD in 5.1 surround + redbook stereo CD one one disc. The works!

I presume you mean the Ring? Sweet memories. I was there, and for me personally Hartmut Haenchen is the greatest Wagner conductor alive. Brilliant, in the German Kapellmeister tradition (ala Böhm or Sawallisch). I would definitely buy this for the conducting, but unfortunately not for the singing. In that regard it's kind of a mixed bag.

It would be really nice if they would release the Meistersinger that they did (I believe) a year later. With the glorious Gösta Winbergh as Walther. (Sorely missed, he died way too young.) But I doubt they made a recording of it.

 

[PSmith08]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Facade19 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anyone has the Keilberth Ring released on Testament? Many reviewers believe it to be the Ring cycle to own.

I do and it is. The stereo sound is very good and it captures a Golden Age cast that was either over-the-hill for Solti or not on that record. More than that, it shows the Bayreuth band in top form under a conductor who understood both Wagner and drama.

 

[vcoheda]

have been listening to this recording and am more impressed by it than i recall. the sound quality is excellent - really clear voices, good balance between orchestra and singers, no harshness (digital glare) to the sound. moll is great as gurnermanz, domingo gives an excellent performance as parsifal, although his best wagner recording is still lohengrin. norman isn't bad but seems miscast as kundry. her voice is just too heavy and stately for the role. the other parts are well cast and lastly i like the slow-paced conducting of levine.

definitely one to check out.

 

[rasmushorn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbhaub /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here's a seriously great bargain for Wagner fans who maybe don't have a lot of money to spend. Some of the performances are top-notch, and there's not a dud among them. Except for the Ring, I used to own these all on LP and they gave me many hours of pleasure. Well worth the asking price!Wagner: The Great Operas From The Bayreuth Festival | ArkivMusic The only negative is the lack of complete librettos. What Decca should have done is put them all in PDF format on another disk.

I bought that set a year ago and it was a great starters kit for getting into Wagner operas. I just find that it takes a long time to "consume" these operas and sometimes they have to be heard, read and seen (on DVD) a few times before they get under your skin. But then it really strikes you how great these masterpieces are. Specially Tannhäuser is one I can hear again and again.... I do not have a lot of other recordings to compare with but generally I think the sound is great. And the price is a real bargain.

 

[carimcaskill]

If you're        still around...
 
Seattle Ring?  When?  It's available on CD?
 
I can't seem to find anything...

 

[bigshot]

This year, Seattle Opera is doing Meistersinger.

 

[icebear]

I have just a single edition of the Meistersinger :

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg :

[ Weikl, Studer, Heppner, Moll, Lorenz, van der Walt, Kallisch; Sawallisch]

Not really an expert on Wagner but I think that one isn't too shabby

.

 

[Delirious Lab]

I have that Sawallisch set, it has the best all-around cast - the third act Quintet is a real tear-jerker.
 
If you're more into orchestra than voices, Karajan/Dresden is a fine choice.  Herbert von really brings out the counterpoint.  The singing is very good as well, but I find the baritone characters' voices too similar to each other; this makes Act 1 a bit difficult to follow.  Whereas in the Sawallisch set, Sachs/Pogner/Beckmesser sound very distinct from each other and from the other Masters as well.
 
Some other favourites of mine:
 
Tristan - Solti/Vienna.  For the life of me I can't understand why this recording so panned by critics.  If Act 2 is lovemaking made into music, then what's wrong with making it last as long as possible, might I ask?
 
Tristan Act 3 - 180° turnaround, give me the feverish, delirious wreck of Böhm/Bayreuth/Windgassen.
 
Parsifal - Muck/Bayreuth (Act 3 only, a marvel from the 1920's)
 
Walküre - Janowski/Dresden, my first foray into Wagner.  Act 1 with Kurt Moll as the bad guy...  While you're at it, get the whole Ring.  This one has clarity, clarity, clarity as Wagner demanded from those who first played it in Bayreuth.  I read somewhere that the Ring's music is primarily cello-driven; nowhere have I got this feeling more than with this cycle.
 
Flying Dutchman - the otherwise forgettable Naxos set (I can't even remember who conducts at the moment) has the most hair-raising ghost chorus in Act 3.  Maybe it's the wind machine, but I always get the creeps listening to it.

 

[serman005]

I'm a Tristan fan and this is a good one to me:
 
 
Tristan und Isolde, Teldec, 1995
Barenboim, Berlin Philharmonic, Berlin State Opera Chorus
Jerusalem
Meier
Lipovsek
Salminen
Struckman